Frolic-class gunvessel
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Frolic class |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy
|
| Preceded by: | Beacon class |
| Succeeded by: | Arab class |
| Built: | 1871–1873 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Scrapped: | 3 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type: | Composite screw gunvessel |
| Displacement: | 610 long tons (620 t) |
| Tons burthen: | 462 bm |
| Length: | 155 ft (47.2 m) (p/p) |
| Beam: | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Draught: | 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) |
| Depth: | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Installed power: | 715–896 ihp (533–668 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Sail plan: | Barque rig |
| Speed: | 10–11 knots (19–20 km/h; 12–13 mph) |
| Range: | 880 nmi (1,630 km; 1,010 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 80 |
| Armament: |
|
The Frolic-class gunvessels were a class of composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy in the early 1870s. They were generally deployed overseas to the East Indies, West Africa, and China Stations. In addition to , the ships fought pirates and suppressed the slave trade in East Africa. They were placed in reserve in the mid-1880s, and two of them were sold for scrap by the end of the decade. The other pair survived for longer as they were either modified for harbour service or became a training ship before being sold or scrapped. The last survivor, Ready, was used in support of William Beebe's expedition in his bathysphere in 1930 off Bermuda.
The four ships of the Frolic class were repeats of the preceding Beacon class despite being begun four years later. The ships were 155 feet (47.2 m) long between perpendiculars and had a beam of 25 feet (7.6 m). Forward, the ships had a draught of 7 feet 9 inches (2.4 m), but aft they drew 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m). They displaced 610 long tons (620 t) as built and had a burthen of 462 tons. The depth of hold was 11 feet (3.4 m) and the hull was subdivided by watertight bulkheads. Their crew consisted of 80 officers and enlisted men.
The supply of engines from the old Crimean War gunboats had been exhausted by that time and they were given brand-new engines. Unlike their half sisters, these ships received new compound-expansion trunk steam engines from John Penn and Sons. Each engine powered a single 6-foot (1.8 m) propeller. The engines produced between 715 and 896 indicated horsepower (533 and 668 kW) which gave the ships a maximum speed between 10 and 11 knots (19 and 20 km/h; 12 and 13 mph). The new engines proved to be more powerful than those used in the Beacons, but they were as uneconomical as the simple steam engines used in the older ships and fell from favour as a result. Three cylindrical boilers provided steam to the engines at a working pressure of 80 psi (552 kPa; 6 kgf/cm2). The ships carried 80 long tons (81 t) of coal which gave them a range of 880 nmi (1,630 km; 1,010 mi) at 10 knots.
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