HMS Scorpion (1863)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Scorpion |
| Ordered: | 1862 |
| Builder: | John Laird Sons & Company, Birkenhead |
| Laid down: | April 1862 |
| Launched: | 4 July 1863 |
| Completed: | 10 October 1865 |
| Fate: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ironclad turret ship |
| Displacement: | 2,751 long tons (2,795 t) |
| Length: | 224 ft 6 in (68.4 m) (p/p) |
| Beam: | 42 ft 4 in (12.9 m) |
| Draught: | 17 ft (5.2 m) (deep load) |
| Installed power: | |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft, 2 direct-acting steam engines |
| Sail plan: | Barque-rigged |
| Speed: | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) |
| Range: | 1,210 nmi (2,240 km; 1,390 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 153 |
| Armament: | 2 × twin 9-inch (229 mm) muzzle-loading rifles |
| Armour: |
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HMS Scorpion was an ironclad turret ship of the Royal Navy, built by John Laird Sons & Company, at Birkenhead. She was one of two sister ships secretly ordered from the Laird shipyard in 1862 by the Confederate States of America. To conceal her true ownership, all concerned endorsed the fiction that she was being constructed as the Egyptian warship El Tousson. She was to have been named North Carolina upon delivery to the Confederates. The British government seized the pair of ironclads in October 1863, a few months after their launch and before they could be completed.
Wivern and her sister were intended, together with other warships, to break the Federal blockade of Confederate coastal cities and to hold some Northern cities for ransom. The ships had an length between perpendiculars of 224 feet 6 inches (68.4 m), a beam of 42 feet 4 inches (12.9 m), and a draught of 17 feet (5.2 m) at deep load. They displaced 2,751 long tons (2,795 t). The hull was divided by 12 watertight bulkheads and the ships had a double bottom beneath the engine and boiler rooms. Their crew consisted of 152 officers and ratings.
The Scorpion-class ships had two horizontal direct-acting steam engines, built by Lairds, each driving a single propeller shaft, using steam provided by four tubular boilers. The engines produced a total of 1,450 indicated horsepower (1,080 kW) which gave the ships a maximum speed of 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph). The ships carried 336 long tons (341 t) of coal, enough to steam 1,210 nautical miles (2,240 km; 1,390 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). They were barque-rigged with three masts. The funnel was made semi-retractable to reduce wind resistance while under sail.
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Wikipedia