Contents

Arrow-class gunvessel

HMS Beagle and WranglerbySir Oswald Brierly, 1855
Class overview
Name	Arrow class gunvessels
Builders	list error: <br /> list (help) C J Mare & Company, Blackwall R & H Green, Blackwall
Operators	list error: <br /> list (help)  Royal Navy Japanese Army
Cost	£21,234 (Arrow) - £24,860 (Wrangler)[1]
Built	1854
In commission	1854–1866
Completed	6
Lost	0
General characteristics
Displacement	586 tons
Length	160 ft (49 m)
Beam	25 ft (7.6 m)
Draught	11.7 ft (3.6 m)[1]
Propulsion	list error: <br /> list (help) 2-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine Single screw[1]
Sail plan	Barque-rigged
Complement	65
Armament	list error: mixed text and list (help) Two 68pdr (95cwt) Lancaster MLR on pivots Four 32-pounder (25cwt) guns[1]

The Arrow class comprised six second-class screw-driven vessels built as despatch vessels for the Royal Navy in 1854, mounting 6 guns. In 1856 they were redesignated as second-class gunvessels.

Construction

Design

The Crimean War sparked a sudden need for shallow-draught, manoeuvrable vessels for inshore work in the Baltic and the Black Sea. The Arrow class of six wooden-hulled screw steamers were built during 1854 to a design by the Surveyor’s Department. Construction was undertaken at two commercial yards on the Thames, R & H Green and C J Mare & Company, both of Blackwall.^[1] Two further designs of Crimean War gunvessel were ordered during 1855, the Intrepid class and the Vigilant class, and in 1856 the six Arrow Class despatch vessels were re-classed as second-class gunvessels.

Propulsion

A two-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine provided 160 horsepower (119 kW) through a single screw.^[1]

Sail Plan

All Arrow-class gunvessels were barque-rigged.^[1]

Armament

The Arrow class were provided with two 68-pounder Lancaster Muzzle Loading Rifles weighing 95 long cwt (4,800 kg) on pivot mounts, and four 32-pounder 25 long cwt (1,300 kg) guns.

Ships

Operational Lives

Wrangler was sent to the Baltic on completion, and the others of the class to the Black Sea where they took part in the Crimean War. The Lancaster guns were not entirely successful and the class had their armament reduced, being employed in their original designation as despatch vessels.

See also

Media related to Arrow class gunvessel at Wikimedia Commons

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.