HMS Acheron (1838)
HMS Acheron was a Hermes-class wooden paddle sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Sheerness in 1838. Between 1848 and 1851 she made a coastal survey of New Zealand, the first such survey since Captain Cook. She was sold at Sydney in 1855.
.jpg) Acheron in New Zealand | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | HMS Acheron |
| Ordered: | 15 September 1837[Note 1][1] |
| Builder: | Sheerness dockyard |
| Cost: | £25,509[Note 2] |
| Laid down: | October 1837[1] |
| Launched: | 23 August 1838[1] |
| Commissioned: | 8 January 1839[1] |
| Fate: |
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| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | Hermes-class sloop |
| Displacement: | 1,006 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 715 43/94 bm |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 32 ft 9 in (10.0 m) |
| Draught: |
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| Depth of hold: | 18 ft 2 in (5.5 m) |
| Installed power: | 160 nominal horsepower |
| Propulsion: |
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| Sail plan: | 3-masted barque rigged |
| Complement: | 135 |
| Armament: |
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Career
Acheron, under the command of Captain John Lort Stokes, was despatched to New Zealand in January 1848, arriving in November the same year.[2] In March 1851, due to a budget cut to the Hydrographer of the Navy, Acheron was ordered to be laid up in Sydney, New South Wales and her crew returned to England.[2][3] However, in November 1851, she was sent to rescue the passengers and crew of the British merchant ship Syrian, which had run aground on the Elizabeth Reef whilst on a voyage from Wellington, New Zealand to Sydney.[4] In July 1853, she rescued the passengers and crew of the British barque Tory, which had been wrecked north of Port Stephens, New South Wales.[5]
Notes
- Acheron was ordered from Chatham dockyard on 15 September 1837, but this was changed to Sheerness on 18 September, because the relevant tooling was already present there.
- A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £2,313,700 in 2010.
References
- Winfield (2004) p.158
- Ritchie, Steve (1 January 2008). "By the Old Hydrographer". Hydro International.
- Natusch, Sheila. "John Lort Stokes". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- "Ship News". The Times (21066). London. 18 March 1852. col F, p. 7.
- "Shipping". The Morning Chronicle (27099). London. 31 October 1853.
- 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.
- Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6.