The Euphrates class was a five-ship class of iron screw

Screw propulsion

A screw-propelled vehicle is a land or amphibious vehicle designed to cope with difficult snow and ice or mud and swamp. Such vehicles are distinguished by being moved by the rotation of one or more auger-like cylinders fitted with a helical flange that engages with the medium through or over which...

 troopship

Troopship

A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...

s built for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 during the 1860s. They were used for carrying troops to India, with two of them being later hulked and surviving into the early 20th Century.

Design

The Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

 and Indian Mutiny in the 1850s both required that large numbers of troops be moved across the globe at short notice. Although for both these conflicts commercial shipping companies were able to fulfil all the immediate requirements, it became apparent that there were severe handicaps to the system; in particular the availability of commercial shipping for trooping could not be guaranteed. It was decided to set up a regular service of Government transports and the Navy was ordered to build five specially-designed troopships.

With the Suez Canal due to be opened in 1869, the class was designed within the constraints of the new waterway. Designed to carry an entire battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

 of infantry, the result was a magnificent barque-rigged

Barque

A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...

 steamer of considerable size; with a top speed of 15 knots, and able to take the direct route via the Suez Canal, they were able to reduce the length of the voyage significantly, but perhaps more importantly, the uncertainty in the time needed to make the journey round the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

 was also reduced.

The five ships were ordered from various British shipbuilders, with being built to a slightly different and smaller design. They were lightly armed with three 4-pounder guns, and were initially fitted with a single-expansion trunk engine (except Serapis) and single screw, producing 700 nhp. However the engines were refitted on all of these ships during their active careers. was completed with a 4-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion engine, but was re-engined in 1869 with a 2-cylinder single expansion engine. 's engines were originally 3-cylinder versions, and were modified to the compound type in 1873. The two-cylinder engines of and were also replaced with compound engines in 1873. was also re-engined, albeit somewhat later than her sisters.Winfield does not show a re-engining of Crocodile; this is a misprint and the Errata should be consulted.

Career

The ships spent most of their active careers conveying British troops to and from the Indian subcontinent

Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...

, although other voyages were made, most notably to Canada. Obsolete by the mid-1890s, Serapis, Euphrates and Crocodile were sold for breaking up. Malabar became a base ship at Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

 in 1897, and was renamed HMS Terror in 1901. She was put on the disposal list in 1914 and was sold off in 1918, while Jumna survived as a coal hulk, eventually being sold off in 1922.

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	Ordered	Launched	Fate
	Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf on the west side and at Canning Town on the east side...	1865	2 September 1866	Sold for breaking up on 23 November 1894
	Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as Palmers, was a British shipbuilding company. The Company was based in Jarrow, in Northeast England and also had operations in Hebburn and Willington Quay on the River Tyne....	1865	24 September 1866	Became coal hulk C110 in 1893 Sold as hulk Oceanic in July 1922
	Laird Brothers Cammell Laird Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...	1865	24 November 1866	Sold on 23 November 1894 Resold for breaking up in August 1895
	Robert Napier and Sons Robert Napier (engineer) Robert Napier was a Scottish engineer, and is often called "The Father of Clyde Shipbuilding."-Early life:Robert Napier was born in Dumbarton at the height of the Industrial Revolution, to James and Jean Napier...	1865	8 December 1866Although Winfield has 1865, this is a misprint and should read 1866. Copies of the Errata may be requested from the author.	Became a base ship in 1897 Renamed HMS Terror on 1 May 1901 Sold for breaking up in January 1918.
	Money Wigram and Sons Blackwall Yard Blackwall Yard was a shipyard on the Thames at Blackwall, London, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987...	1865	7 January 1867	Sold for breaking up on 11 May 1894.