HMS Beagle was a wooden-hulled Arrow-class

Arrow class gunvessel

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.-Design:...

 second-class screw gunvessel launched in 1854 and sold in 1863. She was the third vessel of 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...

 to use the name.

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...

 sparked a sudden need for shallow-draught, manoeuvrable vessels for inshore work in the Baltic

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 and the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

. 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 Leamouth

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...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Two further designs of Crimean War gunvessel were ordered during 1855, the Intrepid class

Intrepid class gunvessel

Intrepid-class gunvessels were a class of six Royal Navy first-class wooden gunvessels built in 1855-56. They were rated as sloops from 1859 to 1862,Except Victor, which remained a gunvessel throughout the period and were scrapped by 1865...

 and the Vigilant class

Vigilant class gunvessel

The Vigilant-class gunvessel of the Royal Navy was an enlarged version of the Arrow-class gunvessel of 1854. Both classes were designed for shallow-water operations in the Baltic and Black Seas during the Crimean War. Fourteen of the class were completed, but were ready too late to take part in...

. The class was built as despatch vessels, but in 1856 were redesignated as second-class gunvessels.

Propulsion

A two-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine supplied by Humphrys, Tennant & Dykes provided 160 hp through a single screw.

Armament

The Arrow class were provided with two 68-pounder Lancaster muzzle-loading rifled guns

68-Pounder Lancaster gun

68-Pounder Lancaster guns were a rifled muzzle-loading cannon that fired a 68 pound shell. They were fitted in pairs to the Arrow-class gunvessel. The cannon was designed with an oval bore and had a range of about 6500 yards. The gun suffered from a tendency to burst....

 weighing 95 long cwt (4,826.2 kg) on pivot mounts, and four 32-pounder 25 long cwt (1,270.1 kg) guns.

Construction

Beagle was laid down at the Leamouth yard of C J Mare & 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...

 on 15 April 1854 and launched on 20 July the same year. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy two months later on 3 September.

Career

Beagle took part in 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...

 from 1854 to 1856. During the Crimean War, two of her ship's company were awarded the Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

 for their actions: Joseph Trewavas

Joseph Trewavas

Joseph Trewavas VC CGM was a British) recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...

 was awarded the VC for his actions in the Sea of Azov

Sea of Azov

The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...

, and an acting-mate in Beagle, Wiliam Hewett

William Nathan Wrighte Hewett

Vice Admiral Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett VC, KCB, KCSI was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Life:Hewett was born at Brighton to Dr. William Hewett,...

, was awarded the VC for his actions in defending a shore battery.

Disposal

Beagle was sold to the Japanese army

Imperial Japanese Army

-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

 at Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

in 1863 to be used as a training vessel, and was renamed Kanko in 1865. She was broken up in 1889.