The Philomel-class gunvessel was a class of wooden-hulled screw-driven second-class gunvessels built for the Royal Navy between 1859 and 1867, of which 26 were ordered but only 20 completed. They had a mixed history, with some serving for as little as 5 years, and others surviving into the 1880s. Two of the class were sold and used as Arctic exploration vessels, both eventually being lost in the ice.

Design

The Philomel-class gunvessels were an enlargement of the earlier Algerine-class gunboat of 1856

Algerine class gunboat

The Algerine-class gunboats were a class of five 3-gun wooden gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1857...

. The first pair of the class were ordered as "new style steam schooners" on 1 April 1857, another three were ordered on 27 March 1758 and a sixth on 8 April 1859; all were built in the naval dockyards. All six were re-classified as second-class gunvessels on 8 June 1859.

With this new classification, a further twelve of the class were ordered by the Admiralty on 14 June 1859, receiving their names on 24 September the same year. They were constructed of wood in contract yards and then fitted out at naval dockyards. Another six of the class were ordered on 5 March 1860 for construction in naval dockyards, with a final pair ordered in 1961. Of these final eight, six were subsequently cancelled, and one, Newport was suspended for 4 years.

Propulsion

The Philomel class were fitted with a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine and a single screw (Ranger had a single-trunk engine). The engine, which was produced by a range of contractors, including George Rennie & Sons

George Rennie (engineer)

George Rennie was an engineer born in London, England. He was the son of the Scottish engineer John Rennie and the brother of Sir John Rennie.-Early life:...

 and Robert Napier & 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...

, was intended to produce a notional horsepower of 80nhp, which equated to about 325 ihp. This was sufficient for a speed under steam alone of about 9.5 knots (18.6 km/h).

Armament

Ships of the class were armed with a 68-pounder 95 cwt muzzle-loading smooth-bore gun, two 24-pounder howitzers and two 20-pounder breech-loading guns. All ships of the class later had the 68-pounder replaced by a 7-inch/110-pounder breech-loading gun.

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	|Ordered	|Launched	|Fate
	Deptford Dockyard	1 April 1857	26 November 1859	Sold to Messrs. Isaacs on 3 November 1869
	Pembroke Dockyard	1 April 1857	7 January 1860	Became dredger YC19 in 1869, later to Bermuda where she was broken up in June 1881
	Deptford Dockyard	27 March 1858	27 March 1860	Sold for mercantile use in September 1869, and renamed Walrus
	Pembroke Dockyard	27 March 1858	15 September 1860	Harbour service in 1879. RNR training ship at Hull in 1885. Sold to W R James on 10 July 1906
	Deptford Dockyard	27 March 1858	12 February 1861	Broken up at Chatham in July 1876
	Pembroke Dockyard	8 April 1859	7 February 1861	Sold for Arctic Exploration on 13 January 1875 and renamed USS Jeannette USS Jeannette (1878) The first USS Jeannette was originally HMS Pandora, a Philomel-class gunvessel of the Royal Navy, and was purchased in 1875 by Sir Allen Young for his arctic voyages in 1875-1876. The ship was purchased in 1878 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., owner of the New York Herald; and renamed Jeannette...  in 1881. Crushed by ice on 13 June 1881
	Money Wigram & Son, Blackwall Yard	14 June 1859	25 January 1860	Breaking completed at Sheerness on 20 March 1875
	C J Mare & Company, Leamouth	14 June 1859	10 March 1860	Renamed Kangaroo on 1 April 1882. Broken up in December 1884
	J Scott Russell, Millwall	14 June 1859	5 May 1860	Broken up at Sheerness in May 1868
	J Scott Russell, Millwall	14 June 1859	7 July 1860	Broken up by Marshall at Plymouth in 1868
	R & H Green, Blackwall Yard	14 June 1859	24 December 1859	Broken up at Malta in September 1881
	R & H Green, Blackwall Yard	14 June 1859	19 January 1860	Sold as a merchant vessel on 12 September 1865, renamed Hawk, and wrecked in 1876
	William Cowley Miller, Toxteth Dock, Liverpool	14 June 1859	8 February 1860	Sold to Lethbridge & Drew for breaking on 26 February 1870
	William Cowley Miller, Toxteth Dock, Liverpool	14 June 1859	8 February 1860	Sold to W & T Jolliffe on 12 May 1870
	Money Wigram & Company, Northam	14 June 1859	6 June 1860	Broken up at Portsmouth in August 1868
	William Pitcher, Northfleet	14 June 1859	25 February 1860	Collided with Pandora off Little Popo in West Africa on 2 October 1866 and stranded
	Charles Lungley, Rotherhithe	14 June 1859	3 February 1860	Sold at Hong Kong for mercantile use on 25 April 1872, renamed Formosa
	J. & R. White, Cowes	14 June 1859	10 March 1860	Sold back to White, Cowes, for breaking on 2 June 1865
	Pembroke Dockyard	5 March 1860	20 July 1867	Suspended during 1862/63. Survey ship in April 1868. Sold for mercantile use in May 1881, renamed Blencathra; subsequently wrecked on 11 June 1881 but salved. Renamed Pandora in 1899 and sold in 1912 to Georgy Brusilov Georgy Brusilov Georgy Lvovich Brusilov or Hryhoriy Brusylov was a Ukrainian Russian naval officer of the Imperial Russian Navy and an Arctic explorer...  for his ill-fated Arctic expedition Brusilov Expedition The Brusilov Expedition was a Russian maritime expedition to the Arctic led by Captain Georgy Brusilov, which set out in 1912 to explore and map a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via a northeast passage known as the Northern Sea Route. The expedition was ill-planned and ill-executed... . Renamed Svyataya Anna Svyataya Anna The ship Svyataya Anna , named after Saint Anne, was the Philomel-class gunvessel HMS Newport launched in England in 1867. She was sold in 1881 and renamed Pandora II. She was purchased again in about 1890 and renamed Blencathra, taking part in expeditions to the north coast of Russia...  and lost in the Arctic between sometime after 1914.
Alban	Deptford Dockyard	5 March 1860		Suspended during 1862/63 and cancelled on 12 December 1863
Jaseur	Deptford Dockyard	5 March 1860	15 May 1862	Sold to the Commissioners of Irish Lights Commissioners of Irish Lights The Commissioners of Irish Lights is the body that serves as the lighthouse authority for Ireland plus its adjacent seas and islands... in December 1874
Humber	Pembroke Dockyard	5 March 1860		Cancelled on 12 December 1863
Undine	Deptford Dockyard	5 March 1860		Cancelled on 12 December 1863
Rye	Pembroke Dockyard	5 March 1860		Cancelled on 12 December 1863 (never laid down)
Portia	Deptford Dockyard	1861		Cancelled on 12 December 1863 (never started)
Discovery	Deptford Dockyard	1861		Cancelled on 12 December 1863 (never started)