HMS Messenger (1830)

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Messenger
In service	1830
Fate	Converted to coal depot 1840; Broken up 1861;
General characteristics
Displacement	912 long tons (927 t)
Tons burthen	733 44/94 (bm) initially; 759 33/94 after lengthening;
Length	155 ft 6 in (47.4 m); 133 ft 4 in (40.6 m) (keel); 159 ft 0 in (48.5 m) (after lengthening); 137 ft 3+1⁄4 in (41.8 m) (keel after lengthening);
Beam	32 ft 9 in (10.0 m) ; 32 ft 3 in (9.8 m) (for tonnage);
Draught	10 ft 3 in (3.1 m) (forward); 10 ft 9 in (3.3 m) (aft);
Installed power	2-cylinder side-lever 80 nhp (originally); 2x Maudslay, Sons and Field engines 200 nhp total (after lengthening);
Propulsion	2-cylinder side lever engines; Side paddles;
Speed	8.8 mph (7.6 kn; 14.2 km/h)
Armament	1 x 12-pounder carronade

HMS Messenger was a wooden paddle ship, built in 1824 by Benjamin Wallis at Blackwall as Duke of York, and renamed Messenger when purchased by the Royal Navy on 20 August 1830 for £12,481. Initially she was rated as a paddle packet. In 1831, she was re-engined and lengthened by 31⁄2 feet (4.7 m) at a cost of £12,560.^[1] At around this time she was re-rated as a sloop. She passed Gibraltar in 1830, according to Earl of Beaconsfield's letters en route to Cadiz, Spain. It was reported Benjamin Disraeli was on the boat.^[2] She was fitted as a coal depot from May–December 1840, and sold to Henry Castle & Son to be broken up on 22 November 1861.^[3]^[1]

Her sister ship, George IV, was also purchased by the Royal Navy for a total cost (including Messenger) of £24,977 9s. 4d., and renamed Hermes.^[4]

Propulsion[edit]

The paddle wheels were 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter and 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. After her lengthening, she was re-engined with 2 engines of 100 nominal horse power each. Her cylinders were 52+3⁄8 inches (1.33 m) in diameter, with a 5 foot (1.5 m) stroke. She obtained a speed of 8.8 miles per hour (14.2 km/h) on trials with 150 short tons (140 t) of fuel loaded. Fuel consumption was about 16 long hundredweight (810 kg) of coal per hour at an average speed of 5+1⁄2 knots (10.2 km/h). Her fuel capacity was 240 long tons (240 t) of coal, and with this load her displacement was 935 long tons (950 t).^[5]

Commissions[edit]

1830: under Lieutenant William Frederick Lapidge
20 May 1830: under Lieutenant Benjamin Aplin, as a Falmouth packet
May 1834: under John King as a transport
27 July 1840: as a coal depot^[1]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Winfield, Rif (2014). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817–1863: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-169-4.
^ Disraeli, B.; Disraeli, R. (1887). Lord Beaconsfield's Letters, 1830-1852. Murray. p. 14. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
^ "Mid-Victorian RN vessel HMS Messenger". pdavis.nl. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
^ Parliamentary Papers. (1847). United Kingdom: H.M. Stationery Office. [1] p. 429
^ Report from the Select Committee on Steam-navigation to India: With the Minutes of Evidence, Appendix and Index. (1834). United Kingdom: (n.p.).[2] pp. 99-100

This article about a specific naval ship or boat of the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[:0-1] Winfield, Rif (2014). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817–1863: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-169-4.

[google-2] Disraeli, B.; Disraeli, R. (1887). Lord Beaconsfield's Letters, 1830-1852. Murray. p. 14. Retrieved 22 November 2019.

[pdavis-3] "Mid-Victorian RN vessel HMS Messenger". pdavis.nl. Retrieved 22 November 2019.

[4] Parliamentary Papers. (1847). United Kingdom: H.M. Stationery Office. [1] p. 429

[5] Report from the Select Committee on Steam-navigation to India: With the Minutes of Evidence, Appendix and Index. (1834). United Kingdom: (n.p.).[2] pp. 99-100

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