Nymphe-class sloop

The Nymphe class was a class of four screw composite sloops built for the Royal Navy between 1885 and 1888. As built they were armed with four 4-inch guns and four 3-pounder guns.

HMS Nymphe, name ship of the Nymphe class
Class overview
Name	Nymphe class
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Satellite class
Succeeded by	Beagle class
Built	1885–1888
In commission	1885–1921
Completed	4
General characteristics
Type	Screw composite sloop
Displacement	1140 tons
Length	195 ft (59 m) pp
Beam	28 ft (8.5 m)
Draught	12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Installed power	Swallow, Daphne: 1,570 ihp (1,170 kW) Buzzard, Nymphe: 2,000 ihp (1,500 kW)
Propulsion	Horizontal triple-expansion steam engine Twin screws
Sail plan	Barquentine rigged
Speed	Swallow, Daphne: 13.5 kn (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) Buzzard, Nymphe: 14.5 kn (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)
Range	3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Armament	8 × BL 5-inch (127.0 mm) guns 4 × 1-inch Nordenfeldt machine guns 4 × .45-inch Gardner machine guns

Design

Built to a design by William Henry White, Director of Naval Construction, Nymphe and her sister ships were constructed of an iron frame sheathed with teak and copper (hence 'composite'), and powered by both sails and a steam engine delivering 1,570 to 2,000 indicated horsepower (1,170 to 1,490 kW) through twin screws.

Employment

Although made obsolete by quickly changing naval technology, these sloops were ideal for operations in the far distant outposts of the British Empire in the late 19th century. Swallow served on the South Atlantic Station, Buzzard on the North America and West Indies Station and Nymphe on the Pacific Station. Daphne served on the China Station, and it was in June 1900 that she brought ammunition into Shanghai during the Boxer Rebellion. Nymphe and Buzzard survived until after World War I as harbour training ships.

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	Launched	Fate
Nymphe	Portsmouth Dockyard	1 May 1888	Shore training ship at Sheerness from Aug 1914, later renamed Wildfire and sold in 1920
Buzzard	Sheerness Dockyard	10 May 1887	Renamed President on 1 April 1911 and sold on 6 September 1921
Daphne	Sheerness Dockyard	29 May 1888	Sold 1904
Swallow	Sheerness Dockyard	27 October 1885	Sold 1904

Buzzard at Blackfriars, London in June 1907 as a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve training ship

References

• 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. OCLC 52620555.
• Preston, Antony; Major, John (2007). Send a Gunboat: The Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea, 1854–1904 (2nd ed.). London: Conway. ISBN 978-0-85177-923-2.