RN Corvettes: Comus Class

[Brian James]

Lead Ship,Corvette HMS Comus pictured at Nagasaki in 1880.She was reclassified in 1888 as a Third-Class Cruiser,launched in April 1878, the vessel was built by Messrs. J. Elder & Co of Glasgow at a cost of ₤123,000.
Comus and her classmates were built during a period of naval transition. Sail was giving way to steam, wooden hulls to metal, and smooth-bore muzzleloading guns to naval rifles. Comus shows this transition; she was driven by both sails and a reciprocating steam engine; her hull was iron and steel but sheathed with wood and copper; and some of her muzzle loading guns were replaced by rifled breech loaders.
Comus was active for about two decades, but in that time went to the ends of empire, from the British Isles to the Caribbean and Nova Scotia to southwest Africa in the western hemisphere, and in the eastern, from the southern Indian Ocean to the northwest Pacific,Japan and from the China station to the Strait of Magellan. In late February 1900 she was ordered to return to Britain, where her officers and crew were turned over to HMS Charybdis, which took the place of Comus on the North America and West Indies Station.Comus paid off that same year, and was stricken in 1902 and was sold on May 17th 1904 for ₤3625, and was broken up at Barrow byscrappers Messrs Thos W Ward.

[jbryce1437]

Thanks Brian, A couple more of Comus Class:

HMS Canada

HMS Canada.jpg

HMS Carysfort

hms carysfort 1886 [1].jpg

[Brian James]

Comus Class Corvette HMS Champion (later classified as a Third Class Cruiser), pictured c1881.....Built at J. Elder & Co Shipyards,(later known as Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Limited), Glasgow and launched on July 1st 1878, commissioned on December 7th 1880...Champion was a single-screw vessel designed for distant cruising service for the British Empire. The intention of the RN was to use the class as Scout Vessel for the fleet, but due to their slow speed, the class was mainly used for protection across the globe. Built with iron frames and steel plating, Champion was sheathed with two layers of teak wood and sheathed with copper. The hull was unprotected except for a 1.5 inches of armour over the machinery spaces, with some additional protection offered by the coal bunkers flanking the engine spaces and magazines. They marked a dramatic step forward in basic habitability, with improved below-decks ventilation, a sick bay, bathroom for ratings and even a ship’s library...Champion had a ship rig, with squaresails on all three masts. She and her Class were among the last of the sailing Cruisers. The vessel was also equipped with a steam engine driving a single screw with 2,590 indicated horsepower; to reduce resistance, this propeller could be hoisted into a slot cut in the keel when she was under sail..Champion initially carried two 7-inch muzzle-loading rifles, four breechloading 6-inch 80-pounder guns and eight 64-pdr muzzle-loading rifles, but the breech loaders proved unsatisfactory and were replaced in 1885 with four 6 inch BL MK III, eight 5 inch BL MK III, four QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss and two light guns, six machine guns and two torpedo carriages. During the First World War she was moored in the middle of the Thames between Cliffe Fort and Coalhouse Fort, where she was used by the River Examination Service to control river traffic. On June 23rd 1919, her hulk was sold to Hughes Bolckow, Blyth for scrapping.

[Brian James]

Comus Class Corvette HMS Curacoa (later classified as a Third Class Cruiser) pictured c1889...She was built at John Elder & Co., Govan, and launched on April 18th 1878..She commenced service on the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station before being transferred to the Australia Station arriving on August 5th 1890. She left the Australia Station in December 1894..Recently discovered log books from descendants of Mr.(Cptn) J.P. Shipton, record the journey to Australia. Daily logs show Curacoa leaving port in the UK on April 1st 1889, with stops at Perth, Albany, Adelaide, Launceston, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Auckland, Lyttleton, and the final entry shows December 31st 1890, in port at Lyttleton New Zealand.
Curacoa was sent to the Ellice Islands and between 9th and 16th October 1892 Captain Gibson visited each of the islands to make a formal declaration that the islands were to be a British Protectorate. In June 1893 Captain Gibson visited the southern Solomon islands and made the formal declaration of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. Her later years were spent as a Training Cruiser. In February–March 1900 she visited Madeira, Las Palmas and Sao Vicente, Cape Verde, Commander Herbert Lyon in command. She was sold in May 1904 to King of Garston, Liverpool for breaking up.

[Brian James]

Comus Class, Third Class Cruiser HMS Canada pictured in Halifax Graving Dock in 1889.

[Brian James]

Comus Class, Third Class Cruiser HMS Cordelia pictured at Port Melbourne in 1890...She was built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched on October 25th 1881. She commenced service on the China Station before being transferred to the Australia Station arriving in April 1890. On June 29th 1891, during gun practice while on a cruise from Fiji to Nouméa, a 6 inch gun burst killing six and injuring thirteen crew. She left the Australia Station in late 1891. She was sold on July 5th 1904 for breaking up. The mast at the Boys Training Establishment HMS Ganges was the foremast of Cordelia.