HMS Cormorant was an Osprey-classsloop launched at Chatham on 12 September 1877 and later the receiving ship at Gibraltar. She was renamed Rooke in 1946 and broken up in 1949.
Design
The Osprey class were of composite construction, with wooden hulls over an iron frame. They were designed by the Chief Constructor, William Henry White and five were ordered. Of 1,130 tons displacement and approximately 950 indicated horsepower (710 kW), they were capable of approximately 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) and were armed with two 7-inch muzzle-loading rifled guns on pivoting mounts, and four 64-pounder guns (two on pivoting mounts, and two broadside). They had a crew complement of approximately 140 men.
Construction
Cormorant was laid down at Chatham Royal Dockyard in 1875 and launched on 12 September 1877.[1] She was commissioned on 2 July 1878.[1]
Operational history
The primary purpose of ships of the class was to maintain British naval dominance through trade protection, anti-slavery, and surveying.
^"Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36085. London. 9 March 1900. p. 12.
^"Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36871. London. 12 September 1902. p. 4.
^"Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36913. London. 31 October 1902. p. 8.
Bibliography
Ballard, G. A. (1939). "British Sloops of 1875: The Larger Ram-Bowed Type". Mariner's Mirror. 25 (January). Cambridge, UK: Society for Nautical Research: 35–49. doi:10.1080/00253359.1939.10657318.
Colledge, J. J.; Wardlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-5267-9327-0.
Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC52620555.