HMS Falcon (1854)
HMS Falcon (1854)


Royal NavyVessels

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NameFalcon (1854)Explanation
TypeSloop   
Launched10 August 1854   
HullWooden Length160 feet
PropulsionScrew   
Builders measure748 tons   
Displacement1139 tons   
Guns17   
Fate1869 Last in commission1868
Class  Class (as screw)Cruizer
Ships bookADM 135/166   
Career
DateEvent
10 August 1854Launched at Pembroke Dockyard.
7 February 1855
- 10 May 1856
Commanded (from commissioning at Portsmouth) by Commander William John Samuel Pullen, Portsmouth, then the Baltic during the Russian War
10 May 1856
- 25 August 1857
Commanded (until paying off at Portsmouth) by Commander Hubert Campion, North America and West Indies
4 May 1859
- 9 January 1861
Commanded (from commissioning at Portsmouth) by Commander Arthur George Fitzroy, west coast of Africa (until Fitzroy died)
(10 January 1861)
- 6 October 1862
Commanded (until paying off at Portsmouth) by Commander Algernon Charles Fieschi Heneage, west coast of Africa
20 October 1863
- 23 June 1866
Commanded (from commissioning at Portsmouth) by Commander George Henry Parkin, Australia (during the New Zealand War)
16 April 1866
- 12 June 1866
Commanded by Commander Arthur Rodney Owen, Australia
12 June 1866
- 19 September 1867
Commanded by Commander William Hans Blake, Australia
19 September 1867
- 3 October 1868
Commanded (until paying off at Woolwich) by Commander Henry Legge Perceval, Australia
27 September 1869Sold to C. Marshall for breaking up at Plymouth.
Extracts from the Times newspaper
DateExtract
We 22 August 1860Her Majesty’s sloop Elk, 12, Commander H. Campion, which was paid off at Chatham yesterday, has been in commission upwards of four years, during which period she has seen a great deal of active service both in China and in other distant parts of the world. She was commissioned at Chatham on the 6th of May, 1856, by Commander J. Hamilton, who was succeeded in August, 1858, by Commander Campion, formerly of the Vulcan, 6, [should be: Falcon] on being promoted. The Elk, on leaving England, proceeded to China, and formed one of the squadron engaged in the Chinese waters until the termination of hostilities. The whole of the crew who could be spared formed a portion of the naval brigade under Commodore Stevens [should be Stewart], of the Nankin, 50, and were present at the capture of Canton, and other places. After the discontinuance of operations in the China seas, the Elk sailed from Hongkong for Australia in the month of April, 1858, and after arriving was employed for several months in making a minute search along the coast and through every part of Bass's Straits for Her Majesty's missing ship Sappho, but without success. The Elk left Sydney on the 1st of March for Auckland, which was reached on the 12th of March, just at the time the insurrection was raging in New Zealand. A portion of the crew and several of the ship's guns were landed to form a part of the naval brigade, and the men volunteering for this service were left behind. On the 26th of April the Elk left Auckland for England, at which time the following vessels of Her Majesty were at New Zealand — viz., the Iris, 26, Commodore W. Loring, C.B.; the Pelorus, 21, screw corvette, Commodore F.B.P. Seymour; the Niger, 13, screw steamer, Capt. P. Cracroft; and the Cordelia, 11, screw steamer, Commander C.E.H. Vernon. During the voyage home, and when near the entrance to the river Plate, the ship was caught in a tremendous typhoon, which raged for 48 hours, during which the vessel suffered severely, and it was only by the very best seamanship that vessel and crew were not lost. The Elk, since she has been in commission, has been constantly employed on service, and has sailed over upwards of 132,000 miles. Upwards of 20 of her crew have died from cholera, dysentery, and other causes, exclusive of a number invalided home. The crew have been exceedingly well-behaved, and the infliction of corporal punishment has been very rare. On the crew being paid off yesterday a silver medal, together with a gratuity of 10l., was awarded by the Admiralty to John Turner, captain of the after-guard, for good conduct and long service. The Elk, which is in very good condition, is to be attached to the reserve ordinary at Chatham. Second Lieut. O'Grady and the boatswain of the ship are under arrest, awaiting their trial by court-martial.
Tu 24 January 1865The ships of war on the Australian station at the date of the last advices were ? the Harrier, 17, Acting-Commander Swan, at New Zealand; the Miranda, 14, Capt. Jenkins, at Sydney; the Eclipse, 4, Commander Fremantle, at New Zealand; the Cura?oa, 23, Commodore Sir W. Wiseman, at New Zealand; the Esk, 21, Capt. Luice, at Sydney; the Falcon, 17, Commander Parkin, at New Zealand; and the Salamander, 4, Commander the Hon. J. Carnegie, at Sydney.


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