HMS Nankin

HMS Nankin (1850)

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Name	Nankin (1850)	Explanation
Type	Fourth rate
Launched	16 March 1850
Hull	Wooden
Propulsion	Sail
Builders measure	2049 tons
Displacement	2540 tons
Guns	50
Fate	1905
Class
Ships book
Note	1866 hospital hulk. 1895 sold
Snippets concerning this vessels career
Date	Event
21 September 1854 - 18 February 1859	Commanded by Captain Keith Stewart, East Indies
26 November 1857	Commanded by Commodore Keith Stewart, flagship of Commodore Keith Stewart, East Indies and China (including 2nd Anglo-Chinese War)
6 March 1872 - 19 March 1875	Commanded by Captain Richard William Courtenay, and Superintendent of Pembroke Yard
(16 October 1877) - 15 October 1882	Commanded by Captain George Henry Parkin, receiving ship, Pembroke, and Superintendent of Pembroke dockyard
2 January 1886 - 23 June 1887	Commanded by Captain Edward Kelly, receiving ship, Pembroke, and Captain Superintendent of Pembroke dockyard
*Extracts from the Times* newspaper**
Date	Extract
We 22 August 1860	Her 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.

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