HMS Vigilant

HMS Vigilant (1871)

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Name	Vigilant (1871)	Explanation
Type	Dispatch vessel
Launched	17 February 1871
Hull	Wooden
Propulsion	Paddle
Builders measure	835 tons
Displacement	985 tons
Guns	2
Fate	1886
Class
Ships book	ADM 135/495
Note
*Extracts from the Times* newspaper**
Date	Extract
Ma 9 June 1873	THE SHAH OF PERSIA. ... The subjoined Information was made public by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on Saturday afternoon: — "The following are the arrangements of the Admiralty for the reception of His Majesty the Shah of Persia on his embarkation at Ostend and arrival at Dover:— "A squadron of ironclads, under the orders of Rear-Admiral Hornby, will leave Spithead on or about the 18th inst. Her Majesty’s ships Vigilant and Lively and other yachts will embark His Majesty at Ostend early on the morning of the 18th inst. Her Majesty's ships Devastation, Audacious, and Vanguard, will escort His Majesty thence towards Dover, where they will be met by the following ships, under the command of Rear Admiral Hornby:— Agincourt (flag), Northumberland, Black Prince, Achilles, Hercules, Sultan, Monarch, and Hector; and Audacious. Vanguard, and Devastation (to be detached to Ostend and rejoin). The squadron will convoy His Majesty to near Dover Pier, where His Majesty will land. On joining the ships at Ostend and the channel squadron, and on landing, His Majesty will be received with the usual salutes and ceremonies due to His Majesty's exalted rank." At Devonport and Keyham the following vessels are being prepared and equipped to take part in the naval review at Spithead:—The Zealous, 20, wood built, armour-plated, screw ship; the double screw, iron, armour-plated turret-ships Gorgon, 4; Hecate, 4; Hydra, 4; and Cyclops, 4; the Prince Albert, 4, screw, armour-plated, iron turret-ship; the Hotspur, 3, double screw, iron, armour-plated ram; the Waterwitch, 4, iron, armour-plated, hydraulic gun-boat; the Goshawk, 4, and the Swinger, 4, screw composite gunboats; the Plucky, 1, screw gunboat; and the Lively, paddle despatch vessel (the latter being intended to join the escort). Besides these vessels, the ironclads Northumberland, 28, Agincourt, 28, and Vanguard, 14, have lately left Devonport for the rendezvous of the fleet at Spithead. On the 17th of June it is anticipated that the Channel Fleet will be lying off Dover to await the arrival of the Shah of Persia, and it is proposed for the yachts of the Royal Cinque Ports Club to go out on Wednesday and sail as a squadron to meet the Shah, and to return to Dover with the Ironclad Fleet.
Th 18 January 1877	Our Hongkong Correspondent writes under date the 14th of December last:— "Her Majesty's ships of war in harbour are the Audacious (flag-ship of Vice-Admiral Ryder), Fly, Growler, Nassau, Ringdove and Vigilant. The orders for the Ringdove to leave here on the 16th of December for England have been countermanded. She will now probably be paid off here, thoroughly repaired by the Naval-yard authorities and re-commissioned with the crew of the Lapwing, her present officers and crew returning to England in the troopship Himalaya. By last advances of the 30th of November, the Charybdis, Frolic, and Mosquito remained by the Lapwing at Chan-shan-tan Island. The weather continued fine, but the chances of getting her afloat were very much against her. The Curlew at Tien-tsin, remains there for the winter. The Growler, after a thorough repair to het boilers, has completed her stores, and proceeds to Amoy in the place of the Fly, ordered to remain in Hongkong.
Tu 27 November 1877	The Euphrates left Port Said on the 24th inst. for Malta and Portsmouth. Letters have been received from Commodore Sullivan, in the Active, in Simon's Bay, up to the 29th of October. The Industry would convey Mr. Stanley, the explorer, and his followers to Zanzibar. Letters have been received from Admiral Ryder, in the Audacious, at Hongkong, up to the 11th ult.; he would there await the arrival of his successor. The Sheldrake had returned from Ichang to Hankow. The Lily had gone from Nagasaki to Chinkiang. The Midge left on the 24th of September for Tientsin, where she will winter. The Frolic was still in dock at Shanghai, after collision. The Growler was ordered from the Dindings up to Hongkong, where she will be docked. The Vigilant had been docked. The health of the Squadron was satisfactory.

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