| Name | Scout (1856) | Explanation | |
| Type | Corvette | ||
| Launched | 30 December 1856 | ||
| Hull | Wooden | Length | 200 feet |
| Propulsion | Screw | ||
| Builders measure | |||
| Displacement | 2187 tons | ||
| Guns | 21 | ||
| Fate | 1877 | Last in commission | 1875 |
| Class | Class (as screw) | Pearl | |
| Ships book | |||
| Career | |||
| Date | Event | ||
| 30 December 1856 | Launched al Woolwich Dockyard. | ||
| 11 June 1859 - 22 April 1864 | Commanded (from commissioning at Sheerness until paying off at Sheerness) by Captain John Corbett, East Indies and China | ||
| 17 May 1865 - June 1865 | Commanded (from commissioning at Sheerness) by Captain Charles Henry May, Pacific | ||
| 22 May 1865 - 5 May 1869 | Commanded by Captain John Adolphus Pope Price, Pacific | ||
| 2 March 1871 - 2 June 1875 | Commanded (from commissioning at Sheerness until paying off at Sheerness) by Captain Ralph Peter Cator, Pacific | ||
| 6 March 1877 | Breaking up at Chatham completed. | ||
| Extracts from the Times newspaper | |||
| Date | Extract | ||
| We 8 September 1858 | The Commander-in-Chief at Sheerness, on the 6th inst. inspected the Colossus, 80 guns, the Royal George, 102 guns, the Emerald, 51 guns, and the Scout, 21 guns, all advanced screw steamships, an Admiralty order having been received to report what time wonld be required to get them ready for foreign service. | ||
| Ma 22 August 1859 | Eight out of the 11 vessels forming that portion of the Channel fleet at Spithead left that anchorage under steam on Saturday. Early in the morning indications were given of their approaching departure; royal yards were crossed, funnels raised, and fires lit. At noon Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Howe Fremantle, K.C.B., embarked on board his barge from the sallyport stairs, and proceeded on board the Royal Albert, which, with the remainder of the squadron, had steam up, and was hove short. It was 3 p.m. before the fleet was fairly under way, the Royal Albert leading as far as the Nab Light, when the Flying Fish, 6, screw, Commander C. W. Hope, was sent ahead of the Royal Albert, and took up her position as look-out vessel to the squadron. Scarcely a ripple was on the water, and a more magnificent sight could not be imagined than the ships presented as they steamed round the east end of the Wight in the order named:- The Flying Fish, screw, 6, Commander C. W. Hope; the Royal Albert, 131, screw, Captain E. B. Rice, bearing the flag (red at the mizen) of Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Howe Fremantle, K.C.B.; the Algiers, 91, screw, Captain G.W.D. O'Callaghan; the James Watt, 91, screw, Captain E. Codd; the Agamemnon, 91, screw, Captain T. Hope; the Hero, 91, screw, Captain G.H. Seymour; the Diadem, 32, screw, Capt. W. Moorsom, C.B.; and the Emerald, 51, screw, Capt. A. Cumming. The Mersey was detained at Spithead on her experimental screw trials, her third attempt at the measured mile on Saturday again proving a failure, owing to the continued priming of her boilers. The ships at present at Spithead comprise the Trafalgar, 91, screw, Capt. E.G. Fanshawe; the Mersey, 40, screw, Capt. H. Caldwell, C.B.; and the Scout, 21, screw, Capt. John Corbett, the above three vessels belonging to the Channel fleet; the Sidon, 22, paddle, Capt. R.B. Crawford, and the Pioneer, 6, screw, Commander Hugh Reilley, both ordered on foreign service, and the Gorgon, 6, paddle, Commander Bedford C. Pim | ||
| Sa 12 November 1864 | The following is the list of the vessels of the Royal navy which will be armed, and are now being armed, with the new description of 300-pounder and other guns in course of issue. The figures after each vessel specify the number of guns of the description mentioned she will carry. To mount the 12-ton 300-pounders:- Bellerophon, 10; Royal Sovereign, 5; Minotaur, 4; Scorpion, 4; Wiveren, 4; Prince Albert, 4; Agincourt, 4; and Northumberland, 4. To be armed with the 6½-ton guns:- The Achilles, 20; Black Prince, 20; Warrior, 20; Lord Warden, 20; Lord Clyde, 20; Royal Oak, 20; Prince Consort, 20; Royal Alfred, 20; Caledonia, 20; Ocean, 20; Minotaur, 18 ; Agincourt, 18; Valiant, 16; Zealous, 16; Hector, 16; Defence, 10; Resistance, 10; Endymion, 6; Mersey, 4; Orlando, 4, Pallas, 4; Favourite, 4; Research, 4; Enterprise, 4; Amazon, 2; Viper, 2; and Vixen, 2. To mount the 64-pounder muzzle-loader:- The Bristol, 12; Melpomene, 12; Liverpool, 12; Severn, 12; Arethusa, 12; Phoebe, 12;. Shannon, 12; Octavia, 12; Constance, 12; Sutlej, 12; Undaunted, 12; Impérieuse, 12; Aurora, 12; Leander, 12; Bacchante, 12; Emerald, 12; Phaeton, 12: Narcissus, 12; Forte, 12; Euryalus, 12; Topaz, 12; Newcastle, 12; Liffey, 12; Immortalité, 12; Glasgow, 12; Clio, 8, North Star, 8 [laid down 1860, cancelled 1865]; Racoon, 8; Challenge[r], 8; and Menai, 8 [laid down 1860, cancelled 1864]. The following will be supplied with the 64-pounder breech-loaders:- The Scout, 8; Rattlesnake, 8; Cadmus, 8; Scylla, 8; Barossa, 8; Jason, 8; Charybdis, 8; Wolverine, 8; Pylades, 8; Orestes, 8; Pearl, 8; Pelorus, 8; Satellite, 8; Acheron, 4 [laid down 1861, cancelled 1863]; Shearwater, 4; Valorous, 4; Furious, 4; Bittern, 4 [laid down 1861, cancelled 1863]; Magicienne, 4; and Columbine, 4. A supply of the 6½-ton smooth-bore 100-pounder wrought iron guns has already been received at Chatham, and it is understood that the first supply of the 300-pounder rifled 12-ton Armstrong gun may shortly be expected at the Ordnance wharf. | ||
| Fr 8 January 1875 | The undermentioned vessels are under orders to return home from their respective stations to be paid off and put out of commission:— Avon, 4, double screw composite gun-vessel, Commander A.T. Powlett, from China; Boxer, 4, double screw composite gunvessel, Lieut. Commanding William Collins, from the Pacific; Cameleon, 7, steam sloop, Commander A.J. Kennedy, from the same station; Elk, 4, double screw composite gunvessel, Commander Robert H. Harris, from China; Fawn, 5, screw sloop, Commander J.A. Wetherall, from the Pacific; Iron Duke, 14, double scrow iron armour-plated ship, the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir C.F.A. Shadwell, K.C.B., Capt. William Arthur, from China; Reindeer, 7, steam sloop, Commander C.V. Anson, and the Scout, 17, screw corvotte, Capt. R.P. Cator, both from the Pacific. | ||
| Sa 3 April 1875 | During the first three months of the year the following ships have been placed in commission:—The Hercules, Capt. Codrington; the Nymphe, Capt. Suttie; the Undaunted, Capt. Campbell; and the Warrior, Capt. White. The Caledonia, the Egmont, the Fawn, and the Princess Charlotte have been paid off. The following are ordered home:— The Avon, the Boxer, the Cameleon, the Elk, the Iron Duke, the Reindeer, the Rosario, the Scout, the Shearwater, and the Volage. | ||
| Fr 9 April 1875 | The following vessels are under orders to return home from their respective stations, to be paid out of commission:- The Avon, 4, double screw composita gun-vessel, Commander A.T. Powlett, from China. This vessel was re-commissioned on that station on the 18th of July, 1871, when a fresh crew was sent out from England. The Blanche, 6, steamship, Capt. C.H. Simpson, from Australia. This vessel has also served two commissions, having been re-commissioned on the Australian station on the 12th of October, 1871, by a fresh crew sent out for that purpose from England. The Boxer, 4, double screw composite gun vessel, Lieut-Commanding William Collins, from the Pacific. This vessel has, like the two previous ones, served two commissions, having been re-commissioned on the 6th of October, 1872. The Cameleon, 7, steamship, Commander A.J. Kennedy, from the Pacific. The Dido, 8, steamship, Capt. W.C. Chapman, from Australia, The Elk, 4, double-screw composite gun-vessel, Commander Robert H. Harris, from China. The Iron Duke, 14, double-screw iron armour-plated ship, flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Sir C.F.A. Shadwell, K.C.B., Capt. William Arthur, from China. The Reindeer, 7, steam sloop, Commander C.V. Anson, from the Pacific. The Rosario, 3, steam sloop, Commander A.E. Dupuis, from Australia. The Scout, 17, corvette, Capt. R.P. Cator, from the Pacific. The Shearwater, 4, surveying vessel, Commander W.J.L. Wharton, from the East Coast of Africa. The Spartan, 8, steam sloop, Capt. Richard Carter, from North America and West Indies. The Swiftsure, 14, iron armour-plated ship, Capt. J.K.E. Baird, temporary flagship of Vice-Admiral the Hon. Sir. J.R. Drummond, K.C.B., from the Mediterranean. The Volage, 18, iron steam corvette, cased with wood, Capt. Henry Fairfax, employed on special service. | ||
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