HMS Forte (1858)
HMS Forte (1858)


Royal NavyVessels

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NameForte (1858)Explanation
TypeFrigate   
Launched29 May 1858   
HullWooden Length212 feet
PropulsionScrew Men515
Builders measure2364 tons   
Displacement3456 tons   
Guns51   
Fate1905 Last in commission1872
ClassForte   
Ships bookADM 135/185   
Career
DateEvent
29 May 1858Launched at Deptford Dockyard.
25 January 1860
- June 1861
Commanded by Captain Edward Winterton Turnour, flagship of Rear-Admiral Henry Keppel, Cape of Good Hope
27 June 1861
- 13 October 1862
Commanded by Captain Thomas Saumarez, flagship of Vice-Admiral Richard Laird Warren, south east coast of America
13 January 1863
- 8 September 1864
Commanded (until paying off at Sheerness) by Captain Arthur Mellersh, flagship of Rear-Admiral Richard Laird Warren, south east coast of America
21 August 1868
- 1869
Commanded (from commissioning at Sheerness) by Captain John Hobhouse Inglis Alexander, flagship of Commodore Leopold George Heath, East Indies
1 October 1870
- 17 February 1872
Commanded (until paying off at Sheerness) by Captain Henry Fairfax, flagship of Rear-Admiral James Horsford Cockburn, East Indies
(1879)Receiving hulk, Chatham
March 1894Coal hulk, Sheerness (replacing Benbow).
23 November 1905Burnt, together with 1800 tons of coal, by accident; sunk at her moorings by boats of Acteon torpedo school to prevent her acting as an unintentional fireship in the crowded harbour.
Extracts from the Times newspaper
DateExtract
Tu 30 August 1864The Forte, 39, screw frigate, which has just returned to Sheerness to pay off, after an absence from England of over four years, was commissioned at that port January 28, 1860, by Capt. Edward W. Turnour as the flagship of Rear-Admiral the Hon. Sir Henry Keppel, K.C.B., on the Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa station. She sailed from England on 30th of April following, and on the 22d of September was in Table Bay. She arrived at the Mauritius on the 8th of November, and sailed again on the 24th for Madebourg, on the south-east coast, returning to Simon's Bay December 15. She left Simon's Bay January 2, 1861, for a tour on the West Coast and for Ascension. Admiral Keppel transferred his flag to the Emerald in June and sailed for England, when Admiral Warren succeeded to the command of the station, with Capt Thomas Saumarez as his flag captain. The Forte put to sea on the 10th of July, was at Montevideo on the 31st, and remained cruising. In October, 1862, she proceeded to Palmas Bay with the Brazilian Minister and Attaché on board, and returned to Rio on the 24th of November, and Captain Saumarez was superseded at his own request by Capt. Arthur Mellersh shortly afterwards. After further cruising at Rio Janeiro, River Plate, Montevideo, and the Falkland Islands, the Forte called at Bahia on the 12th of July, and Fayal on the 9th of August. She had a succession of light winds and fine weather until entering the Channel, when she experienced a strong easterly gale. She arrived at Portsmouth on the 28th, and left on the evening of the 27th for Sheerness, at which port she is to be paid off.
Sa 12 November 1864The 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.
Tu 25 July 1871The following vessels of war are now on their passage home for the purpose of being put out of commission and their crew paid off: - The Forte, 24, 2,364 tons, 400-horse power, Capt. H. Fairfax, flagship of Rear-Admiral J.H. Cockburn, commanding the East India squadron, and the Nymph, 4, 1,084 tons, 300-horse power, Commander R. Adams, from the East Indies; the Charybdis, 17, 1,506 tons, 400-horse power, Capt. A.M'L. Lyons, from the Pacific; the Virago, 6, 1,053 tons, 200-horse power, paddlewheel steamer, Commander H.S. Sandys, from Australia; the Jaseur, 5, 427 tons, 80-horse power, Commander C.F. Hotham, and the Lee, 5, 431 tons, 80-horse power, Commander C. S. Fitton, from the Mediterranean; and the Vestal, 4, 1,081 tons, 300-horse power, Commander W.R. Kennedy, and the Myrmidon, 4, 695 tons, 200-horse power, Commander H.L. Holder, for North America and the West Indies. The Dryad, 4, 1,086 tons, 300-horse power, Commander G. Parsons, is to be paid off and re-commissioned at Bombay, and the Rapid, 3, 672 tons, 150-horse power, Commander the Hon. F.L. Wood, at Malta.


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