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HMS ''Calliope'' was a (later classified as a third-class cruiser) of the Royal Navy which served from 1887 until 1951. Exemplifying the transitional nature of the late Victorian navy, ''Calliope'' was a sailing corvette – last such ship built for the Royal Navy – but supplemented the full sail rig with a powerful engine. Steel was used for the hull, and like the earlier iron-hulled corvettes, ''Calliope'' was cased with timber and coppered below the waterline, in the same manner as wooden ships.〔Archibald, ''The Metal Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy'' (1970), p. 43.〕 ''Calliope'' was known for "one of the most famous episodes of seamanship in the 19th century", when the vessel was the only one present to avoid being sunk or stranded in the tropical cyclone that struck Apia, Samoa in 1889.〔Lyon, ''Steam, Steel, and Torpedoes'' (1980), p. 39.〕 After retirement from active service, ''Calliope'' served as a training ship until 1951, when the old corvette was sold for breaking. ==Design and construction== (詳細はsister ship comprised the ''Calypso'' class of corvettes designed by Nathaniel Barnaby. Part of a long line of cruiser classes built for protecting trade routes and colonial police work,〔Lyon (1980), pp. 21–22, 35–40.〕 they were the last two sailing corvettes built for the Royal Navy. Corvettes had been built of iron since the of 1867, but the ''Calypso''s and the preceding were instead built of steel. Corvettes were designed to operate across the vast distances of Britain's maritime empire, and could not rely on dry docks for maintenance. Since iron (and steel) hulls were subject to biofouling, and they could not easily be cleaned, the established practice of copper sheathing was extended to protect them; the metal plating of the hull was timber-cased and coppered below the waterline.〔 The only armour was a 1.5-inch (38-mm) armoured deck covering the machinery spaces, but coal bunkers along the sides gave some protection to the machinery spaces.〔Osbon (1963), pp. 196, 206.〕 ''Calypso'' and ''Calliope'' differed from their nine predecessors of the ''Comus'' class in armament; they were also slightly longer, had a deeper draught, and displaced 390 tons more.〔Archibald, ''The Metal Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy'' (1970), p. 49.〕 Originally planned as a ten-gun corvette, ''Calliope'' was completed with four in sponsons fore and aft on each side, twelve in broadside between the 6-inch guns, and six quick-firing Nordenfelts.〔Osbon (1963), pp. 207–08.〕 The compound-expansion steam engine was supplied with steam by 6 boilers and developed . This was 50% more powerful than the predecessor class, which gave the corvette one more knot of speed, a difference that would be crucial in the disaster that made ''Calliope'' famous.〔Archibald, ''The Metal Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy'' (1970), p. 49; Gray, ''Amerika Samoa'' (1960), p. 89.〕 Driving a single feathering screw,〔 the engine could achieve a speed of 13¾ knots, or 14¾ knots with forced draught.〔 The vessel nevertheless was a fully rigged sailing ship,〔The sail plan likely varied during the ship's career. Published sources states that Calliope has a barque rig, and some photographs, show a barque rig. ''E.g.'',Paine, (''Warships of the World to 1900'' ) (2000), p. 29; Rousmaniere, ''After the Storm'' (2002), p. 96. Other images however show a ship rig, with yards and square sails on the mizzenmast. Archibald, ''The Metal Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy'' (1970), p. 49; J.S. Virtue & Co., ("HMS ''Calliope'', 3rd class cruiser" ) (retrieved 1 February 2010); ''see also'' the "Starboard bow quarter view" on this page, which shows yards on the mizzen. A full-rigged ship has square sails on the mizzenmast, while a barque has fore-and-aft sails.〕 allowing sustained service in areas where coaling stations were far apart. ''Calliope'' was well-suited to distant cruising service for the British Empire at its Victorian peak.〔 Although laid down in 1881, ''Calliope'' was not launched until 1884, and was placed in reserve at Portsmouth before completion. The ship was not activated until 25 January 1887, when the vessel was placed in commission for the China Station,〔Evans, p. 1.〕〔Osbon (1963), p. 207.〕 the sort of distant service for which the class had been designed.〔Paine, (''Warships of the World to 1900'' ) (2000), p. 29.〕 The same year, all corvettes and frigates were re-classified as "cruisers", with ''Calliope'' and ''Calypso'' falling into the "third-class cruiser" category.〔Winfield (2004), p.265〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Calliope (1884)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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