HMS Wizard (1830)

HMS Wizard was a 10-gun Cherokee-class brig-sloop built for the Royal Navy during the 1820s. She was wrecked in 1859.

History
United Kingdom
Name:	Wizard
Ordered:	28 October 1826
Builder:	Pembroke Dockyard
Laid down:	October 1829
Launched:	24 May 1830
Completed:	15 June 1837
Commissioned:	April 1837
Fate:	Wrecked, 8 February 1859
General characteristics
Class and type:	Cherokee-class brig-sloop
Tons burthen:	231 7/94 bm
Length:	90 ft (27.4 m) (gundeck) 72 ft 3 in (22.0 m) (keel)
Beam:	24 ft 8 in (7.5 m)
Draught:	9 ft 2 in (2.8 m)
Depth:	11 ft (3.4 m)
Sail plan:	Brig
Complement:	52
Armament:	2 × 6-pdr cannon; 8 × 18-pdr carronades

Description

Wizard had a length at the gundeck of 90 feet (27.4 m) and 72 feet 3 inches (22.0 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 24 feet 8 inches (7.5 m), a draught of about 9 feet 2 inches (2.8 m) and a depth of hold of 11 feet (3.4 m). The ship's tonnage was 231 7/94 tons burthen.[1] The Cherokee class was armed with two 6-pounder cannon and eight 18-pounder carronades. The ships had a crew of 52 officers and ratings.[2]

Construction and career

Wizard, the second ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy,[3] was ordered on 28 October 1826, laid down in October 1828 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 24 March 1830.[2] She was completed on 15 June 1837 at Plymouth Dockyard.[4] On 29 May 1855, Wizard ran aground at Cork. She lay on her beam ends overnight and was refloated the next day.[5]

On 8 February 1859, whilst acting as a tender to HMS Nile, Wizard was wrecked on the Seal Rock, in Bantry Bay. Her crew were rescued by HMS Skipjack.[6][7]

Notes

1. Winfield, p. 1079
2. Winfield & Lyon, p. 121
3. Colledge, p. 388
4. Winfield & Lyon, p. 125
5. "Ireland". Daily News (2819). London. 1 June 1855.
6. "Loss of Her Majesty's Ship "Wizard"". The Belfast News-Letter (13317). Belfast. 14 February 1859.
7. "Naval Intelligence". The Morning Chronicle (28735). London. 15 February 1859.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Phillips, Lawrie; Lieutenant Commander (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5214-9.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates (epub). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
• Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6.