Sphinx-class aviso

The Sphinx class was the first type of steamer corvettes in service in the French Navy. They were motorised by French-made steam engines cloned from a low-pressure Newcomen steam engine purchased from Fawcett, in Liverpool, and made at Indret.[2] Initially classified as "paddle corvettes", they were later reclassified as "first-class avisos".

1/100th Model of the French paddle steamer corvette Sphinx. Made by the model workshop of the Musée de la Marine in 1962, on display at Toulon naval museum.
Class overview
Name:	Sphinx
Builders:	Rochefort
Operators:	French Navy
Completed:	6
General characteristics
Class and type:	Sphinx class aviso
Displacement:	913 tonnes
Length:	48.20 metres (158.1 ft)
Beam:	Hull: 8.16 metres (26.8 ft) Including paddles: 14 metres (46 ft)
Draught:	3.00 metres (9.84 ft)
Propulsion:	Sail plan 640 HP Newcomen steam engine
Speed:	7 knots[1]
Armament:	6 to 11 guns 6 24-pounder carronades 2 to 4 160 mm howitzers
Armour:	Timber

Ships in class

• Sphinx

Builder: Rochefort

Ordered:

Laid down:

Launched:

Completed:

Fate: Wrecked

• Ténaré

Builder:

Ordered:

Laid down:

Launched:

Completed:

Fate:

• Euphrate

Builder:

Ordered:

Laid down:

Launched:

Completed:

Fate:

Sources and references

1. Corvette a Vapeur le Sphinx, de 160 chevaux Archived 2012-07-14 at Archive.today, lib.washington.edu
2. Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, Volume 6

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, 1671 - 1870. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 422. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.