Pelican was an Osprey-class sloop-of-war, with a composite hull design.[1]
The ship had a displacement of 1,130 tons, was 170 feet (52 m) long, had a beam of 36 feet (11 m), and a draught of 15 feet 9 inches (4.80 m).[1][2] A Humphrys, Tennant and Co. two-cylinder two-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine fed by three cylindrical boilers provided 1,056 indicated horsepower to the single 13 ft (4.0 m) propeller screw.[1] This gave Pelican a top speed of 12.2 knots (22.6 km/h; 14.0 mph). She had a maximum range of 1,480 nautical miles (2,740 km; 1,700 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph).[1] In addition to the steam-driven propeller, the vessel was also barque rigged.[1] The standard ship's company was between 140 and 150.[1]
Pelican was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 29 November 1877.[1] In March 1878, Pelican was hailed by the French merchant ship Gustave, which had the crew of the American merchant steamship P. R. Hazeltine, which had foundered off Cape Horn, Chile on 18 February, on board. The captain of the American ship desired Pelican to take his crew on board, claiming the French ship was short of water, but later contradicting himself. As both ships would reach Valparaíso at about the same time, The captain of Pelican refused to take them on board. The French captain subsequently laid a charge that Pelican had refused to aid a ship in distress. This was refuted by two of the crew of P. R. Hazeltine in a sworn affidavit.[3]
Civil career
Pelican was sold as a supply ship on 22 January 1901[1] to the Hudson's Bay Company for use as a northern supply ship.[4] During World War I, Pelican was delivering supplies to Russia when she was engaged by a surfaced U-boat. The fight lasted one-and-a-half hours, but eventually, the U-boat was driven off. In 1922, the ship was no longer considered serviceable and was sold as scrap to Fraim Bannikhin of St. John's for $1,500. However, the vessel was not scrapped, instead being reduced to a barge. In November 1922, the barge parted its hawser off Flat Point, while being towed to Sydney, Nova Scotia. The barge grounded near Sable Island. Pelican was recovered by the tugboatOcean Eagle II and towed her towards Sydney. However, once in the harbour, the barge grounded again on the South Bar. The barge was recovered again and docked at Sydney. In 1927, the barge sank to the bottom of the harbour after being vandalized and her sea cocks opened. The hulk remained with masts, port gunwales and forecastle above water at the wharf for 23 years.[4] The hulk was towed out to sea, escorted by HMCS Porte Dauphine and scuttled in June 1953.[5]
^"The Serious Charge Against a Naval Commander". Hampshire Telegraph. No. 4778. Portsmouth. 1 June 1878.
^ ab"She Knew Better Days". The Crowsnest. Vol. 2, no. 9. King's Printer. July 1950. p. 24.
^"Last Tribute Paid to Wooden Warship". The Crowsnest. Vol. 5, no. 8. Queen's Printer. June 1953. p. 9.
Bibliography
Ballard, G. A. (1939). "British Sloops of 1875: The Larger Ram-Bowed Type". Mariner's Mirror. 25 (January). Cambridge, UK: Society for Nautical Research: 35–49. doi:10.1080/00253359.1939.10657318.
Colledge, J. J.; Wardlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-5267-9327-0.
Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC52620555.
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