HMS Black Eagle

Quality 0.50 · 0 views · Updated 2 months ago

title: "HMS Black Eagle" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ships-of-the-royal-navy", "1831-ships", "paddle-steamers-of-the-united-kingdom"] topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Black_Eagle" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox ship"]

FieldValue
section1{{Infobox ship/image
imageOscillating paddlewheel engines of HMS Black Eagle.jpg
image_captionOscillating paddlewheel engines of HMS Black Eagle
section2{{Infobox ship/career
countryUnited Kingdom
flag
name* Firebrand (1831–1843)
ordered28 January 1831
builderMerchant's yard, Limehouse
original_cost£19,964
laid_downApril 1831
launched11 July 1831
commissioned11 July 1831
fateBroken up, March 1876
section3{{Infobox ship/characteristics
header_caption
classFirebrand-class steam vessel
displacementAs built: 510 LT
length*As built: 155 ft
*From 1843: {{convert168
beam26 ft
hold_depth14 ft
complement80
::

|section1={{Infobox ship/image | image= Oscillating paddlewheel engines of HMS Black Eagle.jpg | image_caption= Oscillating paddlewheel engines of HMS Black Eagle

|section2={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header= | country = United Kingdom | flag = | name=* Firebrand (1831–1843)

  • Black Eagle (1843–1876) | namesake= | ordered=28 January 1831 | builder= Merchant's yard, Limehouse | original_cost=£19,964 | laid_down= April 1831 | launched= 11 July 1831 | acquired= | commissioned= 11 July 1831 | decommissioned= | in_service= | out_of_service= | struck= | reinstated= | honours= | honors= | fate= Broken up, March 1876 | notes=

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class=Firebrand-class steam vessel |tons_burthen= As built: 495 bm From 1843: 540 bm |displacement=As built: 510 LT |length=*As built: 155 ft

  • From 1843: 168 ft |beam=26 ft |draught= |hold_depth=14 ft |power= |propulsion=
  • As built:
  • Butterley & Co. 140 nhp 2-cylinder side lever steam engine
  • Paddle wheel
  • From 1833:
  • Maudslay 120 nhp steam engine
  • Morgan paddlewheels
  • From 1843:
  • 'Tubulous boilers'
  • Penn 260 nhp steam engine
  • Paddlewheels |sail_plan= |speed= |range= |complement=80 |armament=
  • As built:
  • 6 × 9-pounder (13cwt) gun
  • Later:
  • 1 × 32-pounder (25cwt) pivot gun
  • 2 × 32-pounder (17cwt) carronades |notes= ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Firebrand_emerging_from_Grand_Harbour,_Valetta,Malta,_1832,_by_Nicolas_S._Cammillieri.jpg" caption="''Firebrand'' emerging from Grand Harbour, Valetta, Malta, 1832, by Nicolas S. Cammillieri"] ::

HMS Firebrand was a wooden paddle vessel launched in 1831. She was rebuilt in 1843, renamed HMS Black Eagle and employed as an Admiralty steam yacht. She was broken up in 1876.

Construction and rebuild

Built at Merchant's Yard, Limehouse as a wooden paddle vessel, Firebrand was launched on 11 July 1831. In 1832 her original Butterley side lever steam engine was removed and replaced in 1833 by a Maudsley, and Morgan's paddlewheels were fitted. She was rebuilt in 1843, gaining 13 ft in length, and receiving an oscillating engine manufactured by John Penn and Sons. Notably, Penn doubled the power output without increasing either the weight or space occupied. On 29 October 1853, she assisted in the refloating of , which had run aground in the Dardanelles. Firebrand was renamed Black Eagle on 5 February 1842.

In 1856, the Black Eagle and the paddle-wheel troopship were used in a trial of J Wethered's apparatus for superheated steam. This produced an economy of fuel of 18% in the Black Eagle, and 31% in the Dee.

Royal yacht

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Queen_Victoria's_Visit_to_HMS_'Queen'_at_Portsmouth,_1_March_1842_RMG_BHC0629.tiff" caption="Queen Victoria embarking from the ''Black Eagle'' on her visit to HMS ''Queen'' at Portsmouth, 1 March 1842"] ::

She was based at Woolwich in south-east London and was part of the Royal Squadron alongside the royal yacht. The Black Eagle was eventually broken up at Portsmouth in March 1876. A model of the vessel is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum.

Figurehead

The figurehead of Black Eagle depicts a black eagle with gold beak, talons and wing trimmings. It is also decorated with a red and gold crown on the breast.

Evidence suggests that the original figurehead, carved to suit its former name of Firebrand, was carved by George Faldo of London, with an estimated cost of £24 12s 8d (approximately £2,091 today).

In an exchange of letters in 1846, the admiral-superintendent at Portsmouth invited James Hellyer of Hellyer & Sons to propose a new figurehead for Black Eagle following her rebuild.[[File:Engines of the Black Eagle.png|thumb|left|Engines of the Black Eagle]]The new ship honoured the Prussian royal family who frequently cruised in her; King Frederick I of Prussia was the maternal cousin of King William III and supplier of troops to support the British effort during the War of the Spanish Succession. The black eagle became the symbol of a united Germany and featured on the Order of the Black Eagle military medal; the highest Prussian Order of chivalry. The eagle that sits centrally within the medal's design is similar in appearance to Hellyer's figurehead carving.

Upon the ship's breaking up, the figurehead stood for some time in the garden of Admiralty House in Portsmouth. It can be seen as part of the collection at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth.

References

Bibliography

References

  1. Winfield (2004), p.162
  2. "HMS Black Eagle in Naval Data Base".
  3. "Past Presidents". Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
  4. (21 November 1853). "The Combined Fleets of England and France". The Morning Chronicle.
  5. Brown, ''Before the ironclad'', page 51 says that the ''Black Eagle'' was used to try Wethered's superheater in 1856; Brown does not mention that the ''Dee'' was also used.
    Busk, ''The navies of the world'', page 152 makes it clear that the trials of superheaters on the ''Dee'' and the ''Black Eagle'' were about the same time.
  6. (1859). "The navies of the world". Routledge, Warnes and Routledge.
  7. "HMS Black Eagle". Phillips and Carpenter Family History.
  8. link. (2010-11-23)
  9. "Inflation calculator".
  10. Pulvertaft, David. (2009). "The Warship Figureheads of Portsmouth". The History Press.
  11. Yisela. (2018-08-20). "The Order of the Black Eagle - Kingdom of Prussia Medals".
  12. "Collections {{!}} National Museum of the Royal Navy".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

ships-of-the-royal-navy1831-shipspaddle-steamers-of-the-united-kingdom