The Ariel-class gunboat was a class of nine 4-gun composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy between 1871 and 1873. Although most were sold by 1890, one of them survived into the 1920s as a salvage vessel in private ownership. They were the first class of Royal Navy gunboat built of composite construction, that is, with iron keel, stem and stern posts, and iron framing, but planked with wood.
Designed by Sir Edward Reed, Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy, the Ariel-class gunboats were the first Royal Navy gunboats of composite construction.[1] They were some of the first vessels to be fitted with compound-expansion engines, allowing the Royal Navy to experiment with new engine designs at little risk in small, cheap vessels.[1] [2] These engines were rated 60 nominal horsepower (an indicated horsepower of between 461lk=inNaNlk=in and 534lk=inNaNlk=in). They were armed with two 6inches 64-pounder (56cwt) muzzle-loading rifles and two 4inches 20-pounder Armstrong breech loaders. All 4 guns were mounted on traversing carriages. Some of the class were re-armed in the 1880s with two 5-inch and two 4-inch breech loaders. All the ships of the class carried a three-masted barquentine rig.
| Name | Ship Builder | Launched | Fate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pembroke Dockyard | 5 April 1871 | Sold in August 1889 | |||
| Pembroke Dockyard | 29 August 1871 | Sold in June 1887 | |||
| Pembroke Dockyard | 12 October 1871 | Sold in October 1885 | |||
| Pembroke Dockyard | 24 November 1871 | Sold on 27 February 1891 | |||
| Pembroke Dockyard | 9 December 1871 | Sold in December 1888 | |||
| Pembroke Dockyard | 23 January 1872 | Hulk in 1902. Sold c1906 | |||
| Pembroke Dockyard | 7 February 1872 | Hulk 1895. Sold to Rogers & Company in June 1924 | |||
| Chatham Dockyard | 11 February 1873 | Coastguard 26 November 1877. Sold in August 1889 | |||
| Chatham Dockyard | 11 February 1873 | Sold to George Cohen as a salvage vessel in February 1889. Broken up at Briton Ferry in June 1929 |