The Fantome class was a six-ship class of 4-gun screw composite sloops [1] built for the Royal Navy during 1873 and 1874.
Fantome and her sister ships were constructed of an iron frame sheathed with teak and copper (hence 'composite').
A two-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine provided by Humphrys, Tennant & Co. powered an 11feet diameter screw. Steam was provided by three cylindrical boilers working at 60psi. The indicated horsepower varied from 836to. Daring was fitted with a trunk engine provided by John Penn & Sons.
All the ships of the class were provided with a full barque rig.
The Fantome class carried two 7inches and two 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifles, all mounted on pivots.
Built at a time of great technological change in naval architecture, these composite sloops were obsolete before they were completed. Nevertheless, they served a useful function on the far-flung stations of the British Empire, including participation in minor wars, such as the Perak War. They were also used for hydrography, and for this reason Egeria was retained until 1911.
| Name | Ship Builder | Launched | Fate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pembroke Dock | 26 March 1873 | Sold 1889[2] | |||
| Chatham Dockyard | 24 July 1873 | Scrapped 1889[3] | |||
| Blackwall Yard, London | 4 February 1874 | Sold 1889[4] | |||
| Pembroke Dock | 1 November 1873 | Sold 1911 [5] | |||
| Chatham Dockyard | 27 November 1873 | Sold 1888[6] | |||
| Money Wigram & Sons, Blackwall Yard[7] | 20 October 1873 | Sold 1887[8] |