HMS Mohawk (1856)

HMS Mohawk
History
United Kingdom
NameMohawk
BuilderYoung, Magnay and Co.
Launched11 January 1856
FateSold, 20 September 1862
Lay-Osborn Flotilla
Name
  • Pei King (北京)
  • Chin T'ai (金台)
NamesakePeking
Acquired20 September 1862
Decommissioned1863
FateSold, 30 December 1865
General characteristics
Class and typeVigilant-class gunvessel
Displacement860 long tons (874 t)
Tons burthen670 bm
Length180 ft 0 in (54.86 m)
Beam28 ft 0 in (8.53 m)
Draught14 ft 0 in (4.26 m)
Installed power
  • 200 nhp
  • 624 hp (465 kW)
Propulsion
  • Steam engine
  • Single screw
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Armament

HMS Mohawk was a British Vigilant-class gunvessel launched in 1856.

History

[edit]

HMS Mohawk was purchased by Horatio Nelson Lay, Inspector General of the Qing Dynasty Chinese Maritime Customs Service, on 20 September 1862, as part of an effort to bolster the Qing Dynasty naval force in response to the ongoing Taiping Rebellion.[1][2] Thereafter she was renamed Pei King (also as Pekin, Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng; lit. 'Beijing'), and became part of the Lay-Osborn Flotilla commanded by Sherard Osborn.[1] She was put under the command of Hugh Burgoyne.[3] Upon her arrival in China, the Qing government ordered the ship to be renamed as Chin T'ai (Chinese: 金台; pinyin: Jīntái).[1][4]

Disagreements between the Qing government and Lay over the command of the Lay-Osborn Flotilla led to its disbandment in 1863, and Pekin returned to the United Kingdom. She was originally intended for sale, but an embargo on sales, due to the concurrent American Civil War and fear of the vessel joining the Confederate States Navy, prevented any sales.[5] When the American Civil War ended in 1865, she, along with China and Tientsin, were sold in an auction to Egypt on 30 December 1865 for £20,500.[1][4]

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Chen 2013, p. 10.
  2. ^ Wright 2000, p. 16.
  3. ^ Davis.
  4. ^ a b Chen 2002, p. 142.
  5. ^ Wright 2000, p. 19.

References

[edit]
  • Chen, Zhenshou (2002). Túshuōzhōngguóhǎijūnshǐ: Gǔdài-1955 图说中国海军史: 古代-1955 [A Pictorial History of the Chinese Navy: Antiquity-1955]. Fujian Education Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5334-3536-3. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  • Chen, Yue (2013). Zhōngguójūnjiàntúzhì 1855-1911 中國軍艦圖誌1855-1911 [Album of Chinese Warships 1855-1911] (in Chinese). Hong Kong: The Commercial Press (Hong Kong). ISBN 9789620703614.
  • Davis, Peter. "Biography of Hugh Talbot Burgoyne R.N." William Loney RN. Peter Davis. Retrieved 28 December 2019. and Davis, Peter. "Mid-Victorian RN vessel Mohawk". William Loney RN. Peter Davis. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  • Wright, Richard (2000). The Chinese Steam Navy, 1862-1945. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 9781861761446.