HMS Magicienne (1849)
HMS Magicienne was the lead ship of her class of two 16-gun, steam-powered second-class paddle frigates built for the Royal Navy in the 1850s. Commissioned in 1853 she played a small role in the Crimean War of 1854–1855 and was sold for scrap in 1866.
Design and construction
The Magicienne-class ships had a length at the gun deck of and at the keel. They had a beam of, and a depth of hold of. Magiciennes tonnage was 1,258 tons burthen and she had a draught of. Their crew numbered 175 officers and ratings.The ships were fitted with a pair of 2-cylinder oscillating steam engines, rated at 400 nominal horsepower, that drove their paddlewheels. The engines produced in service that gave them speeds of. The ships were armed with eight 32-pounder cannon on the gundeck. On the upper deck were one each 68-pounder and a shell guns as well as four more 32-pounders.
Magicienne and her sister ship were originally ordered on 25 April 1847 as first-class sloops to John Edye's design, approved on 12 August 1847. On 5 August they were re-ordered as vessels. When completed, they constituted the last group of paddle warships built for the Royal Navy.