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A typical 'Crimea gunboat'
Class overview
Name	Cheerful class
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Albacore class
Succeeded by	Clown class
Built	1855
In commission	1855–1869
Completed	20
General characteristics
Type	'Crimean' gunboat
Tons burthen	211 64⁄94 tons bm
Length	100 ft (30 m) (gundeck) 85 ft 5.5 in (26.048 m) (keel)
Beam	21 ft 10 in (6.65 m)
Draught	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Depth of hold	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Installed power	20 nominal horsepower (Onyx 92 ihp (69 kW))
Propulsion	1-cylinder horizontal direct-acting single-expansion steam engine Single screw
Speed	6.5 kn (12.0 km/h)
Crew	30
Armament	2 × 32-pounder SBML gun

The Cheerful-class gunboat was a class of twenty gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1855 for use in the Crimean War.

Design

The Cheerful class was designed by W.H. Walker (who also designed the preceding Dapper and Albacore classes). The ships were of particularly shallow draft for coastal bombardment in the shallow waters of the Baltic and Black Sea during the Crimean War.

Propulsion

One-cylinder horizontal direct-acting single-expansion steam engines built by John Penn and Sons, with two boilers, provided 20 nominal horsepower through a single screw, sufficient for 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph).

Armament

Ships of the class were armed with two 32-pounder smooth bore muzzle loading cannons.

Ships

Notes

1. Winfield states a design draft of 4 ft (1.2 m) and an operational draft of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m).

Citations

1. ^ Winfield, p.229

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) . Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.

• Gunboat classes
• Victorian-era gunboats of the United Kingdom
• Gunboats of the Royal Navy