Mixed-propulsion screw frigate (3rd class)

POMONE (launched 1845)


POMONE screw frigate (3rd class)

Displacement:	2010t
Dimensions:	170ft 7in wl, 179ft 8in deck x 42ft 8in mld, 43ft 8in ext x 19ft 2in mean, 20ft 3in max. Depth 17ft 1in
Same, meters:	52.00, 54.77 x 13.00, 13.30 x 5.85, 6.17m. 5.20m
Machinery:	220nhp (Mazeline). 2 cylinders, direct, return connecting rod, 574ihp, 7kts.
Hull material:	Wood
Armament:	(1848) GD 4-30p No.1, 14-30p No.2, 8-22cm No.2 shell; SD 2-30p No.2, 8-16cm shell. (1851) GD 24-30p No.2, 2-22cm No.2 shell; SD 2-30p No.1, 8-16cm shell.
Complement:	388

Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commiss.	Fate
POMONE	Lorient	26.10.42	20.6.45	10.7.46	Stk. 3.5.77.

Class. Construction of this ship was proposed by the Director of Materiel, Boucher, on 30.12.41 as part of a program of experimental frigates which also included the sail Clorinde and Psyché. He argued that the advent of the screw made possible a new concept, the mixed-propulsion warship. Such a ship would be basically a sailing ship, retaining all the characteristics of its sailing equivalents, notably performance under sail, armament, and endurance. It would, however, also have modest steam power for use in calms, in entering and leaving port, and to assist in carrying out difficult maneuvers. He desiged Pomone as a standard 3rd class sail frigate with an extra 10ft 11in section amidships for 160nhp machinery (soon increased to 220nhp).

Construction of the ship was ordered 20.4.42 and her machinery was ordered 14.9.43. The design for the screw installation was provided by Count Rosen, a representative of John Ericsson, and featured two rudders, one on each side of the stern, ahead of a multi-bladed 14ft diameter Ericsson propeller. When the ship ran her first steam trials in 8.46 she was unable to steer, and her stern was rebuilt in 1847 with a hoisting two-bladed propellor forward of a single rudder. (The stern was also changed from square to round.) She ran successful trials in 10.47 and was ready for service in 2.48. She recorded speeds of 7 1/2 knots under steam in calm seas, 10 1/2 knots under steam and sail, and 12 knots under sail. Her sail area was 2342 sq.yd. She was reclassified as a steam transport on 12.5.63.

Disposal. Pomone became a barracks hulk at Brest and was BU 1887.