H.M.S. Vernon (Torpedo Training School)
History
In 1871 it was decided that Commander John Fisher would become Chief Torpedo Instructor at H.M.S. Excellent and educate officers in electricity and torpedoes.[1] In 1872 H.M.S. Vernon was selected to become the Royal Navy's torpedo training school as a tender to Excellent. Vernon was a fifty gun frigate designed by William Symonds which had been laid down in October, 1831 at Woolwich Royal Dockyard and launched on 1 May, 1832. She was described by Sir Charles Napier as the "most magnificent frigate ever built by any nation". She was hulked in March, 1863 and moved to Portsmouth for fitting out under the supervision of Fisher and was ready by the Spring of 1873.[2][3][4] In 1876 the Admiralty decided to separate Vernon from Excellent, and the former was commissioned in her own right on 26 April, 1876 under Captain William Arthur, with Arthur K. Wilson as Commander (Second-in-Command).[5]
Commanding Officers
- Captain Arthur K. Wilson, appointed 1 January, 1889.
- Unknown
- Captain Baldwin W. Walker, appointed 1 November, 1893.
- Captain John Durnford, appointed 12 November, 1895.
- Captain Charles G. Robinson, appointed 2 October, 1899.
- Captain George Le C. Egerton, appointed 10 February, 1902.
- Captain Henry B. Jackson, appointed 15 February, 1904.
- Captain Charles J. Briggs, appointed 24 December, 1904.
- Captain Douglas A. Gamble, appointed 10 May, 1907.
- Captain Robert S. P. Hornby, appointed 16 October, 1908.
- Captain William C. M. Nicholson, appointed 1 November, 1911.
- Captain Frederick L. Field, appointed 10 September, 1914.
- Captain Henry L. d'E. Skipwith, appointed 16 September, 1915.
- Captain Frederick C. U. V. Wentworth, (Retired), appointed 10 July, 1918.
Footnotes
- ↑ Mackay. Fisher of Kilverstone. p. 106.
- ↑ Sharp. Memoirs of the Life and Services of Rear-Admiral Sir William Symonds, Kt.. p. 135.
- ↑ Lyon; Winfield. The Sail & Steam Navy List. p. 104.
- ↑ Mackay. Fisher of Kilverstone. pp. 109-110.
- ↑ Mackay. Fisher of Kilverstone. p. 125.
Bibliography
