{{Other ships|HMS Firebrand}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Use British English|date=March 2018}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image= Oscillating paddlewheel engines of HMS Black Eagle.jpg | image_caption= Oscillating paddlewheel engines of HMS ''Black Eagle'' }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header= | country = United Kingdom | flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} | name=* ''Firebrand'' (1831–1843) *''Black Eagle'' (1843–1876) | namesake= | ordered=28 January 1831 | builder= Merchant's yard, [[Limehouse]] | original_cost=£19,964<ref name=RW/> | laid_down= April 1831 | launched= 11 July 1831 | acquired= | commissioned= 11 July 1831 | decommissioned= | in_service= | out_of_service= | struck= | reinstated= | honours= | honors= | fate= Broken up, March 1876 | notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption=<ref name=RW>Winfield (2004), p.162</ref> |class=''Firebrand''-class steam vessel |tons_burthen= ''As built:'' 495 [[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]] ''From 1843:'' 540 bm |displacement=''As built:'' {{convert|510|LT|t|lk=on}} |length=*''As built:'' {{convert|155|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on|1}} *''From 1843:'' {{convert|168|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on|1}} |beam={{convert|26|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on|1}} |draught= |hold_depth={{convert|14|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on|1}} |power= |propulsion= *''As built:'' *Butterley & Co. 140 [[nominal horsepower|nhp]] 2-cylinder side lever steam engine *Paddle wheel *''From 1833:'' *Maudslay 120 [[nominal horsepower|nhp]] steam engine *Morgan paddlewheels *''From 1843:'' *'Tubulous boilers' *Penn 260 [[nominal horsepower|nhp]] steam engine *Paddlewheels |sail_plan= |speed= |range= |complement=80 |armament= *''As built:'' *6 × 9-pounder (13{{frac|1|2}}cwt) gun *''Later:'' *1 × 32-pounder (25cwt) pivot gun *2 × 32-pounder (17cwt) carronades |notes= }} }} [[File:Firebrand emerging from Grand Harbour, Valetta, Malta , 1832, by Nicolas S. Cammillieri.jpg|thumb|''Firebrand'' emerging from Grand Harbour, Valetta, Malta, 1832, by Nicolas S. Cammillieri]] '''HMS ''Firebrand''''' was a wooden paddle vessel launched in 1831. She was rebuilt in 1843, renamed '''HMS ''Black Eagle''''' and employed as an [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] steam yacht. She was broken up in 1876.
==Construction and rebuild== Built at Merchant's Yard, [[Limehouse]] as a wooden paddle vessel, ''Firebrand'' was launched on 11 July 1831.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/B/00570.html |title=HMS Black Eagle in Naval Data Base |access-date=30 December 2010 |archive-date=15 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615011239/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/B/00570.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1832 her original Butterley side lever steam engine was removed and replaced in 1833 by a Maudsley, and Morgan's paddlewheels were fitted. She was rebuilt in 1843, gaining {{convert|13|ft|m}} in length, and receiving an [[marine steam engine#Oscillating|oscillating engine]] manufactured by [[John Penn and Sons]]. Notably, Penn doubled the power output without increasing either the weight or space occupied.<ref name="IME">{{citation|url = http://www.imeche.org/about-us/imeche-engineering-history/presidents# |work=Institution of Mechanical Engineers |title = Past Presidents |pages = 1858–59 John Penn}}</ref> On 29 October 1853, she assisted in the refloating of {{HMS|Rodney|1833|6}}, which had run aground in the [[Dardanelles]].<ref name=MC211153>{{Cite news |title=The Combined Fleets of England and France |newspaper=The Morning Chronicle |location=London |date=21 November 1853 |issue=27117 }}</ref> ''Firebrand'' was renamed ''Black Eagle'' on 5 February 1842.<ref name=RW/>
In 1856,<ref>Brown, ''Before the ironclad'', page 51 says that the ''Black Eagle'' was used to try Wethered's superheater in 1856; Brown does not mention that the ''Dee'' was also used.<br>Busk, ''The navies of the world'', page 152 makes it clear that the trials of superheaters on the ''Dee'' and the ''Black Eagle'' were about the same time.</ref> the ''Black Eagle'' and the paddle-wheel troopship {{HMS|Dee|1832|2}} were used in a trial of J Wethered's apparatus for [[superheated steam]]. This produced an economy of fuel of 18% in the ''Black Eagle'', and 31% in the ''Dee''.<ref>{{citation|title=The navies of the world|first1= Hans |last1= Busk|publisher=Routledge, Warnes and Routledge |date=1859|page=152}}</ref>
==Royal yacht== [[File:Queen Victoria's Visit to HMS 'Queen' at Portsmouth, 1 March 1842 RMG BHC0629.tiff|thumb|Queen Victoria embarking from the ''Black Eagle'' on her visit to HMS ''Queen'' at Portsmouth, 1 March 1842]] She was based at [[Woolwich]] in south-east London and was part of the [[Royal Squadron (Royal Navy)|Royal Squadron]] alongside the [[royal yacht]]. The ''Black Eagle'' was eventually [[Ship breaking|broken up]] at [[Portsmouth]] in March 1876.<ref>{{citation|url=http://phillips-carpenter.pbworks.com/w/page/16396287/HMS-Black-Eagle |work= Phillips and Carpenter Family History |title=HMS Black Eagle}}</ref> A model of the vessel is in the collection of the [[National Maritime Museum]].<ref>[http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/object.cfm?ID=SLR0736&picture=2 Paddle Yacht ‘Black Eagle’ 1831 (SLR0736)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123154656/http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/object.cfm?ID=SLR0736 |date=2010-11-23 }}</ref>
== Figurehead == The [[Figurehead (object)|figurehead]] of ''Black Eagle'' depicts a black eagle with gold beak, talons and wing trimmings. It is also decorated with a red and gold crown on the breast.
Evidence suggests that the original figurehead, carved to suit its former name of ''Firebrand'', was carved by George Faldo of [[London]], with an estimated cost of [[Pound sterling|£]]24 12s 8d (approximately £2,091 today).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inflation calculator |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=www.bankofengland.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>
In an exchange of letters in 1846, the [[admiral-superintendent]] at [[Portsmouth]] invited James Hellyer of [[Hellyer & Sons]] to propose a new figurehead for ''Black Eagle'' following her rebuild.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pulvertaft |first=David |title=The Warship Figureheads of Portsmouth |publisher=The History Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0752450766 |edition=Illustrated |location=UK |pages=66}}</ref>[[File:Engines of the Black Eagle.png|thumb|left|Engines of the ''Black Eagle'']]The new ship honoured the Prussian royal family who frequently cruised in her; King [[Frederick I of Prussia]] was the maternal cousin of King [[William III of England|William III]] and supplier of troops to support the British effort during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]]. The black eagle became the symbol of a united Germany and featured on the [[Order of the Black Eagle]] military medal; the highest Prussian Order of chivalry.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yisela |date=2018-08-20 |title=The Order of the Black Eagle - Kingdom of Prussia Medals |url=https://www.identifymedals.com/database/medals-by-period/pre-ww1-medals/the-order-of-the-black-eagle/ |access-date=2025-02-12 |language=en-US}}</ref> The eagle that sits centrally within the medal's design is similar in appearance to Hellyer's figurehead carving.
Upon the ship's breaking up, the figurehead stood for some time in the garden of Admiralty House in Portsmouth. It can be seen as part of the collection at the [[National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collections {{!}} National Museum of the Royal Navy |url=https://www.nmrn.org.uk/collections |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=www.nmrn.org.uk}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book|title=Warship 1996|editor-last1=McLean|editor-first1= David|editor-last2 =Preston|editor-first2=Antony|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|year=1996 |isbn=0-85177-685-X|name-list-style=amp|editor-link2=Antony Preston|last=Jones|first=Colin |chapter=Entente Cordiale, 1865}} *{{winfield}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Eagle, Hms}} [[Category:Ships of the Royal Navy]] [[Category:1831 ships]] [[Category:Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom]]