View source for H.M.S. Sharpshooter (1888)

<div name=fredbot:career>
{{ShipCareer|fullname=H.M.S. ''Sharpshooter'' (1888)|comp=Aug, 1889{{Conways1860|p. 89}}
|fatedate=1904{{LyonWinfieldSteamList|p. 305}}
|order=
|name=Sharpshooter
|launch=30 Nov, 1888{{Conways1860|p. 89}}
|builder=[[Devonport Royal Dockyard|Devonport DYd]]{{Conways1860|p. 89}}
|laid=13 Jan, 1888{{Conways1860|p. 89}}
|fate=Hulked
|pend=
|fg=white|bg=crimson}}</div name=fredbot:career>'''H.M.S. ''Sharpshooter''''' was one of thirteen [[Sharpshooter Class Torpedo Gunboat (1888)|''Sharpshooter'' class torpedo gunboats]].  This class was followed by others which hoped to improve upon the problematic nature of the originals, but ''Sharpshooter'' herself was particularly vexacious in service.

==Service==
The ship ventured outside the Plymouth breakwater on 31 July 1889 for a steam trial at forced draught and suffered a steam accident which scalded five men.  The injuries were not terribly serious.{{HTNC|3 Aug 18989, p. 7}}

''Sharpshooter{{'}}''s machinery, like many of her sisters', was a source of constant trouble.  An eight-hours steam trial on 30 September 1890 was abbreviated by a mishap to her starboard engine.{{NMI|Wednesday, Oct 01, 1890; pg. 7; Issue 33131}}  A re-try on 10 October went much better, yielding speeds of 16.5 knots for the entire eight hour duration.{{NMI|Saturday, Oct 11, 1890; pg. 9; Issue 33140}}

Until her participation in the [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1892]], her frequent steam trials and dockyard visits occur under the command of no specifically mentioned officer.  Toward the end of those, on 14 August in a gale, her fires were extinguished and shipped fully seventy tons of water.  A similar fate had nearly befallen {{UK-Skipjack}}, and it was reported that "it is the univeral opinion amongst naval officers who have had experience of the ''Sharpshooter'' class that the vessels are unfit for active service owing to the weakness of their engines and boilers."{{NMI|Friday, Aug 19, 1892; pg. 9; Issue 33721}}  It might be that the vulnerability was introduced by the boilers resting on the hull rather than on the deck.

On 14 September, a Court Martial was convened in Devonport for Mr. Mabb, her chief engineer.{{NMI|Tuesday, Sep 13, 1892; pg. 4; Issue 33742}}  No conclusion was immediately forthcoming, but an officer from {{UK-Spanker|f=p}} reported that that ship's bulkheads had flexed when she was under strain, and it was thought that this might open her seams.  Tests of the two ship were to be conducted, but before these could start, in January 1893 ''Sharpshooter{{'}}''s faults were declared too great to permit her participation.{{NMI|Tuesday, Jan 10, 1893; pg. 7; Issue 33844}}

On 21 March 1894, she trialled a new set of boilers in the Channel for two hours before her automatic feed gear broke down, compelling a return to Plymouth sound, where her crew made repairs,  allowing her to continue trials.  This was the sixth breakdown she had experienced since her steam trials began.{{NMI|Thursday, Mar 22, 1894; pg. 10; Issue 34218}}

After defects were repaired, further trials in April showed weakness in the steering engine and the starboard low-pressure indicator gave out.  As she returned to harbour, the starboard air pump rods broke.{{NMI|Friday, Apr 27, 1894; pg. 8; Issue 34249}}

In September 1894, she was commissioned to replace {{UK-Speedwell}} in the [[Channel Squadron]].{{NMI|Monday, Sep 17, 1894; pg. 8; Issue 34371}} She underwent a satisfactory three-hour steaming trial on 24 September, but an examination showed her piston-rod gland and automatic feed for a boiler was defective.  Repairs would be extensive enough that she was unable to join the squadron for the cruise.{{NMI|Wednesday, Sep 26, 1894; pg. 8; Issue 34379}}  She was able to make it to Gibraltar with {{UK-Speedy}} by the end of October.{{NMI|Tuesday, Oct 30, 1894; pg. 10; Issue 34408}}  Predictably, after some time operating out of Gibraltar, she developed piston rod problems and required accompaniment for prudence's sake.{{NMI|Tuesday, Nov 27, 1894; pg. 10; Issue 34432}}

When the squadron wished to depart Gibraltar for Arosa Bay in January 1895, it was declared that ''Sharpshooter'' would remain at Gibraltar "for the present."{{NMI|Saturday, Jan 05, 1895; pg. 10; Issue 34466}}  The ship was not proving itself a naval asset in any way.

Having served with the {{UK-SF|6}}, ''Sharpshooter'' was to be paid off at Chatham on 4 June, 1904 and placed in the hands of a Care & Maintenance Party.  Her crew was turned over to the new submarine tender {{UK-Alecto}}.{{NMI|30 May 1912, p. 4}}

''Sharpshooter'' was soon hulked for instructional duties and renamed ''Northampton''.

==Captains==
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
<div name=fredbot:officeCapt otitle="Captain of H.M.S. ''Sharpshooter''" nat="UK">
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}} ('''T''')|name=Alexander Edward Bethell|nick=The Hon. Alexander E. Bethell|appt=18 July, 1889{{ToL|The Naval Manœuvres|Monday, 15 July, 1889.  Issue '''32751''', col F, p. 3}}|end=|note=lent for [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1889]]}}
{{Tenure|rank={{CommRN}}|name=Lionel de Lautour Wells|nick=Lionel de L. Wells|appt=21 July, 1892{{NMI|Tuesday, Jan 08, 1895; pg. 6; Issue 34468}}<ref>Wells Service Refcord.  {{TNA|ADM 196/39/619.|D7579017}} f. 1389.</ref>|end=22 September, 1892<ref>Wells Service Refcord.  {{TNA|ADM 196/39/619.|D7579017}} f. 1389.</ref>|note=for [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1892]]}}
{{Tenure|rank={{CommRN}}|name=William Ricketts|nick=William Ricketts|appt=15 September, 1894{{NMI|Thursday, Aug 23, 1894; pg. 8; Issue 34350}}|end=21 January, 1895{{INF}}}}
{{Tenure|rank={{CommRN}}|name=Arthur Dodgson|nick=Arthur Dodgson|appt=21 January, 1895{{NLMar96|p. 263}}|end=20 July, 1897|note=in command for [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1896]] and [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1897|1897]], in lieu of a Lieutenant, sick at end}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=John Innes Pocock|nick=John I. Pocock|appt=6 September, 1898{{NLOct98|p. 296}}|end=}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=Frederick William Loane|nick=Frederick W. Loane|appt=1 March, 1900{{NLMar00|p. 297}}|end=19 October, 1900|note=lent, and for the [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1900]]}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=Benjamin James Blower|nick=Benjamin J. Blower|appt=29 November, 1900{{NLMay03|p. 303}}|end=31 March, 1903|note=including [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1901]]?}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=Edgar Robert Morant|nick=Edgar R. Morant|appt=21 July, 1903<ref>"APPOINTMENTS FOR THE NAVAL MANOEUVRES."  ''The Times'' (London, England), Thursday, Jul 16, 1903; pg. 8; Issue 37134.</ref>|end=18 August, 1903|note=for [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1903]]}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=Wyndham Forbes|nick=Wyndham Forbes|appt=14 July, 1904{{ToL|Appointments for the Naval Manoeuvres|Saturday, Jul 09, 1904; pg. 12; Issue 37442}}|end=24 September, 1904|note=for [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1904]]}}
{{Tenure|rank={{CommRN}}|name=Llewellyn Griffiths|nick=Llewellyn Griffiths|appt=19 October, 1904{{NLJan04|p. 377}}<ref>Griffiths Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}} f. 170.</ref>|end=8 February, 1905<ref>Griffiths Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}} f. 170.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=Oscar Matthew Makins|nick=Oscar M. Makins|appt=7 February, 1905|end=1905}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=Joseph Sanders|nick=Joseph Sanders|appt=28 February, 1905{{NLOct08|p. 375}}|end=10 November, 1908{{INF}}}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=Henry Luxmoore|nick=Henry Luxmoore|appt=June, 1906|end=c. July, 1906|note=for manoeuvres}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=George Douglas Jephson|nick=George D. Jephson|appt=10 November, 1908{{NLJan10|p. 375}}|end=1 January, 1910}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LCommRN}}|name=Reginald Henniker-Heaton|nick=Reginald Henniker-Heaton|appt=1 January, 1910{{NLJul11|p. 375}}<ref>Henniker-Heaton Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/44/442.|D7603226}} f. 508.</ref>|end=8 January, 1912<ref>Henniker-Heaton Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/44/442.|D7603226}} f. 508.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank={{LaCRN}}|name=Thomas John Spence Lyne|nick=Thomas J. S. Lyne|appt=8 January, 1912|end=June, 1912}}
</div name=fredbot:officeCapt>

==See Also==
{{refbegin}}
{{WP|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sharpshooter_(1888)}}
{{refend}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
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{{Footer Sharpshooter Class Torpedo Gunboat (1888)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharpshooter}}

{{CatShipTorpedoGunboat|UK}}