HMS Investigator (1861)

History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Investigator
Builder:	Deptford Dockyard
Laid down:	15 June 1861
Launched:	16 November 1861
Fate:	Sold to the local authorities at Lagos in 1869
General characteristics
Class and type:	Paddle survey vessel
Tons burthen:	149 tons
Length:	121 ft (37 m)
Beam:	16 ft (4.9 m)
Draught:	7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)
Propulsion:	Paddle wheels 34 nhp
Armament:	2 guns

HMS Investigator was a wooden paddle survey vessel of the Royal Navy, built to carry out an expedition on the Gabon River in Africa.

Investigator was laid down on 15 June 1861 at Deptford and was launched on 16 November 1861. She was initially commanded by Lieutenant Benjamin Langlois Lefroy off the west coast of Africa. On 1 September 1863, Lieutenant Commander William Digby Dolben of Investigator drowned while crossing the bar of Lagos^[1] when the gig, a four-oar whaler, was swamped.^[2][3] He was succeeded by George Truman Morrell in 1865, under whose command she sailed up the River Niger, making contact with local tribes. Investigator was sold to the local authorities at Lagos in 1869.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. 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. OCLC 67375475. 
• Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, The Sail and Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889, pub Chatham, 2004, ISBN 1-86176-032-9