HMS Brisk was a wooden-hulled screw sloop of 14 guns, constructed as part of the 1847 naval program and launched on 2 June 1851 from Woolwich Dockyard. Designed as an enlarged version of the Rattler, she featured a lengthened gun deck measuring approximately 193 feet 7 inches and a keel length of about 169 feet 10 inches for tonnage calculations. Her beam was roughly 35 feet, with a depth of hold around 20 feet 5 inches, and she displaced approximately 1,087 tons. Initially fitted with two rectangular fire tube boilers, HMS Brisk was powered by a 2-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine rated at 250 nominal horsepower, capable of achieving speeds around 7.35 knots during trials. After an engine replacement in 1864, her power increased to approximately 200 NHP, with her top speed approaching 10 knots. Armament initially comprised two Dundas 68-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore guns and eight Monk's 'C' 32-pounder guns, later increased to twelve 32-pounders during the Russian War of 1854-55 and subsequently rearmed in 1856 with a single 68-pounder and fourteen 32-pounders. Her construction cost totaled £47,482. HMS Brisk's service record included participation in the Russian War, where she operated in the White Sea and on the Russian Pacific coast, notably blockading ports and witnessing volcanic eruptions at Kozelsky. She also served on the North America and West Indies Station, supporting anti-slavery patrols, and later on the Cape of Good Hope Station, where she engaged in anti-slavery patrols and searched for Dr. Livingstone. Her final service was on the Australia Station, where she supported military operations during the New Zealand Wars, transported troops, and carried officials. Decommissioned in 1869, she was sold in 1870 to the International Mid-channel Telegraph Company for use in an experimental Atlantic telegraph service, which proved unsuccessful due to cable breakages and sickness among signallers. The vessel was ultimately sold after the company’s bankruptcy. HMS Brisk is also commemorated by Brisk Bay in Queensland, Australia.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.