HMS Rapid (1860)

HMS Rapid was a Royal Navy Ranger-class wooden screw gunvessel launched in 1860. These vessels were designed by the Surveyor's Department and intended for patrol duties in far-flung corners of the British Empire.

Rapid was commissioned in 1861 and saw service on the China Station during the 1860s, including participation in operations against pirates. Gunvessels like Rapid were crucial for maintaining British interests and enforcing treaties in the region during this period.

These vessels were armed with a relatively heavy armament for their size, typically including a mix of smoothbore and rifled muzzle-loading guns. The Ranger-class ships combined sail power with auxiliary steam engines, giving them considerable range and independence. They were built of wood, which was becoming increasingly vulnerable to ironclad warships by this time, but were still useful for tasks that did not require direct confrontation with enemy naval forces.

Rapid was eventually sold out of the service in 1869. The exact details of her later life are not widely documented.