One-cylinder horizontal direct-acting single-expansion steam engine built by John Penn and Sons, with two boilers, provided 40 nominal horsepower through a single screw, sufficient for 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph).

She suffered heavy damage in the subsequent British defeat, where she "sunk halfway to its funnels" in the Hai River.

[1][4] By 1860, Kestrel was under the command of Lieutenant Henry Huxham and was aiding the Qing government against Taiping troops.

[5][7] Kestrel eventually participated in the retaking of Ningbo on 10 May 1862, her men disembarking under fire at one point to swing open a pontoon bridge.

Henry Felix Woods, who would later rise to prominence as an Admiral in the Ottoman Navy, joined the crew of Kestrel as the second master on 20 November 1863.