Nemesis (1839)

Nemesis, together with her sister ships Phlegethon, Pluto, Proserpine, Ariadne, and Medusa, was built by John Laird's yard at Birkenhead and William Fairbairn & Sons at Millwall.

"[7]Nemesis was a gunboat built by British shipbuilding company John Laird's Birkenhead Iron Works in three months.

The steam- and sail-powered ship was particularly effective in China because her shallow draught of only five feet allowed her to travel up rivers to pursue and engage other vessels and targets.

[12] Nemesis arrived off the coast of China in late 1840,[3] although when she set sail from Liverpool it was publicly intimated that she was bound for Odessa to keep the voyage a secret.

[6] A British officer wrote that the outbreak of the First Opium War "was considered an extremely favourable opportunity for testing the advantages or otherwise of iron steam-vessels.

[14] Around the end of 1846 as a result of mob rioting in Canton which had started in July, she was posted by Sir John Davis to cover the East India Company's factory there.

The Illustrated London News print of Nemesis during the First Opium War
Nemesis and other British ships engaging Chinese junks in the Second Battle of Chuenpi , 7 January 1841