Both ships participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion, but Phoenix was destroyed in a typhoon while alongside in Hong Kong in 1906.

Phoenix and Algerine were constructed of steel and powered by both barquentine-rigged sails and a twin-screw steam engine developing 1,400 horsepower.

[1] In June 1900 Algerine was involved in an attack on the Taku Forts, including contributing to a multi-national landing party, and had 6 men wounded.

[5] Phoenix had the misfortune to be alongside a coaling pier in Hong Kong on 18 September 1906 when a typhoon struck the colony.

[5] In 1914 her crew was sent to man Niobe, and in 1917 she was lent to the Royal Canadian Navy to serve as a depot ship at Esquimalt.