HMS Crescent (1892)

Last updated

HMS Crescent.jpg
HMS Crescent
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Crescent
Builder Portsmouth Dockyard
Laid down13 October 1890
Launched30 March 1892
FateSold for breaking up 22 September 1921
General characteristics
Class and type Edgar-class cruiser
Displacement7,700 tons
Length387.5 ft (118.1 m)
Beam60.75 ft (18.52 m)
Speed20 knots (37 km/h)
Armament

HMS Crescent was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class in the British Royal Navy. Crescent, and her sister ship Royal Arthur, were built to a slightly modified design and are sometimes considered a separate class. She was launched in 1892, saw early service at the Australia Station and the North America and West Indies Station, served in the First World War, and was sold for breaking up in 1921.

Contents

Construction

Crescent had a length of 387 feet 6 inches (118.11 m) long overall and 360 feet (109.73 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 60 feet (18.29 m) and a draught of 23 feet 9 inches (7.24 m). She displaced 7,350 long tons (7,470 t). [1] Armament consisted of two 9.2-inch guns, on the ships centreline, backed up by ten six-inch guns, of which four were in casemates on the main deck and the remainder behind open shields. Twelve 6-pounder and four 3-pounder guns provided anti-torpedo-boat defences, while four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted. [1]

The Edgars were protected cruisers, with an arched, armoured deck 5–3 inches (127–76 mm) thick at about waterline level. The casemate armour was 6 inches (152 mm) thick, with 3 inches (76 mm) thick shields for the 9.2-inch guns and 10 inches (254 mm) armour on the ship's conning tower. [1] [2] It contained four double-ended cylindrical Fairfields boilers feeding steam at 150 pounds per square inch (1,000 kPa) to 2 three-cylinder triple expansion engines, [3] which drove two shafts. This gave 12,000 indicated horsepower (8,900 kW) under forced draught, giving a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). [1]

She was built at Portsmouth and launched on 30 March 1892.

Service history

HMS Crescent at Quebec City, Quebec in 1901 HMS Crescent 1901 0259.jpg
HMS Crescent at Quebec City, Quebec in 1901

Crescent had her first commission at the Australia Station. On 11 January 1895 she left Australia under Captain Arbuthnot. [4]

From 1899 until 1902 she was flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford, Commander-in-Chief North America and West Indies Station, which had headquarters at Bermuda and (during summer) Halifax. Under the command of Captain Charles John Graves-Sawle she visited Trinidad and Jamaica in February 1900, [5] [6] and the following month Nassau, Bahamas to assist HMS Hermes, stranded there with a broken shaft. [7] Captain Stanley Colville was appointed in command on 1 March 1900, [8] but did not actually take command of the ship until later. The ship took part in coronation celebrations at the Halifax headquarter in that year. [9] Bedford was succeeded as Commander-in-Chief at the station on 15 July 1902, when he left homebound with Crescent, which was succeeded as flagship of the station by HMS Ariadne. [10] She arrived at Spithead on 24 July, [11] but her commission was prolonged so she could take part in the fleet review held there on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII. [12] Following the review, the King went on a tour westwards along the coast, with Crescent as escort ship. [13] She returned to Portsmouth in early September, [14] paying off there on 3 October for a complete overhaul. [15]

She served in the First World War, and was sold on 22 September 1921 for breaking up in Germany.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 66.
  2. ↑ Brown 2003, pp. 132–134.
  3. ↑ "H.M.S. Hawke" (PDF). The Engineer . 18 March 1892. p. 229.
  4. ↑ "Captain Arbuthnot and Officers' Farewell". The Sydney Morning Herald. Trove. 11 January 1895. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36062. London. 10 February 1900. p. 9.
  6. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36070. London. 20 February 1900. p. 9.
  7. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36083. London. 7 March 1900. p. 10.
  8. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36073. London. 23 February 1900. p. 6.
  9. ↑ "The Coronation – celebrations in the colonies". The Times. No. 36801. London. 23 June 1902. p. 10.
  10. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36822. London. 17 July 1902. p. 9.
  11. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36829. London. 25 July 1902. p. 8.
  12. ↑ "The Coronation – Naval Review". The Times. No. 36845. London. 13 August 1902. p. 4.
  13. ↑ "The King′s Cruise". The Times. No. 36853. London. 22 August 1902. p. 8.
  14. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36870. London. 11 September 1902. p. 8.
  15. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36890. London. 4 October 1902. p. 10.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Australia</i> (1886) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Australia was one of seven Orlando-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1880s. She was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1889 and remained there until 1893 when she returned home. The ship was assigned to the Coast Guard Squadron for the next decade before she was placed in reserve in 1903. Australia was sold for scrap in 1905.

HMS <i>Devastation</i> (1871) Devastation-class turret ship

HMS Devastation was the first of two Devastation-class mastless turret ships built for the Royal Navy. This was the first class of ocean-going capital ship that did not carry sails, and the first whose entire main armament was mounted on top of the hull rather than inside it.

HMS <i>Dreadnought</i> (1875) 1875 ironclad turret ship of the Royal Navy

HMS Dreadnought was an ironclad turret ship built for the Royal Navy during the 1870s. Construction was halted less than a year after it began and she was redesigned to improve her stability and buoyancy. Upon completion in 1879, the ship was placed in reserve until she was commissioned in 1884 for service with the Mediterranean Fleet. Upon her return 10 years later, she became a coast guard ship in Ireland for two years. The ship then became a depot ship in 1897 before she was reclassified as a second-class battleship in 1900. Dreadnought participated in the annual fleet manoeuvres for the next two years before she became a training ship in 1902. The ship was taken out of service three years later and sold for scrap in 1908.

HMS <i>Galatea</i> (1887) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Galatea was one of seven Orlando-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1880s. She was sold for scrap on 5 April 1905.

HMS <i>Sans Pareil</i> (1887)

HMS Sans Pareil was a Victoria-class battleship of the British Royal Navy of the Victorian era, her only sister ship being HMS Victoria.

HMS <i>Camperdown</i> (1885) Admiral-class battleship of the Royal Navy

HMS Camperdown was an Admiral-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown.

HMS <i>Hawke</i> (1891) Edgar-class protected cruiser of the British Royal Navy, in service from 1891 to 1914

HMS Hawke, launched in 1891, was the seventh British warship to be named Hawke. She was an Edgar-class protected cruiser. In September 1911 the Hawke collided with the ocean liner RMS Olympic. The damage smashed the Hawke's bow and damaged the stern of the Olympic.

HMS <i>Resolution</i> (1892) Royal Sovereign-class battleship

HMS Resolution was a Royal Sovereign-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. The ship was built by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, starting with her keel laying in June 1890. She was launched in May 1892 and, after completing trials, was commissioned into the Channel Squadron the following December. She was armed with a main battery of four 13.5-inch guns and a secondary battery of ten 6-inch guns. The ship had a top speed of 16.5 knots.

HMS <i>Aboukir</i> (1900) British Cressy-class armored cruiser

HMS Aboukir was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy around 1900. Upon completion she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and spent most of her career there. Upon returning home in 1912, she was placed in reserve. Recommissioned at the start of the First World War, she played a minor role in the Battle of Heligoland Bight a few weeks after the beginning of the war. Aboukir was sunk by the German submarine U-9, together with two of her sister ships, on 22 September 1914; 527 men of her complement died.

HMS <i>Hogue</i> (1900) 1900 Cressy-class armored cruiser

HMS Hogue was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy around 1900. Upon completion she was assigned to the Channel Fleet and the China Station. In 1906 she became a training ship for the North America and West Indies Station before being placed in reserve in 1908. Recommissioned at the start of World War I, she played a minor role in the Battle of Heligoland Bight a few weeks after the beginning of the war. Hogue was sunk by the German submarine U-9, together with two of her sister ships, on 22 September 1914.

HMS <i>Repulse</i> (1892) Royal Sovereign-class battleship

HMS Repulse was one of seven Royal Sovereign-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. Assigned to the Channel Fleet, where she often served as a flagship, after commissioning in 1894, the ship participated in a series of annual manoeuvres, and the Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Fleet Review during the rest of the decade. Repulse was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1902 and remained there until December 1903, when she returned home for an extensive refit. After its completion in 1905, Repulse was assigned to the Reserve Fleet until she was sold for scrap in 1911.

HMS <i>Doris</i> (1896) Eclipse-class cruiser

HMS Doris was an Eclipse-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s.

HMS <i>Endymion</i> (1891) Edgar-class cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Endymion was a first-class protected cruiser of the Edgar class. She served in China during the Boxer Rebellion and later in the First World War, and was sold in 1920.

HMS <i>Sutlej</i> (1899) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Sutlej was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy around 1900. Upon completion she was assigned to the China Station. In 1906 she became a training ship for the North America and West Indies Station before returning home and being assigned as the flagship of the reserve Third Fleet in 1909. Relieved as flagship in 1910, she remained in reserve until the beginning of World War I in August 1914.

HMS <i>Andromeda</i> (1897) British Diadem-class protected cruiser

HMS Andromeda was one of eight Diadem-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. Upon completion in 1899, the ship was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet where she helped to escort a royal yacht during its cruise through the Mediterranean Sea. After a refit, she was assigned to the China Station in 1904 and returned home three years later to be reduced to reserve. Andromeda was converted into a training ship in 1913 and remained in that role under various names until 1956. That year she was sold for scrap and broken up in Belgium, the last Pembroke-built ship still afloat.

HMS <i>Immortalité</i> (1887) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Immortalité was one of seven Orlando-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1880s. She was sold for scrap on 11 January 1907.

HMS <i>Royal Sovereign</i> (1891) Royal Sovereign-class battleship

HMS Royal Sovereign was the lead ship of the seven ships in her class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. The ship was commissioned in 1892 and served as the flagship of the Channel Fleet for the next five years. She was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1897 and returned home in 1902, and was briefly assigned as a coast guard ship before she began a lengthy refit in 1903–1904. Royal Sovereign was reduced to reserve in 1905 and was taken out of service in 1909. The ship was sold for scrap four years later and subsequently broken up in Italy.

HMS <i>Empress of India</i> 1893 Royal Sovereign-class battleship

HMS Empress of India was one of seven Royal Sovereign-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy during the 1890s. The ship was commissioned in 1893 and served as the flagship of the second-in-command of the Channel Fleet for two years. She was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1897, during which time Empress of India was assigned to the International Squadron blockading Crete during the uprising there. She returned home in 1901 and was briefly assigned as a coast guard ship in Ireland before she became the second flagship of the Home Fleet. The ship was reduced to reserve in 1905 and accidentally collided with the submarine HMS A10 the following year. Empress of India was taken out of service in early 1912 and accidentally struck a German sailing ship while under tow. She was sunk as a target ship in 1913.

HMS <i>Renown</i> (1895) British predreadnought battleship

HMS Renown was a second-class predreadnought battleship built for the Royal Navy in the early 1890s. Intended to command cruiser squadrons operating on foreign stations, the ship served as the flagship of the North America and West Indies Station and the Mediterranean Fleet early in her career. Becoming obsolete as cruiser speeds increased, Renown became a royal yacht and had all of her secondary armament removed to make her more suitable for such duties. She became a stoker's training ship in 1909 and was listed for disposal in 1913. The ship was sold for scrap in early 1914.

HMS <i>Lynx</i> (1894) Ferret-class destroyer

HMS Lynx was a Ferret-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1894 and sold in 1912.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.