HMS Doris (1896)

Last updated

Protected cruiser HMS Doris - IWM Q 75388.jpg
Doris during World War I
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Doris
BuilderNaval Construction & Armaments Co., Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down29 August 1894
Launched3 March 1896
Completed18 November 1897
ReclassifiedAs depot ship, 1917
FateSold for scrap, 2 February 1919
General characteristics
Class and type Eclipse-class protected cruiser
Displacement5,600 long tons (5,690 t)
Length350 ft (106.7 m)
Beam53 ft 6 in (16.3 m)
Draught20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts, 2 Inverted triple-expansion steam engines
Speed18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph)
Complement450
Armament
Armour

HMS Doris was an Eclipse-class cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s. It was one of nine such protected cruisers, all of which launched between 1896 and 1899.

Contents

Specifications

The Eclipse-class was the direct successor to the Astraea-class. It were larger in size and displacement, and received stronger armor and armor with a similar speed to its predecessors.

HMS Doris had a displacement of 5,690 tonnes (5,600 long tons) at an overall length of 113.7 m, width of 16.3 m and draft of 6.25 m. The ship was driven by two triple-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines, supplied by 8 coal-fired boilers, which moved a pair of propellers. The engines reached 8000 horsepower, giving a top speed of 18.5 knots. The normal stockpile of coal was 550 tons, and at maximum capacity the ship could take almost twice as much fuel at 1075 tons. The initial crew of the ship consisted of 393 officers and sailors.

The cruiser was initially armed with five single-arm 152-millimetre (6.0 in) guns, six 120 mm (4.7 inch) guns, six three-pound (47 mm) guns, and three 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. After the modernization of 1903–1905, the armament of the ship was as follows: eleven 152 mm guns, nine twelve-pound guns (76 mm), seven three-pound guns (47 mm) and three 450 mm torpedo launchers. During the First World War, the armament was limited to nine 152 mm guns, four 76 mm guns and one 47 mm gun, leaving torpedo armament unchanged. The deck armor had a thickness of 38 to 76 millimetres (1.5 to 3.0 in) with the command tower having a thickness up to 152 mm. Main artillery pieces were protected by 76 mm thick casings.

Service history

One of Doris's guns on the march to Bloemfontein QF 4.7 inch field guns Boer War LOC 3a48781.jpg
One of Doris's guns on the march to Bloemfontein

She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Harris when he was Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station in South Africa 1898-1900. [1] In 1899 at least one of HMS Doris's QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns was mounted on an improvised field carriage and used as a field gun in the Second Boer War. The gun used at Magersfontein was known as Joe Chamberlain.

A captured gun erected as a War Memorial to the officers and men of HMS Doris who lost their lives during the South African War 1899-1902 HMS DORIS Second Boer War trophy and memorial.jpg
A captured gun erected as a War Memorial to the officers and men of HMS Doris who lost their lives during the South African War 1899-1902

She paid off at Devonport in May 1901, when, to honour her crew, the men of the other ships in the harbour spontaneously manned yards and sides and gave a salute. [2]

After a refit, she was on 4 June 1902 commissioned into the Channel Squadron with the crew of HMS Arrogant. [3] She took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII, [4] and visited Souda Bay, Crete for combined maneuvers with other ships of the Channel and Cruiser squadrons the following month. [5] In October she visited Tetouan. [6]

In April 1911 she was on station with the Atlantic Fleet at Gibraltar. [7]

First World War

When the First World War began in August 1914, Doris was serving with the 11th Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet, and her Captain was Frank Larken [8] On 5 August, Doris captured a German merchant ship. [9]

By November 1914, Doris was cruising off the West Coast of Ireland. On 7th of that month she was ordered to proceed to Alexandria to form part of the Allied force opposing Turkey. [8] She was ordered to patrol the Syrian coast, looking out for enemy ships and shore installations, and to "exercise general pressure." [8]

On 15 December Doris was lying off the Syrian coast near Beersheba when she spotted suspicious activity on a bluff commanding the shore. Closing in, her crew discovered it was a Turkish defensive position in the course of construction, and Captain Larken gave orders to open fire with one of the ship's main guns. The emplacement was swiftly destroyed. [10]

From Beersheba, Doris proceeded to the Gulf of Alexandretta, where she landed shore parties to disrupt Turkish communication lines, destroying telegraph lines and railway tracks. Anchoring off the harbour of Alexandretta, Larken sent word to the Military Governor of the town demanding that "All munitions of war, mines and locomotives" be handed over to his crew to be destroyed, and that all British and Allied subjects be surrendered to him, along with their families and effects. [11] Failure to comply would result in the town being shelled.

The Governor communicated with Djemal Pasha, Military Commander of Greater Syria, who was not a man to be intimidated. Not only did Djemal Pasha refuse the demands, but he threatened that, if Larken opened fire on Alexandretta, one British captive would be shot for every Ottoman subject killed in the bombardment. [12]

In the event, negotiations were carried out through the American Consul in Alexandretta, and the Turks took the opportunity to evacuate all military stores and equipment from the town, before two railway locomotives were destroyed in a token gesture. [13]

Doris continued to patrol the Syrian coast until March 1915, carrying out thirteen landing operations and many coastal bombardments before being relieved by the French. [14]

On 25 April 1915, Doris participated in a shore bombardment near Bulair along the western coast of the Gallipoli peninsula, intended as a diversionary feint for the main troop landings at Cape Helles area.

From March 1917 to November 1918, she was stationed in India, where she served as a hulk. Doris was sold on February 2, 1919, in Mumbai.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36406. London. 19 March 1901. p. 8.
  2. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36453. London. 13 May 1901. p. 10.
  3. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36783. London. 2 June 1902. p. 9.
  4. ↑ "The Coronation - Naval Review". The Times. No. 36845. London. 13 August 1902. p. 4.
  5. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36880. London. 23 September 1902. p. 8.
  6. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36905. London. 22 October 1902. p. 9.
  7. ↑ Census of England and Wales, 1911; Enumeration Book for the Royal Navy; His Majesty's Ship "Doris".
  8. 1 2 3 Usborne 1933, pp. 19–20.
  9. ↑ Gardiner & Gray, p. 15
  10. ↑ Usborne 1933, pp. 22–23.
  11. ↑ Usborne 1933, p. 29.
  12. ↑ Usborne 1933, pp. 31–32.
  13. ↑ Usborne 1933, pp. 39–42.
  14. ↑ Usborne 1933, p. 47.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Good Hope</i> (1901) Drake-class armored cruiser

HMS Good Hope was one of four Drake-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy around 1900; she was originally named Africa, but was renamed before she was launched. She became flagship of the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in 1906, and was the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in 1908. She was reduced to reserve in 1913, but was recommissioned in mid-1914.

HMS <i>Ocean</i> (1898) Pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy

HMS Ocean was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy and a member of the Canopus class. Intended for service in Asia, Ocean and her sister ships were smaller and faster than the preceding Majestic-class battleships, but retained the same battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns. She also carried thinner armour, but incorporated new Krupp steel, which was more effective than the Harvey armour used in the Majestics. Ocean was laid down in December 1897, launched in July 1898, and commissioned into the fleet in February 1900.

HMS <i>Irresistible</i> (1898) Pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy

HMS Irresistible—the fourth British Royal Navy ship of the name—was a Formidable-class pre-dreadnought battleship. The Formidable-class ships were developments of earlier British battleships, featuring the same battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns—albeit more powerful 40-calibre versions—and top speed of 19 knots of the preceding Canopus class, while adopting heavier armour protection. The ship was laid down in April 1898, was launched in December that year, and was completed in October 1901. Commissioned in 1902, she initially served with the Mediterranean Fleet until April 1908, when she was transferred to the Channel Fleet. Now outclassed with the emergence of the dreadnought class of ships, she entered service with the Home Fleet in 1911 following a refit. In 1912, she was assigned to the 5th Battle Squadron.

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>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.

HMCS <i>Rainbow</i> (1891) Apollo-class protected cruiser in Royal Canadian Navy

HMCS Rainbow was an Apollo-class protected cruiser built for Great Britain's Royal Navy as HMS Rainbow entering service in 1892. Rainbow saw time in Asian waters before being placed in reserve in 1909. In 1910 the cruiser was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy for service on the west coast. At the outbreak of the First World War, Rainbow was the only major Canadian or British warship on the western coast of North America. Due to age, the cruiser was taken out of service in 1917 and sold for scrap in 1920 and broken up.

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

HMS Revenge was one of seven Royal Sovereign-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy during the 1890s. She spent much of her early career as a flagship for the Flying Squadron and in the Mediterranean, Home and Channel Fleets. Revenge was assigned to the International Squadron blockading Crete during the 1897–1898 revolt there against the Ottoman Empire. She was placed in reserve upon her return home in 1900, and was then briefly assigned as a coast guard ship before she joined the Home Fleet in 1902. The ship became a gunnery training ship in 1906 until she was paid off in 1913.

HMS <i>Hannibal</i> (1896) Pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy

HMS Hannibal was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Royal Navy, and the sixth ship to bear the name HMS Hannibal. The ship was laid down at the Pembroke Dock in May 1894, she was launched in April 1896, and commissioned into the fleet in April 1898. She was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and a secondary battery of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns. The ship had a top speed of 16 knots.

HMS <i>Crescent</i> (1892) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

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.

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>Grafton</i> (1892) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Grafton was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class, launched in 1892. She served in colonial service and in the First World War. Grafton survived the war and was broken up in the 1920s.

HMS <i>Terrible</i> (1895) British Powerful-class cruiser

HMS Terrible was the second and last of the Powerful-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy (RN) in the 1890s. She served on the China Station and provided landing parties and guns which participated in the Siege and Relief of Ladysmith in the Second Boer War in South Africa. A few months later she did much the same thing to help suppress the Boxer Rebellion in China. During this time, her captain was Percy Scott, who trained his crew to a high standard in gunnery and had his training methods adopted by the entire Royal Navy.

HMS <i>Aurora</i> (1887) British Orlando-class armoured cruisers

HMS Aurora was one of seven Orlando-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1880s. The ship spent a brief time in reserve before she was assigned to the Channel Squadron for two years in 1890. In 1893 Aurora became a coast guard ship in Ireland for two years before she was placed in reserve again. The ship recommissioned in 1899 for service on the China Station and some of her crew participated in the Battle of Tientsin in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. Aurora returned home two years later and was again reduced to reserve. She was taken out of service in 1905 and sold for scrap on 2 October 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>Highflyer</i> (1898) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Highflyer was the lead ship of the Highflyer-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. She spent her early career as flagship for the East Indies and North America and West Indies Stations. She was reduced to reserve in 1908 before again becoming the flagship in the East Indies in 1911. She returned home two years later and became a training ship. When World War I began in August 1914, she was assigned to the 9th Cruiser Squadron in the Central Atlantic to intercept German commerce raiders and protect Allied shipping.

French cruiser <i>DEstrées</i> French protected cruiser of the 1890s

D'Estrées was the lead ship of her class of protected cruisers built for the French Navy in the late 1890s. The class was ordered as part of a construction program directed at strengthening the fleet's cruiser force at a time the country was concerned with the growing naval threat of the Italian and German fleets, and were intended to serve overseas in the French colonial empire. D'Estrées was armed with a main battery of two 138 mm (5.4 in) guns, was protected by an armor deck that was 38 to 43 mm thick, and was capable of steaming at a top speed of up to 20 to 20.5 knots.

Admiral Sir Frank Larken KCB CMG was a Royal Navy officer who became Naval Secretary.

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

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

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

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

References

  1. ↑ "No. 27178". The London Gazette . 30 March 1900. p. 2125.
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.