HMS St George (1892)

Last updated

HMSStGeorge1897.jpg
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS St George
Builder C & W Earle, Hull
Laid down23 April 1890
Launched23 June 1892
ReclassifiedDepot ship 1909
FateSold for breaking up 1 July 1920
General characteristics
Class and type Edgar-class cruiser
Displacement7,350 tons
Length387.5 ft (118.1 m)
Beam60 ft (18 m)
Armament
The crisis at Zanzibar when British warships bombarded the Sultan's Palace - St George on the left The Crisis at Zanzibar, British War-Ships engaged in the Bombardment of the Sultan's Palace - ILN 1896 (lightened).jpg
The crisis at Zanzibar when British warships bombarded the Sultan's Palace – St George on the left

HMS St George was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class. She was launched on 23 June 1892.

Contents

Service history

St George took part in the 40-minute-long Anglo-Zanzibar War in 1896. The obsolete armed yacht HHS Glasgow of Zanzibar fired upon a British flotilla led by St George, also comprising Philomel, Racoon, Sparrow and Thrush. The response sank Glasgow with a hole below the waterline. With a Union Jack flying over the sinking yacht in surrender, the flotilla launched lifeboats to rescue the crew of Glasgow which would lie at the bottom of Zanzibar Town Harbour until 1912.

She served in the Channel Fleet. In 1901, she was one of two escort ships for the royal yacht Ophir, which carried the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) during their tour of the British Empire.

Following the end of this tour, the captain of Ophir, Commodore Alfred Winsloe, reverted to his position as Commodore commanding the Cruiser squadron, and was in late 1901 posted to St George, [1] which thus became the lead ship of the squadron and carried his broad pennant. In May 1902 she was taken into Portsmouth for a refit. [2] She took part in the fleet review at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII, [3] and in September that year was part of a squadron visiting Nauplia and Crete for combined manoeuvres in the Mediterranean Sea. [4] After her return to Portsmouth in late October, she paid off on 15 November and her crew was transferred to HMS Good Hope. [5]

She was the flagship of the Cape & West Africa Station (Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson) based at Simon's Town, and served in the First World War. Sidney R. Olivier commanded the ship between 2 November 1915 and 1919.

She was designated as a depot ship in 1909, and sold for breaking up at Plymouth on 1 July 1920.

Notes

  1. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36607. London. 8 November 1901. p. 6.
  2. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36756. London. 1 May 1902. p. 6.
  3. "The Coronation - Naval Review". The Times. No. 36845. London. 13 August 1902. p. 4.
  4. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36883. London. 26 September 1902. p. 8.
  5. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36896. London. 11 October 1902. p. 12.

Related Research Articles

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

HMS Gibraltar, was an Edgar-class cruiser launched in 1892 for service in the Royal Navy. She was built and engineered by Messrs Napier of Glasgow. Of 7,700 loaded displacement, she was coal-fired with four double-ended cylindrical boilers driving two shafts. She could make 20 knots (37 km/h) with forced draught and 18 knots (33 km/h) with natural draught. She was a very good sea boat and an exceptional steamer.

HMS <i>Minerva</i> (1895) Eclipse-class cruiser

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

HMS <i>Juno</i> (1895) Eclipse-class cruiser

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

HMS Electra was a Clydebank-built, three-funnelled, 30-knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1895–1896 Naval Estimates. She was the fourth ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1806 for a 16-gun brig-sloop.

HMS <i>Royal Arthur</i> (1891) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Royal Arthur was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class, previously named Centaur, but renamed in 1890 prior to launching. She served on the Australia Station and briefly on the North America and West Indies Station before returning to the Home Fleet in 1906. She was paid off after the First World War.

HMS <i>Diadem</i> (1896) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Diadem was the lead ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy.

HMS <i>Amphitrite</i> (1898) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Amphitrite was a ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruisers in the Royal Navy, which served in the First World War.

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>Brilliant</i> (1891) Apollo-class cruiser of the British Royal Navy

HMS Brilliant was an Apollo-class cruiser of the British Royal Navy which served from 1893 to 1918 in various colonial posts and off the British Isles as a hastily converted minelayer during the First World War.

HMS <i>Wizard</i> (1895) Conflict-class destroyer

HMS Wizard was a Conflict-class destroyer built by the White shipyard for the Royal Navy, and launched on 26 February 1895. In 1910, she was reconstructed with only two funnels. She is believed to be the only destroyer fitted with in turning screws. She was sold in 1920.

HMS <i>Gipsy</i> (1897) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Gipsy was a Fairfield-built three-funnel, 30 knot torpedo boat destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates. She was the fourth ship to carry this name. Designated as a C-class destroyer in 1913, Gipsy served on patrol in the First World War operating out of Dover. She was sold for breaking in 1921.

HMS <i>Prometheus</i> (1898) Pelorus-class cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Prometheus was a Pelorus-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy. Ten sister third class protected cruisers were built — designed by Sir William White. While well-armed for their size, they were primarily workhorses for the overseas fleet considered to be on police duties. She was sold for scrap in 1914.

Admiral Sir Michael Henry Hodges, was a senior Royal Navy officer who went on to be Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Winsloe</span>

Admiral Sir Alfred Leigh Winsloe, was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station.

Admiral Sir Douglas Romilly Lothian Nicholson, KCMG, KCVO was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the Reserve Fleet.

HMS <i>Diana</i> (1895) Eclipse-class cruiser

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

HMS <i>Mallard</i> (1896) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Mallard was a two funnel, 30-knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1894 – 1895 Naval Estimates. She served in Home waters both before and during the First World War, and was sold for breaking in 1920.

HMS <i>Angler</i> (1897) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Angler was a two-funnel, 30-knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1895 – 1896 Naval Estimates. She was the second ship to carry this name. She was launched in 1897, served at Chatham and Portsmouth and was sold for breaking in 1920.

Admiral Sir Arthur Murray Farquhar, was a British Royal Navy officer in the years before the First World War.

HMS <i>Intrepid</i> (1891) Apollo-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Intrepid was an Apollo-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy built on the River Clyde and launched in 1891. She was subsequently converted as a minelayer in the latter half of her career and ultimately sunk as a blockship during the Zeebrugge Raid on 23 April 1918.

References