HMS Pelorus (1896)

HMS Pelorus was the first of the Pelorus-class cruisers, and was laid down at Sheerness dockyard in 1895. Completed and commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1897, she was designed by Sir William White. Construction cost £154,315. The ship was well armed for her size, but was primarily a workhorse for the overseas fleet.[2]

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Pelorus.

HMS Pelorus
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Pelorus
NamesakePelorus
BuilderSheerness Dockyard, Kent
Laid downMay 1895
Launched15 December 1896
Commissioned1897
FateSold for scrap, 1920[1]
General characteristics
Class and typePelorus-class cruiser
Displacement2,135 long tons (2,169 t)
Length
  • 313 ft 6 in (95.55 m) o/a
  • 300 ft (91 m) p/p
Beam36 ft 6 in (11.13 m)
Draught16 ft (4.9 m)
PropulsionTriple expansion engine, 2 shafts, 5,000 ihp (3,728 kW)
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement224
Armament
Armour
  • 0.25in (gun shields)
  • 2-1.5in (decks)

HMS Pelorus displaced 2,135 tons and had a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h). She had reciprocating triple expansion engines and Normand water-tube boilers which could give 7,000 horsepower (5,200 kW) for limited periods of time with forced draught, and 5,000 horsepower (3,700 kW) under natural draught. It carried a crew complement of 224 men and it was armed with eight QF 4 inch (102 mm) (25 pounder) guns, eight QF 3 pounder (47-mm) guns, three machine guns, and two 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes.

Service history

Pelorus served in the Channel Fleet under Captain Henry Charles Bertram Hulbert, when in February 1900 she joined the Eastern division of the fleet.[3]

Protected cruiser HMS Pelorus during WWI

In 1901, the ship was stationed at Gibraltar under the command of Commander Ernest Troubridge. The following year she paid off at Devonport, had her boilers repaired,[4] and in August was towed to Clydebank to be refitted by Messrs J. Brown and Co. in Glasgow.[5]

In 1906, the ship was assigned to the Cape of Good Hope Station under the command of Commander James C. Tancred. In 1908 the captain was Arthur W Craig.

References
  1. "HMS Pelorus". pbenyon.plus.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  2. "Pelorus Class". battleships-cruisers.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  3. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36055. London. 2 February 1900. p. 10.
  4. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36767. London. 14 May 1902. p. 12.
  5. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36849. London. 18 August 1902. p. 4.
  • E E Highams, 'Across a Continent in a Man of War' (Westminster Press, London, 1909)
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