HMS Perseus (1897)

HMS Perseus was a Pelorus-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy. There were eleven "Third class" protected cruisers in the class, which was designed by Sir William White. They mainly served at overseas stations rather than with the main fleets.

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

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Perseus
NamesakePerseus
BuilderEarle's Shipbuilding, Hull
Laid downMay 1896
Launched15 July 1897
Completed1901
FateSold for scrap, 26 May 1914
General characteristics [1]
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)
Propulsion
  • 16 Thornycroft boilers
  • 3-cylinder Triple expansion engine, 2 shafts,
  • 5,000 ihp (3,728 kW) natural draught, 7,000 ihp (5,220 kW) forced draught
Speed
  • 18.5 kn (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) natural draught,
  • 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) forced draught
Complement224
Armament
Armour
  • Deck: 1+1⁄2–2 in (38–51 mm) deck
  • Gunshields: 1⁄4 in (6.4 mm)
  • Conning tower: 3 in (76 mm)

Design

HMS Perseus displaced 2,135 tons, had a crew complement of 224 men and were armed with eight QF 4 inch (102 mm) guns, eight 3 pounder guns, three machine guns, and two 18 inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes. With reciprocating triple expansion engines fed by 14 Thornycroft boilers, the top speed was 20 knots (37 km/h).[1]

History

HMS Perseus was laid down at Earle's Shipbuilding, Hull, in May 1896, launched on 15 July 1897, and completed in 1901.[1] Under the command of Commander Edmund Radcliffe Pears, she was in March 1901 commissioned to form part of the East Indies fleet,[2][3] where she was often stationed in the Persian Gulf or the Gulf of Aden. In September 1901 she prevented the landing of Turkish troops at Kuwait,[4] and in September 1902 she demolished the fort at Balhaf in response to pirate activities by the locals there.[5]

HMS Perseus was sold for scrap on 26 May 1914.[6]

Notes
  1. Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 83.
  2. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36397. London. 8 March 1901. p. 10.
  3. Brassey 1902, p. 52.
  4. "Great Britain and Turkey: Position in the Persian Gulf: Landing of Turkish Troops Prevented". The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 September 1901, p. 7.
  5. "Piracy in the Gulf of Aden". The Times. No. 36868. London. 9 September 1902. p. 3.
  6. Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 14.

References
  • Brassey, T.A. The Naval Annual 1902. Portsmouth, UK: J Griffin and Co, 1902.
  • Chesneau, Roger and Eugene M. Kolesnik. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1979. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
  • Gardiner, Robert and Randal Gray. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1985. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • World War I Naval Combat webpage
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