HMS Thrush (1889)

HMS Thrush was a Redbreast-class[1] composite gunboat,[2] the third ship of the name to serve in the Royal Navy.

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

HMS Thrush, First Class gunboat by W. Fred Mitchell
History
United Kingdom
NameThrush
BuilderScotts, Greenock
Cost£39,000[1]
Yard number262[1]
Launched22 June 1889
Reclassified
  • Coastguard 1906
  • Cable ship 1915
  • Salvage vessel 1916
FateWrecked on 11 April 1917
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeRedbreast-class gunboat
Displacement805 tons
Length165 ft 0 in (50.3 m) pp
Beam31 ft 0 in (9.4 m)
Draught11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) min, 13 ft 9 in (4.19 m) max
Installed power1,200 ihp (890 kW)
Propulsion
  • Triple expansion steam engine
  • 2 × boilers
  • Single screw
Sail planBarquentine-rigged
Speed13 kn (24 km/h)
Range2,500 nmi (4,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)[1]
Complement76
Armament
  • 6 × 4-inch/25-pounder QF guns
  • 2 × 3-pounder QF guns
  • 2 × machine guns

Design

The Redbreast class were designed by Sir William Henry White, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction in 1888.[1]

Construction

Thrush was launched on 22 June 1889 at Greenock.[3] Her triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine was built by the Greenock Foundry, and developed 1,200 indicated horsepower (890 kW), sufficient to propel her at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) through her single screw.

Career
The Crisis at Zanzibar, British War-Ships engaged in the Bombardment of the Sultan's Palace; Thrush on the far right

Her first station was the North America and West Indies Station based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia, where, under the command of Prince George, later to become King George V of the United Kingdom.[2] Thrush arrived at Bermuda with Prince George in command on 18 July 1890, with a torpedo boat in tow, and later proceeded to Halifax.[4][5][6] In 1896 Thrush, along with Sparrow, played a part in the 40-minute Anglo-Zanzibar War.[7] She was also on active service during the Second Boer War, which lasted between October 1899 and June 1902 where she was commanded by Lieutenant Warren Hastings D'Oyly.[8] In early 1902 she helped a British force in Nigeria re-open trade routes on the Lower Niger, closed by piracy of some locals.[9] Lieutenant Hector Lloyd Watts-Jones was appointed in command on 5 July 1902.[10]

From 1906 Thrush worked for HM Coastguard before becoming a cable ship in 1915.[3] She then became a salvage ship in 1916 before being wrecked off Glenarm in Northern Ireland on 11 April 1917.[3]

In January 1917, Thrush was involved in the dramatic rescue of 46 submariners and shipyard officials, from the sunken HMS K13. The unusual 'steam-powered', and newly built submarine suffered an uncontrolled descent to the bottom of the Gareloch, on the Firth of Clyde, during sea trials. Thrush was called in from a nearby mooring. Along with Gossamer and Ranger, they were able to partially raise the stricken vessel with cables, just enough to allow rescue of more than half the people on board.[11]

References
  1. Winfield (2004), pp.299-300
  2. Canadian Military Heritage site
  3. Entry in Clydebuilt database
  4. The Royal Gazette, Hamilton, Bermuda. 3 June 1890
  5. The Royal Gazette, Hamilton, Bermuda. 22 July 1890
  6. A king lived in this old Bermuda cottage, Page 11, The Royal Gazette, Hamilton, Bermuda. 1 February 1953
  7. Patience 1994, p. 7.
  8. "Anglo-Boer War site". Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
  9. "No. 27473". The London Gazette. 12 September 1902. p. 5879.
  10. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36814. London. 8 July 1902. col e, p. 11.
  11. "The Unlucky K 13 - Shipping Wonders of the World". www.shippingwondersoftheworld.com. Retrieved 13 August 2020.

Bibliography
  • Patience, Kevin (1994), Zanzibar and the Shortest War in History, Bahrain: Kevin Patience
  • Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.
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