Summary
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]
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Pelorus |
| Namesake | Pelorus |
| Builder | Sheerness Dockyard, Kent |
| Laid down | May 1895 |
| Launched | 15 December 1896 |
| Commissioned | 1897 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 1920[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Pelorus-class cruiser |
| Displacement | 2,135 long tons (2,169 t) |
| Length | |
| Beam | 36 ft 6 in (11.13 m) |
| Draught | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Propulsion | Triple expansion engine, 2 shafts, 5,000 ihp (3,728 kW) |
| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement | 224 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
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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 edit
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]
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 edit
- ^ "HMS Pelorus". pbenyon.plus.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
- ^ "Pelorus Class". battleships-cruisers.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36055. London. 2 February 1900. p. 10.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36767. London. 14 May 1902. p. 12.
- ^ "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)
External links edit
