HMS ''Shark'' was one of three s built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in the 1890s. Completed in 1895 she served in home waters and was sold for scrap in 1911.

Description

Ordered as part of the 1893–1894 Naval Programme, the ''Rocket''-class torpedo boat destroyers were J & G Thompson's first such ships. They displaced at normal load and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

. The ships had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a beam of and a draught of . They were powered by a pair of triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single propeller shaft using steam provided by four

Normand boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...

s. The engines developed a total of and were intended to give a maximum speed of .Friedman, p. 291 During her

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s ''Shark'' reached from . The ''Rocket''-class ships carried a maximum of of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

that gave them a range of at . Their crew numbered 53 officers and ratings. The ships were armed with a single quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder (3 in (76 mm) Mk I gun and five QF 6-pounder () Mk I Hotchkiss guns in single mounts. Their

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

armament consisted of two rotating

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s for 18-inch (450 mm) torpedoes, one mount

amidships This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th ...

and the other on the stern.

Construction and career

''Shark'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

by J & G Thompson at its Clydebank shipyard on 14 February 1894, launched on 22 September and completed in July 1895.Friedman, p. 302 ''Shark'' served in the

Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

in home waters throughout her career. She was assigned to the Devonport instructional flotilla, when she was transferred in early February 1900 to become tender to , gunnery school ship off Plymouth. She took part in the

Coronation Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

for King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

on 16 August 1902, with lieutenant A. S. Susmann temporarily in command from 8 August. The following month she was replaced as tender on 11 September and paid off into the D Division of the Devonport Fleet Reserve. ''Shark'' was sold for scrap at Devonport for £1575 on 11 July 1911.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Shark (1894) Rocket-class destroyers Ships built on the River Clyde 1894 ships A-class destroyers (1913)