HMS ''Bacchante'' was a

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

around 1900. Upon completion she was assigned to the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the fleet's cruiser squadron. She was reduced to

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

upon her return home in 1905 before returning to the Mediterranean in 1906. Six years later she returned home and was again placed in reserve. Recommissioned at the start of World War I, ''Bacchante'' became

of the

7th Cruiser Squadron The 7th Cruiser Squadron (also known as Cruiser Force C) was a blockading force of the Royal Navy during the First World War used to close the English Channel to Germany, German traffic. It was employed patrolling an area of the North Sea know ...

. She was present at the Battle of Heligoland Bight a few weeks after the war began, but saw no combat. She was transferred to convoy escort duties in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

in late 1914 before being sent to Egypt in early 1915. ''Bacchante'' was then assigned to support

Anzac The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...

troops during the Gallipoli Campaign by providing naval gunfire. She covered the

landing at Anzac Cove The landing at Anzac Cove on Sunday, 25 April 1915, also known as the landing at Gaba Tepe and, to the Turks, as the Arıburnu Battle, was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by the forces of the British Empire, which ...

in April as well as several subsequent operations. Returning home in late 1916, she became the flagship of the

9th Cruiser Squadron The 9th Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the Royal Navy from 1912 to 1919 and again from 1939 to 1940. Cruiser squadrons consisted of five to six ships in wartime and in peacetime as low as two to three ships. From 1914 until 1924/2 ...

on convoy escort duties off the African coast in mid-1917. ''Bacchante'' remained there for the rest of the war and was reduced to reserve in 1919 before being sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

in 1920.

Design and description

''Bacchante'' was designed to displace . The ship 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 Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and a deep draught of . She was powered by two 4-cylinder

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) Cylinder (engine), cylinder, then ha ...

s, each driving one shaft, which produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . The engines were powered by 30

Belleville boiler There have been a vast number of designs of steam boiler, particularly towards the end of the 19th century when the technology was evolving rapidly. A great many of these took the names of their originators or primary manufacturers, rather than a m ...

s. On their

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip 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 op ...

s all of the ''Cressy''-class cruisers, except the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

, exceeded their designed speed. She carried a maximum of of coal and her complement ranged from 725Friedman 2012, p. 336 to 760 officers and ratings.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 68 Her main armament consisted of two

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition from the breech end of the barrel (i.e., from the rearward, open end of the gun's barrel), as opposed to a muzzleloader, in which the user loads the ammunition from the ( muzzle ...

(BL) Mk X guns in single

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanis ...

s, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. They fired shells to a range of . Her secondary armament of twelve BL 6-inch Mk VII guns was arranged in

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

s amidships. Eight of these were mounted on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather. They had a maximum range of approximately with their shells. A dozen quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 12-cwt guns were fitted for defence against

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

s, eight on casemates on the upper deck and four in the superstructure. The ship also carried three 3-pounder

Hotchkiss gun The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different types of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun. There were also navy (47 mm) and 3-inch (76 mm) ...

s and two submerged 18-inch

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. The ship's waterline armour belt had a maximum thickness of and was closed off by transverse bulkheads. The armour of the gun turrets and their barbettes was 6 inches thick while the casemate armour was 5 inches thick. The protective deck armour ranged in thickness from and the conning tower was protected by of armour.

Construction and service

''Bacchante'', named after the female devotees of the Greek god

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...

,Silverstone, p. 216 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 ...

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its heig ...

at their

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

on 15 February 1899 and launched on 21 February 1901. She arrived at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

the following October, to be equipped and prepared for her steam and gunnery trials and was completed in November 1902. Upon completion, she was commissioned by Captain Frederic Brock on 25 November 1902 and assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet as flagship of its cruiser squadron, replacing . On arrival in the Mediterranean, Brock changed places on 20 December with Captain

Christopher Cradock Rear Admiral Sir Christopher George Francis Maurice Cradock (2 July 1862 – 1 November 1914) was an English senior officer of the Royal Navy. He earned a reputation for great gallantry. Appointed to the royal yacht, he was close to the Britis ...

, who had until then been in command of ''Andromeda''. ''Bacchante'' remained in the Mediterranean under Cradock's command until 1905 when she returned home and was placed in reserve. She returned there in 1906 for service with the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

and later the

6th Cruiser Squadron The 6th Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1915 and again from 1925 to 1945. The Royal Navy's cruiser squadrons usually contained a maximum of five to six ships but down but sometimes as low as two ...

s, and in January 1907 her command was given to

William Ruck-Keene William George Elmhirst Ruck-Keene MVO (30 January 1867 – 30 January 1935) was an Admiral of the Royal Navy. From 1896 to 1916, he commanded naval vessels, primarily armoured cruisers, with a three-year break during which he trained cadets ...

, who held it until October 1910. The Census 1911 reveals her in the Mediterranean under the Flag of Rear Admiral Douglas Gamble and captained (Flag Captain) by

Reginald Tyrwhitt Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, (; 10 May 1870 – 30 May 1951) was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the Harwich Force. He led a supporting naval force of 31 destroyers an ...

. Gamble's Flag Lieutenant was

Bertram Ramsay Admiral Sir Bertram Home Ramsay, KCB, KBE, MVO (20 January 1883 – 2 January 1945) was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded the destroyer during the First World War. In the Second World War, he was responsible for the Dunkirk evacuation in 1 ...

. Upon returning home in 1912, the ship was assigned to the reserve Third Fleet. At the outbreak of the war in August 1914, ''Bacchante'' became the flagship of the

, tasked with patrolling the

Broad Fourteens The Broad Fourteens on a map by Delisle (1743) The Broad Fourteens is an area of the southern North Sea that is fairly consistently deep. Thus, on a nautical chart with depths given in fathoms, a broad area with many "14" notations can be seen. ...

of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

in support of a force of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s and

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s based at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

which protected the eastern end of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

from German warships attempting to attack the supply route between

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. During the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August, the ship was flagship of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Henry Campbell commanding Cruiser Force 'C', in reserve off the Dutch coast, and saw no action. After the sinking of ''Bacchante''s three

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s while patrolling the Broad Fourteens on 22 September, she, and her sister , were transferred to the

12th Cruiser Squadron The 12th Cruiser Squadron also known as Cruiser Force G was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1914 to 1915 and then again from 1939 to 1943. History First formation The squadron was first formed 1 August 1914 and was initia ...

to escort ships between England and

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

in early October. ''Bacchante'' and ''Euryalus'' were transferred to Egypt in late January 1915 to reinforce the defences of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

although the Turkish

raid on the Suez Canal The raid on the Suez Canal, also known as actions on the Suez Canal, took place between 26 January and 4 February 1915 when a German-led Ottoman force advanced from southern Palestine to attack the British Empire-protected Suez Canal, marking ...

had already been repulsed by the time that they arrived in February. By this time the preliminary bombardments of the Turkish defences of the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

had already occurred and the sisters were transferred north in March as the Turks east of the Canal proved to be reasonably quiet. During the landing at Anzac Cove during the Battle of Gallipoli on 25 April, ''Bacchante'' suppressed Turkish

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

positions at Gaba Tepe after touching her bow the beach for a better position from which to engage the guns. She provided fire support for forces near Anzac Cove for the next several months, particularly during the

Third attack on Anzac Cove The third attack on Anzac Cove (19 May 1915) was an engagement during the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War. The attack was conducted by the forces of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, against the forces of the British Empire defending the ...

on 19 May when she, together with three pre-dreadnought battleships, effectively suppressed the Turkish artillery assigned to support the attack. On 28 May ''Bacchante'' and the destroyer destroyed enemy shipping in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...

harbour. Three months later the cruiser bombarded Turkish troops during the

Battle of Lone Pine The Battle of Lone Pine (also known as the Battle of Bloody Ridge (Kanlı Sırt Muharebesi) was fought between Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) and Ottoman Empire forces during the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War, between ...

on 6 August and

Battle of Chunuk Bair The Battle of Chunuk Bair () was a World War I battle fought between the Ottoman defenders and troops of the British Empire over control of the peak in August 1915. The capture of Chunuk Bair, ( Basin Slope, now ''Conk Bayırı''), the secondar ...

7–9 August. She was not present when the Allies began to evacuate Gallipoli in December, but her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Algernon Boyle Admiral Sir Algernon Douglas Edward Harry Boyle (21 October 1871 – 13 October 1949) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Fourth Sea Lord. Early life Boyle was born at 37, Lowndes Street, Belgravia, the youngest son of Henry Boyle, ...

, commanded the evacuation at Anzac Cove. She remained in the Mediterranean until late 1916 when she returned home. She was damaged in a collision with the armoured cruiser in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

in February 1917. After repairs she became flagship of the

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

from April 1917 to November 1918. ''Bacchante'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

at Chatham in April 1919Friedman 2012, p. 240; Transcript and sold for scrap on 1 July 1920.

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *
Transcription of ship's logbooks June 1917 to April 1919

External links

HMS ''Bacchante'' (Clydebuilt Ships Database)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacchante (1901) Cressy-class cruisers Ships built on the River Clyde World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom 1901 ships