HMS ''Blake'', named in honour of

Admiral Robert Blake General at Sea Robert Blake (27 September 1598 – 17 August 1657) was an English naval officer who served as the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports from 1656 to 1657. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a d ...

, was the lead ship of her class of

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...

that served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

from 1889 to 1922. She was launched on 23 November 1889 at Chatham Dockyard, but not completed until 2 February 1892.

Service history

After service as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of 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 the f ...

of the North America and West Indies Squadron from 1892 to 1895, ''Blake'' served in the Channel Fleet. In October 1900 she was employed as a temporary transport ship. She arrived at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

on 2 January 1901 with the relieved crew of and invalids and prisoners from the Mediterranean Station. Later the same month she was sent to Australia with Captain Thomas Philip Walker and a crew, to relieve the crew on , flagship of the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

. She returned to Plymouth with the former crew of ''Royal Arthur'' in June 1901, and was paid off at Devonport on 15 July 1901 to be refitted. She was later converted to a destroyer depot ship in 1907, serving through

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

as depot ship to the

11th Destroyer Flotilla The British 11th Destroyer Flotilla, or Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1915 to September 1945. History World War One The 11th Destroyer Flotilla was formed in August 1915 and was assigned to the ...

of the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the ...

, and was finally sold for scrapping on 9 June 1922.

Notes

References

* * Roger Chesneau and Eugene M. Kolesnik, ed., ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979), * F.J. Dittmar & J. J. Colledge, ''British Warships 1914–1919'', (Ian Allan, London, 1972), * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake Blake-class cruisers Ships built in Chatham World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom 1889 ships