HMS ''Endymion'' was a first-class

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...

of the . She served in China during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

and later in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was sold in 1920.

Construction

''Endymion'' had a length of long overall and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, with a beam of and a draught of . She displaced .Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 66. Armament consisted of two 9.2 inch guns, on the ships centreline, backed up by ten six-inch guns, of which four were in

casemates 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" mea ...

on the main deck and the remainder behind open shields. Twelve 6-pounder and four 3-pounder guns provided anti-torpedo-boat defences, while four 18 inch torpedo tubes were fitted. The ''Edgar''s were

s, with an arched, armoured deck thick at about waterline level. The casemate armour was thick, with thick shields for the 9.2 inch guns and armour on the ship's

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...

.Brown 2003, pp. 132–134. It contained four double-ended cylindrical Fairfields

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

s feeding steam at to 2 three-cylinder triple expansion engines, which drove two shafts. This gave under forced draught, giving a speed of .

Service details

''Endymion'' was launched on 22 July 1891. ''Endymion'' took part in suppressing the

in China, during which time future rear admiral and VC recipient

Eric Gascoigne Robinson Rear admiral (Royal Navy), Rear Admiral Eric Gascoigne Robinson (16 May 1882 – 20 August 1965) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross. He earned his award by going ashore and single-handedly destroying a Turkish naval ...

served aboard her. Captain

Alfred Paget Alfred Paget (2 June 1879 – 8 October 1919) was an English silent film actor best known for his portrayal of Prince Belshazzar in D.W. Griffith's 1916 historical epic ''Intolerance''. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1908 and ...

was appointed in command in February 1901, and in December 1901 she visited

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, where the Governor and US officers hosted the crew, including many with whom they had served together during the rebellion. She was ordered home in late May 1902, stopping in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

on 22 June,

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

on 5 July,

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

on 22 July,

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

on 28 July, 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 ...

on 1 August, before she returned to Portsmouth. She took part in the fleet review held at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

on 16 August 1902 for the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

, and paid off at Chatham on 4 September 1902 when she was placed in the C division of the Medway fleet reserve She was flag ship in Cork Harbour in 1914. ''Endymion'' served in the

in the Gallipoli Campaign. On 30 August 1918, she was damaged at Stavros,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

by the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

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 ...

; her crew survived. ''Endymion'' was sold for breaking up at

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

on 16 March 1920.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* Transcription of ship's logbooks December 1913 to December 1918 {{DEFAULTSORT:Endymion (1891) Edgar-class cruisers Ships built on the Humber Victorian-era cruisers of the United Kingdom World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom 1891 ships Maritime incidents in 1918