HMS ''Perseus'' was a
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
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 ...
. There were eleven "Third class" protected cruisers in the class, which was designed by
Sir William White. They mainly served at overseas stations rather than with the main fleets.
Design
''HMS Perseus'' displaced 2,135 tons, had a crew complement of 224 men and were armed with eight
QF 4 inch (102 mm) guns, eight 3 pounder guns, three machine guns, and two 18 inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes. With reciprocating
triple expansion engines fed by 14 Thornycroft boilers, the top speed was .
History
''HMS Perseus'' was laid down at
Earle's Shipbuilding
Earle's Shipbuilding was an engineering company that was based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1845 to 1932.
Earle Brothers
The company was started in Hull in 1845 by two brothers, Charles and William Earle. The firm was made ...
,
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft
* Submarine hull
Ma ...
, in May 1896, launched on 15 July 1897, and completed in 1901.
Under the command of Commander
Edmund Radcliffe Pears, she was in March 1901 commissioned to form part of the
East Indies fleet,
[Brassey 1902, p. 52.] where she was often stationed in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
or the
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...
. In September 1901 she prevented the landing of Turkish troops at Kuwait, and in September 1902 she demolished the fort at
Balhaf
Balhaf () is an industrial port town and an oasis in an area of coastal dunes in the Burum Coastal Area of Yemen. It has palm trees and white sand, which gives way to fields of black lava and to the fishing port of Bir-Ali. Qana, a major point of d ...
in response to pirate activities by the locals there.
''HMS Perseus'' was sold for scrap on 26 May 1914.
[Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 14.]
Notes
References
* Brassey, T.A. ''The Naval Annual 1902''. Portsmouth, UK: J Griffin and Co, 1902.
* Chesneau, Roger and Eugene M. Kolesnik. ''Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905''. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1979. .
* Gardiner, Robert and Randal Gray. ''Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921''. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1985. .
''World War I Naval Combat'' webpage
Pelorus-class cruisers of the Royal Navy
Ships built on the Humber
1897 ships
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