HMS Philomel (1890)
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HMS ''Philomel'', later HMNZS ''Philomel'', was a . She was the fifth ship of that name and served with 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 ...
. After her commissioning in 1890, she served on the Cape of Good Hope Station and later with 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 ...
. In 1914, she was loaned to
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
for service with what would later become the
Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...
. During the early stages of 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 ...
she performed
convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
escort duties and then carried out operations in the Mediterranean against the Turks. She later conducted patrols in the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
and
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 ...
. By 1917, she was worn out and dispatched back to New Zealand where she served as a depot ship in
Wellington Harbour Wellington Harbour ( ), officially called Wellington Harbour / Port Nicholson, is a large natural harbour on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The harbour entrance is from Cook Strait. Central Wellington is located on parts of ...
for
minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
s. In 1921 she was transferred to the
Devonport Naval Base Devonport Naval Base is the home of the Royal New Zealand Navy, located at Devonport, New Zealand on Auckland's North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore. It is currently the only base of the navy that operates ships, and has been in use as a n ...
in
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for service as a training ship. Decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1947, her hulk was scuttled in 1949.


Design and description

HMS ''Philomel'' was laid down on 9 May 1889 at HM Naval Dockyard in
Devonport, Plymouth Devonport ( ), formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889. Devonport was originally one o ...
. Her name is derived from Philomela, in Greek mythology the daughter of Pandion I, King of Athens, and was the fifth ship to be so named. The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She displaced . Propulsion was through 3-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, driving two shafts, which produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . She was also rigged for sail and when installing the foremast, workmen noticed it was stamped "Devonport Dockyard 1757". Her main armament consisted of eight QF guns with a secondary armament of eight 3-pounders. As well as four machine guns, the ship also mounted two submerged
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. ''Philomel'' was launched on 28 August 1890, and completed the following March. After completing sea trials, she was commissioned in the Royal Navy on 10 November 1891. Commanded by
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 ...
Charles Campbell, she was assigned to the Cape of Good Hope Station although fitting work and working up trials meant that ''Philomel'' did not arrive in South Africa until June 1892.


Operational history

For six years, ''Philomel'' served on station, intercepting slave traders along the coast of Africa. In 1896, she participated in the
Anglo-Zanzibar War The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and the Sultanate of Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the sh ...
, during which rebels murdered the Sultan of Zanzibar and seized his palace. Along with the three gunboats and , she bombarded the palace fortress and the only ship of the Zanzibar Navy, . This action lasted less than an hour and resulted in the routing of the rebels. The following year, ''Philomel'' was transferred to the West Africa component of the Cape of Good Hope Station and participated in the Benin Expedition. A refit was completed in 1898 after which ''Philomel'' returned to Cape of Good Hope Station. She served throughout the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
. Some of her complement of 220 men served in the field with the Naval Brigade. Two of her 4.7-inch guns were disembarked and used in the Battle of Colenso. After the war, she returned to Devonport and was paid off on 22 March 1902. She was laid up in the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...
for several years before a refit was carried out in 1907 at Haulbowline Dock in Ireland. During her tow to Ireland she went adrift for a night in 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 ...
when the rope to the towing vessel, , broke. ''Philomel'' was recommissioned in February 1908 for service with 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 ...
under the command of Captain John Seagrave. She provided assistance in the wake of the earthquake at Messina in Sicily. The following year she served with the East Indies Station, running patrols from
Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...
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 ...
for two years and served in operations off
Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...
, 1908–1910.


Transfer to New Zealand

In 1913 the Admiralty agreed to lend ''Philomel'' to New Zealand as a seagoing training cruiser to form the nucleus of the newly established New Zealand Naval Forces, which was a new division of the Royal Navy. This was in response to the desire of the New Zealand Minister of Defence at the time, James Allen, who wanted to establish a local naval force which would co-operate with the fledgling
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
. ''Philomel'' was recommissioned in October 1913 in Singapore and later sailed for New Zealand to join and HMAS ''Pyramus'', both s serving in New Zealand waters. ''Philomel'' was commissioned for New Zealand service on 15 July 1914, under the command of Captain Percival Hall-Thompson. Although mainly crewed by Englishmen, she was the country's first warship.


First World War

''Philomel'' was on a short shakedown voyage to Picton on 30 July 1914, prior to taking on its first complement of New Zealand cadets, when it was recalled to
Wellington Harbour Wellington Harbour ( ), officially called Wellington Harbour / Port Nicholson, is a large natural harbour on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The harbour entrance is from Cook Strait. Central Wellington is located on parts of ...
in anticipation of the outbreak of war. Largely crewed by personnel from the Royal Navy, volunteers were brought on board to bring the ship up to full strength and after stocking up with supplies, she departed for Auckland to await further instructions. On 15 August 1914 she formed part of the ocean escort for the New Zealand forces that were dispatched to occupy German Samoa (now
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
). The escort would have been unlikely to offer much resistance to the German cruisers and that were known to be in the area. Fortunately, the convoy did not encounter the German ships. ''Philomel'' then steamed for the Kingdom of Tonga to deliver news of the hostilities with Imperial Germany before returning to New Zealand. By now the main body of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, formed for service overseas, were ready to embark from Wellington on a convoy for the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. ''Philomel'' escorted the convoy as far as Western Australia. Then, along with ''Pyramus'', she sailed northeastwards for Singapore in search of the German cruiser , which was then carrying out raids in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. The two ships, which would have been outgunned by the more modern ''Emden'', had reached
Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
when they received news of ''Emden''s sinking by . They arrived in Singapore on 12 November from where ''Philomel'' continued onto
Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...
, escorting three French troopships. From late 1914, ''Philomel'', needing maintenance and an update of equipment, was berthed at
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 ...
and underwent an overhaul. This was completed by late January 1915 and she then started operations in the Mediterranean against the Turks. On 8 February she landed an armed party in Southern
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
where a large force of Turkish soldiers were encountered, resulting in three seamen being killed and three wounded. This action marked the first deaths in the war of New Zealanders serving with a New Zealand formation. Subsequently, ''Philomel'' was deployed in the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
and 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 ...
for much of the remainder of the year. In December 1915 she sailed to
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
for maintenance work but was back in the Persian Gulf in January 1916, continuing her patrolling. By the end of the year, her engines were giving trouble and her stern glands were worn out. A lengthy and costly refit was required and rather than incur this cost for a ship which was nearly at the end of her operational life, the Admiralty decided to give her to New Zealand and dispatched her home to be paid off. She duly arrived in Wellington Harbour in March 1917. A large portion of her Royal Navy crew were returned to England to be assigned to other berths. Armament removed, ''Philomel'' was recommissioned as a depot ship in Wellington, supporting minesweeping operations until May 1919.


Postwar service

In March 1921, on the creation of the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, ''Philomel'' was recommissioned as a training base. She steamed from her berth at Wellington to the dockyard at the
Devonport Naval Base Devonport Naval Base is the home of the Royal New Zealand Navy, located at Devonport, New Zealand on Auckland's North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore. It is currently the only base of the navy that operates ships, and has been in use as a n ...
in Auckland. Moored alongside the training jetty, she was operated as a training facility for new recruits to the naval service, under the command of a series of officers from the Royal Navy including, for nearly six months in 1923,
Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
Augustus Agar VC. Training armament was installed and in 1925, her boilers and engines were removed to create more accommodation space. Further accommodation, in the form of wooden cabins, was later constructed on her deck. In October 1941, on the creation of the
Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...
, ''Philomel'' was recommissioned as the training base .


Fate

''Philomel'' was paid off and decommissioned on 17 January 1947 and her name transferred to the Devonport Naval Shore Establishment. On the day of her decommissioning, the New Zealand Naval Board sent a signal to ''Philomel'' which stated: The hulk of ''Philomel'' was sold to Strongman Shipping Company, based in Coromandel. She was towed and deliberately ran aground in Coromandel harbour, near the wharf. After her fittings and parts were removed, she was towed out to sea and sunk in 100 fathoms near Cuvier Island on 6 August 1949, when sunk she was just 22 days shy of 59 years afloat. Much of the teak timber and some fittings went into a newly built coaster named ''Coromel'', an amalgamation of Coromandel and Philomel. Her crest is mounted to the gate of the Devonport Naval Base and her builders plate is on display in the William Sanders building which serves as the administrative Headquarters of the shore establishment. Additionally her mast has been used as a flag pole at HMNZS Tamaki and is now situated in front of the parade ground on the Jim Tichener Parade side of the base.


Notes


References

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Further reading

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External links


NZ Navy Museum – HMS ''Philomel''


{{DEFAULTSORT:Philomel Pearl-class cruisers Ships built in Plymouth, Devon 1890 ships Pearl-class cruisers of the Royal New Zealand Navy World War I cruisers of New Zealand Training ships Scuttled vessels Shipwrecks of New Zealand Maritime incidents in 1949