HMS Seagull (1889)

HMS ''Seagull'' was a of the British Royal Navy. She was built at Chatham Dockyard from 1888–1891. She was converted to a minesweeper in 1908–1909 and continued these duties during the First World War. ''Seagull'' was sunk in a collision with a merchant ship on 30 September 1918.

Design and construction

The ''Sharpshooter''-class was designed under the leadership of William Henry White, the Director of Naval Construction to be faster and more seaworthy than the preceding prototype torpedo gunboat, and the three s, while carrying a heavier armament. As torpedo gunboats, they were intended to defend the fleet from attack by torpedo boats, while being capable of carrying out torpedo attacks themselves.

The ''Sharpshooter''s were larger than the preceding ships, with a raised forecastle to improve seakeeping. They were long overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was . Two triple-expansion steam engines, fed by four locomotive boilers, drove two propeller shafts. The machinery was intended to produce giving a speed of . The use of locomotive boilers was not a success, with the machinery being unreliable and unable to provide the expected power. The machinery actually delivered giving a speed of when forced and giving under natural draft.

The ship was armed with two 4.7 inch (120 mm) QF guns mounted fore and aft on the ships centreline, backed up by four 3-pounder (47 mm) guns (two in single mounts on the ship's beam and two in casemates forward). Five 14-inch torpedo tubes were fitted (one fixed in the ship's bow and two twin mounts), with three reload torpedoes carried. The ship had a crew of 91.

''Seagull'' was laid down at Chatham Dockyard on 23 April 1888 and launched on 30 November 1889. She was completed in January 1891 at a cost of £56,922.

Service

In August 1894 ''Seagull'' took part in that year's Naval Manoeuvres, and in July 1896 again took part in the Manoeuvres. ''Seagull'' was subject to a major refit in 1897–1898, being fitted with Niclausse water-tube boilers in place of the ship's locomotive boilers. ''Seagull'' took part in an extensive series of successful trials to evaluate the new boilers, which resulted in further use of the Niclausse boiler by the Royal Navy.

''Seagull'' was a tender at Portsmouth in 1906, and remained on that duty until 1908. In 1909 she was converted to a minesweeper, which involved removing the torpedo tubes.

On the outbreak of the First World War ''Seagull'' joined the newly established Grand Fleet. In August 1914, the minesweepers attached to the Grand Fleet, including ''Seagull'' were employed on carrying out daily sweeps of the Pentland Firth. In September 1914 ''Seagull'' was deployed to guard the Fleet anchorage at Loch Ewe. On 27 October, the battleship struck a mine off Tory Island, north-west of Lough Swilly, and despite efforts to tow her to safety, sank later that day. As a result, ''Seagull'' together with sister ships and were ordered from Scapa Flow to join and in clearing this minefield.

The old torpedo gunboats such as ''Seagull'' were not well suited to continual use in the rough waters around Scapa Flow, and in July 1915 ''Seagull'' and sister ship were deployed to Harwich to sweep ahead of the Harwich Force when it went to sea.

On 15 February 1917 ''Seagull'' was east of Aldeburgh when a periscope, probably of the German submarine ''UC-1'', was spotted. ''Seagull'' dropped two depth charges on the wake of the periscope.

On 30 September 1918 ''Seagull'' was sunk in a collision with the merchant ship SS ''Corribb'' in the Firth of Clyde.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Seagull (1889)
Sharpshooter-class torpedo gunboats
Victorian-era gunboats of the United Kingdom
World War I minesweepers of the United Kingdom
Minesweepers of the Royal Navy
1889 ships
Ships built in Chatham
Shipwrecks in the Firth of Clyde