HMS Hyacinth (1898)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

HMS Hyacinth circa. 1915
History
United Kingdom
NameHyacinth
BuilderLondon & Glasgow Shipbuilding, Govan
Laid down21 January 1897
Launched27 October 1898
ChristenedMrs. Richmond
Completed3 September 1900
DecommissionedAugust 1919
FateSold for scrap, 11 October 1923
General characteristics
Class and typeHighflyer-class protected cruiser
Displacement5,650 long tons (5,740 t)
Length
  • 350 ft (110 m) (p.p.)
  • 372 ft (113 m) (o/a)
Beam54 ft (16.5 m)
Draught21 ft 6 in (6.6 m)
Installed power
  • 18 ×
    Belleville boilers
  • 10,000 
    kW
    )
Propulsion2 × shafts; 2 × triple-expansion steam engines
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement470
Armament
Armour

HMS Hyacinth was one of three

paid off in 1919, although she was not sold for scrap
until 1923.

Design and description

The two 6-inch guns on her sister ship Hermes's quarterdeck

Hyacinth was designed to

Belleville boilers.[1] She carried a maximum of 1,125 long tons (1,143 t) of coal and her complement consisted of 470 officers and ratings.[2]

Her main armament consisted of 11

The ship's protective deck armour ranged in thickness from 1.5 to 3 inches (38 to 76 mm). The engine hatches were protected by 5-inch (127 mm) of armour. The main guns were fitted with 3-inch gun shields and the conning tower had armour 6 inches thick.[1]

Construction and service

Hyacinth was

the Hyacinth incident
.

She returned home in March 1911 for a refit at

Chatham Royal Dockyard and was transferred to the reserve Third Fleet in February 1912. She recommissioned a year later for service as the flagship of the Cape of Good Hope Station, relieving her other sister, Hermes.[8]

Königsberg in Dar es Salaam, 1914

Shortly before the beginning of the war,

Dardanelles on 25 March and the ship again became King-Hall's flagship.[11]

1915: Hyacinth meets the German auxiliary ship Rubens on the coast of German East Africa. Rubens escapes into Manza Bay.

On 14 April Hyacinth intercepted the captured British merchantman SS Rubens making an attempt to deliver supplies to German East Africa. The cruiser spotted her bound for Tanga, but was not able to board and capture her when one engine broke down.[12] Rubens was scuttled in shallow water in Manza Bay, out of sight of Hyacinth, which believed that shelling had set her afire, though this was a ruse by the crew, who had laid inflammable material on deck and retired to the shore. The fire was too hot for her cargo to be salvaged when Hyacinth's crew approached the stranded ship. The Germans, however, were able to salvage all the arms and ammunition cargo after the fire had burnt out.[12][13]

Hyacinth remained on the Cape Station until the end of the war. On 23 March 1916 she sank the German merchant ship

the Legion of Honour – Croix de Chevalier.[15] Bridgeman's body was recovered from the sea and is buried in Dar es Salaam Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery.[16] Hyacinth was paid off in August 1919 and sold for scrap on 11 October 1923.[17]

Notes

  1. ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 79
  2. ^ a b Friedman 2012, p. 336
  3. ^ Friedman 2011, p. 87
  4. ^ Friedman 2012, p. 171
  5. ^ Friedman 2011, pp. 87–88
  6. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 35659. London. 28 October 1898. p. 9.
  7. ^ "The Coronation - Naval Review". The Times. No. 36845. London. 13 August 1902. p. 4.
  8. ^ a b c Gardiner & Gray, p. 16
  9. ^ "The capture of the forts at Illig from the Mad Mullah, 21 April 1904", Paul G Lane. Orders & Medals Research Society Journal (Volume 59, number 2) June 2020. pp 152-156.
  10. ^ Corbett, Vol. I, pp. 152, 264
  11. ^ Corbett, Vol. II, pp. 234–35, 238–39
  12. ^ a b Corbett, Vol. III, pp. 8–9; Newbolt, Vol. IV, p. 80
  13. ^ Stacke, Vol I, p. 154
  14. ^ "No. 30581". The London Gazette. 15 March 1918. p. 3395.
  15. ^ "Edwin Rowland Moon 1886 – 1920". Hampshire County Council. Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  16. ^ "Casualty Details: Bridgeman, Richard Orlando Beaconsfield". CWGC. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  17. ^ Colledge, p. 169

Bibliography

Further reading

External links