HMS Sirius (1890)

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HMS Sirius (IWM Q46044)
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Sirius
Builder
Elswick
Laid downSeptember 1889
Launched27 October 1890
Commissioned1892
FateScuttled as blockship 23 April 1918
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeApollo-class cruiser
Displacement3,600 long tons (3,700 t)
Length
  • 300 ft (91.4 m) pp
  • 314 ft (95.7 m) oa
Beam43 ft 8 in (13.31 m)
Draught18 ft 6 in (5.6 m)
Propulsion
Speed19.75 kn (36.58 km/h; 22.73 mph) (forced draught)
Complement273
Armament
Armour
  • Deck:1.25–2 in (32–51 mm)
  • Conning tower:3 in (76 mm)
  • Gunshields:4.5 in (110 mm)

HMS Sirius was an

First World War
.

Design and construction

The

Elswick shipyard.[2]

Sirius had an

QF 6-inch (152 mm) guns were mounted fore and aft on the ship's centreline, while six 4.7 in (120 mm) guns were mounted three on each broadside. 8 six pounder guns and 1 three pounder provided protection against torpedo boats.[1]

Sirius was laid down in September 1889, launched on 27 October 1890[1] and entered service in September 1891.[3]

Service

Sirius served off America from 1892 to 1895 and on the

China Station from 1903 to 1905.[4] On return from overseas, she went into reserve at Devonport. In February 1912, Sirius became part of the training squadron.[5]

In October 1914 Sirius was one of a number of obsolete warships deployed to support Belgian troops during the Battle of the Yser, carrying out shore bombardments from 23 October.[6][7] Sirius served as part of the Nore Command from 1914 to March 1915,[4][5] being used as a guard ship on the east coast of the United Kingdom,[8] and was then sent to serve off West Africa, where she remained on station until 1918.[4][5]

In April 1918, Sirius was

U-boats and other raiding craft from Bruges to the North Sea. German countermeasures were too effective, however, and Sirius and her sister ship and fellow blockship HMS Brilliant were eventually scuttled by their crews outside the harbour mouth on 23 April 1918 after running aground on a sandbank. The wrecks were broken up after the war.[9]

Notes

Citations
  1. ^ a b c Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 76.
  2. ^ Brook 1999, pp. 74–75.
  3. ^ Brook 1999, p. 74.
  4. ^ a b c Brook 1999, p. 75.
  5. ^ a b c Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 15.
  6. ^ Corbett 1920, pp. 222, 228.
  7. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 18 1922, p. 13.
  8. ^ Corbett 1921, pp. 22, 234.
  9. ^ "No. 31189". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 February 1919. p. 2519.
References

External links