NRP ''Adamastor'' was a small

unprotected cruiser An unprotected cruiser was a type of naval warship in use during the early 1870s Victorian or pre-dreadnought era (about 1880 to 1905). The name was meant to distinguish these ships from “protected cruisers”, which had become accepted in ...

of the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy ( pt, Marinha Portuguesa, also known as ''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'' or as ''Armada Portuguesa'') is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Port ...

that was launched in 1896 and remained active until being decommissioned in 1933, being the only ship of its class. The vessel played an important role in the 5 October 1910 revolution in the Kingdom of Portugal, which saw the fall of the

monarchy A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...

, and later took part in actions in Portuguese Africa during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Technical details

General characteristics

The cruiser was built in Livorno,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The technical details of the ship were discussed in an 1898 issue of the supplement for the ''Scientific American'' magazine. It had a length of , beam height of , and depth of . The hull of ''Adamastor'' was made of steel and the lower decks had watertight compartments. Two electrical ventilators were provided to ventilate the ship in hot climates. The ship had a total crew of 237 officers and ratings. The quarter deck included the captain's chambers while the officer accommodations were located aft below the main deck. The top forecastle was occupied by the quarters of the petty officers and sailors. ''Scientific American'' (''The Portuguese Cruiser "ADAMASTOR"''), p. 1472 Gardiner (1979), p. 382

Armament

''Adamastor''s armament included two 150 mm and four 105 mm Krupp naval guns on the main deck, along with two 47 mm Hotchkiss guns on the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, and Nordenfelt machine guns. The ship also possessed three

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 ...

Propulsion

The ship was powered by either two or four cylindrical engines that were placed in separate watertight compartments and were rated at . Around 400 tons of coal were kept aboard ''Adamastor''.

Operational history

The ship had originally been built with money from public subscription in order to restore Portugal's honor after being humiliated by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in 1890, being prevented from making a land route from its two colonies of

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and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. Love (2012), p. 26–27 It was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

in January 1895 and launched in July 1896, before being completed in August 1897. In 1897 the ship was deployed to the Moroccan coast, along the with ironclad '' Vasco da Gama'' and Spanish ships, to hunt pirates. Around 1908 she visited

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the ...

and stopped in the Dutch East Indies. When the 5 October 1910 revolution broke out in Lisbon, the

would play an important role, in particular the crew of the ''Adamastor'' who rose up simultaneously as a revolt begin in the capital. Among the supporters of the revolution were the crew of three cruisers, including ''Adamastor'', which helped to bomb the Necessidades Palace of the King of Portugal along with the cruiser ''São Rafael''. Thus the cruiser would become a symbol of the revolution. During

, Portugal took part in fighting against

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), also called the Lion of Africa (german: Löwe von Afrika), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four ye ...

's troops during the campaign in eastern Africa. In 1917,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

forces entered Portuguese Mozambique. Although they defeated the Portuguese and British land forces, ''Adamastor'' and another cruiser were sent to the important port of

Quelimane Quelimane () is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais (or "River of the Good Signs"). The river was named when Va ...

, at which point the Germans decided not to attack the city. ''Adamastor'' ran aground in October 1929, but was refloated and returned to service before being decommissioned in 1933.

Notes

Books

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamastor, NRP Naval ships of Portugal Cruisers of Portugal 1896 ships Ships built in Livorno Maritime incidents in 1929