HMS ''Aurora'' was one of seven

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

s built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in the mid-1880s. The ship spent a brief time in

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

before she was assigned to the

Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

for two years in 1890. In 1893 ''Aurora'' became a coast guard ship in Ireland for two years before she was placed in reserve again. The ship recommissioned in 1899 for service on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

and some of her crew participated in the

Battle of Tientsin The Battle of Tientsin, or the Relief of Tientsin, occurred on 13–14 July 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion in Northern China. A multinational military force, representing the Eight-Nation Alliance, rescued a besieged population of foreign ...

in 1900 during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. ''Aurora'' returned home two years later and was again reduced to reserve. She was taken out of service in 1905 and sold for

scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...

on 2 October 1907.

Design and description

The ''Orlando''-class cruisers were enlarged versions of the with more armour and a more powerful armament. Like their predecessors, they were intended to protect British shipping. ''Aurora'' had a

length between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . Designed to displace , all of the ''Orlando''-class ships proved to be overweight and displaced approximately . The ships were powered by a pair of three-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, then having given up he ...

s, each driving one shaft, which were designed to produce a total of and a maximum speed of using steam provided by four

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

s with

forced draught The difference between atmospheric pressure and the pressure existing in the furnace or flue gas passage of a boiler is termed as draft. Draft can also be referred to as the difference in pressure in the combustion chamber area which results in the ...

. The ship carried a maximum of of coal which was designed to give her a range of at a speed of . The ship's complement was 484 officers and ratings.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 65 ''Aurora''s main armament consisted of two

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech ...

(BL) Mk V guns, one gun fore and aft of the superstructure on pivot mounts. Her secondary armament was ten BL guns, five on each

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

. Protection against torpedo boats was provided by six quick-firing (QF) 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns and ten

QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss The QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss or in French use Canon Hotchkiss à tir rapide de 47 mm were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1886 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and later submarines. T ...

guns, most of which were mounted on the main deck in broadside positions. The ship was also armed with six 18-inch (457 mm)

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: four on the broadside above water and one each in the bow and stern below water. The ship was protected by a

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...

compound armour Compound armour was a type of armour used on warships in the 1880s, developed in response to the emergence of armor-piercing shells and the continual need for reliable protection with the increasing size in naval ordnance. Compound armour was a n ...

belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practit ...

thick. It covered the middle of the ship and was high. Because the ship was overweight, the top of the armour belt was below the waterline when she was fully loaded. The ends of the armour belt were closed off by transverse bulkheads . The lower deck was thick over the full length of the hull. The

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

was protected by of armour.

Construction and service

''Aurora'', named for the eponymous Roman goddess of the dawn, was the eighth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. She 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 ...

on 1 February 1886 by

Pembroke Dockyard Pembroke Dockyard, originally called Pater Yard, is a former Royal Navy Dockyard in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. History It was founded in 1814, although not formally authorized until the Prince Regent signed the necessary Order in Cou ...

. The ship was launched on 28 October 1887 by Mrs. Sophia Morant, wife of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

George Morant, Captain-Superintendent of the dockyard and completed in July 1889Winfield & Lyon, p. 269 at a cost of £258,390.Phillips, p. 234 ''Aurora'' went straight into reserve at Devonport after completion, but was commissioned for service with the Channel Squadron in 1890–92. She was transferred to

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula is ...

, Ireland, in 1893 to serve as the local coastguard ship until 1895. That year the ship was reassigned to the Devonport Reserve and remained there until 1899. ''Aurora'' participated in

Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...

Fleet review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

on 26 June 1897 at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

. ''Aurora'' was recommissioned for service in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

in 1899 under the command of Captain Edward Bayly and some of her crew, including Bayly, took part in the Battle of Tientsin in July 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. In early February 1902 she was ordered to leave, homebound, arriving at

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

on 3 March, at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

17 March, and at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

on 26 March. Officers and crew received the

China War Medal (1900) The China War Medal 1900 was a British campaign medal approved on 1 January 1902 for issue to British and Indian land and sea troops who served during the Boxer Rebellion, between 10 June and 31 December 1900. The medal was issued in silver to c ...

on 15 April, before she paid off at Devonport two days later. Upon her return, ''Aurora'' left in August 1902 for

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

to be refitted, and was placed in Devonport Reserve in 1904 before she was taken out of service the following year. The ship was sold for scrap to Payton, of

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, on 2 October 1907 for £12,700.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aurora Orlando-class cruisers Ships built in Pembroke Dock 1887 ships