HMS ''Crescent'' was a first class cruiser of the in the British Royal Navy. ''Crescent'', and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, were built to a slightly modified design and are sometimes considered a separate class. She was launched in 1892, saw early service at the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

and the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the t ...

, served in the

First World War 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 ...

, and was sold for breaking up in 1921.

Construction

''Crescent'' had a length of

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

and

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 stern ...

, with 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 . She displaced .Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 66. Armament consisted of two 9.2-inch guns, on the ships centreline, backed up by ten six-inch guns, of which four were in

casemates A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mean ...

on the main deck and the remainder behind open shields. Twelve 6-pounder and four 3-pounder guns provided anti-torpedo-boat defences, while four 18 inch (450 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 were fitted. The Edgars were

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

s, with an arched, armoured deck thick at about waterline level. The casemate armour was thick, with thick shields for the 9.2-inch guns and armour on the ship's

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 ...

.Brown 2003, pp. 132–134. It contained four double-ended cylindrical

Fairfields Fairfields is a district and civil parish that covers a large new development area on the western flank of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. As the first tier of Local Government, the parish council is responsible for the people who liv ...

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 feeding steam at to 2 three-cylinder triple expansion engines, which drove two shafts. This gave under forced draught, giving a speed of . She was built at Portsmouth and launched on 30 March 1892.

Service history

''Crescent'' had her first commission at the

. On 11 January 1895 she left Australia under Captain Arbuthnot. From 1899 until 1902 she was

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of Vice-Admiral Sir

Frederick Bedford Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford, (24 December 1838 – 30 January 1913) was a senior Royal Navy officer and Governor of Western Australia from 24 March 1903 to 22 April 1909. Naval career Bedford was born on 24 December 1838, and ...

, Commander-in-Chief

, which had headquarters at

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

and (during summer) Halifax. Under the command of Captain Charles John Graves-Sawle she visited

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in February 1900, and the following month

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

to assist , stranded there with a broken shaft. Captain Stanley Colville was appointed in command on 1 March 1900, but did not actually take command of the ship until later. Commander Henry Hervey Campbell was appointed in command in May 1902, and she took part in coronation celebrations at the Halifax headquarter in that year. Bedford was succeeded as Commander-in-Chief at the station on 15 July 1902, when he left homebound with ''Crescent'', which was succeeded as flagship of the station by . She arrived 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 ...

on 24 July, but her commission was prolonged so she could take part in the

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 ...

held there on 16 August 1902 for the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

. Following the review, the King went on a tour westwards along the coast, with ''Crescent'' as escort ship. She returned to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in early September, paying off there on 3 October for a complete overhaul. She served in the

, and was sold on 22 September 1921 for breaking up in Germany.

Notes

References

* * Roger Chesneau and Eugene M. Kolesnik, ed., ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979),

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crescent (1892) Edgar-class cruisers Ships built in Portsmouth Victorian-era cruisers of the United Kingdom World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom 1892 ships