HMS ''Gladiator'' was a second class

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 ...

of 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 ...

, launched on 8 December 1896 at

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She was of the rated at displacement, with a crew of 250 officers and men. She had three distinctive stacks amidships with a conspicuous

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 ...

well forward.

Service history

''Gladiator'' was ordered to be commissioned at

on 15 February 1900 to take out relief crews for 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, ...

. She served with the Mediterranean Squadron under the command of Captain Frederick Owen Pike, when she visited

Larnaka Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...

in June 1902, and

Lemnos Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The p ...

in August 1902. Captain T. B. S. Adair was appointed in command on 22 September 1902.

Collision

During a late

snowstorm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, Rain and snow mixed, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these sto ...

off the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

on 25 April 1908, ''Gladiator'' was heading into port when she struck the outbound

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

steamer .

Visibility The visibility is the measure of the distance at which an object or light can be clearly discerned. In meteorology it depends on the transparency of the surrounding air and as such, it is unchanging no matter the ambient light level or time of ...

was down to , but the strong tides and

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Hurst Point. The American ship attempted to pass to the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

side, the standard procedure in such a situation. Lacking room for the manoeuvre,

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 ...

William Lumsden choose to turn the opposite direction, ensuring a collision. Both ships attempted to slow but both were exceptionally heavy (''Saint Paul'' was built for conversion in wartime to a cruiser). They hit at about . ''Saint Paul'' struck ''Gladiator'' just aft of her engine room. The glancing blow ripped open the sides of both ships. The British warship foundered at once, or beached off Black Rock Buoy, off the

, while the American was able to remain afloat and launch lifeboats. Several men were also saved by Royal Engineers from nearby Fort Victoria. A total of 28 sailors were lost, but only three bodies were recovered. ''Gladiator'' settled on her starboard side in shallow water close to Fort Victoria. Salvage work began almost at once, but it took over five months to right the ship, re-float it and tow it back to Portsmouth. The operation cost £64,000 and a further £500 to make the ship seaworthy, but as the ship's design was considered obsolete, she was scrapped rather than repaired. ''Gladiator'' was sold to a Dutch firm for only £15,000.Cantwell, p. 41 A court of inquiry reprimanded Captain Lumsden in July 1908, but held ''Saint Paul'' responsible for the collision. However, when the Admiralty sued the owners of the liner, a high court held ''Gladiator'' responsible.

Later fame

A postcard of the capsized vessel was subsequently used by the artist

Tacita Dean Tacita Charlotte Dean CBE, RA (born 1965) is a British / German visual artist who works primarily in film. She was a nominee for the Turner Prize in 1998, won the Hugo Boss Prize in 2006, and was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 2008. S ...

as the basis for her artwork ''So They Sunk Her'', part of a portfolio of twenty black and white photogravures with etching collectively entitled ''The Russian Ending''. The artwork ascribes the cause of the incident to a fictitious mutiny. A copy of the artwork is held by the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

in London.

References

Bibliography

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External links

HMS Gladiator 2nd Class Cruiser

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gladiator (1896) Arrogant-class cruisers Ships built in Portsmouth 1896 ships Shipwrecks in the English Channel Maritime incidents in 1908 Ships sunk in collisions