HMS Grafton (1892)

HMS ''Grafton'' was a first class cruiser of the , launched in 1892. She served in colonial service and in the First World War. ''Grafton'' survived the war and was broken up in the 1920s.

Construction

''Grafton'' was laid down at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company's London shipyard on 1 January 1890, and launched on 30 January 1892.Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 66. She undertook sea trials in June 1893, maintaining a speed of with her engines under natural draught, where they produced , and with engines under forced draught, when they were measured at .''The Engineer'' 30 June 1895, p. 564.

Service

Commissioned at Portsmouth on 10 September 1895, she served in the China sea on the China station from 22 April 1896 until 10 September 1899.

In December 1901 she was ordered to relieve as flagship on the Pacific Station. She was commissioned at Chatham on 14 January 1902, with a complement of 571 officers and men. Leaving Plymouth on 31 January 1902, she stopped at Madeira, São Vicente, Montevideo and Sandy Point before arriving at the garrison of the Pacific station in Valparaíso in mid-March. Rear-Admiral Andrew Bickford hoisted his flag as Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station, on ''Grafton'' a couple of days later. Captain Colin Richard Keppel transferred as flag captain from ''Warspite'' to ''Grafton'' on the same day, changing places with Marx.

On 18 April 1902 ''Grafton'' landed two parties of fully armed sailors at San José, Guatemala, to suppress the revolutionary disturbance caused by the United Kingdom's efforts to obtain re-payment of a loan from the Guatemalan government. The show of force sufficed, and the government paid. In December that year she visited Monterey, San Diego, Mazatlán and Acapulco. On 31 January 1903 ''Grafton'' was on passage from Callao, Peru to Coquimbo, Chile, when she struck and killed a large (estimated at long) whale.

On the outbreak of the First World War, ''Grafton'' was part of the 10th Cruiser Squadron, which was employed in enforcing the naval blockade of Germany.Jellicoe 1919, p. 11. In December 1914, with the ''Edgar'' class having proved unsuitable for blockade work in the North Sea, ''Grafton'' was withdrawn from active service, with her two 9.2 inch guns removed to arm the monitors and .Gardiner and Gray 1985, pp. 10–11.Gardiner and Gray 1985, pp. 47–48. It was decided to refit four ships of the ''Edgar'' class, including ''Grafton'', for shore bombardment work for the planned operations in the Dardanelles. Two 6 inch guns replaced the 9.2 inch weapons and anti-torpedo bulges were fitted. These reduced the ship's speed by .Brown 2010, p. 163.

''Grafton'', along with her sisters , and , served in the Gallipoli Campaign from July 1915. ''Grafton'' carried out shore bombardment during the landing at Suvla Bay and the Battle of Sari Bair in August 1915. She was struck by Turkish shells off Suvla on 12 August, killing nine of her crew. ''Grafton'' helped to cover the evacuations from Anzac Cove on 20 December 1915 and from Cape Helles in January 1916. ''Grafton'' was later awarded the battle honour "DARDANELLES, Feb 1915- Jan 1916" for her service off Gallipoli.

On 10 June 1917, ''Grafton'' was torpedoed by the German U-boat east of Malta. ''Grafton''s anti-torpedo bulges proved effective and damage was limited, allowing her to be safely brought into port at Malta under her own power with no casualties.Gibson and Prendergast, p. 260.Brown 2010, pp. 163–164. She later took part in the Battle of Jaffa.

''Grafton'' was sold for breaking up at Plymouth on 1 July 1920.Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 38.

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