HMS ''Indefatigable'', 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 British

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 ...

. The ship was built by the

London and Glasgow Shipbuilding Company London and Glasgow Shipbuilding Company, also known as the London and Glasgow Engineering and Iron Shipbuilding Company, was a shipbuilding firm established in 1864 by a consortium of London bankers, including the Glasgow engineer James Rodger. Th ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

between 1890 and 1892, launching on 12 March 1891. In 1910, the ship was renamed HMS ''Melpomene'', and in 1913 was sold for scrap.

Design and construction

The

Naval Defence Act 1889 The Naval Defence Act 1889 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It received the Royal Assent on 31 May 1889 and formally adopted the "two-power standard" and increased the United Kingdom's naval strength. The standard called for ...

resulted in orders being placed for 21 second-class

s of the , together with 8 of the larger and better armed development, the . The ''Apollo''-class were an enlarged version of the built under the 1887–1888 shipbuilding programme. Three ''Apollo''s, ''Indefatigable'', and were ordered from the

Apollo class cruiser diagrams Brasseys 1897

''Indefatigable'' was one of 10 ships of the class that were sheathed in wood and copper to reduce

fouling Fouling is the accumulation of unwanted material on solid surfaces. The fouling materials can consist of either living organisms (biofouling) or a non-living substance (inorganic or organic). Fouling is usually distinguished from other surf ...

when serving in tropical waters. She was

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 . Displacement was . Five cylindrical

fire-tube boiler A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating t ...

s fed steam to two

Triple-expansion 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 h ...

s rated at natural draught and with forced draught. This gave a design speed with forced draught of . An armoured deck of between and protected the ship's magazines and machinery, while 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 ...

had of armour and the gunshields . Two QF guns were mounted fore and aft on the ship's centreline, while six 4.7 in (120 mm) guns were mounted three on each broadside. 8 six pounder guns and 1 three pounder provided protection against torpedo boats. ''Indefatigable'' 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 ...

Yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

264 at London and Glasgow's

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

shipyard in 1890 and launched on 12 March 1891 and completed in 1892.

Service

From 1899 to 1903, ''Indefatigable'' served as part of 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 ...

, being recommissioned 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 ...

in January 1900. She was in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

in late 1902, when in December that year she was ordered to take part in an Anglo-German blockade of the coast of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

during the

Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 The Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 was a naval blockade imposed against Venezuela by Great Britain, German Empire, Germany, and Kingdom of Italy, Italy from December 1902 to February 1903, after President of Venezuela, President Cipriano Cast ...

. In 1905, ''Indefatigable'' went into reserve 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 ...

, recommissioning in January 1906 as part of the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station. On 11 January 1910, she was renamed ''Melpomene'', freeing up the name ''Indefatigable'' for a new battlecruiser. In May 1912, ''Melpomene'' was active off the coast of Mexico during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

, and was reported to be about to land a force of Marines to protect British subjects. ''Melpomene'' was employed in the Training Squadron from 1912 to 1913, and was sold for scrap to the shipbreakers Ward on 7 October 1913, at a price of £15,800.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Indefatigable (1891) Apollo-class cruisers Ships built on the River Clyde 1891 ships