HMS ''Pomone'' was a

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 ...

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 late 1890s. The ship's boilers were so troublesome that she was decommissioned in 1904 after only a single foreign deployment. She was

hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

ed in 1910 and served as a stationary training ship until 1922 when she was 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 ...

Design and description

These "third-class" cruisers were designed by Sir William White. They were designed for colonial service rather than support of the main fleet. This class served as testbeds for a variety of

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...

designs and those used by ''Pomone'' were so unsatisfactory that the ship was decommissioned after only five years of service. HMS ''Pomone'' displaced , with an overall length of , a beam of and a draft of . She was powered by two inverted 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft. Steam was supplied by 16 coal-fired Blechynden water-tube boilers. The engines were intended to develop a maximum of under forced draft, but developed a total of during her

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s and gave a maximum speed of . The ship had a crew of 224 officers and men.British Cruiser Pomone and Sisterships, pp. 321–22 ''Pomone'' was armed with eight single QF 4-inch (102 mm) guns, eight QF 3-pounder guns, three machine guns, and two 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. Her protective deck ranged from in thickness and the ship had a

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 ...

with walls thick. The four-inch guns were protected by

gun shield A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery piece ...

s thick.

Service

HMS ''Pomone'' was laid down at

Sheerness Dockyard Sheerness Dockyard also known as the Sheerness Station was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960. Location In the Age of Sail, the R ...

on 21 December 1896, launched on 25 November 1897, and completed in May 1899. The ship only served a single commission, with the East Indies Squadron and suffered from continuous boiler problems. In January 1902 she was stationed in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

to protect British interests there, and especially in

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. Commander Harry Jones was appointed in command in late March 1902, and the following Autumn she was reported to travel between

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. ...

and

Berbera Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...

, transferring troops from India to take part in the 1903 Somaliland campaign. In November and December 1903, ''Pomone'' and three other cruisers escorted

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

's tour of the Middle East.Fraser, p. 110 Her Blechynden boilers were so unreliable that she was removed from the effective list in October 1904 when Admiral Lord Fisher started disposing of ineffective ships upon becoming

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed ...

. She was laid-up pending a decision on her final disposal. ''Pomone'' was disarmed and

ed on 5 January 1910 as a stationary training ship for engineers at the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. She was sold for scrap on 25 October 1922 to J. H. Lee of

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

.British Cruiser Pomone and Sisterships, p. 321

Notes

References

* * *

External links

''World War I Naval Combat'' webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomone (1897) Pelorus-class cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Sheerness 1897 ships World War I naval ships of the United Kingdom