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HMS ''Proserpine'' was a of the
HMS ''Proserpine'' was laid down at Sheerness Dockyard in March 1896, and launched on 5 December 1896 when she was christened by Lady Nicholson, wife of Sir Henry Nicholson, Commander-in-Chief at The Nore.
Captain John Locke Marx was appointed in command in September 1898, for service on the
''World War I Naval Combat'' webpage
Pelorus-class cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Sheerness 1896 ships World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom {{UK-mil-ship-stub
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 ...
. There were eleven "Third 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 ...
s in the class, which was designed by Sir William White
Sir William Henry White, (2 February 1845 – 27 February 1913) was a prolific British warship designer and Chief Constructor at the Admiralty.
Biography
White was born in Devonport, the son of Robert White, a currier, and his wife, Jane M ...
. While well armed for their size, they were primarily workhorses for the overseas fleet on "police" duties and did not serve with the main battlefleet.
They displaced 2,135 tons, had a crew complement of 224 men and were armed with eight QF 4 inch (102 mm) (25 pounder) guns, eight 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. With reciprocating triple expansion engines and a variety of boilers, the top speed was .
Service history
HMS ''Proserpine'' was laid down at Sheerness Dockyard in March 1896, and launched on 5 December 1896 when she was christened by Lady Nicholson, wife of Sir Henry Nicholson, Commander-in-Chief at The Nore.
Captain John Locke Marx was appointed in command in September 1898, for service on 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 ...
, which had headquarters at Bermuda
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and (during summer) Halifax. In March 1900 she visited 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 HMS ''Hermes'', stranded there with a broken shaft. Commander Gerald Charles Adolphe Marescaux was appointed in command in October 1900. She returned to pay off at Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
in early November 1901. Shortly after returning home, she was involved in a collision while she was anchored off Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
harbour. The Royal Zeeland Steamship Company mailboat ''Koningen Regentes'' struck the bow of ''Proserpine'', leaving slight damage to both vessels. She was subsequently taken to Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...
for repairs, and paid off at the naval base there 28 November 1901.
East Indies Station 1904–12, Mediterranean 1913.
Returned to the UK, joined the 3rd Fleet 1913–14, 7th Channel Cruiser Squadron 1914.
Sent to the Mediterranean, East Indies and Egypt 1914-18 and finally the Red Sea 1918 to blockade Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, and gun running prevention 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 ...
.
Sold for scrap on 30 November 1919, at Alexandria 1919 and broken up at Genoa.
References
External links
*''World War I Naval Combat'' webpage
Pelorus-class cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Sheerness 1896 ships World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom {{UK-mil-ship-stub