HMS ''Archer'' was an

torpedo cruiser A torpedo cruiser is a type of warship that is armed primarily with torpedoes. The major navies began building torpedo cruisers shortly after the invention of the locomotive Whitehead torpedo in the 1860s. The development of the torpedo gave rise ...

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 Fr ...

which built by the

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 popu ...

shipbuilder J & G Thomson between 1885 and 1888. She served on overseas stations, including operations off Africa, China and Australia. She was sold for scrap in 1905.

Construction

''Archer'' 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 ...

at J & G Thomson's

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling and Milton beyond) to the west, and the Yoker and Drumchapel ...

shipyard on 2 March 1885 as the lead ship of her class of

s, was launched on 23 December that year and completed by Commander John Ferris on 11 December 1888 in Devonport.Chesneau and Kolesnik p. 81. Torpedo cruisers were small, relatively fast, ships intended to defend the fleet against attacks by hostile

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

s, while themselves being capable of attacking hostile fleets with torpedoes. The ''Archer'' class were enlarged derivatives of the earlier , and carried a heavier armament than the previous class.Chesneau and Kolesnik pp. 80–81. ''Archer'' was long overall 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 ster ...

, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was normal and full load. The ship's machinery consisted of two horizontal

compound steam 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 he ...

s rated at under natural draught and , which were fed by four boilers and drove two shafts for a speed of . 475 tons of coal were carried, sufficient to give a range of at , and three masts were fitted. Archer class cruiser diagrams Brasseys 1888

Archer class cruiser diagrams Brasseys 1888

Armament consisted of six 6-inch (5 ton) guns, backed up by eight 3-pounder QF guns and two machine guns. Three 14-inch

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 completed the ship's armament. Armour consisted of a deck, with gunshields and protecting 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 ...

. The ship had a complement of 176 officers and ratings.

Service

''Archer'' served on the Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station from 1889 to 1890. ''Archer'' was serving on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

in July 1894, when on the eve of the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

, Japanese Forces surrounded

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

. ''Archer'' landed an armed party to protect the British Consul-General after a confrontation between him and Japanese troops.Clowes pp. 430–431. She served on the Australia Station from 7 September 1900 until 5 December 1903, under Commander John Philip Rolleston. She was decommissioned in 1905 and sold in April 1905 for £4,800 to Forrester, Swansea for scrap.Bastock p.122

Citations

References

*Bastock, John (1988), ''Ships on the Australia Station'', Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Archer (1885, Hms 1885 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Archer-class cruisers Victorian-era naval ships of the United Kingdom