HMS Halcyon (1894)
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The third HMS ''Halcyon'' was a Winfield (2004), p.306 of 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 ...
. Once described as "perhaps the smallest and least formidable vessel that ever crept into the 'Navy List'", she was launched in 1894 and was put up for sale before World War I. She was recommissioned in 1913, was converted to a minesweeper and served under the orders of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guard and Reserves. She was sold for breaking in 1919.


Design

Ordered under the Naval Defence Act of 1889, which established the "Two-Power Standard", the class was contemporary with the first
torpedo boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1 ...
s. With a length overall of , a beam of and a
displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
of 1,070 tons, these torpedo gunboats were not small ships by the standard of the time; they were larger than the majority of World War I destroyers. ''Halcyon'' was engined by Hawthorn Leslie and Company with two sets of vertical
triple-expansion 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, two locomotive-type boilers, and twin screws. ''Halcyon'' produced , nearly twice the power of the rest of her class. She was capable of 19 or . She carried between 100 and 160 tons of coal and was manned by 120 sailors and officers.


Armament

The armament when built comprised two QF guns, four 6-pounder guns and a single 5-barrelled Nordenfelt machine gun. Her primary weapon was five 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes,British "18 inch" torpedoes were 17.72 inches (45.0 cm) in diameter with two reloads. On conversion to a minesweeper in 1914 two of the five torpedoes were removed.


Construction

''Halcyon'' was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 2 January 1893 and launched on 6 April 1894.''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
(London)'', Saturday, 7 April 1894, p.12


Operational history


Naval review of 1897

On 26 June 1897 ''Halcyon'' was present at the Fleet Review at Spithead in celebration of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
's Diamond Jubilee.


Mediterranean station

HMS ''Halcyon'' was commissioned to serve at the
Mediterranean Station The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a military formation, formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vita ...
by Commander Scott W. A. Hamilton Gray in March 1898. She was stationed at
Souda Bay Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greece, Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akr ...
in early March 1900, but later the same month left for
Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
to temporary relieve as coast defence ship. In May 1901 she left the Mediterranean and paid off at Devonport, to be placed in the Fleet Reserve for refitting.


Pre-war service

Although being offered for sale, she was recommissioned with a new crew from the Chatham Depot by Commander A.A. Ellison, R.N., at Sheerness on 5 July 1913, to do duty as Senior Naval Officer’s Ship, North Sea Fisheries, under the orders of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guard and Reserves.


World War I service

She was involved in the
Raid on Yarmouth The Raid on Yarmouth, on 3 November 1914, was an attack by the Imperial German Navy on the British North Sea port and town of Great Yarmouth. German shells only landed on the beach causing little damage to the town, after German ships laying m ...
on 3 November 1914, when she was surprised by enemy cruisers, whom she challenged, and who responded shortly after 7 a.m. with gunfire. “Halcyon, perhaps the smallest and least formidable vessel that ever crept into the ‘Navy List’ ic engaged the enemy imperturbably when they fled, losing one man from a fragment of shell, though practically unhurt herself. Private letters speak of salvoes falling short and over in the most disconcerting manner, and of the ship being so drenched with water as to be in danger of foundering.”A.J.H. Pollen, ''The British Navy in Battle'' (1919), p. 241. On 29 July 1917, ''Halcyon'' spotted a periscope near the Smiths Knoll buoy east of Yarmouth, and carried out a ramming attack, followed by dropping two
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s. ''Halcyon'' was credited with sinking the submarine, .Grant 1964, p. 62.


Disposal

She was sold to J H Lee of Dover for breaking on 6 November 1919.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halcyon (1894) Dryad-class torpedo gunboats Ships built in Plymouth, Devon 1894 ships Victorian-era gunboats of the United Kingdom World War I minesweepers of the United Kingdom