H.M.S. Amphitrite (1898)

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H.M.S. Amphitrite (1898)
Pendant Number: D.52 (1914)
Compass (Sep 1915)
P.7C (Jan 1918)[1]
Builder: Vickers, Barrow[2]
Ordered: 1896-97 Programme[3]
Laid down: 8 Dec, 1896[4]
Launched: 5 Jan, 1898[5]
Commissioned: 17 Sep, 1901[6]
Sold: 12 Apr, 1920[7]
Fate: to Ward, Milford Haven[8]

H.M.S. Amphitirite was one of eight Diadem class protected cruisers completed for the Royal Navy at the end of the nineteenth century.

Service

In August 1900, she was one of six cruisers along with Sans Pareil ordered to receive wireless telegraphy systems.[9]

In mid-1913, she was being used to train stokers in Devonport.[10]

She was converted to a minelayer at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard, emerging on 9 August, 1917 with four 6-in guns, a 4-in H.A. gun and a capacity of 354 mines. She went to work with the First Minelaying Squadron, helping lay the Northern Mine Barrage.[11] The general British dissatisfaction with their minelayer types extended to her, as a post-war report summarised her suitability by saying that Amphitrite "has nothing to recommend her," and that she had not enough room on her mining deck.[12]

On 8 September, 1918, she collided with Nessus in the North Sea, sinking the destroyer.

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

Torpedoes

In 1904, in a competition to investigate how rapidly submerged tubes could be fired four times sequentially, starting with the tube loaded and the bar out, the ship's crew was able to do this in 5 minutes, 15 seconds.  The best time was achieved by Cressy at 50.75 seconds, though times of 3-5 minutes were more typical.[49]

See Also

Footnotes

  1. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 40.
  2. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 68.
  3. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 68.
  4. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 68.
  5. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 68.
  6. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 68.
  7. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 40.
  8. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 40.
  9. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Friday, Aug 24, 1900; pg. 4; Issue 36229.
  10. The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 278.
  11. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 117.
  12. Annual Report of the Torpedo School, Mining Appendix, 1917-18. p. 13.
  13. Fisher Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 459.
  14. "The Naval Manoeuvres." The Times (London, England), Thursday, July 11, 1901, Issue 36504, p.8.
  15. Rees Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/19. f. 436.
  16. Rees Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/19. f. 436.
  17. Windham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/18. f. 348.
  18. Windham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/18. f. 348.
  19. Hickley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 166/330.
  20. Day of month taken from predecessor. Windham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/18. f. 348.
  21. Hickley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 166/330.
  22. Kennedy Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 131.
  23. Kennedy Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 131.
  24. The Navy List. (January, 1908). p. 276-7.
  25. Bruen Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 210/418.
  26. Bruen Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 210/418.
  27. The Navy List. (January, 1910). p. 276-7.
  28. Raby Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/49. f. 51.
  29. The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 276-7.
  30. Raby Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/49. f. 51.
  31. The Navy List. (August, 1912). p. 276-7.
  32. The Navy List. (January, 1915). p. 274.
  33. Grant-Dalton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/20. f. 367.
  34. Mackie, Colin. ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS.
  35. The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 392b.
  36. The Navy List. (August, 1917). p. 391h.
  37. Smyth Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/287. ff. 227, 287.
  38. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 391h.
  39. Smyth Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/287. ff. 227, 287.
  40. Watson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/342. f. 385.
  41. The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 730.
  42. Watson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/342. f. 385.
  43. England Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 327.
  44. England Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 327.
  45. Garforth Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/23. f. 23.
  46. Garforth Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/23. f. 23.
  47. Wilson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/286. f. 321.
  48. Wilson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/286. f. 321.
  49. Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1904. pp. 45-7.

Bibliography

  • Chesneau, Robert; Kolesnik, Eugene (editors) (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).


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