H.M.S. Severn (1885)
| H.M.S. Severn (1885) | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Chatham Royal Dockyard[1] |
| Laid down: | 1 Jan, 1884[2] |
| Launched: | 29 Sep, 1885[3] |
| Commissioned: | 1888[4] |
| Sold: | |
H.M.S. Severn was one of four second class protected cruisers of the Mersey class completed between 1887 and 1889.
Service
In 1887-88, Severn tested a new submerged broadside tube designed by William H. May. The tube was mounted on the starboard broadside and angled 12 degrees before the beam; its primary distinction over existing designs was that the bar was not extended before firing the torpedo, but emerged into the water with the torpedo as it was fired. This pattern was found to work fairly well after modifications to the original design overcame damage to the propellers of the torpedo as it left and a great number of wild shots. It was retained in hopes that remaining defects could be made good.[5]
Severn was commissioned at Portsmouth on 19 February, 1889, by Captain William H. Hall, to relieve H.M.S. Constance on the Pacific Station. Her complement was reported as 243 officers and men,[6] but a further 23 men from the Accountant Branch, Chaplaincy, Domestics and Miscellaneous services brought this to 272 men plus 54 Royal Marines.[7]
Whilst serving as Coast Guard ship at Sheerness,[8] Severn was grounded when trying to come into Harwich on 13 December, 1901. It was recorded in the service record of the Captain, Frederick F. Fegen:
My Lords consider that in skirting the shore so close, due care was exercised in the navigation of the ship & further that … the C.O. should not have risked going into Harwich on a falling tide.[9]
Captains
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
- Captain Adolphus F. St. Clair, 4 July, 1888[10] – 4 September, 1888 (temporary, for the Annual Manoeuvres of 1888)
- Captain William H. Hall, 1 January, 1889[11] – 22 November, 1891[12]
- Captain Reginald F. H. Henderson, 23 November, 1891[13][14] – 12 July, 1895[15]
- Captain John L. Burr, 8 July, 1896[16] – 25 August, 1896[17] (for Annual Manoeuvres of 1896)
- Captain Thomas MacGill, 22 May, 1898[18][19] – 27 June, 1899[20]
- Captain William L. H. Browne, 28 June, 1899[21] – 12 December, 1900 (died in command)
- Captain Frederick F. Fegen, 16 February, 1901[22] – February, 1903[23] (including Annual Manoeuvres of 1901?)
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 75.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 75.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 75.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 75.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1888. p. 45-6.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence." The Times. 20 February, 1889. p. 12.
- ↑ Senior Lt. Lionel Aubrey Walter Barnes-Lawrence's No 1 Watch , Station, Quarter and Fire Bills, from his time in Severn, the collection of Iain Prain, reported in email of 14 Feb, 2016..
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times. 31 December, 1901. p. 9.
- ↑ Fegen Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/86. f. 143.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Tuesday, 3 July, 1888. Issue 32428, col A, p. 10.
- ↑ Hall Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/36. f. 246/566.
- ↑ Hall Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/36. f. 246/566.
- ↑ Henderson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 609.
- ↑ The Navy List. (April, 1894). p. 255.
- ↑ Henderson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 609.
- ↑ Burr Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 86/174.
- ↑ Burr Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 86/174.
- ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1898). p. 296.
- ↑ MacGill Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/18. f. 79.
- ↑ MacGill Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/18. ff. 79, 543.
- ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1900). p. 297.
- ↑ Fegen Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 445.
- ↑ Fegen Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/86. f. 143.
Bibliography
| Mersey Class Second Class Protected Cruiser | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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