HMS PERSEUS DROPDOWN INDEX |
| HMS PERSEUS DIARY The diary of A. Barker whilst on service aboard the Protected Cruiser HMS Perseus 1901/03 on the East Indies Station mainly engaged on coastal duties/gun running prevention in the Gulf. (Not much changes in 100 years!!!) |
| For further details and Photos of Pelorus class Cruisers Displacement: 2,135 tons Length: 300 feet pp 313 feet 6 inches overall Beam: 36 feet 6 inches Draught: 16 feet Propulsion: Inverted 3 cylinder triple expansion steam engines driving 2 shafts. Speed: 7,058 ihp = 20.0 knots. Crew: 224 Armament: 8 x 4in QF (8 x 1), 8 x 3 pounder QF (8 x 1), 3 Maxim machine guns Two 18-inch Torpedo Tubes (above waterline). Armour: 0.25in gun shields, 2-1.5in decks Built by Earle at Hull. (Average cost £150,000) Laid down May 1st 1896, Launched July 15th 1897. 1st Commissioned March 7th 1901 Last commission Jan 1st 1913. Sold for scrap on 26th May 1914 |
| This was a class of 11 small cruisers designed by Sir William White (Director of Naval Construction, 1885-1902). White believed that if the weight available for armour did not run to protecting the ship's side with a belt of substantial area and thickness, it was best used on an armoured deck covering the submerged part of the ship, including of course magazines and main machinery hence the term “Protected” Cruiser.
In appearance she was typical of White's smaller cruisers with a raised forecastle and poop and two tall raked funnels and masts. A conspicuous feature were groups of large cowls for engine and boiler-room ventilating. These small cruisers, whilst reasonably armed for their size, were never expected to serve with the battle fleet even when new, and they spent their careers on overseas stations primarily for colonial 'police' type work. They were a smaller follow on to the generally similar Pearl class Third Class Cruisers. Ships of the Pelorus Class were fitted with a variety of boilers to verify their performance. When new, the class generally exceeded their designed speed of 20 knots and were fast for their day, but by WWI their speed was reduced to 16 knots, cruisers by then were at least 10 knots faster. HMS Pomone and Pactolus had so many problems with their Blechynden boilers that they were retired several years before the rest of the class. All ships of this class were due for disposal in 1915 had war not been declared. |
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| Copyright © David Brown 2006 |
| Pelorus Class Light Cruiser (3rd Class Protected Cruiser) |
| HMS PERSEUS |
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| For weblinks to revevant historical information and links to pictures of ships mentioned in the diary. This is by no means exhaustive and will be added to from time to time. |
| TO OPEN THE DIARY 16 Pages are available. The remainder will be published as time permits. |
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| TO VIEW PHOTOGRAPHS and POSTCARDS THAT WERE WITH THE DIARY |
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