HMS Halcyon (1894)
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|---|---|
| Dryad class | |
 HMS Halcyon (1897) |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Torpedo gunboat / minesweeper |
| units | 5 |
| Shipyard | |
| Keel laying | January 2, 1893 |
| Launch | April 6, 1894 |
| delivery | May 16, 1895 |
| Namesake | a subfamily of the kingfishers |
| Whereabouts | November 1919 sold for demolition |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
1070 ts |
| length |
80.1 m over all |
| width |
9.3 m |
| Draft |
4.0 m |
| crew |
120 |
| drive |
4 locomotive boilers, 2 three-cylinder steam engines |
| speed | |
| Range |
2500 nm at 10 kn |
| Bunker quantity |
100 tn.l., maximum 160 tn.l. |
| Armament |
2 × 120 mm rapid-fire cannon |
The third HMS Halcyon the Royal Navy was a torpedo gunboat of Dryad class , which in some sources as Halcyon is called class. The ship, completed in 1895, belonged with its four sister ships to the last class of this type, of which the British fleet procured 33 units between 1885 and 1895. They should protect the fleet from attacks by enemy torpedo boats. The Halcyon was already out of date when it was completed, as the Royal Navy was already procuring the considerably smaller and faster torpedo boat destroyers at this point in time . The Halcyon , which was still in existence in 1914, was converted into a mine sweeper in 1914, like other ships of this type, used as such in the First World War and then sold for demolition in 1919.
Building history
The funds for building the Royal Navy's torpedo cannon boats came from the Naval Defense Act of 1889 , which made the two-power standard the maxim of the size of the Royal Navy. British shipyards were actively involved in the development and marketing of this type, which was sometimes referred to as a torpedo cruiser . Sun gave J. & G. Thomson , forerunner of John Brown & Co., 1887 with the Destructor of 348 tn.l. probably the first destroyer for the Spanish Navy . The Almirante Lynch , similar to the Sharpshooter class of the Royal Navy, delivered to Chile by Laird Brothers in 1891 , succeeded in sinking a larger warship for the first time with a self-propelled torpedo on April 22, 1891.
The Royal Navy procured during this period ten torpedo cruiser of the Scout - and the Archer class as well as the 1,887 in service Rattlesnake first "torpedo gun boat". This single ship was followed by the ships of the Grasshopper , Sharpshooter and Alarm classes and finally the five ships of the Dryad class. These emerged at the same time as the first destroyers of the Royal Navy ( see HMS Havock ). The torpedo cannon boats were at last over 1000 tons larger than many destroyers of the First World War 20 years later. When it came to repelling attacking torpedo boats, they were far inferior to the first - much smaller - destroyers and, with their 19 knots top speed, too slow.
The ships of the Dryad class were over 6 meters longer and also one meter wider than their predecessors. The aft deck was raised to create more living space (primarily for officers). Despite the higher displacement, the drive power was not increased, but corresponded to the pre-series. However, the machines were built differently, which contributed to the different external appearance. The two triple expansion machines stood between the chimneys so that they were extremely far apart. Like their predecessors, these torpedo cannon boats also received two 120 mm rapid-fire cannons , four six pounder (57 mm) guns and five 18-inch torpedo tubes , two of which were removed when converting into minesweepers to make room for the minesweeping equipment. In addition, the ships received a five-barrel Nordenfelt mitrailleuse upon completion .
The Halcyon was built like her sister ships Harrier and Hussar at the Naval Shipyard Devonport, where she was started on January 2, 1893 as the second boat of the class. She was launched on April 6, 1894 as the fourth boat and was completed on May 16, 1895 as the second boat after the Dryad developed in Chatham .
period of service
On June 26, 1897, the Halcyon took part in the fleet parade for the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria .
Pre-war missions
Then HMS Halcyon served in the Mediterranean fleet until 1901 and was then launched in Devonport. From 1909 to the summer of 1914 it served the fishery protection in the North Sea.
modification
From 1908 torpedo cannon boats of the Sharpshooter and Alarm class were converted into minesweepers. In 1914, the Halcyon in Sheerness was also converted into a minesweeper and lost two torpedo tubes to make room for the minesweeping equipment.
First World War
In August 1914 she was the flagship of the "Senior Naval Officer North Sea Fisheries". On the night of November 3, 1914, the Halcyon was patrolling the old destroyers Lively and Leopard on the British east coast between Yarmouth and Lowestoft when they were approaching German battlecruisers ( Seydlitz , Von der Tann , Moltke and the armored cruiser Blücher ) and Small cruisers ( Strasbourg , Graudenz , Kolberg and Stralsund ) discovered. For the first time, the Germans wanted to bombard a British coastal town and obstruct coastal traffic with a mine lock. When the Halcyon turned towards the as yet unidentified ships, she was immediately taken under fire. Lively created a curtain of smoke to secure the retreat of the British units, half-heartedly pursued by the Strasbourg . The heavy German units fired a few volleys at Great Yarmouth without hitting relevant targets and the Stralsund put a mine barrier. Then the German attackers withdrew. On a warning radio message from the Halcyon , of the four British destroyers lying in the harbor, only the old Success of the B-class ran out, plus three submarines, of which D5 was lost to a mine hit (20 dead). Another cargo ship was later lost in the minefield laid by the Stralsund . Halcyon , which had splinter damage, only reached the port of Yarmouth after the German attack had been abandoned. Your report on the attackers reached the fleet command too late to enable an effective response. But the Germans had chosen the site of attack in such a way that the stationing of the British heavy units did not lead to an effective defense. A Halcyon crew member died from his injuries.
The Halcyon was used by Lowestoft to secure coastal traffic on the British east coast until the end of the war, initially together with the torpedo cannon boat Spanker , and from 1915 together with the Dryad . Several former fishing vessels were under her control for mine search.
On July 29, 1917, the Halcyon sank the German UB 27 at Smiths Knoll by ramming and depth charges .
The Dryad- class torpedo cannon boats
| Surname | Shipyard | Launch | in service | fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Dryad |
Chatham Dockyard , Chatham |
11/22/1893 | 7.1894 | 1914 minesweeper, sold for demolition in September 1920 |
| HMS Hazard |
Pembroke Dockyard Pembroke Dock |
02/17/1894 | 07/24/1895 | 1901 Mothership for submarines, sunk on January 28, 1918 after colliding with a cargo ship |
| HMS Harrier |
Devonport Dockyard , Plymouth |
02/20/1894 | 7/8/1896 | 1914 Minesweeper, sold for civil use in February 1920 |
| HMS Halcyon | Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth |
April 6, 1894 | May 16, 1895 | 1914 minesweeper, sold for demolition in November 1919 |
| HMS Hussar | Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth |
3.07.1894 | December 3, 1896 | 1907 Yacht OB Mediterranean Fleet, 1914 minesweeper, sold for demolition in December 1920 |
Individual evidence
- ^ Gray, p. 147.
- ↑ Dryad Class Torpedo Gunboat (1893)
- ↑ a b Halcyon, 1894
- ^ Julian S. Corbett: History of the Great War: Naval Operations: Volume I. S. 250f.
- ^ Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies.
- ↑ QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE to BRITISH WARSHIP LOCATIONS,
- ^ Herzog, U-Boats, p. 93
literature
- Roger Chesneau, Eugène M. Koleśnik, NJM Campbell: Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Md. 1979, ISBN 0-85177-133-5 .
- Edwyn Gray: The Devil's device: the story of Robert Whitehead, inventor of the torpedo. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1991, ISBN 0-8702-1245-1 .
- Bodo Herzog: 60 years of German submarines 1906–1966. JFLehmanns Verlag, Munich 1968
