Dido at anchor during World War I
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Dido
Namesake	Dido
Builder	London & Glasgow Shipbuilding , Govan
Laid down	30 August 1894
Launched	20 March 1896
Completed	10 May 1898
Reclassified	As depot ship , 1912
Fate	Sold for scrap , 26 December 1926
General characteristics
Class and type	Eclipse -class protected cruiser
Displacement	5,600 long tons (5,690 t)
Length	350 ft (106.7 m)
Beam	53 ft 6 in (16.3 m)
Draught	20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
Installed power	9,600  ihp (7,200 kW) 8 cylindrical boilers
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2 Inverted triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph)
Complement	450
Armament	As built: 5 × QF 6-inch (152 mm) guns 6 × QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns 6 × 3-pounder QF guns 3 × 18-inch torpedo tubes After 1905: 11 × six-inch QF guns 9 × 76 mm (3.0 in) QF guns 7 × 3-pounder QF guns 3 × 18-inch torpedo tubes
Armour	Gun shields : 3 in (76 mm) Engine hatch: 6 in (152 mm) Decks : 1.5?3 in (38?76 mm) Conning tower : 6 in (152 mm)

HMS Dido was an Eclipse -class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s.

Design [ edit ]

Eclipse-class second-class protected cruisers were preceded by the shorter Astraea-class cruisers . Dido had a displacement of 5,600 long tons (5,700 t; 6,300 short tons) when at normal load. It had a total length of 373 ft (114 m), a beam of 53 ft 6 in (16.31 m), a metacentric height of around 3 m (9 ft 10 in), and a draught of 20 ft 6 in (6.25 m). ^[1] It was powered by two inverted triple-expansion steam engines which used steam from eight cylindrical boilers . Using normal draught, the boilers were intended to provide the engines with enough steam to generate 8,000 indicated horsepower (6,000 kW) and to reach a speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph); using forced draft , the equivalent figures were 9,600 indicated horsepower (7,200 kW) and a speed of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph). Eclipse-class cruisers carried a maximum of 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) of coal and achieved maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) in sea trials. ^[2]

It carried five 40- calibre 6-inch (152 mm) quick-firing (QF) guns in single mounts protected by gun shields . One gun was mounted on the forecastle , two on the quarterdeck and one pair was abreast the bridge . ^[3] They fired 100-pound (45 kg) shells at a muzzle velocity of 2,205 ft/s (672 m/s). ^[4] The secondary armament consisted of six 40-calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns; three on each broadside . Their 45-pound (20.4 kg) shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of 2,125 ft/s (648 m/s). ^[5] It was fitted with three 18-inch torpedo tubes , one submerged tube on each broadside and one above water in the stern . ^[6] Its ammunition supply consisted of 200 six-inch rounds per gun, 250 shells for each 4.7-inch gun, 300 rounds per gun for the 76 mm (3.0 in)s and 500 for each three-pounder. Dido had ten torpedoes, presumably four for each broadside tube and two for the stern tube. ^[7]

Construction [ edit ]

Dido was laid down at London and Glasgow Shipbuilding Company 's Govan , Glasgow shipyard on 30 August 1894. ^[6] An initial attempt to launch the ship on 18 March 1896 proved unsuccessful, with the ship sticking on the slipway , ^[8] but a second attempt on 20 March proved successful, with the ship being completed on 10 May 1898, ^[6] at a cost of ￡252,278. ^[9]

Operational history [ edit ]

While serving in the Mediterranean she cruised Greek waters in March 1900. ^[10] She was later posted to the China Station . In October 1901 she left Hong Kong homebound, ^[11] arriving at Sheerness 14 December. ^[12] She paid off at Chatham on 11 January 1902 and was placed in the Fleet Reserve as an emergency ship. ^[13]

It was more than a year until she was commissioned again in February 1903 with the crew of HMS Galatea , succeeding her as coast guard ship at Humber district based at Hull . ^[14]

She received a Le Cheminant chronometer from the Royal Observatory on 17 March 1916. ^[15]

Footnotes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

• Brassey, T.A., ed. (1902). The Naval Annual 1902 . Portsmouth, UK: J. Griffin & Co.
• Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860?1905 . Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-8317-0302-4 .
• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One . Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN   978-1-84832-100-7 .
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906?1921 . Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   0-85177-245-5 .
• McBride, Keith (2012). "The Cruiser Family Talbot". In John Jordan (ed.). Warship 2012 . London: Conway. pp. 136?41. ISBN   978-1-84486-156-9 .

External links [ edit ]

• Media related to HMS Dido (ship, 1896) at Wikimedia Commons