HMS Hawke (1891)
| 300px HMS Hawke | |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Hawke |
| Builder: | Chatham Dockyard |
| Laid down: | 17 June 1889 |
| Launched: | 11 March 1891 |
| Fate: | Sunk by U 9, 15 October 1914 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Edgar-class protected cruiser |
| Displacement: | 7,770 long tons (7,890 t) |
| Length: | 360 ft (110 m) |
| Beam: | 60 ft (18 m) |
| Draught: | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Installed power: | 12,000 ihp (8,900 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × steam engines 2 × shafts |
| Speed: | 20 kn (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
| Range: | 10,000 nmi (12,000 mi; 19,000 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 544 |
| Armament: | 2 × BL 9.2 in (230 mm) Mk VI guns, 10 × QF 6 in (150 mm) guns, 12 × 6 pdr (2.7 kg) guns |
HMS Hawke, launched in 1891, was the sixth British warship to be named Hawke. She was an Edgar-class protected cruiser.
Service
In 1897-1898, Hawke — under the command of Captain Sir Richard Poore — was in action in the Mediterranean in the operations which led to the pacification of Crete and the appointment of Prince George of Greece as High Commissioner under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Turkey. At one point, she was used as a troopship, taking on a Greek military force in Platania Bay and transporting them back to Greece.
Collision with the Olympic
On 20 September 1911, Hawke, under command of Commander W.F. Blunt, collided in the Solent with the White Star liner RMS Olympic. In the course of the collision, Hawke lost her prow. (This was replaced by a straight bow). The subsequent trial pronounced Hawke to be free from any blame. During the trial, a theory was advanced that the large amount of water displaced by the Olympic had generated a suction that had drawn Hawke off course. Appeal after appeal followed the decision of the first court to try the case.
Sinking
Early in the First World War, Hawke, commanded by Capt. Hugh P.E.T. Williams, was engaged in various operations in the North Sea. On 15 October, Hawke was torpedoed by German submarine U-9. Her sister ship Theseus, which was in company, was attacked at the same time but was undamaged. Hawke sank in a few minutes, with the loss of her captain, 26 officers and 500 men; only four officers and about 60 men were saved.
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- Roger Chesneau and Eugene M. Kolesnik, ed., Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979), ISBN 0-85177-133-5
External links
- Encyclopedia Titanica: HMS Hawke
| ||||||||
cs:HMS Hawke (1891) es:HMS Hawke (1891) fr:HMS Hawke (1891) ja:ホーク (防護巡洋艦) pl:HMS Hawke
