HMS Hermes (1898)

HMS Hermes at anchor, Dar es Salaam, German East Africa, before 1913
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Hermes
Namesake:	Hermes
Ordered:	1897
Builder:	Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, Govan
Laid down:	30 April 1897
Launched:	7 April 1898
Completed:	5 October 1899
Reclassified:	Fitted to carry seaplanes in 1913
Fate:	Sunk by U-27, 31 October 1914
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:	Highflyer-class protected cruiser
Displacement:	5,650 long tons (5,740 t)
Length:	350 ft (110 m) (p.p.) 372 ft (113 m) (o/a)
Beam:	54 ft (16.5 m)
Draught:	21 ft 6 in (6.6 m)
Installed power:	10,000 ihp (7,500 kW) 18 × Belleville boilers
Propulsion:	2 × Shafts 2 × 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:	470
Armament:	11 × single QF 6 in (152 mm) guns 8 × single QF 12-pounder 12 cwt guns 6 × single QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns 2 × single 18 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Deck: 1.5–3 in (38–76 mm) Gun shields: 3 in (76 mm) Conning tower: 6 in (152 mm) Engine hatches: 5 in (127 mm)

HMS Hermes was a Highflyer-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. She spent much of her early career as flagship for various foreign stations before returning home in 1913 to be assigned to the reserve Third Fleet. The ship was modified later that year as the first experimental seaplane carrier in the Royal Navy. She was used to evaluate in that year's annual fleet manoeuvers how aircraft could cooperate with the fleet and if aircraft could be operated successfully at sea for an extended time. The trials were a success and Hermes was paid off in December at their conclusion. She was recommissioned at the beginning of World War I in August 1914 for service as an aircraft ferry and depot ship for the Royal Naval Air Service. She was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in the Straits of Dover in October with the loss of 44 lives.

Hermes was designed to displace 5,650 long tons (5,740 t). The ship had an overall length of 372 feet (113.4 m), a beam of 54 feet (16.5 m) and a draught of 29 feet 6 inches (9.0 m). She was powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, which produced a total of 10,000 indicated horsepower (7,500 kW) designed to give a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). Hermes reached a speed of 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph) from 10,224 ihp (7,624 kW), during her sea trials. The engines were powered by 18 Belleville boilers. She carried a maximum of 1,125 long tons (1,143 t) of coal and her complement consisted of 470 officers and enlisted men.