HMS Ariadne (1898)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Ariadne.

HMS Ariadne
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Ariadne
Builder	J&G Thompson, Clydebank
Laid down	29 October 1896
Launched	22 April 1898
Christened	Lady Balfour of Burleigh
Reclassified	Minelayer, March 1917
Fate	Sunk by UC-65, 26 July 1917
General characteristics
Class and type	Diadem-class protected cruiser
Displacement	11,000 long tons (11,177 t)
Length	435 ft (133 m) (462 ft 6 in (140.97 m) o/a)
Beam	69 ft (21 m)
Draught	25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
Installed power	16,500–18,000 ihp (12,300–13,400 kW)
Propulsion	2 × triple expansion engines 2 × shafts
Speed	20–20.5 knots (37.0–38.0 km/h; 23.0–23.6 mph)
Complement	760
Armament	Original: 16 × QF 6-inch (152 mm) guns 14 × QF 12-pounder (76 mm) guns 3 × QF 3-pounder (47 mm) guns 2 × 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes As Minelayer: 4 × 6 in (150 mm) guns, 1 × 12-pounder gun, 354 mines
Armour	Casemates: 6 in (15 cm) Deck: 2–4.5 in (5.1–11.4 cm)

Sailors pose while loading a 6-inch (152 mm) gun aboard Ariadne ca. 1903. The gun's breech is open, and sailors are holding the rammer, projectile, and propellant casings.

HMS Ariadne was a Diadem-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy, which was launched in 1898, In March 1913, she was converted to a stokers' training ship and in 1917 was converted to a minelayer and assigned to the Nore Command. She was torpedoed and sunk off Beachy Head by the German submarine UC-65 (Otto Steinbrinck) on 26 July 1917.

Service history

Ariadne was built by J&G Thompson of Clydebank and launched on 22 April 1898, when she was named by Lady Balfour of Burleigh, wife of Lord Balfour of Burleigh, who served as Secretary of State for Scotland.

North Atlantic service

In March 1902 she was ordered to prepare for service on the North America and West Indies Station, where she would act as flagship to Vice-Admiral Sir Archibald L. Douglas when he took up command on the station in July that year. She was commissioned at Portsmouth on 5 June 1902 by Captain Montague Browning, who was appointed flag captain in command of the ship from the same day. Leaving Portsmouth in early July, she arrived at the station headquarters at Halifax and formally succeed HMS Crescent as flagship to the station on 15 July. In August–September 1902 she visited St. John's, Newfoundland, Quebec City and Charlottetown. In November the same year, she visited the Bermuda headquarters of the station and Trinidad.

Ariadne took part in the naval blockade of Venezuelan ports during the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903.

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 Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Diadem class at worldwar1.co.uk