View source for HMS Australia (1886)

{{short description|Cruiser of the Royal Navy}}
{{about|a British warship|Australian warships named ''Australia''|HMAS Australia}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Australia (1886) in the 1890s.jpg
|Ship caption=''Australia'' at anchor
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Australia''
|Ship namesake=[[Australia (continent)|Australia]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder= [[Robert Napier and Sons]], [[Govan]], [[Glasgow]]
|Ship laid down=21 April 1885
|Ship launched=25 November 1886
|Ship completed=11 December 1888
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=
|Ship fate=Sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]], 4 April 1905
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Orlando|cruiser|0}} [[armoured cruiser]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|5535|LT|t}}
|Ship length={{convert|300|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} ([[Length between perpendiculars|p/p]])
|Ship beam={{convert|56|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship draught={{convert|24|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|8500|ihp|lk=in|abbr=on}}
*4 × [[boiler (steam generator)|boiler]]s
|Ship propulsion=*2 shafts
*2 × [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|Triple-expansion steam engines]]
|Ship speed={{convert|18|kn|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship range={{convert|8000|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn}}
|Ship complement=484
|Ship armament=
*2 × single [[BL 9.2 inch gun Mk III - VII|BL {{convert|9.2|in|mm|adj=on|0}} Mk V guns]]
*10 × single [[BL 6 inch gun Mk III IV VI|BL {{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns]]
*6 × single [[QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss|QF 6-pounder (57 mm) Hotchkiss guns]]
*10 × single [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|QF 3 pounder (47 mm) Hotchkiss guns]]
*6 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (450 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=*[[Belt armor|Waterline belt]]: {{convert|10|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|2|-|3|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
*[[Conning tower]]: {{convert|12|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
*[[Bulkhead (partition)|Bulkhead]]s: {{convert|16|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Australia''''' was one of seven {{sclass|Orlando|cruiser|0}} [[armoured cruiser]]s built for the [[Royal Navy]] in the mid-1880s. She was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1889 and remained there until 1893 when she returned home. The ship was assigned to the [[Coast Guard Squadron]] for the next decade before she was placed in [[Reserve fleet|reserve]] in 1903. ''Australia'' was sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]] in 1905.

==Design and description==
''Australia'' had a [[length between perpendiculars]] of {{convert|300|ft|m|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|56|ft|m|1}} and a [[draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|24|ft|m|1}}. Designed to [[Displacement (ship)|displace]] {{convert|5040|LT|t}}, all of the ''Orlando''-class ships proved to be overweight and displaced approximately {{convert|5535|LT|t}}.

The ship was powered by a pair of three-cylinder [[triple-expansion steam engine]]s, each driving one shaft, which were designed to produce a total of {{convert|8500|ihp|lk=in}} and a maximum speed of {{convert|18|kn|lk=in}} using steam provided by four [[boiler (steam generator)|boiler]]s with [[forced draught]]. During her sea trials, ''Australia'' reached {{convert|18.8|kn}}. The ship carried a maximum of {{convert|900|LT|t}} of coal which was designed to give her a range of {{convert|8000|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}. The ship's complement was 484 officers and ratings.<ref name="ck5">Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 65</ref>

''Australia''{{'}}s main armament consisted of two [[List of British ordnance terms#BL|breech-loading]] (BL) [[BL 9.2 inch gun Mk III - VII|{{convert|9.2|in|mm|adj=on|sigfig=3}} Mk V guns]], one gun fore and aft of the superstructure on [[pivot gun|pivot mounts]]. Her secondary armament was ten [[BL 6 inch gun Mk III IV VI|BL {{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on|sigfig=3}} guns]], five on each [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]]. Protection against torpedo boats was provided by six [[quick-firing gun|quick-firing (QF)]] [[QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss|6-pounder Hotchkiss]] guns and ten [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss]] guns, most of which were mounted on the main [[deck (ship)|deck]] in broadside positions. The ship was also armed with six 18-inch (457&nbsp;mm) [[torpedo tube]]s: four on the broadside above water and one each in the bow and stern below water.<ref name=ck5/>

The ship was protected by a [[waterline]] [[compound armour]] [[Belt armor|belt]] {{convert|10|in|0}} thick. It covered the middle {{convert|200|ft|m|1}} of the ship and was {{convert|5|ft|6|in|1}} high.<ref name=ck5/> Because the ship was overweight, the top of the armour belt was {{convert|2|ft}} below the waterline when she was fully loaded.<ref>Friedman, p. 146</ref> The ends of the armour belt were closed off by transverse [[bulkhead (partition)|bulkhead]]s {{convert|16|in|0}}. The lower deck was {{convert|2|-|3|in|0}} thick over the full length of the hull. The conning tower was protected by {{convert|12|in|0}} of armour.<ref name=ck5/>

==Construction and service==
''Australia'', named for the [[Australia (continent)|Australian continent]],<ref>Silverstone, p. 216</ref> was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 21 April 1885 by [[Robert Napier and Sons]] at their shipyard in [[Govan]], [[Glasgow]].

The ship was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 25 November 1886, and completed on 11 December 1888.<ref>Friedman, p. 342</ref> Shortly after [[Ship commissioning|commissioning]], she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and remained there until 1893 when she participated in the Columbian Review held in [[New York City]] that year to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World.

Upon her return home, ''Australia'' became the coast [[guard ship]] for [[Southampton Water]] for the next decade.<ref name="f1">Friedman, p. 141</ref> Captain [[Charles Henry Adair]] was briefly in command from November 1899 to January 1900, when Captain [[George Neville (Royal Navy officer)|George Neville]] was appointed in command on 20 January 1900.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence|date=26 January 1900 |page=7 |issue=36049| }}</ref> She escorted the [[royal yacht]] {{ship|HMY|Osborne|1870|6}} when [[Queen Victoria]] visited Ireland in April 1900,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence|date=29 March 1900 |page=8 |issue=36102}}</ref> and in September the following year she visited [[Germany]] and [[Denmark]] when she escorted the royal yacht carrying [[Edward VII|King Edward VII]] from [[Hamburg]] to [[Elsinore]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Royal gathering in Denmark - Arrival of the King|date=9 September 1901 |page=4 |issue=36555| }}</ref>

She took part in the [[Fleet review (Commonwealth realms)|fleet review]] held at [[Spithead]] on 16 August 1902 for the [[Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra|coronation]] of King [[Edward VII]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Coronation - Naval Review |date=13 August 1902 |page=4 |issue=36845| }}</ref> Captain Charles Home Cochran was appointed in command on 24 November 1902,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence |date=7 November 1902 |page=6 |issue=36919| }}</ref> but the ship was placed in reserve at [[Chatham Dockyard]] in early 1903,<ref name="f1" /> before being sold for scrap on 4 April 1905.<ref name="ck5" />

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|name-list-style=amp|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Cruisers of the Victorian Era|year=2012|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-068-9}}
*{{cite book|last1=Lyon|first1=David|last2=Winfield|first2=Rif|title=The Sail & Steam Navy List|year=2004|publisher=Chatham Publishing|location=London|isbn=1-86176-032-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|HMS Australia (1886)|HMS ''Australia''}}

{{Orlando class cruiser}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australia}}
[[Category:Orlando-class cruisers]]
[[Category:1886 ships]]