HMS Theseus (1892)

HMS "Theseus" was an "Edgar"-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy. The "Edgars" were basically smaller versions of the "Blake" class. "Theseus" was launched at Blackwall, London in 1892 and commissioned on 14 January 1896.

Upon commission, she was part of the Special Flying Squadron. She was a tender ship to "Cambridge" from 1905 to 1913. In February 1913, "Theseus" joined the Queenstown Training Squadron.

When war broke out in 1914, "Theseus" joined the 10th Cruiser Squadron. On 14 October, "Theseus", accompanied by her sister-ship HMS "Hawke", were patrolling the North Sea when they were attacked by U-9. The submarines first torpedo missed "Theseus" but hit "Hawke", igniting a magazine that caused a tremendously powerful explosion, that ripped much of the ship apart. Just 70 of her 594 crew survived.

"Theseus" was rearmed, along with bulges to her hull, which were added to enable her to take part in the Dardanelles Campaign. In 1916 she was deployed to the Mediterranean and was then sent to the White Sea. In 1918 she was sent to the Aegean Sea to be charged with the mundane task of being a depot ship. In 1919, "Theseus" had her final deployment, when she was sent to the Black Sea. She returned to the UK in 1920 and was scrapped the following year in Germany.

References

*Colledge
* 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