HMS Pegasus (1897)

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Career

Ordered:	1893
Laid down:	May 1896 at Jarrow
Launched:	4 March 1897
Commissioned:	17 January 1899
Fate:	Sunk 20 December 1914 by SMS Königsberg in Zanzibar harbour
General Characteristics
Displacement:	2,135 tons 9,740 tons full load
Length:	300 ft (91.4 m)
Beam:	36.5 ft (11.1 m)
Draught:	17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion:	Two triple expansion steam engines, 7,000 hp
Speed:	20 knots when new
Complement:	224
Armament:	8 x 4" guns, 8 x 3 pdr guns, 2 x 18" torpedo tubes
Motto:	EXCELSIOR

HMS Pegasus was one of eleven Pelorus class cruisers ordered for the Royal Navy in 1893 under the Spencer Program and based on the earlier Pearl Class cruisers. The class were fitted with a variety of different boilers most of which were not entirely satisfactory by 1914 four ships had been withdrawn. They had all been condemned in 1904 but were reprieved and remained in service with scrapping proposed in 1915.

[edit] History

The Pelorus class cruisers were 2,135 ton displacement ships with crew complement of 224, a length of 95.55 m, beam of 11.13 m, and a draft of 4.88 m. They were powered by two triple-expansion engines with boilers rated at 5,000 ihp and a maximum speed of 20 knots. They were armed with eight 4 inch guns, eight 3 pound guns, and two 18" torpedo tubes. The Pegasus was completed in 1898 and in 1899 she was stationed off of the SE Coast of America. She then was stationed in the Mediterranean, Australia, China, and finally Africa.

[edit] The Shipwreck

In the early morning of September 20, 1914 Pegasus was anchored in Zanzibar harbour, having left her battlegroup, which included HMS Hyacinth and Astraea, to attend to boiler and engine problems. The German cruiser SMS Königsberg launched a surprise attack on the ship. Out-ranged and out-gunned, Pegasus was incapacitated within 8 minutes and the Captain, Commander Ingles struck the colours to avoid further bloodshed. The ship sank later that day with the loss of 38 killed and 55 wounded. The hospital ship Gascon and Scottish ship Clan Macrae came to the aid of the survivors. The Pioneer, Pegasus’ sister ship, assisted in the blockade of the Rufiji River where the Königsberg which had taken refuge. Six of the eight guns were salvaged and used in the land campaign until 1916 and one survives to this day outside Fort Jesus museum, Mombasa, Kenya. Capt F E Jackson utilized two of these navel guns, they were named Peggy III & Peggy IV. Many of the British soldiers that had died in the battle were laid to rest on Graves island, Zanzibar. The wreck was sold in 1955 for £500 and broken up for scrap.^[1]

See HMS Pegasus for other ships of this name.