HMS Amethyst (1903)
Encyclopedia
HMS Amethyst was a third-class protected cruiser
of the Topaze class
of the Royal Navy
. She was launched in 1904, served during World War I at the Dardanelles and Gallipoli, in the Mediterranean and the South Atlantic. She was sold for scrap in 1920.
Until Amethyst was built, the largest warships fitted with steam turbine
s were destroyer
s. Their use in Amethyst reduced overall range at 10 knots by 1500 nautical miles (2,778 km), but increased it by 1000 nautical miles at 20 knots, compared to her sister ships.
Reginald Tyrwhitt
. Later that year she was transferred to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the Royal Navy.
for repairs.
Over the following days, Amethyst continued to provide support to the operations on W, Y and Z beaches. On 3 May she lay off Z beach and reported heavy gunfire on shore and large calibre enemy shells landing in the proximity of the British ships. On the night of 5 May, troops were taken from Z beach for redeployment to X and Y beaches.
Amethysts last part in the landings occurred on 18 May when she proceeded up the Gulf of Adramyt in the early hours, accompanied by destroyers, arriving at Asia Bay just after 05:00. She sent an armed party away in boats to investigate the possibility of removing enemy lighters, but they returned 20 minutes later reporting that a sandbar prevented them from being moved. Two enemy oil tanks were demolished by gunfire, and at 06:45 an enemy field gun battery opened fire. Amethyst replied, silencing the guns, but was hit with the loss of 1 rating killed and 4 wounded.
exploded at the buoys in the outer harbour. Amethysts boats assisted in rescuing the survivors.
For much of the autumn of 1915, Amethyst stayed in port and acted a temporary depot ship for British submarines passing through on patrol. On 19 November, Amethyst headed towards Malta and thence to Gibraltar, arriving on 27 November. On 1 December she set out for Portsmouth
, and then on 11 December for Barrow-in-Furness
where she moored up in Devonshire Dock. She remained there until 14 March 1916 when she headed south to Plymouth
, then Bilbao
and arriving in Gibraltar on 23 March.
took command. He had earned a Victoria Cross
in the Gallipoli campaign. Amethyst was assigned to South America, and left Gibraltar on 8 May 1916.
On 23 November 1916, Commander, the Earl of Glasgow
took over command whilst the ship was stationed at Viçosa Reef, off the coast of Brazil.
In December 1916 Amethyst, supported by two armed merchant cruisers, , , and two colliers and , was ordered to search for the German Raider SMS Möwe
. On 9 January Möwe sank the collier Minieh, and when she failed to rendezvous with the rest of the squadron, a search was begun. The squadron returned to the Port of Bahia
without success. A further attempt to find Möwe was made on 24 January when Amethyst was joined by Glasgow
, but this was also unsuccessful. Patrols to search for German surface raiders were also conducted in April and May 1917.
After a long stay in Rio de Janeiro
, Amethyst sailed on 5 April 1918, patrolling down the coast inspecting vessels and arriving in Montevideo
on 10 March. On 31 May 1918 Amethyst left Bahia, Brazil to return to Devonport. On the way home, she met HMS Britannia
off the coast of Sierra Leone and 295 cases of gold bullion (worth an estimated £1 million) were loaded onboard. She arrived in Devonport on 25 June. On 1 July 1918 Amethyst left Devonport for Barrow-in-Furness where she went into dry dock for the remainder of the war.
on 21 December.
Protected cruiser
The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
of the Topaze class
Topaze class cruiser
The Topaze-class cruisers were a class of third-class protected cruisers. They were the last class of protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. She was launched in 1904, served during World War I at the Dardanelles and Gallipoli, in the Mediterranean and the South Atlantic. She was sold for scrap in 1920.
Construction
She was laid down in January 1903 at Armstrong, Elswick, was launched on 5 November 1903 and was completed in March 1905.Until Amethyst was built, the largest warships fitted with steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s were destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s. Their use in Amethyst reduced overall range at 10 knots by 1500 nautical miles (2,778 km), but increased it by 1000 nautical miles at 20 knots, compared to her sister ships.
Battle of Heligoland Bight
Once World War I broke out in 1914, HMS Amethyst was assigned to the Harwich force of the Royal Navy. She participated in the Battle of Heligoland Blight under the command of CommodoreCommodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
Reginald Tyrwhitt
Reginald Tyrwhitt
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, GCB, DSO was a senior officer of the Royal Navy in World War I who commanded light forces stationed at Harwich on the east coast of England during the first part of the war.-Naval career:Tyrwhitt entered the Navy as a cadet in July, 1885...
. Later that year she was transferred to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the Royal Navy.
Minesweeping Operations
Amethyst took part in the covering operation for the minesweeping effort in the Dardanelles, and during the action on 1 March and 4 March 1915 she exchanged fire with Turkish forts. On the evening of 4 March she took onboard injured personnel of the landing party and discharged them the next day into Soudan and Braemar Castle. During the hours of darkness between 6 and 11 March she took part in operations in the Dardanelles against mines, and was regularly in action against field artillery, forts and searchlights. On 14 March at 04:10 she was hit by field artillery and lost 22 men killed. A further 38 men were wounded, of whom 4 later died. Amethyst retired to TenedosTenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
for repairs.
Gallipoli Landings
On 24 April 1915 Amethyst and her sister-ship embarked soldiers and landed them by trawler at Y beach on the northwest shore of the Gallipoli Peninsula in the early morning of 25 April. She supported the British troops ashore with gunfire until 27 April by bombarding enemy positions. By mid-morning on 27 April, with the situation on the beach described as "desperate", surviving troops were beginning to come back on board - Amethyst took on board over 250 officers and men, many of them wounded.Over the following days, Amethyst continued to provide support to the operations on W, Y and Z beaches. On 3 May she lay off Z beach and reported heavy gunfire on shore and large calibre enemy shells landing in the proximity of the British ships. On the night of 5 May, troops were taken from Z beach for redeployment to X and Y beaches.
Amethysts last part in the landings occurred on 18 May when she proceeded up the Gulf of Adramyt in the early hours, accompanied by destroyers, arriving at Asia Bay just after 05:00. She sent an armed party away in boats to investigate the possibility of removing enemy lighters, but they returned 20 minutes later reporting that a sandbar prevented them from being moved. Two enemy oil tanks were demolished by gunfire, and at 06:45 an enemy field gun battery opened fire. Amethyst replied, silencing the guns, but was hit with the loss of 1 rating killed and 4 wounded.
Mediterranean
After conducting patrols from Brindisi during June and July 1915, Amethyst went into dry dock for a refit from 28 July until 17 August. She returned to Brindisi on 15 September and was present there on 27 September when the Italian battleship Benedetto BrinItalian battleship Benedetto Brin
Benedetto Brin was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Italian Regia Marina between 1899 and 1905. She was destroyed by an explosion during World War I.-Service:...
exploded at the buoys in the outer harbour. Amethysts boats assisted in rescuing the survivors.
For much of the autumn of 1915, Amethyst stayed in port and acted a temporary depot ship for British submarines passing through on patrol. On 19 November, Amethyst headed towards Malta and thence to Gibraltar, arriving on 27 November. On 1 December she set out for Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, and then on 11 December for Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
where she moored up in Devonshire Dock. She remained there until 14 March 1916 when she headed south to Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, then Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
and arriving in Gibraltar on 23 March.
South America
In 1916 Commander Edward UnwinEdward Unwin
Commodore Edward Unwin VC, CB, CMG was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
took command. He had earned a Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in the Gallipoli campaign. Amethyst was assigned to South America, and left Gibraltar on 8 May 1916.
On 23 November 1916, Commander, the Earl of Glasgow
Patrick Boyle, 8th Earl of Glasgow
Patrick James Boyle, 8th Earl of Glasgow was a Scottish nobleman and a far right political activist.-Royal Navy:...
took over command whilst the ship was stationed at Viçosa Reef, off the coast of Brazil.
In December 1916 Amethyst, supported by two armed merchant cruisers, , , and two colliers and , was ordered to search for the German Raider SMS Möwe
SMS Möwe
SMS Möwe was an merchant raider of the Imperial German Navy which operated against Allied shipping during World War I....
. On 9 January Möwe sank the collier Minieh, and when she failed to rendezvous with the rest of the squadron, a search was begun. The squadron returned to the Port of Bahia
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
without success. A further attempt to find Möwe was made on 24 January when Amethyst was joined by Glasgow
HMS Glasgow (1909)
HMS Glasgow, the sixth ship of that name, was launched on the Clyde at Govan in 1909 and was a Town-class light cruiser.On the outbreak of the First World War, she was operating off the coast of South America under Captain John Luce, and on 16 August 1914 she captured the German merchant ship SS...
, but this was also unsuccessful. Patrols to search for German surface raiders were also conducted in April and May 1917.
After a long stay in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Amethyst sailed on 5 April 1918, patrolling down the coast inspecting vessels and arriving in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
on 10 March. On 31 May 1918 Amethyst left Bahia, Brazil to return to Devonport. On the way home, she met HMS Britannia
HMS Britannia (1904)
The sixth HMS Britannia of the British Royal Navy was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the King Edward VII class. She was named after Britannia, the Latin name of Great Britain under Roman rule.-Technical characteristics:...
off the coast of Sierra Leone and 295 cases of gold bullion (worth an estimated £1 million) were loaded onboard. She arrived in Devonport on 25 June. On 1 July 1918 Amethyst left Devonport for Barrow-in-Furness where she went into dry dock for the remainder of the war.
Post World War I
Amethyst was recommissioned on 20 November 1918 and on the way to Gibraltar she stopped at Lisbon for the funeral of the late President of Portugal, Sidónio PaisSidónio Pais
Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais was a Portuguese politician and diplomat, the fourth President in 1918. He was known as the President-King.-Family:...
on 21 December.