HMS Dido was an protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s.
Eclipse-class second-class protected cruisers were preceded by the shorter Astraea-class cruisers. Dido had a displacement of 5600LT when at normal load. It had a total length of 373feet, a beam of 53feet, a metacentric height of around 3m (10feet), and a draught of 20feet.[1] It was powered by two inverted triple-expansion steam engines which used steam from eight cylindrical boilers. Using normal draught, the boilers were intended to provide the engines with enough steam to generate 8000ihp and to reach a speed of 18.5kn; using forced draft, the equivalent figures were and a speed of . Eclipse-class cruisers carried a maximum of 1075LT of coal and achieved maximum speed of 20kn in sea trials.[2]
It carried five 40-calibre 6adj=onNaNadj=on quick-firing (QF) guns in single mounts protected by gun shields. One gun was mounted on the forecastle, two on the quarterdeck and one pair was abreast the bridge.[3] They fired 100adj=onNaNadj=on shells at a muzzle velocity of 2205ft/s.[4] The secondary armament consisted of six 40-calibre 4.7inches guns; three on each broadside. Their 45adj=onNaNadj=on shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of 2125ft/s.[5] It was fitted with three 18-inch torpedo tubes, one submerged tube on each broadside and one above water in the stern.[6] Its ammunition supply consisted of 200 six-inch rounds per gun, 250 shells for each 4.7-inch gun, 300 rounds per gun for the 76mms and 500 for each three-pounder. Dido had ten torpedoes, presumably four for each broadside tube and two for the stern tube.[7]
Dido was laid down at London and Glasgow Shipbuilding Company's Govan, Glasgow shipyard on 30 August 1894.[6] An initial attempt to launch the ship on 18 March 1896 proved unsuccessful, with the ship sticking on the slipway,[8] but a second attempt on 20 March proved successful, with the ship being completed on 10 May 1898,[6] at a cost of £252,278.[9]
While serving in the Mediterranean she cruised Greek waters in March 1900.[10] She was later posted to the China Station. In October 1901 she left Hong Kong homebound,[11] arriving at Sheerness 14 December.[12] She paid off at Chatham on 11 January 1902 and was placed in the Fleet Reserve as an emergency ship.[13]
It was more than a year until she was commissioned again in February 1903 with the crew of HMS Galatea, succeeding her as coast guard ship at Humber district based at Hull.[14]
She received a Le Cheminant chronometer from the Royal Observatory on 17 March 1916.[15]