RN Torpedo Cruisers; Archer Class

[Brian James]

Archer Class,Third Class Torpedo Cruiser HMS Porpoise pictured c1889.These were a Class of eight Cruisers,they were envisaged from 1883 onwards by Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key to replace existing sloops as ancilliaries for working with the British Fleet and also for trade protection; a total of twenty such ships were planned by him, but only eight were built. Six ships were ordered under the 1884 Programme and built by J & G Thomson at Clydebank,Glasgow A further two ships were ordered under the 1885 Programme, and these were built at Devonport Dockyard with all ships completed between 1887 and 1888. These ships mainly served in the British Empire's foreign fleets being on various stations throughout the North Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Throughout their careers they were involved in a number of local conflicts including the Anglo-Zanzibar War, First Sino-Japanese War, and the Boxer Rebellion.

[Brian James]

Archer Class,Third Class Torpedo Cruiser HMS Mohawk pictured in Morts Dock,Balmain,Sydney c1899.

[Brian James]

Archer Class Torpedo Cruiser HMS Porpoise pictured at Gosport c1887... built at J. & G. Thompson Shipyards, Glasgow and launched on May 7th 1886.She commenced service on the Australia and New Zealand Station in December 1897. During the Samoan civil unrest in 1899, she took part in operations with HMS Royalist and HMS Tauranga.She departed the Australia Station and was paid off at Portsmouth May 20th 1901. She was sold in Bombay in 1905.

[Brian James]

Archer Class Third Class Torpedo Cruiser HMS Tartar pictured in the Hudson River during the 1893 Columbian Naval Review.