View source for HMS Arethusa (1913)

{{short description|Royal Navy Arethusa-class light cruiser}}
{{Other ships|HMS Arethusa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Arethusa (1913).jpg
|Ship caption=''Arethusa'' in 1914
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Arethusa''
|Ship namesake=[[Arethusa (mythology)|Arethusa]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Chatham Dockyard]]
|Ship laid down=28 October 1912
|Ship launched=25 October 1913
|Ship christened=
|Ship commissioned=August 1914
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Damaged by mine, laid by {{SMS|UC-7|sub=y}}, on 11 February 1916 and wrecked
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: 3C<ref>{{cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=J J |title=British Warships 1914–1919 |date=1972 |publisher=Ian Allan |location=Shepperton |page=47}}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship class={{sclass|Arethusa|cruiser (1913)|0}} [[light cruiser]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|3512|LT|t|lk=on|0}}
|Ship length=*{{convert|410|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} [[Length between perpendiculars|p/p]]
*{{convert|436|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
|Ship beam={{convert|39|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship draught={{convert|15|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}} (mean, [[deep load]])
|Ship power=*{{convert|40000|shp|kW|lk=on|abbr=on}}
*8 × [[Yarrow boiler]]s
|Ship propulsion= 4 × shafts; 4 × [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|28.5|kn|lk=on}}
|Ship range={{convert|3200|nmi|lk=on|abbr=on}} at {{convert|16|kn}}
|Ship capacity={{convert|840|LT|t|0}} [[fuel oil]]
|Ship complement=270
|Ship armament=*2 × single [[BL 6 inch Mk XII naval gun|BL {{convert|6|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} Mk XII gun]]s
*6 × single [[QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun|QF {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} Mk V guns]]
*1 × single [[Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers|QF 3-pounder {{convert|47|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]
*4 × [[British 21-inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=*[[Belt armor|Waterline belt]]: {{convert|1|-|3|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|1|in|mm|abbr=on}}
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Arethusa''''' was the [[name ship]] of [[Arethusa-class cruiser (1913)|her class]] of eight [[light cruiser]]s built for the [[Royal Navy]] in the 1910s. She saw a considerable amount of action during the early years of the [[First World War]], participating in the [[Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914)|Battle of Heligoland Bight]] and the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of Dogger Bank]].

==Design and description==
The ''Arethusa''-class cruisers were intended to lead [[destroyer]] [[flotilla]]s and defend the fleet against attacks by enemy destroyers. The ships were {{convert|456|ft|6|in|m|1}} [[length overall|long overall]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|49|ft|10|in|m|1}} and a deep [[Draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|15|ft|3|in|m|1}}. [[Displacement (ship)|Displacement]] was {{convert|5185|LT|t|lk=on}} at normal<ref name=f3>Friedman 2010, p. 384</ref> and {{convert|5795|LT|t}} at full load. ''Arethusa'' was powered by four [[John Brown & Company|Brown-Curtis]] steam turbines, each driving one [[propeller shaft]], which produced a total of {{convert|40000|shp|lk=on}}. The turbines used steam generated by eight [[Yarrow boiler]]s which gave her a speed of about {{convert|28.5|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name=gg8>Gardiner & Gray, p. 55</ref> She carried {{convert|840|LT|t|0}} of [[fuel oil]]<ref name=f3/> that gave a range of {{convert|3200|nmi|lk=on}} at {{convert|16|kn}}.<ref>Pearsall, Part I, p. 210</ref>

The main armament of the ''Arethusa''-class ships consisted of two [[BL 6 inch Mk XII naval gun|BL {{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on|0}} Mk XII guns]] that were mounted on the centreline fore and aft of the [[superstructure]] and six [[QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun|QF {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} Mk V]] guns in waist mountings. They were also fitted with a single [[Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers|QF 3-pounder {{convert|47|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] [[anti-aircraft gun]] and four [[British 21-inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|mm|adj=on|0}}]] [[torpedo tube]]s in two twin mounts.<ref name=gg8/>

==Construction and career==
{{stack|[[File:HMS Arethusa (1913) mined.jpg|thumb|A tug alongside the wreck of ''Arethusa'' after ''Arethusa'' was badly damaged by a mine off [[Felixstowe]], 11 February 1916]]}}
She was laid down at [[Chatham Dockyard]] in October 1912, launched on 25 October 1913, and commissioned in August 1914 as flotilla leader for the [[Harwich Force]]. On 28 August 1914, she fought at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, flying the flag of [[Reginald Tyrwhitt|Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt]]. She was seriously damaged by the German cruisers {{SMS|Frauenlob}} and {{SMS|Stettin||2}} and had to be towed home. On 25 December, ''Arethusa'' took part in the [[Cuxhaven Raid]] and on 24 January 1915 she fought at the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of Dogger Bank]]. Later in the same year, she was transferred to the [[5th Light Cruiser Squadron]] of the Harwich Force. In September 1915, she captured four German trawlers. On [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1916)|11 February 1916]], she struck a mine off [[Felixstowe]], drifted onto a [[shoal]] while under tow, and broke her back.<ref>Gardiner & Gray, pp. 55–56</ref> Approximately near Harwich (51.925, 1.295) <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/H.M.S._Arethusa_(1913) | title=H.M.S. Arethusa (1913) - the Dreadnought Project }}</ref><ref>Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 47</ref>

== Legacy ==

One of the four relief panels on [[Brierley Hill War Memorial]], in Dudley, England, depicts ''Arethusa'' sending out its boats to rescue German sailors from a ship it had sunk.<ref name="DMBC">{{cite web |title=War Memorials |url=https://www.dudley.gov.uk/residents/register-office/deaths-funerals-cremations/cremation/memorials/war-memorials/ |publisher=Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council }}</ref>

One of ''Arethusa''{{'}}s 4-inch guns was salvaged from the wreck on 27 March 1916. It was fitted to the yacht ''Vittoria'', serving as a [[minesweeper]], until 27 February 1918. It was then taken on by the [[drill ship]] [[HMS Satellite (1881)|HMS ''Satellite'']] on 25 September 1920, where it was used in anti-submarine training until the beginning of the [[Second World War]]. It was presented by the shipbreaking firm J. G. Potts to the Armstrong & Aviation Museum at [[Bamburgh Castle]] on 16 February 1948, where it remains as of 2024.<ref>{{Cite sign
|title       = Four Inch Gun, Mark V, Reg. No. 946
|type        = Museum sign
|publisher   = Armstrong & Aviation Museum
|location    = Bamburgh Castle
}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian|authorlink=Julian Corbett|title=Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands|edition=2nd, reprint of the 1938|series=History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents|date=March 1997 |volume=I|publisher=Imperial War Museum and Battery Press|location=London and Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=0-89839-256-X}}
*{{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian|authorlink=Julian Corbett|title=Naval Operations|edition=reprint of the 1929 second|series=History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents|volume=II|year=1997|publisher=Imperial War Museum in association with the Battery Press|location=London and Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=1-870423-74-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After|year=2010|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-078-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Weapons of World War One|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84832-100-7}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Newbolt|first=Henry|title=Naval Operations|edition=reprint of the 1931|series=History of the Great War Based on Official Documents|volume=V|year=1996|publisher=Battery Press|location=Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=0-89839-255-1}}
*{{cite journal|last=Pearsall|first=Alan|year=1984|title=Arethusa Class Cruisers, Part I|journal=Warship|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|volume=VIII|pages=203–11|isbn=0-87021-983-9}}
*{{cite journal|last=Pearsall|first=Alan|year=1984|title=Arethusa Class Cruisers, Part II|journal=Warship|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|volume=VIII|pages=258–65|isbn=0-87021-983-9}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|HMS Arethusa (ship, 1914)}}

{{Arethusa class cruiser (1913)}}
{{February 1916 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arethusa}}
[[Category:1913 ships]]
[[Category:Arethusa-class cruisers (1913)]]
[[Category:Ships built in Chatham]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by mines]]
[[Category:World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea]]