 Psyche
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Psyche |
| Builder | HM Devonport Dockyard |
| Laid down | 15 November 1897 |
| Launched | 19 July 1898 |
| Commissioned | 2 May 1899 |
| Decommissioned | 22 January 1915 |
| Honours and awards | One inherited battle honour |
| Fate | Transferred to the Royal Australian Navy 1 July 1915 |
| History | |
| Australia | |
| Name | HMAS Psyche |
| Acquired | 1 July 1915 |
| Commissioned | 1 July 1915 |
| Decommissioned | 26 March 1918 |
| Fate |
|
| Notes | Served as timber lighter 1922–1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Pelorus-class cruiser |
| Displacement | 2,135 long tons (2,169 t) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 36.5 ft (11.1 m) |
| Draught | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × triple expansion steam engines, 7,000 ihp (5,200 kW), two screws |
| Speed | 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement | Initially 220, reduced to 188 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
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HMAS Psyche (formerly HMS Psyche) was a Pelorus-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century. Initially operating on the North America and West Indies Station, the cruiser was transferred to the Australian Squadron in 1903, and remained there until the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) took over responsibility in 1913. After a stint in New Zealand waters and involvement in the Occupation of German Samoa, Psyche was paid off in 1915.
At the recommendation of the Australian government, the ship was commissioned into the RAN in 1915, and assigned to patrol the coast of Burma, in response to the threat of a German-instigated uprising. Psyche operated in the Bay of Bengal and around Sumatra until 1916, when she was docked at Hong Kong for refit. During this, personnel from the ship were used to commission and man the river gunboat HMS Moorhen. After the refit's conclusion, Psyche patrolled in Chinese waters, before returning to the Bay of Bengal. Psyche returned to Sydney and was paid off in October 1917, but recommissioned a month later for patrols in Australia's northern waters. She was decommissioned for the final time in early 1918. The ship was sold for use as a timber lighter in 1922, and sank in 1940 at Salamander Bay, New South Wales following a storm.