HMS Mercury (1878)

Mercury
History
United Kingdom
NameMercury
BuilderPembroke Dockyard
Laid down16 March 1876
Launched17 April 1878
CompletedSeptember 1879
Reclassified
FateSold for scrap, 9 July 1919
General characteristics
Class and typeIris-class despatch vessel, later second-class cruiser
Displacement3,730 long tons (3,790 t)
Length315 ft (96 m)
Beam46 ft (14 m)
Draught20 ft 6 in (6.2 m)
Installed power12 boilers; 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion2 × shafts; 2 × compound-expansion steam engines
Sail planBarque-rigged
Speed17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Range4,950 nmi (9,170 km; 5,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement275
Armament10 × 64 pdr rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns

HMS Mercury was one of two Iris-class despatch vessels, later redesignated as second class cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the 1870s. The two ships were the first all-steel warships in the Royal Navy.