HMS Hawke (1891)

HMS Hawke, launched in 1891, was the sixth British warship to be named Hawke. She was an Edgar-class protected cruiser.

Service
In 1897-1898, Hawke — under the command of Captain Sir Richard Poore — was in action in the Mediterranean in the operations which led to the pacification of Crete and the appointment of Prince George of Greece as High Commissioner under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Turkey. At one point, she was used as a troopship, taking on a Greek military force in Platania Bay and transporting them back to Greece.

In August 1901 Hawke was paid off at Chatham and placed in the Fleet Reserve.

Collision with the Olympic


On 20 September 1911, Hawke, under command of Commander W.F. Blunt, collided in the Solent with the White Star liner RMS Olympic. In the course of the collision, Hawke lost her prow. (This was replaced by a straight bow). The subsequent trial pronounced Hawke to be free from any blame. During the trial, a theory was advanced that the large amount of water displaced by the Olympic had generated a suction that had drawn Hawke off course. The decision of the first court to try the case provoked a series of legal appeals.

Sinking
Early in the First World War, Hawke, commanded by Capt.Hugh P.E.T. Williams, was engaged in various operations in the North Sea. On 15 October 1914 Hawke, sailing with her sister ship HMS Theseus (1892), was torpedoed by German submarine U-9. The submarine's first torpedo missed Theseus but hit Hawke, igniting a magazine and causing a tremendous explosion which ripped much of the ship apart. Hawke sank in a few minutes with the loss of her captain, 26 officers and 497 men; only 70 of her 594 crew survived.