HMS Calliope was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 C class

C class cruiser

The C class was a group of twenty-eight light cruisers of the Royal Navy, and were built in a sequence of seven classes known as the Caroline , Calliope , Cambrian , Centaur , Caledon , Ceres and Carlisle classes...

 light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 under construction at the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Both Calliope and her sister ship Champion

HMS Champion (1915)

HMS Champion was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy.Eight light cruisers were ordered for the Royal Navy in the 1913 budget. The six ships of the Caroline class used conventional direct drive turbine engines but two, Champion and Calliope had experimental engine designs using geared...

 were based on HMS Caroline

HMS Caroline (1914)

HMS Caroline was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. Caroline was launched and commissioned in 1914. At the time of her decommissioning in 2011 she was the second-oldest ship in Royal Navy service, after HMS Victory...

. They were effectively test ships for the use of geared turbines which resulted in the one less funnel. They also received slightly thicker armour

Armour

Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...

. They led into the first of the Cambrian subclass.

Eight light cruisers were ordered for the Royal Navy in the 1913 budget. The six ships of the Caroline class used conventional direct drive turbine engines but Calliope and Caroline each had a different engine design using geared reduction to match optimum working speeds of turbines and propellers. This followed experimental designs ordered in 1911 using geared high pressure turbines for the destroyers Badger and Beaver

HMS Beaver (1911)

HMS Beaver was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during the First World War and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the ninth Royal Navy ship to be named Beaver, after the mammal of the same name.-Construction:...

 and in 1912 using gearing for both high pressure and low pressure turbines in destroyers Leonidas

HMS Leonidas (1913)

HMS Leonidas was a Laforey class torpedo boat destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 30 October 1913. She served in World War I with the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla and as a convoy escort in World War I and was broken up in 1922...

 and Lucifer.

Calliope was built at HM Dockyard, Chatham, Kent. She was laid down in January 1914, launched on 17 December 1914, and completed in June 1915.

Calliope had four shafts as used in the Caroline design but unlike the two used in Champion. Gearing increased the efficiency of power transmission to the water so allowed smaller boilers and turbines to be used than otherwise would be the case. Nominal design power for the same target speed was therefore reduced from 40,000 shp in the caroline class to 37,500 shp. Propeller speed was 480 rpm.

She was badly damaged by a fuel oil

Fuel oil

Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...

 fire while at sea on 19 March 1916, but was repaired in time to be one of the five ships in the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron at the Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...

 in 1916. She received a number of hits just before night-time (notably by the Kaiser

SMS Kaiser (1911)

SMS Kaiser "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the lead ship of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Kaiser was built by the Imperial Dockyard at Kiel, launched on 22 March 1911 and commissioned on 1 August 1912. The ship was equipped with ten guns in five twin turrets, and...

 and Markgraf

SMS Markgraf

SMS Markgraf"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" was the third battleship of the four-ship . She served in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The battleship was laid down in November 1911 and launched on 4 June 1913...

 battleships), and 10 of her crew were killed as a result of the battle.

On 1 September 1917 Calliope was involved in the sinking of four German trawlers. She survived the war and was sold for scrapping on 28 August 1931 to Ward, of Inverkeithing

Inverkeithing

Inverkeithing is a town and a royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, located on the Firth of Forth. According to population estimates , the town has a population of 5,265. The port town was given burgh status by King David I of Scotland in the 12th century and is situated about 9 miles north from...

.