HMS Dido was an Eclipse-class

Eclipse class sloop

The Eclipse class was a class of seven 6-gun wooden screw sloops built for the Royal Navy between 1867 and 1870. They were re-armed and re-classified as 12-gun corvettes in 1876. Two further vessel were proposed but never ordered.-Design:...

 wooden screw sloop

Sloop-of-war

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

 built for 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...

 in 1869. She was the fourth ship 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...

 to bear the name. She was reclassified in 1876 as a corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

, and in 1906 renamed Actaeon II. She served as a mine depot ship and was merged into the Torpedo School at Sheerness, being sold for breaking in 1922.

Design

Designed by Edward Reed

Edward James Reed

Sir Edward James Reed , KCB, FRS, was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870...

, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction

Director of Naval Construction

The Director of Naval Construction was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the British Civil Service that oversaw the Royal Navy. The post existed from 1860 to 1966....

, the hull was of wooden construction, with iron cross beams. A ram bow was fitted.

Propulsion

Propulsion was provided by a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine by Humphrys, Tennant & Company driving a single screw.

Sail Plan

All the ships of the class were built with a ship rig, but this was altered to a barque

Barque

A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...

 rig.

Armament

The Eclipse class was designed with two 7-inch (6½-ton) muzzle loading rifled guns mounted in traversing slides and four 64-pounder muzzle loading rifled guns. They were re-classified as corvettes in 1876, carrying 12 guns.

Launch and Commissioning

Dido was launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 23 October 1869 and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 20 April 1871 for service on the West Coast of Africa, leaving England on 6 May.

West Africa Station (1871)

Dido called at Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

, arriving at Sierra Leone on 9 June. She relieved HMS Sirius at Fernando Po

Bioko

Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...

 on 16 July. The Times of Thursday 8 June 1876 tells the story of her next adventure:
In December 1871 Dido arrived at Simonstown, where Captain Chapman was to act as the Senior Officer during the absence of the Commodore on the West Coast. Five months later, on 16 May 1872, she left the Cape for Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, having been ordered to join the Australian Station.

Australia Station (1872 - 1875)

On her way to Sydney Dido paused at St. Paul's

Île Saint-Paul

Île Saint-Paul is an island forming part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean, with an area of . It is located about southwest of the larger Île Amsterdam, and south of Réunion...

, where the remains of Megaera

HMS Megaera (1849)

HMS Megaera was originally constructed as an iron screw frigate for the Royal Navy, and was one of the last and largest ships built by William Fairbairn's Millwall shipyard....

 were still to be seen. She arrived at Sydney on 3 July 1872, and then spent nine months in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, followed by a journey to Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

 in February 1873. The islands of Fiji were in a state of chaos, with the relationship between the government of King Cakabau and the European settlers brought to crisis point by the murder of the Burns family. The Times relates what happened:
After remaining in Fiji for six months she left for Sydney, pausing at the islands of the New Hebrides

New Hebrides

New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...

, Solomon

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

, New Ireland

New Ireland (island)

New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...

, and Carolines

Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...

 to return kidnapped South Sea Islanders. After a stay of six months in Sydney, where a new cylinder was made, the ship returned to Fiji in July 1874, having called at Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...

 on her way. On 17 July news arrived of the wreck of the French warship L'Hermite at Wallace Island, and Dido at once went to her assistance. In September, Sir Hercules Robinson

Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead

Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, GCMG, PC was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong...

, the Governor of New South Wales, arrived in HMS Pearl

HMS Pearl (1855)

HMS Pearl was a Pearl-class 21-gun screw corvette of the Royal Navy launched in 1855, displacing 2187 tons.175 of the ship's crew were formed into Pearls Naval Brigade in September 1857 during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The small force, armed largely with rifles, took part in several actions...

 to reopen negotiations for the cession of the islands. The ship took a prominent part in the ceremony which marked the final cession of Fiji to Great Britain on 10 October 1874, during which the ex-King presented the Fijian flag to Captain Chapman, when it was hauled down for the last time to make room for the Union Flag

Union Flag

The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...

. Dido carried King Cakabau to Sydney to visit the Governor of New South Wales, and returned with him to Fiji a month later. Some sources ascribe to this visit the introduction of measles among the native population. Having no immunity to the disease, large loss of life resulted. On 7 February 1875 she again left Fiji and, calling at New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

, she sailed for Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

. After five months in and around New Zealand Dido returned to Sydney, where she learnt of the death of Commodore Goodenough

James Graham Goodenough

Captain James Graham Goodenough CB CMG was an officer in the Royal Navy who went to become Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station.-Naval career:...

 from poisoned arrows in the Santa Cruz Islands

Santa Cruz Islands

The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. They lie approximately 250 miles to the southeast of the Solomon Islands Chain...

. Captain Chapman received his appointment as Commodore by telegram from the Admiralty.

During her last days on the Australian Station Dido visited Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, leaving Sydney on 2 December for Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, where Commodore Chapman relinquished command of the station to Captain Hoskins. HMS Sapphire

HMS Sapphire (1874)

HMS Sapphire was an Amethyst-class corvette, of the Royal Navy, built at the Devonport Dockyard and launched on 24 September 1874.She commenced service on the Australia Station in August 1875. She left the Australia Station in July 1879 and returned to England and was refitted and rearmed. After...

 arrived to relieve her, and she sailed for home.

Out of commission (1876 - 1879)

On 6 June 1876 Dido returned to Spithead

Spithead

Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

 after a five-year commission on the West Africa Station

West Africa Squadron

The Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron at substantial expense in 1808 after Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807. The squadron's task was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa...

 and Australian Station, during which she covered over 60000 nautical miles (111,120 km) in 616 days at sea. She recommissioned at Portsmouth on 27 May 1879, now as a 12-gun corvette, commanded by Captain Arthur Richard Wright.

West Africa Station and the First Boer War (1879 - 1881)

Dido served on the West Africa Station, where Captain Wright died in command on 19 August 1879. He was succeeded by Captain Compton Edward Domvile

Compton Edward Domvile

Admiral Sir Compton Edward Domvile GCB GCVO was a distinguished Royal Navy officer in the Edwardian era.-Birth:Compton Domvile was born on 10 October 1842 to Henry Barry Domvile and Frances Domvile...

 on 19 September 1879.

In 1881 Dido contributed 50 men and two field guns to a Naval Brigade

Naval Brigade

A Naval Brigade is a body of sailors serving in a ground combat role to augment land forces.-Royal Navy:Within the Royal Navy, a Naval Brigade is a large temporary detachment of Royal Marines and of seamen from the Royal Navy formed to undertake operations on shore, particularly during the mid- to...

, which went to the front under Lieutenant Henry Ogle. Dido lost 3 killed and 3 wounded at the Battle of Majuba Hill

Battle of Majuba Hill

The Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881 was the main battle of the First Boer War. It was a resounding victory for the Boers. Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley occupied the summit of the hill on the night of February 26–27, 1881. His motive for occupying the hill remains unclear...

 on 27 February. Captain Compton Domvile went to the front to take charge of the Naval Brigade, but no further action took place before the end of the war on 23 March.

North America and West Indies Station (1881 - 1886)

The ship was re-assigned to the North America and West Indies Station in October 1881, and on 16 February 1883 paid off at Barbados On recommissioning Captain Frederick Samuel Vander-Meulen commanded her on the station until 1886, when she returned home to Portsmouth.

Hulk (1886)

On 25 September 1886 Dido paid off at Portsmouth and her sea-going equipment was removed so that her hull could be used for accommodation and storage. She served as a mine depot in the Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...

, and in 1906 her name was changed to Actaeon II. She became part of the Torpedo School at Sheerness.

Commanding officers

From	To	Captain
20 April 1871	17 June 1876	Captain William Cox Chapman
27 May 1879	19 August 1879	Captain Arthur Richard Wright (died in command)
19 September 1879	16 February 1883	Captain Compton Edward Domvile Compton Edward Domvile Admiral Sir Compton Edward Domvile GCB GCVO was a distinguished Royal Navy officer in the Edwardian era.-Birth:Compton Domvile was born on 10 October 1842 to Henry Barry Domvile and Frances Domvile...
16 February 1883	25 September 1886	Captain Frederick Samuel Vander-Meulen