HMS Sappho was an Apollo class

Apollo class cruiser

The Apollo class were a class of second-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the late 19th century that served during the Boer War and World War I....

 cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

 of the British 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...

 which served from 1892 to 1918 in various colonial posts, including service during the Second Boer War

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

 in 1901. During the First World War, Sappho and her sisters saw service off the British Isles as hastily converted minelayer

Minelayer

Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...

s. In May 1918, Sappho was ordered to be scuttled in the mouth of Ostend

Ostend

Ostend  is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....

 harbour in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 following the failed First Ostend Raid

First Ostend Raid

The First Ostend Raid was the first of two attacks by the Royal Navy on the German-held port of Ostend during the late spring of 1918 during the First World War...

. The Second Ostend Raid

Second Ostend Raid

The Second Ostend Raid was the latter of two failed attempts made during the spring of 1918 by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy to block the channels accessing the Belgian port of Ostend as a part of their conflict with the German Empire during World War I...

 operation (of which Sappho was a part) was intended to block the harbour mouth and prevent the transit of German U-boats and other raiding craft from Bruges

Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....

 to the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

. Whilst travelling from Dunkirk to Ostend on the day of the attack however, Sappho suffered severe engine damage in a minor boiler explosion and was forced to retire, taking no part in the partial success of the raid. She was not used again during the war, and was scrapped in 1921.