HMS Ringdove (1889)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Ringdove and HMS Melita.

HMS Ringdove was a Redbreast-class gunboat of the Royal Navy, built at Devonport Dockyard and launched on 30 April 1889.^[2]

HMS Ringdove dressed overall
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Ringdove
Builder	Devonport Dockyard
Laid down	1 June 1888
Launched	30 April 1889
Fate	Sold in 1920
General characteristics [1]
Class & type	Redbreast-class gunboat
Displacement	805 tons
Length	165 ft 0 in (50.3 m) pp
Beam	31 ft 0 in (9.4 m)
Draught	11 ft 0 in (3.4 m) min, 13 ft 9 in (4.2 m) max
Installed power	1,200 ihp (890 kW)
Propulsion	Triple-expansion steam engine 2 × boilers Single screw
Speed	13 kn (24 km/h)
Range	2,500 nmi (4,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)
Complement	76
Armament	6 × 4-inch/25-pounder QF guns 4 × machine guns

She commenced service on the Australia Station on 5 March 1890, under the command of R. F. Ayscough.^[2] She left the Australia Station in February 1901 and returned to England, where she was paid off at Devonport 10 June 1901 and placed in the fleet reserve to be refit at Haulbowline.^[3] She became a tender to HMS Vernon and was converted into a salvage vessel in 1915 and was renamed HMS Melita.^[2]

Fate

She was sold to the Ship Salvage Corporation on 22 January 1920^[1] and renamed Telima. She was broken up in 1926.