HMS Archer (1885)

HMS Archer was an Archer-class torpedo cruiser torpedo cruiser of the British Royal Navy which was built by the Glasgow shipbuilder J & G Thomson between 1885 and 1888. She served on overseas stations, including operations off Africa, China and Australia. She was sold for scrap in 1905.

Construction
Archer was laid down at J & G Thomson's Clydebank shipyard on 2 March 1885 as the lead ship of her class of torpedo cruisers, was launched on 23 December that year and completed by Commander John Ferris on 11 December 1888 in Devonport.

Torpedo cruisers were small, relatively fast, ships intended to defend the fleet against attacks by hostile torpedo boats, while themselves being capable of attacking hostile fleets with torpedoes. The Archer class were enlarged derivatives of the earlier Scout-class torpedo cruiser, and carried a heavier armament than the previous class.

Archer was 240 ft long overall and 225 ft between perpendiculars, with a beam of 36 ft and a draught of 14 ft. Displacement was 1770 LT normal and 1950 LT full load. The ship's machinery consisted of two horizontal compound steam engines rated at 2500 ihp under natural draught and 3500 ihp, which were fed by four boilers and drove two shafts for a speed of 16.5 kn. 475 tons of coal were carried, sufficient to give a range of 7000 nmi at 10 kn, and three masts were fitted.

Armament consisted of six 6-inch (5 ton) guns, backed up by eight 3-pounder QF guns and two machine guns. Three 14-inch torpedo tubes completed the ship's armament. Armour consisted of a 3/8 in deck, with 1 in gunshields and 3 in protecting the ship's conning tower. The ship had a complement of 176 officers and ratings.

Service
Archer served on the Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station from 1889 to 1890. Archer was serving on the China Station in July 1894, when on the eve of the First Sino-Japanese War, Japanese Forces surrounded Seoul. Archer landed an armed party to protect the British Consul-General after a confrontation between him and Japanese troops. She served on the Australia Station from 7 September 1900 until 5 December 1903, under Commander John Philip Rolleston. She was decommissioned in 1905 and sold in April 1905 for £4,800 to Forrester, Swansea for scrap.