HMS Narcissus was one of seven Orlando-class cruiser armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1880s. Future Admiral Ernest Gaunt served aboard her in 1896 as First Lieutenant. She was sold for scrapping on 11 September 1906.

Design and description

Narcissus had a length between perpendiculars of 300 ft, a beam of 56 ft and a draught of 24 ft. Designed to displace 5040 LT, all of the Orlando-class ships proved to be overweight and displaced approximately 5535 LT. The ship was powered by a pair of three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, which were designed to produce a total of 8500 ihp and a maximum speed of 18 kn using steam provided by four boilers with forced draught. The ship carried a maximum of 900 LT of coal which was designed to give her a range of 8000 nmi at a speed of 10 kn. The ship's complement was 484 officers and ratings. Narcissus's main armament consisted of two breech-loading (BL) 9.2 in Mk V guns, one gun fore and aft of the superstructure on pivot mounts. Her secondary armament was ten BL 6 in guns, five on each broadside. Protection against torpedo boats was provided by six quick-firing (QF) 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns and ten QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, most of which were mounted on the main deck in broadside positions. The ship was also armed with six 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes: four on the broadside above water and one each in the bow and stern below water. The ship was protected by a waterline compound armour belt 10 in thick. It covered the middle 200 ft of the ship and was 5 ft high. Because the ship was overweight, the top of the armour belt was 2 ft below the waterline when she was fully loaded. The ends of the armour belt were closed off by transverse bulkheads 16 in. The lower deck was 2 - 3 in thick over the full length of the hull. The conning tower was protected by 12 in of armour.

Construction and service

Narcissus, named for the eponymous figure from Greek legend, was laid down on 27 April 1885 by Earle's Shipbuilding at their shipyard in Hull. The ship was launched on 15 December 1886, and completed in July 1890. In 1901 she was rearmed and refitted to serve as instructional tender to the Excellent gunnery school, and in late May 1901 was passed into the Fleet Reserve at Portsmouth for this service. She took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII, and on 1 September that year became flagship of the Admiral-superintendent of Portsmouth, when Rear-Admiral Reginald Friend Hannam Henderson hoisted his flag on taking up that position. Narcissus was sold for scrap on 11 September 1906 and broken up by Thos. W. Ward.