HMS Diomede (D92)

HMS Diomede was a Danae-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. Constructed at Vickers Armstrong, Barrow, she was constructed too late to take part in World War I and was consequently completed at the Royal Dockyard, Portsmouth. Between the wars, she served on the China Station, Pacific waters, East Indies Waters and from 1936 onwards, in reserve. In World War II she performed four years of arduous war duty, during which time she captured the German blockade runner Idarwald. Between 22 July 1942 and 24 September 1943 she was converted to a training ship at Rosyth Dockyard. In 1945 she was placed in reserve and scrapped a year later.

Background

During World War I intelligence reports suggested that the Germans were building a new class of cruiser which could outgun the existing C-class light cruisers. It was believed that an improved C class with an added super-firing 6-inch (152 mm) gun in front of the deckhouse (and the requisite increase of beam and adapting of superstructure) would maintain British naval superiority in a battle. In September 1916 the first three ships of the new class (Danae, Dauntless and Dragon) were launched and a second group (Delhi, Dunedin and Durban) was ordered in July 1917.

HMS Diomede

Four ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Diomede. A fifth was planned but never completed:

See also

HMS Diomede (1781)

HMS Diomede was a 44-gun fifth rate built by James Martin Hillhouse and launched at Bristol on 18 October 1781. She belonged to the Roebuck class of vessels specially built during the American Revolutionary War for service in the shallow American coastal waters. As a two-decker, she had two complete batteries of guns, one on the upper deck and the other on the lower deck.

Diomede participated in two major actions. The first occurred in 1782 when she captured South Carolina of the South Carolina Navy. The second took place in 1794 in the Indian Ocean. Although the action in the Indian Ocean was inconclusive and the French broke off contact after suffering much heavier casualties than the British, the French did succeed in breaking the blockade of Île de France and saved it from starvation.

Diomede was wrecked in 1795 off Trincomalee, Ceylon, during the campaign to capture Trincomalé.

Career

In October 1781 Diomede was commissioned under Captain Thomas L. Frederick. On 8 June 1782 he sailed her for North America.

HMS Diomede (F16)

HMS Diomede (F16) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders in Glasgow. Diomede was launched on 15 April 1969 and commissioned on 2 April 1971. Her nickname was "Dimweed".

Royal Navy Service

In 1972, Diomede took part in the Second Cod War during the fishing dispute with Iceland, though Diomede's involvement was more quiet than her involvement in the subsequent Cod War. Also that year, Diomede joined the 3rd Frigate Squadron which was then based in the Far East.

In 1974, Diomede, took part in Task Group (TG) 317.2 which was a deployment that caused some controversy back in the UK when the TG, on its way to the Far East/Pacific, visited South Africa, which was at that time under apartheid rule, as well as performing military exercises with the South African armed forces. Diomede, along with the nuclear submarine Warspite, visited the port of Simonstown while the rest of the TG visited Cape Town. The TG, upon reaching the Far East performed a number of exercises and 'fly the flag' visits with Far East and Pacific countries. They did not visit South Africa on their return, and headed to Brazil for an exercise with the Brazilian Navy. Diomede returned to the UK in June 1975.

Diomede

Diomede (/ˌdaɪ.əˈmiːdiː/; Ancient Greek: Διομήδη Diomēdē) is the name of four women in Greek mythology.

Diomede of Lesbos

As written in Homer’s Iliad, Diomede was a mistress of Achilles, taken up after the seizure of Briseis by the King Agamemnon. Her father was Phorbas of Lesbos.

Diomede the Lapith

Diomede was a Lapith, and daughter of Lapithes. She married King Amyclas of Sparta and was the mother of Hyacinthus, King Cynortes, Polyboea, Laodamia, and, in other versions, of Daphne.

Diomede the Phocian

Diomede, daughter of Xuthus. She married Deioneus, king of Phocis, and was the mother of Cephalus, Actor, Aenetus, Phylacus and Asterodia.

Diomede, mother of Euryalus

A fourth character of the name Diomede is mentioned briefly in Hyginus. She is given as the wife of Pallas and mother of Euryalus, who fought at Troy. Nothing else is known about her.

References

Diomede (disambiguation)

Diomede is the name of at least four women in Greek mythology.

Diomede may also refer to:

See also

Diomède (opera)

Diomède (Diomedes) is an opera by the French composer Toussaint Bertin de la Doué, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) on 28 April 1710. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. The libretto is by Jean-Louis-Ignace de la Serre, Sieur de l'Anglade.

Sources