HMVS Cerberus

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Named after the three-headed mythological guard dog, Australia’s HMVS Cerberus was purpose-built for the Victorian Colonial Navy in 1868.

The prototype of modern steam-powered , her unique design laid the foundations for all surface, gun-armed warships for a century, until the advent of guided missiles in the late 1960s. The heavy iron superstructure and lighter iron hull were a radical departure from the wooden warships that had previously dominated world navies. I n the 1860s, the Victorian Government was in the market for a powerful warship. Britain and Russia prepared to face each other in battle again as the threat of a second Crimean War became very real. The Australian colonies, half a world away from Britain, faced the possibility of hostile attack by a Russian flotilla. Her main armament consisted of four 10-inch muzzle HMVS was the flagship of theV ictorian Cerberus loading guns mounted in two turrets. Cerberus’ guns were Colonial Navy, protecting Melbourne and ’s rich capable of firing a round every 1.5 minutes; exceptionally gold resources from foreign attack. Upon Federation in fast for the standards of the day. She also had ballast 1901 she was transferred to the Commonwealth naval tanks that could be filled to sink the hull and lower her forces and then became an inaugural unit of the Royal freeboard to further reduce her profile in battle. Australian Navy in 1911. Throughout her 53 years of service, HMVS Cerberus By 1924 she was declared surplus to the Navy and was was never required to fire a shell at an enemy. In her sold to a salvage company. Stripped of any fixtures of prime Cerberus was an outstanding example of technical value, the remaining hulk was purchased for 150 pounds achievement and ingenuity, she was an experimental and by the then Sandringham Council. She was eventually transitional model that was not suited to ocean-going and scuttled as a breakwater in 1926 at her current location, was soon superseded. a few hundred metres off the beach at Half Moon Bay, Black Rock, Victoria. Today, this unique relic of our naval heritage continues to be hailed for her place in the evolution of the . HMVS Cerberus was the first iron-hulled British warship to be designed without masts and to be powered purely National Heritage List: 14 December 2005 by steam. She was distinguished by a low freeboard, breastwork armour, and a central superstructure with turrets above deck both fore and aft. Friends of Cerebus

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