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UNITED KINGDOM / LATE 19TH CENTURY / INDIVIDUAL SHIP

HMS Mercury

Second ship of the Iris class.

Iris classRoyal NavyLate 19th centuryVerified subject image
The motor launch assigned to Royal Navy shore establishment HMS Mercury II underway during the Second World War underway
The motor launch assigned to Royal Navy shore establishment HMS Mercury II underway during the Second World War underwayIWMCollections IWM Photo No.:FL 24713 · Public domainImage source
ClassIris class
NavyRoyal Navy
CountryUnited Kingdom
Launched1878

What is known about this ship

Second ship of the Iris class.

Service history

Mercury shared the fast despatch-vessel design and later cruiser classification of Iris.

Class context: Iris class

Iris and Mercury were fast Royal Navy despatch vessels later categorized as second-class protected cruisers.

This ship is recorded as a member of Iris class. Shared design history belongs on the class page; this page concentrates on the individual hull where evidence is available.

Sources and further reading

  1. Specifications for Iris (1877) and Mercury (1878) ↗Royal Museums Greenwich · accessed 2026-09-18
  2. British War Vessels Photograph Book — Admiralty Intelligence Department, March 1892 ↗Royal Museums Greenwich · accessed 2026-09-18
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