An Astraea-class second-class cruiser launched in 1892. She was a used as a submarine depot ship from 1910 and was broken up in 1920.
HMS Bonaventure was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. Bonaventure participated as an escort vessel in Operation Fish, the World War II evacuation of British wealth from the UK to Canada. It was the largest movement of wealth in history.
On 10 January 1941 she, along with HMS Southampton and/or HMS Hereward, shelled and sank the Italian torpedo boat Vega off Cape Bon, Tunisia, Operation "Excess".
On 31 March 1941 she was torpedoed and sunk south of Crete (33°20′N 26°35′E) by the Italian submarine Ambra with the loss of 139 of her 480 crew. 310 survivors rescued by HMS Hereward and HMAS Stuart.
"ON Tuesday, April 15th, it was announced with regret by the Admiralty that the small cruiser H.M.S. "Bonaventure," under the command of Captain H. J. Egerton, R.N., had been torpedoed while acting as escort to a convoy. The ship subsequently sank. The " Bonaventure," we may recall, was one of the ten new small cruisers of the " Dido " class, which were under construction at the outbreak of war. She was built and engined by Scotts' Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Ltd., at Greenock, and was laid down at the end of August, 1937, and completed last year, when the first public notice was given that she was completed, commissioned and in service.
The "Dido" class cruisers have a displacement of 5450 tons, with a length of 506ft., a beam of 51ft. 6in. and a draught of 14ft. Unofficial figures for the armament quoted by "Jane" refer to ten 5· 25in. guns and sixteen smaller guns, and six 21in. torpedo tubes arranged in triple mountings. One aircraft was carried and one catapult was provided. The armour of this new type of small cruiser is generally similar to ships of the " Arethusa " class.
The propelling machinery, which is designed for a speed of 33 knots, has a total designed output of 62,000 S.H.P. and consists of a quadruple-screw arrangement of Parsons geared turbines taking steam from Admiralty type three-drum boilers with a working pressure of 400 lb. per square inch."[1]
HMS Bonaventure was a submarine depot ship of the Royal Navy. She was initially built for civilian service with the Clan Line, but on the outbreak of the Second World War she was requisitioned by the Navy and after being launched, was converted for military service.