Blake served as flagship on the North America and West Indies Station from 1892 to 1895 before joining the Channel Fleet. In 1901 she transported relief crews for distant station flagships, including Empress of India and Royal Arthur, and returned with the relieved personnel. These voyages solved a manpower problem while letting a large, unfamiliar cruiser display British naval capacity at ports along the route. Conversion to a destroyer depot ship in 1907 gave the aging hull a different form of operational value. During the First World War she supported the Grand Fleet's 11th Destroyer Flotilla. Her accommodation, stores, and workshop capacity prolonged the cruiser's usefulness after its front-line design had aged.
Chapter · 21:45-23:32
Blake carried crews, projected presence, and supported destroyers
HMS Blake's career shows how a large cruiser could combine overseas presence, crew transport, and later destroyer support.