High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! HMS Hawke, launched in 1891, was the sixth British warship to be named Hawke. She was an Edgar-class protected cruiser.In 1897-1898, Hawke under the command of Captain Sir Richard Poore was in action in the Mediterranean in the operations which led to the pacification of Crete and the appointment of Prince George of Greece as High Commissioner under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Turkey. At one point, she was used as a troopship, taking on a Greek military force in Platania Bay and transporting them back to Greece.