HMS Galatea was a Royal Navy protected cruiser that served from 1889 until her sinking in 1916. Initially, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before being transferred to the China Station in 1897. During her service, she participated in various operations and was involved in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in China. In 1903, she returned to the UK and underwent a refit before being recommissioned for service in the Home Fleet. Throughout her career, HMS Galatea was involved in diplomatic visits, training exercises, and patrols. In 1914, she was assigned to the 10th Cruiser Squadron for patrol duties during World War I. Unfortunately, on December 14, 1916, HMS Galatea struck a mine off the coast of Belgium and sank with the loss of over 500 crew members. The sinking of HMS Galatea was a tragic event that marked the end of her illustrious naval career.

This description has been generated using GPT-3.5-TURBO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.