HMS Blenheim of the Blake class slices through a grey sea in an atmospheric 1892 chromo by W. Fred Mitchell.
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The HMS Orlando was a seminal armored cruiser, developed from the Mersey class protected cruiser. The two-funnel profile and fully exposed guns give her a dogged, businesslike air. Low freeboard made for a wet ship and problems operating the deck guns in weather. At 5,600 tons these were incrementally larger ships than the 4,050-ton Merseys. Like the Powerful class, they were issued with stubby funnels (below) and like them, the funnels were lengthened, some time before this photo was snapped in the late 1890s.
Specifications for the Orlando class:
Dimensions: 300' x 56' x 22'6" Displacement: 5,600 tons. Armament: (2) 9.2"/40 Mk VI BL, (10) 6"/40 BL, (6) 6-pdr QF and (10) 3-pdr Hotchkiss QF guns; (6) 18" torpedo tubes. Armor: 10"/3" belt, 12" conning tower, 2" deck. Fuel capacity: 1,000 tons of coal std; 2,000 maximum. Propulsion: (4) double-ended coal-fired cylindrical boilers; (2) vertical inverted triple expansion engines developing 8,500 hp, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 17 kts natural draft, 18 kts f.d.. Endurance: 10,000 nautical miles @ 10 kts. Crew: 484. Cost: £300,000 at 1890 valuation.
Ships in Class: Orlando · Galatea · Aurora · Australia · Undaunted · Immortalité · Narcissus
Metric specifications:
Dimensions: 91m x 17m x 6.9m Displacement: 5,600 tons. Armament: (2) 234 mm/40 Mk IV BL, (10) 152 mm/40 BL, (6) 6-pdr QF and (10) 3-pdr Hotchkiss QF guns; (6) 18" torpedo tubes. Armor: 254/76 mm belt; 305 mm conning tower, 50 mm deck. Fuel capacity: 1,000 tons of coal std; 2,000 maximum. Propulsion: (4) double-ended coal-fired cylindrical boilers; (2) vertical inverted triple expansion engines developing 23,117 kW, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 31.5 km/hr natural draft, 33.3 f.d. Endurance: 19,000 km @ 19 km/hr. Crew: 484.
A faithful leap forward to 9,150 tons, nearly double the Mersey class's size, were the Blake class protected cruisers, up-gunned to two 9.2", with ten 6" QF sided. In keeping with the protected cruiser classification, protection was limited to a 6"/3" curved protective deck (shown in the schematic below), 8/6" on the casemates, barbettes and hoists, and 12" on the conning tower. Both ships could do 22 kts under forced draft, but 18 was more normal. The bow's higher freeboard gave gunners a more tenable position in weather or when steaming into head winds or a cross sea. Moreover, a very handsome pair of ships resulted, with tall stovepipe funnels, a pleasing sheer of hull, and a balanced look over all. These design characteristics were all common to the designs produced under the administration of DNC Sir William White. This photo shows Blenheim in the Med around 1894.
HMS St. George heading out to sea in a terrific period photo. You can practically hear the swish of foam running by the sides, feel the easy motion of the deck, hear the scream of the gulls. You can nearly smell the salt air -- can sense the occasional whiff of acrid, chemical-scented coal smoke blowing your way, just in time to stop your nostrils. All of which leads the author to ask, who needs multimedia if you've got imagination? Enlarge
The next group of protected cruisers in the Royal Navy was the seven-ship Edgar class, 7,500-ton sentinels of Britannia's briny domain. These were good-looking and very successful ships, esteemed for their maneuverability, mechanical soundness, and seaworthiness. The class contained a number of famous ships. The St. George, above, was in later years a torpedo depot ship. She was a familiar sight at Chatham, the wartime homeport of Comm. Goodenough's cruiser flotilla. The Hawke was well known for her collision with the 45,000-ton passenger liner Olympic on Sept. 20, 1911, which eerily foreshadowed the sister-ship Titanic's misadventure with the iceberg the following year. After opening three decks of cabins and puncturing the luxury ship's underwater hull with her ram bow, the Hawke had her bow and ram mashed flat. She was rebuilt with a plumb stem, providing immediate visual distinction from the other Edgar class ships. Hawke went on to be torpedoed and sunk by a U-boat off Ireland on Oct. 15, 1914. This tragic incident resulted in the deaths of 26 officers and 500 men, including the Hawke's commander, Capt. Hugh P.E.T. Williams; 64 survived the ordeal. Hawke's sister ship the Theseus also was attacked by the sub, but was not hit. The U-boat in question was the U-9, which had sunk three British armored cruisers in the infamous Live Bait Squadron incident only the month before.
When new, the Edgars could do 19½ kts, and were still capable of 18 in wartime, by which time they were 20+ years old. The Edgar class is notable for containing the first ships fitted with anti-torpedo bulges, added when four ships of the class were refitted in 1914.
Specifications for the Edgar class:
Dimensions: 387'6" x 60' x 24' Displacement: 7,350 tons. Armament: (2) 9.2"/30 Mk VI, (16) 6"/45 Mk VII QF, (12) 6-pdr and (5) 3-pdr guns; (2) 18" submerged torpedo tubes. Armor: 5"/3" deck. Fuel capacity: 1,250 tons of coal std; 2,500 maximum. Propulsion: Coal-fired cylindrical boilers; (2) vertical inverted triple expansion engines developing 12,000 hp, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 20 kts. Endurance: 10,000 nautical miles @ 10 kts. Crew: 544. Cost: £401,000 at 1893 valuation.
Ships in Class: Edgar · Endymion · Gibraltar · Hawke · Grafton · St. George · Theseus
Metric specifications:
10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)Dimensions: 118.1m x 18m x 7.3m Displacement: 7,350 tons. Armament: (2) 234 mm/30 Mk VI, (16) 152 mm/45 Mk VII QF, (12) 6-pdr and (5) 3-pdr guns; (2) 45 cm submerged torpedo tubes. Armor: 127/76 mm deck. Fuel capacity: 1,250 tons of coal maximum. Propulsion: Coal-fired cylindrical boilers; (2) vertical inverted triple expansion engines developing 12,000 hp, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 37 km/hr. Endurance: 19,000 km @ 19 km/hr. Crew: 544. Cost: £401,000 at 1893 valuation.
The two ships of the Royal Arthur class were variants of the Edgars, having the same size and general layout except that on the foredeck they carried two 6" guns side by side rather than a single 9.2" mount. The 9.2 on the quarterdeck was retained, giving them some long-range hitting power. Enlarge the photo above.
Specifications for the Royal Arthur class:
Dimensions: 387'6" x 60'9" x 25'6" Displacement: 7,700 tons. Armament: (1) 9.2"/30 Mk VI, (12) 6"/40 Mk VII QF, (12) 6-pdr and (5) 3-pdr guns; (2) submerged 18" torpedo tubes. Armor: 5"/3" deck. Fuel capacity: 1,250 tons of coal maximum. Propulsion: Coal-fired cylindrical boilers; (2) vertical inverted 4-cyl triple expansion engines developing 12,000 hp, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 20 kts. Endurance: 10,000 nautical miles @ 10 kts. Crew: 544. Cost: £401,000 at 1893 valuation.
Ships in Class: Royal Arthur · Crescent
Metric specifications:
Dimensions: 118.1m x 18.52m x 7.3m Displacement: 7,700 tons. Armament: (1) 234 mm/30 Mk VI, (12) 152 mm/40 Mk VII QF, (12) 6-pdr and (5) 3-pdr guns; (2) submerged 18" torpedo tubes. Armor: 127/76 mm deck. Fuel capacity: 1,250 tons of coal maximum. Propulsion: Coal-fired cylindrical boilers; (2) vertical inverted 4-cyl triple expansion engines developing 12,000 hp, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 37 km/hr. Endurance: 19,000 km @ 19 km/hr. Crew: 544. Cost: £401,000 at 1893 valuation.
A scaled-down version of the Blake model, HMS Bonaventure was the first of the Astrea class, itself the first fruit of the Spencer Programme of 1893. While not yet studded with sponsoned guns and torpedo net booms, the sides of these ships towered over their predecessors, the Orlandos. The much higher bow made for a stabler ride, dryer conditions and better gunnery. Greater seaworthiness was adopted as a key ingredient in British cruiser design after this, driving ship size relentlessly upward.
The 320-foot Astreas displaced 4,300 tons and mounted one 6" QF guns at stern, plus (8) sided 4.7" and one at the bow, with the usual assortment of popguns, "lead-squirters," and torpedoes. Armor included a 2" deck, 5" on the engine hatches, 4½" gun shields, and 3" on the conning tower. With 7,000 HP engines and twin screw, they could steam at 18½ kts. Schematic
The Eclipse class consisted of nine sturdy 5,600-ton warships. These second-class cruisers were derived from the Edgars; above, HMS Minerva at Corfu -- a prototype light cruiser. Enlarge With 8,000-hp engines and twin screw, these utility cruisers could steam at 18½ kts.; Minerva touched 20 kts as late as 1911. All ships of this class originally carried five 6-inch and six 4.7" guns plus three torpedo tubes, the stern being above water and the others submerged. In all but the name ship, this armament was revised to eleven 6-inch guns in a 1902-05 refit. Armor protection included a 2½" armored deck, with 6" on conning tower and engine hatches.
A further evolution of the mid-size protected cruiser type, HMS Highflyer of the four-ship Hermes class was an improved Eclipse; half-sister HMS Challenger of 1903 weighed in at 5,915. Here we see a scaled-down Terrible with 3 funnels and sponsoned secondary armament. These 350-foot ships displaced 5,600 tons and mounted (11) 6-inch QF guns and nine 12-pounders; with water-tube boilers and 10,000-hp engines, all could make around 21 kts when new. Armor included a 3" internal deck, 5" on the engine hatches and 6 on the conning tower. One assumes the gun shields also afforded some protection, but Jane's is mute on the subject. In these smaller ships we do not see the classic British armored cruiser look: no double-decker casemates as in the Drakes and Counties, derived directly from the 4-funnel Powerful class; rather the armament is ranged along the sides on the top deck. We do see a large expanse of side inviting the designer's attentions, and a fairy ring of ventilators sprouting around the funnels in high 1890s style.
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