Archer-class cruiser

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HMS Archer Devonport 1888 AWM 302141.jpeg
HMS Archer circa 1888
Class overview
NameArcher class
Builders
OperatorsNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
Preceded by Scout class
Succeeded by Marathon class
Built1885–1886
In commission1890–1906
Completed8
Lost1
Retired7
General characteristics
Type3rd class cruiser
Displacement1,770 long tons (1,798 t)
Length240 ft (73 m) overall; 225 ft (69 m) between perpendiculars
Beam36 ft (11 m)
Draught14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Installed power4,500 hp (3,400 kW) at forced draught
Propulsion2 cyl HDACE, 4 boiler [1]
Speed17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) at forced draught
Range7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement176
Armament
Armour
  • 0.375 in (9.5 mm) deck
  • 25 mm (0.98 in) gunshield
  • 75 mm (3.0 in) conning tower

The Archer class was a class of eight cruisers of the Royal Navy. They were envisaged from 1883 onwards by Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key to replace existing sloops as ancillaries for working with the British Fleet and also for trade protection; a total of twenty such ships were planned by him, but only eight were built. Six ships were ordered under the 1884 Programme and built by J & G Thomson at Clydebank in Glasgow. A further two ships were ordered under the 1885 Programme, and these were built at the Devonport Dockyard with all ships completed between 1887 and 1888. These ships mainly served in the British Empire's foreign fleets being on various stations throughout the north Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Throughout their careers they were involved in a number of local conflicts including the Anglo-Zanzibar War, First Sino-Japanese War, and the Boxer Rebellion. [2]

Contents

Design

Design for the class Archer class cruiser diagrams Brasseys 1888.jpg
Design for the class

These third class cruisers of the Royal Navy were also known as torpedo cruisers. They were designed to meet and defeat smaller torpedo boats while also being able to strike larger vessels with their own torpedoes. To this end they filled the role that would be soon taken over by early destroyer designs.

The Archer class were enlarged derivatives of the earlier Scout class. They carried their six 6-inch guns in single mounts, three on each beam, mounted on sponsons with one pair immediately aft of the foremast, one pair between the single funnel and the mainmast, and one pair immediately forward of the mizzenmast. The ships were built with three masts (for which sails were provided), but the mainmast was subsequently removed from most ships during refits between 1897 and 1900. Eventually eight torpedo tubes were fitted, with a total of 12 torpedoes carried.

Cost

The six ships of the 1884 Programme were all contracted to Thomson as a fixed price of £55,916 each, plus £31,667 each for machinery. The two further vessels were built at Devonport Dockyard at a cost of £60,606 each for the hulls; their machinery was contracted from Harland and Wolff at a cost of £31,000 each.

Ships

NameBuilderLaid downLaunchedCompletedCommissionedFate
Archer Thomson2 March 188523 December 1885July 188711 December 1888Sold 4 April 1905
Mohawk Thomson2 March 18856 February 1886July 188716 December 1890Sold 4 April 1905
Brisk Thomson2 March 18858 April 188623 March 188820 March 1888Sold May 1906
Porpoise Thomson2 March 18857 May 188612 February 188815 February 1888Sold February 1905
Cossack Thomson2 March 18852 June 1886July 18881 January 1889Sold 4 April 1905
Tartar Thompson2 March 188528 October 188630 June 188830 June 1891Sold 3 April 1906
Serpent Devonport9 November 188510 March 1887March 188815 July 1889Wrecked 10 November 1890
Racoon Devonport1 February 18866 May 1887July 18884 July 1888Sold April 1905

Fate

On 10 November 1890, HMS Serpent was caught in heavy storm off the northwest coast of Spain. The ship attempted to reach shelter but ran aground near Camariñas on the treacherous Costa da Morte of Galicia. All but three of her crew were killed. The resulting court martial investigating the loss of Serpent concluded that the ship had been lost as a result of a navigation error. [3]

The seven other ships of the Archer class would quickly lose their usefulness to the Royal Navy as shipbuilding and design moved at a rapid pace around the turn of the century. All seven ships would be sold for scrap in 1905 and 1906.

Citations

  1. Brown, D.K. (2010) [1997]. Warrior to Dreadnought. Seaforth. p. 165. ISBN   978-1-84832-086-4.
  2. Clowes pp. 430–431.
  3. "Aniversario del naufragio del "HMS Serpent"". El Ideal Gallego . 8 February 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.

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References