The Highflyer-class cruisers were essentially repeats of the previous Eclipseclass, albeit with a more powerful armament and propulsion machinery. They were designed to displace5,650 long tons (5,740t). The ships had an overall length of 372 feet (113.4m), a beam of 54 feet (16.5m)[1] and a draught of 21feet 6inches (6.6m). Their crew consisted of 470 officers and other ranks.[2]
The ships were powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by 18 Belleville boilers, which were lighter and more powerful than the cylindrical boilers used by the Eclipses. The engines were designed to produce a total of 10,000 indicated horsepower (7,500kW) which was intended to give a maximum speed of 20 knots (37km/h; 23mph). The ships easily exceeded their designed power and speeds during their sea trials.[1] They carried a maximum of 1,125 long tons (1,143t) of coal.[2]
The ships' protective deck armour ranged in thickness from 1.5 to 3 inches (38 to 76mm). The engine hatches were protected by 5-inch (127mm) of armour. The main guns were fitted with 3-inch gun shields and the conning tower had armour 6 inches thick.[1]
Ships
HMS Highflyer - launched on 4 June 1898, she served on numerous stations and hunted commerce raiders. She was sold for scrapping 10 June 1921, by then the last Victorian era cruiser in service with the Royal Navy.
HMS Hermes - launched on 7 April 1898, she was converted to a seaplane carrier in 1913, and sunk on 31 October 1914 by U 27
HMS Hyacinth - launched on 27 October 1898, she served on southern stations in the First World War, and assisted in the blockade of SMS Königsberg. She was sold for scrapping on 11 October 1923.
Notes
↑ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
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Friedman, Norman (1988). British Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-054-8.
Friedman, Norman (2012). British Cruisers of the Victorian Era. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN978-1-59114-068-9.
Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN978-1-84832-100-7.
Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-85177-245-5.
Hobbs, David (2013). British Aircraft Carriers: Design, Development and Service Histories. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-84832-138-0.
Layman, R. D. (1989). Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1859–1922. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-210-9.
Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN0-88254-979-0.
HMS Argyll was one of six Devonshire-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet upon completion and was transferred to the 5th Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in 1909. Two years later, she was detached to escort the royal yacht during King George V's trip to British India. Argyll was assigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the reserve Second Fleet in 1913.
HMS Hermes was a Highflyer-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. She spent much of her early career as flagship for various foreign stations before returning home in 1913 to be assigned to the reserve Third Fleet. The ship was modified later that year as the first experimental seaplane carrier in the Royal Navy. In that year's annual fleet manoeuvers, she was used to evaluate how aircraft could cooperate with the fleet and if aircraft could be operated successfully at sea for an extended time. The trials were a success and Hermes was paid off in December at their conclusion. She was recommissioned at the beginning of World War I in August 1914 for service as an aircraft ferry and depot ship for the Royal Naval Air Service. She was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in the Straits of Dover that October, with the loss of 21 lives.
HMS Hyacinth was one of three Highflyer-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. Initially assigned to the Channel Fleet, she spent much of her early career as flagship for the East Indies Station. She was reduced to reserve in 1912 after a lengthy refit before becoming the flagship of the Cape of Good Hope Station in 1913. After the beginning of World War I in August 1914, she spent the first few months of the war escorting convoys around South Africa. In early 1915, she was deployed to German East Africa to blockade the German light cruiser SMS Königsberg. She destroyed a German blockade runner attempting to bring supplies through the blockade in April and sank a German merchant vessel in early 1916. Hyacinth remained on the Cape Station for the rest of the war and was paid off in 1919, although she was not sold for scrap until 1923.
HMS Suffolk was one of 10 Monmouth-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Upon completion she was assigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet and was then assigned to the 5th Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean in 1909 after a lengthy refit. She returned home for another refit in 1912 and became the flagship of the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station in 1913.
HMS King Alfred was one of four Drake-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy around 1900. She served as flagship of the China Station from 1906 until relieved in 1910. Upon her return home that year, she was placed in reserve before being recommissioned in mid-1914. She was assigned to the 6th Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet at the beginning of World War I. She was transferred to the 9th Cruiser Squadron in 1915 and assigned to convoy protection duties by the end of the year. King Alfred participated in the unsuccessful searches for the German commerce raider SMS Möwe in 1916–17 before beginning to escort convoys later that year. The ship was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1918, but returned to service. She was sold for scrap in 1920.
HMS Berwick was one of 10 Monmouth-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet upon completion in 1903 and was transferred to the Home Fleet in 1906. She accidentally rammed and sank a British destroyer in 1908. Berwick was refitted in 1908–09 before she was transferred to the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station later that year.
HMS Cumberland was one of 10 Monmouth-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet upon completion in 1903. After a refit in 1907–1908 she became a training ship in the Home Fleet. She was sent to West Africa after the beginning of World War I in August 1914 and captured 10 German merchant ships in September. Cumberland spent the rest of the war on convoy escort duties and patrolling for German commerce raiders. She was sold for scrap in 1921 and broken up two years later.
HMS Donegal was one of 10 Monmouth-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was initially assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron upon completion in 1903 and ran aground en route to the China Station in 1906. She was briefly placed in reserve after repairs before she was assigned to the Home Fleet in 1907. She joined the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station in 1909 before returning home for an assignment with the Training Squadron in 1912. Donegal was reduced to reserve before World War I began in August 1914 as part of the Third Fleet
HMS Lancaster was one of 10 Monmouth-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Upon completion she was assigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet. She remained there until 1912 when she returned home to be placed in reserve. The ship was recommissioned in 1913 for service with the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station. She remained there until she was assigned to the Grand Fleet in 1915. She was transferred to the Pacific in 1916 and she became flagship of the Eastern Squadron in 1918. The ship was sold for scrap in 1920.
HMS Devonshire was the lead ship of her class of six armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet upon completion in 1905 and was transferred to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in 1907. She was assigned to the reserve Third Fleet in 1909 and then to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the reserve Second Fleet in 1913.
HMS Antrim was a Devonshire-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet upon completion in 1905 and was transferred to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in 1907. She was assigned to the reserve Third Fleet in 1909 and then became flagship of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the reserve Second Fleet in 1913.
HMS Roxburgh was one of six Devonshire-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet upon completion and was transferred to the reserve Third Fleet in 1909. She was then assigned to the 5th Cruiser Squadron of the reserve Second Fleet in 1912 and the 3rd Cruiser Squadron the following year.
The Pathfinder-class cruisers were a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The sister ships spent much of the first decade of their careers in reserve. When the First World War began in August 1914 they were given coastal defence missions, Pathfinder on the coast of Scotland and Patrol on the coast of Yorkshire. The latter ship was badly damaged when the Germans bombarded Hartlepool in December. She spent the rest of the war in British waters. The ship was paid off in 1919 and sold for scrap the following year. Pathfinder was sunk by a German submarine shortly after the war began, the first sinking of a British warship during the war by a German submarine.
The Forward-class cruisers were a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The sister ships spent much of the first decade of their careers in reserve. When the First World War began in August 1914 they were given coastal defence missions, Foresight in the English Channel and Forward on the coast of Yorkshire. The latter ship was in Hartlepool when the German bombarded it in December, but never fired a shot. The ships were transferred to the Mediterranean in 1915 and then to the Aegean in mid-1916 where they remained until 1918. They survived the war, but were scrapped shortly afterwards.
HMS Forward was the name ship of her class of two scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The ship was in reserve for most of the first decade of her existence. After the beginning of the First World War in August 1914, she was assigned to coastal defence duties on the East Coast of England. Forward was present when the Germans bombarded Hartlepool in mid-December 1914, but played no significant role in the battle. The ship was sent to the Mediterranean in mid-1915 and was then assigned to the Aegean Sea a year later, together with her sister ship, Foresight, and remained there until the end of the war. After returning home in 1919, she was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Foresight was one of two Forward-class scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. The ship was in reserve for most of the first decade of her existence. After the beginning of the First World War in August 1914, she was initially assigned to the Dover Patrol and was then transferred to the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. Foresight was sent to the Mediterranean in mid-1915 and was then assigned to the Aegean Sea a year later, together with her sister ship, Forward, and remained there until the end of the war. After returning home in 1919, she was sold for scrap in 1920.
HMS Adventure was the name ship of her class of two scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. For two years after being completed in 1905, the ship was in reserve. She was commissioned in mid-1907 as a flotilla leader in the Home Fleet. When the First World War began in August 1914, she was assigned to patrol the English Channel. In mid-1915 Adventure was transferred to Irish waters to serve as the flagship there. In early 1918, the ship escorted convoys to Gibraltar before being transferred to the Mediterranean at the end of the war. She returned home in mid-1919 and was paid off. Adventure was sold for scrap in early 1920.
HMS Attentive was one of two Adventure-class scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. Completed in 1905 the ship was placed in reserve until she was commissioned in 1907 as part of the Home Fleet. She then spent the next seven years moving on and off of active service in British waters. The ship sank one destroyer and damaged two others in collisions. Attentive was assigned to coastal defence duties when the First World War began in 1914, and spent most of the war assigned to the Dover Patrol. She played a minor role in the Zeebrugge Raid in early 1918 and was then assigned to escort convoys to Gibraltar. The ship was sent to the White Sea later in the year to support the unsuccessful North Russia intervention in the Russian Civil War. Attentive paid off at the end of 1918 and was sold for scrap in 1920.
HMS Highflyer was the lead ship of the Highflyer-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. She spent her early career as flagship for the East Indies and North America and West Indies Stations. She was reduced to reserve in 1908 before again becoming the flagship in the East Indies in 1911. She returned home two years later and became a training ship. When World War I began in August 1914, she was assigned to the 9th Cruiser Squadron in the Central Atlantic to intercept German commerce raiders and protect Allied shipping.
The Challenger-class cruisers were a pair of second-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. One ship, HMS Encounter, was later transferred to the Royal Australian Navy.
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