Monmouth-class cruiser

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HMS Suffolk LOC ggbain.16829.jpg
Suffolk
Class overview
NameMonmouth class
OperatorsNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
Preceded by Drake class
Succeeded by Devonshire class
Built1899–1904
In commission1903–1921
Completed10
Lost2
Scrapped8
General characteristics
Type Armoured cruiser
Displacement9,800 long tons (10,000  t) (normal)
Length463 ft 6 in (141.3 m) (o/a)
Beam66 ft (20.1 m)
Draught25 ft (7.6 m)
Installed power
Propulsion2 × shafts; 2 × triple-expansion steam engines
Speed23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement678
Armament
Armour

The Monmouth class was a ten-ship class of 10,000-ton armoured cruisers built around 1901 to 1903 for the Royal Navy and designed specifically for commerce protection. The ships were also referred to as County class cruisers as they carried the names of British counties.

Contents

Design

Left elevation and deck plan as depicted in Jane's Fighting Ships 1914 Monmouth class cruiser diagrams Janes 1914.jpg
Left elevation and deck plan as depicted in Jane's Fighting Ships 1914
Aft port casemate guns on Berwick, illustrating the unfortunate positioning HMS Berwick aft port 6 inch gun casemates.jpg
Aft port casemate guns on Berwick, illustrating the unfortunate positioning

Expected only to fight light cruisers and armed merchant ships, the class was armed with fourteen 6-inch guns at a time when most British armoured cruisers also carried at least a pair of 9.2-inch guns: Four of the guns were mounted in two twin turrets at a good height, the remaining ten were installed in hull-mounted casemates, five on each side. The lower casemate guns were just a few feet above water, making them impossible to use in heavy seas. Sir John Fisher commented that "Sir William White designed the County class but forgot the guns." [1] On the other hand, they were relatively fast ships for their time.

Ships

The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Monmouth class. Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores. The compilers of The Naval Annual revised costs quoted for British ships between the 1905 and 1906 editions. The reasons for the differences are unclear. [2]

Construction data
ShipBuilderDate ofCost according to
Laid down Launch Completion(BNA 1905) [3] (BNA 1906) [4]
Monmouth London & Glasgow Shipbuilding, Govan 29 Aug 189913 Nov 19012 Dec 1903 £709,085£979,591
Bedford Fairfield Shipping and Engineering, Govan19 Feb 190031 Aug 190111 Nov 1903£734,330£706,020
Essex HM Dockyard, Pembroke 1 Jan 190029 Aug 190122 Mar 1903£770,325£736,557
Kent HM Dockyard, Portsmouth 12 Feb 19006 Mar 19011 Oct 1903£733,940£700,283
Berwick William Beardmore and Company 19 Apr 190120 Sep 19029 Dec 1903£776,868£750,984
Cornwall HM Dockyard, Pembroke11 Mar 190129 Oct 19021 Dec 1904£789,421£756,274
Cumberland London & Glasgow Shipbuilding, Govan19 Feb 190116 Dec 19021 Dec 1904£751,508£718,168
Donegal Fairfield Shipping and Engineering, Govan14 Feb 19014 Sep 19025 Nov 1903£752,964£715,947
Lancaster Armstrong-Whitworth, Elswick 4 Mar 190122 Mar 19035 Apr 1904£763,084£732,858
Suffolk HM Dockyard, Portsmouth25 Mar 190115 Jan 190321 May 1904£783,054£722,681

Service

HMS Donegal at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda circa 1918. HMS Donegal at HM Dockyard Bermuda circa 1918.jpg
HMS Donegal at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda circa 1918.
HMS Cornwall at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda circa 1918 HMS Cornwall at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda circa 1918.jpg
HMS Cornwall at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda circa 1918

Upon completion, the ships served briefly in home waters before being assigned to various oversea stations (the China Station and the North America and West Indies Station). During this time HMS Bedford was wrecked in the East China Sea in 1910 and scrapped.

Following the outbreak of World War I, the ships were primarily tasked with combating German commerce raiders, patrolling in both the North and South Atlantic. HMS Monmouth was assigned to Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock's squadron, and was sunk at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914. HMS Kent was also assigned to Cradock's squadron, but failed to join in time; she remained at the Falkland Islands and joined Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee's squadron, which also included HMS Cornwall. In the ensuing Battle of the Falklands in December 1914, HMS Kent pursued and sank the light cruiser Nürnberg, while HMS Cornwall pursued and sank the light cruiser Leipzig. HMS Kent continued the pursuit of the light cruiser Dresden, eventually locating her and forcing her to be scuttled at the Battle of Más a Tierra. In 1915, HMS Cornwall participated in the blockade of the light cruiser Königsberg in the Rufiji River.

After World War I, several of the ships served briefly as training ships. All soon were withdrawn from service and scrapped in 1920 and 1921.

Notes

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    HMS <i>Cornwall</i> (1902) Royal Navy armoured cruiser

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    HMS <i>Monmouth</i> (1901) Lead ship of British Monmouth-class

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    HMS <i>Suffolk</i> (1903) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

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    HMS <i>Essex</i> (1901) 1901 British Monmouth-class armoured cruiser

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    HMS <i>Berwick</i> (1902) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

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    HMS <i>Donegal</i> (1902) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

    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 <i>Lancaster</i> (1902) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

    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.

    SMS <i>Nürnberg</i> (1906) Light cruiser of the German Imperial Navy

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    References

    1. ↑ Massie, Robert K. (2004). Castles of Steel. Balantine Books. ISBN   0-345-40878-0.
    2. ↑ The 1906 figure for Monmouth is particularly high. but is as quoted in the original. The 1914 edition also quotes £979,591 as the cost of Monmouth.
    3. ↑ Brassey's Naval Annual 1905, p234-243
    4. ↑ Brassey's Naval Annual 1906, p208-215

    Bibliography

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