Adventure-class cruiser

HMS Adventure in dazzle camouflage during the First World War
Class overview
Name: Adventure class
Builders: Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick
Operators:  Royal Navy
Preceded by: None
Succeeded by: Forward class
Built: 1904–1905
In commission: 1905–1919
Completed: 2
Scrapped: 2
General characteristics (as built)
Type: Scout cruiser
Displacement: 2,670 long tons (2,713 t)
Length: 374 ft (114.0 m) (p/p)
Beam: 38 ft 3 in (11.7 m)
Draught: 12 ft 5 in (3.8 m)
Installed power:
Propulsion: 2 Shafts, 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Complement: 289
Armament:
Armour:

The Adventure-class cruiser was a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. They served in the First World War and consisted of the ships HMS Adventure and HMS Attentive.

Background and design

In 1901–02, the Admiralty developed scout cruisers to work with destroyer flotillas, leading their torpedo attacks and backing them up when attacked by other destroyers. In May 1902, it requested tenders for a design that was capable of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), a protective deck, a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) and an armament of six quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 18 cwt guns, eight QF 3-pounder (47 mm) guns and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. It accepted four of the submissions and ordered one ship from each builder in the 1902–03 Naval Programme and a repeat in the following year's programme.[1]

The two ships from Armstrong Whitworth became the Adventure class; the name for the lead ship was originally intended to be named Eddystone, but the name was altered prior to construction. Four more 12-pounders were added to the specification in August. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of 374 feet (114.0 m), a beam of 38 feet 3 inches (11.7 m) and a draught of 12 feet 5 inches (3.8 m). They displaced 2,670 long tons (2,713 t) at normal load and 2,893 long tons (2,939 t) at deep load. Their crew consisted of 289 officers and other ranks.[2]

The ships were powered by a pair of three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by a dozen Yarrow boilers. They were the only one of the four pairs of scout cruisers of this group to have four funnels and a clipper-style bow. The engines were designed to produce a total of 16,000 indicated horsepower (12,000 kW) which was intended to give a maximum speed of 25 knots.[3] The scout cruisers soon proved too slow for this role as newer destroyers outpaced them. The Adventure-class ships carried a maximum of 454 long tons (461 t) of coal.[4]

The main armament of the Adventure class consisted of ten quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 18-cwt guns.[5] Three guns were mounted abreast on the forecastle and the quarterdeck, with the remaining four guns positioned port and starboard amidships. They also carried eight 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.[3] The ships' protective deck armour ranged in thickness from .75 to 2 inches (19 to 51 mm) and the conning tower had armour 3 inches (76 mm) inches thick.[3]

Ships

  • HMS Adventure - launched on 8 September 1904, sold for scrap, 3 March 1920.
  • HMS Attentive - launched on 24 November 1904, sold for scrap, 12 April 1920.

Construction and service

The two ships were laid down in 1904 by Armstrong Whitworth at their Elswick, Tyne and Wear shipyard. Not long after completion, two additional 12-pounder guns were added and the 3-pounder guns were replaced with six QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns. In 1911–12,[3] they were rearmed with nine QF 4-inch (100 mm) Mk IV guns.[6] After the war, the remaining scout cruisers, including the two Adventures, were paid off and sold for scrap in 1920.[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Friedman 2009, pp. 99–101
  2. ↑ Friedman 2009, pp. 100, 294, 301
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Chesneau & Kolesnik, pp. 84–85
  4. ↑ Friedman 2009, pp. 101, 294
  5. ↑ Friedman 2011, p. 112
  6. ↑ Friedman 2011, p. 102

Bibliography

  • Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
  • Corbett, Julian. Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. I (2nd, reprint of the 1938 ed.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-256-X.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
  • Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
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