Highflyer-class cruiser

Class overview
HMS Highflyer
Name:	Highflyer
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Pelorus class
Succeeded by:	Challenger class
Built:	1897–1900
In service:	1899–1921
Completed:	3
Lost:	1
Scrapped:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Protected cruiser
Displacement:	5,600 long tons (5,690 t)
Length:	350 ft (106.7 m) (p/p, 372 ft (113.4 m) (o/a)
Beam:	54 ft (16.5 m)
Draught:	21 ft 6 in (6.6 m)
Installed power:	10,000 ihp (7,460 kW) 18 × Belleville boilers
Propulsion:	2 × shafts 2 × Vertical triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:	450
Armament:	11 × single QF 6-inch (152.4 mm) guns 9 × single QF 12-pounder 12 cwt (3-inch, 76.2 mm) guns^{[Note 1]} 6 × single 3-pounder (47 mm) quick firing guns 2 × single 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Deck: 1.5–3 in (38–76 mm) Gun shields: 3 in (76 mm) Conning tower: 6 in (152 mm)

The Highflyer-class cruisers were a group of three second-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1890s.

Design and description

The two 6-inch guns on Hermes's quarterdeck

The Highflyer-class cruisers were essentially repeats of the previous Eclipse class, albeit with a more powerful armament and propulsion machinery. They were designed to displace 5,650 long tons (5,740 t). The ships had an overall length of 372 feet (113.4 m), a beam of 54 feet (16.5 m)^[1] and a draught of 21 feet 6 inches (6.6 m). 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 (7,500 kW) which was intended to give a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). The ships easily exceeded their designed power and speeds during their sea trials.^[1] They carried a maximum of 1,125 long tons (1,143 t) of coal.^[2]

The main armament of the Highflyer class consisted of 11 quick-firing (QF) 6-inch (152 mm) Mk I guns.^[3] One gun was mounted on the forecastle and two others were positioned on the quarterdeck. The remaining eight guns were placed port and starboard amidships.^[4] They had a maximum range of approximately 10,000 yards (9,100 m) with their 100-pound (45 kg) shells.^[5] Eight QF 12-pounder 12 cwt guns were fitted for defence against torpedo boats. One additional 12-pounder 8 cwt gun could be dismounted for service ashore.^[2] They also carried six 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.^[1]

The ships' protective deck armour ranged in thickness from 1.5 to 3 inches (38 to 76 mm). The engine hatches were protected by 5-inch (127 mm) 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.

Footnotes

1 2 3 4 Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 79
1 2 3 Friedman 2012, p. 334
↑ Friedman 2011, p. 87
↑ Friedman 2012, p. 171
↑ Friedman 2011, pp. 87–88

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 (1988). British Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-054-8.
Friedman, Norman (2012). British Cruisers of the Victorian Era. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-59114-068-9.
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.
Goldrick, James (1984). The King's Ships Were at Sea: The War in the North Sea August 1914–February 1915. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-334-2.
Hobbs, David (2013). British Aircraft Carriers: Design, Development and Service Histories. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-138-0.
Layman, R. D. (1989). Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1859–1922. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-210-9.
Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Highflyer class cruiser.

Highflyer-class cruiser

Hermes Highflyer Hyacinth

Preceded by: Pelorus class Followed by: Challenger class List of cruisers of the Royal Navy

British naval ship classes of the First World War

Aircraft/Seaplane carriers	Empress^S^V Riviera^S^V Engadine^S^V Ark Royal^S Ben-my-Chree^S^V Campania^S^V Raven II^S^V Anne^S^V Vindex^S^V Manxman^S^V Furious^M Pegasus^S^V Nairana^S^V Argus^S^V Vindictive^S^V

Dreadnought battleships	Dreadnought^S Bellerophon St Vincent Neptune^S Colossus Orion King George V Erin^S Agincourt^S Iron Duke Canada^S Queen Elizabeth Revenge

Pre-dreadnought battleships	Royal Sovereign Majestic Canopus Formidable Duncan King Edward VII Swiftsure Lord Nelson

Battlecruisers	Invincible Indefatigable Lion Queen Mary^S Tiger^S Renown Courageous Admiral^S^C Incomparable^X

Armoured cruisers	Cressy Drake Monmouth Devonshire Duke of Edinburgh Warrior Minotaur

Heavy cruisers	Hawkins

Light cruisers	Town^G Arethusa C^{G, C} Danae^C Emerald^A

Protected cruisers	Apollo Astraea Eclipse Blake Pearl Edgar Powerful Diadem Arrogant Pelorus Highflyer Challenger Topaze

Scout cruisers	Adventure Forward Pathfinder Sentinel Boadicea Blonde Active

Destroyer flotilla leaders	Swift^S Faulknor Marksman Parker Admiralty (or Scott)^C Thornycroft (or Shakespeare)^C

Destroyers	A^G B^G C^G D^G E^G F Cricket^G G H I K L Admiralty M Hawthorn M Thornycroft M Yarrow M Yarrow Later M R^G S^{G, C} Talisman V and W^{G, C}

Monitors	Marshal Ney Abercrombie Lord Clive Humber Gorgon M15 M29 Erebus

Minesweepers	Flower Racecourse Hunt 24^C

Gunboats	Fly Insect

Submarines	A B C D E F G H^C J K L^C M^C R^C Swordfish^S V

A All completed after the war C One or more completed after the war G Grouping of several classes M converted from Courageous class S Single ship of class V Conversions X Cancelled

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