Challenger-class cruiser

HMS Challenger
Class overview
Name	Challenger
Operators	Royal Navy  Royal Australian Navy
Preceded by	Highflyer class
Succeeded by	Topaze class
Built	1900–1905
In commission	1904–1929
Completed	2
Scrapped	2
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Protected cruiser
Displacement	5,880 long tons (5,970 t)
Length	355 ft (108.2 m) (p/p)
Beam	56 ft (17.1 m)
Draught	21 ft 3 in (6.5 m)
Installed power	12,500 ihp (9,300 kW) 18 water-tube boilers
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2 Triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	21 knots (38.9 km/h; 24.2 mph)
Complement	490
Armament	11 × BL 6-inch (152 mm) guns 9 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt (3-inch) guns[Note 1] 6 × QF 3-pounder (47 mm) guns 2 × 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Deck: 1.5–3 in (38.1–76.2 mm) Gun shields: 3 in (76 mm) Conning tower: 6 in (152 mm)

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.

Design and description

The Challenger-class cruisers were essentially repeats of the previous

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.^[3]

Ships

• HMS Challenger - Sold 1920
• HMS Encounter - To Australia in 1912 as HMAS Encounter, renamed Penguin 1923, scuttled 1932.

Notes

Footnotes

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
  .
• ISBN 0-89839-256-X
  .
• 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. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
  ISBN 0-85177-245-5
  .

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