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.

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]

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

• 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
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• ISBN 0-89839-256-X
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• Friedman, Norman (2012). British Cruisers of the Victorian Era. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth.
  ISBN 978-1-59114-068-9
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• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth.
  ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7
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• 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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