Cressy-class cruiser

	HMS Euryalus at anchor in Australia
Class overview
Name	Cressy class
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Diadem class
Succeeded by	Drake class
Built	1898–1902
In service	1901–1920
Completed	6
Lost	3
Scrapped	3
General characteristics
Type	Armoured cruiser
Displacement	12,000 long tons (12,000 t) (normal)
Length	472 ft (143.9 m) (o/a)
Beam	69 ft 6 in (21.2 m)
Draught	26 ft 9 in (8.2 m) (maximum)
Installed power	30 Belleville boilers; 21,000 kW);
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Complement	725–760
Armament	2 × single 9.2 in (234 mm) guns; 12 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns; 12 × single 12 pdr (3 in (76 mm)) guns; 3 × single 3 pdr (47-mm) guns; 2 × 18 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes;
Armour	Belt: 2–6 in (51–152 mm); Decks: 1–3 in (25–76 mm); Barbettes: 6 in (152 mm); Turrets: 6 in (150 mm); Conning tower: 12 in (305 mm); Bulkheads: 5 in (127 mm);

The Cressy-class cruiser was a class of six

armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy around 1900. Their design's incorporation of a pair of 9.2-inch guns and armoured sides served to address criticism directed against the previous Diadem class — advances made possible by their 1,000 ton increase in displacement over their predecessors. The ships were notably stable, except for a susceptibility to pitching.^[1]

Service

Until 1908, the ships served in

U-9 near the Dutch coast. After the first cruiser had been hit, the following cruisers both came to a dead halt to pick up survivors, making themselves easy targets for torpedoes.^[2]

Ships

HMS Cressy: launched 4 December 1899, torpedoed and sunk 22 September 1914
HMS Sutlej: launched 18 November 1899, scrapped 9 May 1921
HMS Aboukir: launched 16 May 1900, torpedoed and sunk 22 September 1914
HMS Hogue: launched 13 August 1900, torpedoed and sunk 22 September 1914
HMS Bacchante: launched 21 February 1901, scrapped 1 July 1920
HMS Euryalus: launched 20 May 1901, scrapped 1 July 1920

Building Programme

The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Cressy 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.

Ship	Builder	Engine Maker	Date of			Cost according to		Fate
Ship	Builder	Engine Maker	Laid Down	Launch	Completion	( BNA 1904)^[3]	(BNA 1906)^[4]
Cressy	Fairfield, Govan	Fairfield	12 October 1898	14 December 1899	28 May 1901	£780,110	£749,324	torpedoed 22 Sept 1914
Sutlej	J Brown Clydebank	Clydebank Company	15 August 1898	18 November 1899	6 May 1902	£790,706	£755,690	scrapped 9 May 1921
Aboukir	Fairfield, Govan	Fairfield	9 November 1898	16 May 1900	3 April 1902	£783,883	£751,118	torpedoed 22 Sept 1914
Hogue	Vickers, Barrow	Vickers	14 July 1898	13 August 1900	19 November 1902	£787,507	£749,809	torpedoed 22 Sept 1914
Bacchante	John Brown Clydebank	John Brown	15 February 1899	21 February 1901	25 November 1902	£787,230	£787,230	scrapped 1 July 1920
Euryalus	Vickers, Barrow	Vickers	18 July 1899	20 May 1901	5 January 1904	£817,880	£782,901	scrapped 1 July 1920

Image gallery

Right elevation and deck plan, from Brassey's Naval Annual 1906
Right elevation of 9.2 inch gun turret
Rear elevation of 9.2 inch gun turret

Notes

1. All three ships Cressy, Hogue and Aboukir were sunk under an hour by the German submarine SM U-9.

Footnotes

^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905, pp. 68–69
^ "Time Team s20". Channel 4. Channel 4. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
^ Brassey's Naval Annual 1904, p212-219
^ Brassey's Naval Annual 1906, p208-215

Bibliography

The Naval Annual 1904
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
.

Leyland, J. and

The Naval Annual 1906

ISBN 0-224-04092-8
.

Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books.
ISBN 0-88254-979-0
.

External links

[1] Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905, pp. 68–69

[2] "Time Team s20". Channel 4. Channel 4. Retrieved 18 May 2015.

[3] Brassey's Naval Annual 1904, p212-219

[4] Brassey's Naval Annual 1906, p208-215

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Cressy-class cruiser
Aboukir Bacchante Cressy Euryalus Hogue Sutlej
Preceded by: Diadem class Followed by: Drake class
List of cruisers of the Royal Navy

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 London Duncan King Edward VII Swiftsure Lord Nelson
Battlecruisers	Invincible Indefatigable Lion Queen Mary^S Tiger^S Renown Courageous Admiral^S^A
Armoured cruisers	Cressy Drake Monmouth Devonshire Duke of Edinburgh Warrior Minotaur
Heavy cruisers	Hawkins^A
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 Thornycroft (or Shakespeare)^C Admiralty (or Scott)^C
Destroyers	A^G B^G C^G D^G E^G F G H I K L Admiralty M Hawthorn M Thornycroft M Yarrow M Yarrow Later M Medea Arno^S R^G S^G^C Talisman V and W^G^C
Torpedo boats	TB 81^S TB 98 TB 109 TB 114 Cricket^G
Monitors	Marshal Ney Abercrombie Lord Clive Humber Gorgon M15 M29 Erebus
Minesweepers	Racecourse Hunt Dance
Gunboats	Fly Insect
Submarines	A B C D E F G H^C J K L^C M^C R^C Swordfish^S V
Sloops	P Cadmus Flower Acacia Azalea Arabis Anchusa Aubrietia 24^C
naval trawlers	Castle Mersey
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