Eclipse-class cruiser
HMS Talbot
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Class overview | |
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Name | Eclipse class |
Operators | Royal Navy |
Preceded by | Astraea class |
Succeeded by | Arrogant class |
Built | 1893–1898 |
In commission | 1897–1921 |
Completed | 9 |
Scrapped | 9 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Protected cruiser |
Displacement | 5,600 long tons (5,690 t) |
Length | 350 ft (106.7 m) |
Beam | 53 ft 6 in (16.3 m) |
Draught | 20 ft 6 in (6.25 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 2 shafts, 2 Inverted triple-expansion steam engines |
Speed | 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) |
Complement | 450 |
Armament |
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Armour |
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The Eclipse-class cruisers were a class of nine second-class protected cruisers constructed for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s.
Design and description
These ships were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding Astraea class. The Eclipse-class ships were 373 feet (113.7 m) long overall, had a beam of 53 feet 6 inches (16.31 m) and a draught of 20 feet 6 inches (6.2 m). They displaced 5,600 long tons (5,700 t) at normal load. To reduce biofouling, the hulls of the ships were sheathed with wood and copper. Their crew consisted of 450 officers and enlisted men. Their metacentric height was approximately 3 feet (0.9 m).[1]
The Eclipse-class ships were powered by two
The ships carried five 40-
Defense against
Between 1903 and 1905, all of the ships in the class except for Eclipse had their mixed armament replaced with a more uniform armament of eleven 6-inch, nine 12-pounders and seven 3-pounder guns.[10]
The primary protection of the Eclipse class was its sloping armoured deck. This ranged in thickness from 1.5 to 3 inches (38 to 76 mm), with its slopes being 2.5 inches (64 mm) thick. It covered an area six inches above the waterline to 5 feet (1.5 m) below it. The engines were protected by a six-inch armoured hatch that extended above the armoured deck. The gun shields for the six-inch guns were three inches thick and the conning tower's armour was six inches thick.[6]
Ships
Name | Shipyard[10] | Laid down[10] | Launched[10] | Completed[10] | Fate[10] |
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Eclipse | Portsmouth Dockyard | 11 December 1893 | 19 July 1894 | 23 March 1897 | Sold for scrap, August 1921 |
Diana | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, Govan | 13 August 1894 | 5 December 1895 | 15 June 1897 | Sold for scrap, 1 July 1920 |
Dido | London & Glasgow Shipbuilding, Govan | 30 August 1894 | 20 March 1896 | 10 May 1898 | Sold for scrap, 16 December 1926 |
Doris | Naval Construction & Armaments Co., Barrow-in-Furness | 29 August 1894 | 3 March 1896 | 18 November 1897 | Sold for scrap, 2 February 1919 |
Isis | London & Glasgow Engineering, Govan | 30 January 1895 | 27 June 1896 | 10 May 1898 | Sold for scrap, 26 February 1920 |
Juno | Naval Construction & Armaments Co., Barrow | 22 June 1895 | 18 November 1895 | 16 June 1897 | Sold for scrap, 26 February 1920 |
Minerva | Chatham Dockyard | 4 December 1893 | 23 September 1895 | 4 February 1897 | Sold for scrap, 5 October 1920 |
Talbot | Devonport Dockyard | 5 March 1894 | 25 April 1895 | 15 September 1896 | Sold for scrap, 6 December 1921 |
Venus | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering | 28 June 1894 | 5 September 1895 | 9 November 1897 | Sold for scrap, 22 September 1921 |
Notes
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Footnotes
References
- Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- 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.
- McBride, Keith (2012). "The Cruiser Family Talbot". In John Jordan (ed.). Warship 2012. London: Conway. pp. 136–41. ISBN 978-1-84486-156-9.