List of cruiser classes of the Royal Navy

This is a list of cruisers of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom from 1877 (when the category was created by amalgamating the two previous categories of frigate and corvette) until the last cruiser was deleted more than a century later. There are no longer any cruisers in the Royal Navy.

First class cruisers

Armoured cruisers were protected by a belt of side armour and an armoured deck. In the Royal Navy this classification was not actually used, the term first class cruiser being used instead for both armoured cruisers and large protected cruisers. Thus, the first class cruisers built between the "Orlando" class (1886) and the "Cressy" class (1897) were, strictly speaking, protected cruisers as they lacked an armoured belt. The first class cruiser was succeeded by the Battlecruiser in the Royal Navy.

* "Shannon" first class armoured cruiser, (1875) 5,670 tons, two 10-inch, seven 9-inch guns
* "Nelson" class first class armoured cruiser, 7,473 tons, four 10-in, six 9-in guns
** "Nelson" (1876) - Sold 1910
** "Northampton" (1876) - Sold 1905
* "Imperieuse" class first class armoured cruiser, 8,500 tons, four 9.2 in, ten 6 in guns
** "Imperieuse" (1883) - Sold 1913
** "Warspite" (1884) - Sold 1905
* "Orlando" class first class armoured cruiser, 5,600 tons, 2-9.2in, 10-6in
** "Orlando" (1886) - Sold 1905
** "Australia" (1886) - Sold 1905
** "Undaunted" (1886) - Sold 1907
** "Narcissus" (1886) - Sold 1906
** "Galatea" (1887) - Sold 1905
** "Immortalite" (1887) - Sold 1907
** "Aurora" (1887) - Sold 1907
* "Blake" class first class protected cruiser, 9,150 tons, two 9.2-inch, ten 6-inch guns
** "Blake" (1889) - Sold 1922
** "Blenheim" (1890) - Sold 1926
* "Edgar" class first class protected cruiser, 7,700 tons, 2-9.2in, 10-6in
** "Edgar" (1890)
** "Hawke" (1891) - Torpedoed 1914
** "Endymion" (1891)
** "Royal Arthur" (1891)
** "Gibraltar" (1892) - Sold 1923
** "Grafton" (1892)
** "St George" (1892)
** "Theseus" (1892)
** "Crescent" (1892)
* "Powerful" class first class protected cruiser, 14,200 tons, 2-9.2in, 12-6in
** "Powerful" (1895) - Sold 1929
** "Terrible" (1895) - Sold 1932
* "Diadem" class first class protected cruiser, 11,000 tons, sixteen 6-inch
** "Diadem" (1896)
** "Niobe" (1897) - To Canada as HMCS "Niobe", BU 1922
** "Europa" (1897)
** "Andromeda" (1897)
** "Amphitrite" (1898)
** "Argonaut" (1898)
** "Ariadne" (1898)
** "Spartiate" (1898)
* "Cressy" class first class armoured cruiser, 12,000 tons, two 9.2-inch, twelve 6-inch guns
** "Cressy" (1899) - Torpedoed 1914
** "Sutlej" (1899)
** "Aboukir" (1900) - Torpedoed 1914
** "Hogue" (1900) - Torpedoed 1914
** "Bacchante" (1901)
** "Euryalus" (1901)
* "Drake" class first class armoured cruiser, 14,150 tons, 2-9.2in, 16-6in
** "Drake" (1901) - Torpedoed 1917
** "Good Hope" (ex-"Africa") (1901) - Sunk during the Battle of Coronel, 1914
** "King Alfred" (1901) - Sold 1920
** "Leviathan" (1901) - Sold 1920
* "Monmouth" class first class armoured cruiser, 9,800 tons, 14-6in
** "Monmouth" (1901)
** "Bedford"
** "Essex" (1901)
** "Kent" (1901)
** "Berwick" (1902)
** "Cornwall" (1902)
** "Cumberland" (1902)
** "Donegal" (1902)
** "Lancaster" (1902)
** "Suffolk" (1903) - Sold 1920
* "Devonshire" class first class armoured cruiser, 10,850 tons, four 7.5-inch, six 6-inch guns
** "Devonshire" (1904) - Sold 1921
** "Hampshire" (1903) - Mined 1916
** "Carnarvon" (1903)
** "Antrim" (1903) - Sold 1922
** "Roxburgh" (1904) - Sold 1921
** "Argyll" (1904) - Wrecked 1915
* "Duke of Edinburgh" class first class armoured cruiser,
**"Duke of Edinburgh" group 13,550 tons, 6-9.2in, 10-6in
*** "Duke of Edinburgh" (1904) - Sold 1920
*** "Black Prince" (1904) - Sunk at the Battle of Jutland, 1916
** "Warrior" group 13,550 tons, 6-9.2in, 4-7.5in
*** "Warrior" (1905) - Sunk at the Battle of Jutland, 1916
*** "Cochrane" (1905) - Wrecked 1918
*** "Achilles" (1905) - Sold 1921
*** "Natal" (1905) - Explosion 1915
* "Minotaur" class first class armoured cruiser, 14,600 tons, four 9.2-inch, ten 7.5-inch guns
** "Minotaur" (1906) - Sold 1920
** "Shannon" (1906) - Sold 1922
** "Defence" (1907) - Sunk at the Battle of Jutland, 1916

Protected cruisers

Protected cruisers were so-called because their vital machinery spaces were protected by an armoured deck and the arrangement of coal bunkers. The ships below are all protected cruisers, but were rated as second and third class cruisers by the Royal Navy. The third class cruiser was not expected to operate with the fleet, was substantially smaller than the second class and lacked the watertight double-bottom of the latter. With the advent of turbine machinery, oil firing and better armour plate the protected cruiser became obsolete and was succeeded by the light cruiser.
* "Iris" class second class cruiser, 3,730 tons, 13-5in
** "Iris" (1877)
** "Mercury" (1878)
* "Comus" class third class cruiser, 2,380 tons ("Constance" 2,590 tons), 2-7in + 12-64pdr (except "Comus" 4-6in + 8-64pdr; "Canada" & "Cordelia" 10-6in)
** "Comus" (1878) - Sold 1904
** "Curacoa" (1878) - Sold 1904
** "Champion" (1878) - Sold 1919
** "Cleopatra" (1878) - Sold 1931
** "Carysfort" (1878) - Sold 1899
** "Conquest" (1878) - Sold 1899
** "Constance" (1880) - Sold 1899
** "Canada" (1881) - Sold 1897
** "Cordelia" (1881) - Sold 1904
* "Leander" class second class cruiser, 4,300 tons, 10-6in
** "Leander" (1882) - Sold 1920
** "Amphion" (1883) - Sold 1906
** "Arethusa" (1882) - Sold 1905
** "Phaeton" (1883) - Sold 1947
* "Calypso" class third class cruiser, 2,770 tons, 4-6in + 12-5in.
** "Calliope" (1884) - Sold 1951 (drill ship from 1907)
** "Calypso" (1885) - Sold 1922
* "Mersey" class second class cruiser, 4,050 tons, 2-8in, 10-6in
** "Mersey" (1885) - Sold 1905
** "Severn" (1885) - Sold 1905
** "Thames" (1885) - Renamed "General Botha", scuttled 1947
** "Forth" (1886) - Sold 1921
* "Marathon" class third class cruiser, 2,850 tons, 6-6in
** "Medea" (1888) - Sold 1914
** "Marathon" (1888)
** "Magicienne" (1888)
** "Medusa" (1888) - Sold 1920
** "Melpomene" (1888)
* "Apollo" class second class cruiser, 3,400 tons, 2-6in, 6-4.7in
** "Apollo" (1891)
** "Aeolus" (1891)
** "Andromache" (1890)
** "Brilliant" (1891)
** "Indefatigable" (1891)
** "Intrepid" (1891) - Scuttled 1918
** "Iphigenia" (1891) - Scuttled 1918
** "Latona" (1890) - Sold 1920
** "Melampus" (1890) - Sold 1910
** "Naiad" (1890) - Sold 1922
** "Pique" (1890) - Sold 1911
** "Rainbow" (1891) - To Canada as HMCS "Rainbow" 1910
** "Retribution" (1891) - Sold 1911
** "Sappho" (1891) - Sold 1921
** "Scylla" (1891) - Sold 1914
** "Sirius" (1890) - Scuttled 1918
** "Spartan" (1891) - Renamed "Defiance" 1921, sold 1931
** "Sybille" (1890) - Wrecked 1901
** "Terpsichore" (1890) - Sold 1914
** "Thetis" (1890) - Scuttled 1918
** "Tribune" (1891) - Sold 1911
* "Astraea" class second class cruiser, 4,360 tons, 2-6in, 8-4.7in
** "Astraea" (1893) - Sold 1920
** "Bonaventure" (1892) - Sold 1920
** "Cambrian" (1893) - Sold 1923
** "Charybdis" (1893) - Sold 1922
** "Flora" (1893) - Renamed "Indus II", sold 1922
** "Forte" (1893) - Sold 1914
** "Fox" (1893) - Sold 1920
** "Hermione" (1893) - Renamed "Warspite", sold 1940
* "Eclipse" class second class cruiser, 5,600 tons, 5-6in, 6-4.7in
** "Eclipse" (1894)
** "Diana" (1895)
** "Dido" (1896) - Sold 1926
** "Doris" (1896) - Sold 1919
** "Isis" (1896)
** "Juno" (1895)
** "Minerva" (1895)
** "Talbot" (1895)
** "Venus" (1895)
* "Pearl" class third class cruiser, 2,575 tons, 8-4.7in
** "Pallas" (1890)
** "Pandora" (1889)
** "Pearl" (1890)
** "Pelorus" (1889)
** "Persian" (1890)
** "Philomel" (1890)
** "Phoebe" (1890)
** "Phoenix" (1889)
** "Psyche" (1889)
* "Arrogant" class second class cruiser, 5,750 tons, 4-6in, 6-4.7in
** "Arrogant" (1896) - Sold 1923
** "Furious" (1896) - Renamed "Forte" 1915, sold 1923
** "Gladiator" (1896) - Collision 1908, refloated, sold 1909
** "Vindictive" (1897) - Scuttled 1918
* "Pelorus" class third class cruiser, 2,135 tons, 8-4in
** "Pelorus" (1896)
** "Pactolus" (1896)
** "Proserpine" (1896)
** "Pegasus" (1897) - Sunk 1914
** "Perseus" (1897)
** "Pomone" (1897)
** "Pyramus" (1897)
** "Psyche" (1898) - To Australia 1915
** "Prometheus" (1898)
** "Pioneer" (1899) - To Australia 1912, scuttled 1931
** "Pandora" (1900)
* "Highflyer" class second class cruiser, 5,650 tons, 11-6in
** "Highflyer" (1898) - Sold 1921
** "Hermes" (1898) - Torpedoed 1914
** "Hyacinth" (1898) - Sold 1923
* "Challenger" class second class cruiser, 5,880 tons, 11-6in
** "Challenger" (1902) - Sold 1920
** "Encounter" (1902) - To Australia 1912 as HMAS Encounter, renamed "Penguin" 1923, scuttled 1932
* "Topaze" class third class cruiser, class 3,000 tons
** "Topaze" (1903) - Sold 1921
** "Amethyst" (1903) - Sold 1920
** "Diamond" (1904) - Sold 1921
** "Sapphire" (1904) - Sold 1921

cout cruisers

The scout cruiser was a smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured cruiser than the protected cruiser, intended for fleet scouting duties and acting as a flotilla leader. Essentially there were two distinct groups - the eight vessels all ordered under the 1903 Programme, and the seven later vessels ordered under the 1907-1910 Programmes. The advent of better machinery and larger, faster destroyers and light cruisers effectively made them obsolete.
* "Adventure" class 2,640 tons, 10-12pdr
** "Adventure" (1904) - Sold 1920
** "Attentive" (1904) - Sold 1920
* "Forward" class 2,860 tons, 10-12pdr
** "Forward" (1904) - Sold 1921
** "Foresight" (1904) - Sold 1920
* "Pathfinder" class 2,900 tons, 10-12pdr
** "Pathfinder" (1904) - Torpedoed 1914
** "Patrol" (1904) - Sold 1920
* "Sentinel" class 2,880 tons, 10-12pdr
** "Sentinel" (1904) - Sold 1923
** "Skirmisher" (1905) - Sold 1920
* "Boadicea" class 3,300 tons, 6-4in
** "Boadicea" (1908)
** "Bellona" (1909)
* "Blonde" class 3,350 tons, 10-4in
** "Blonde" (1910)
** "Blanche" (1909)
* "Active" class 3,440 tons, 10-4in
** "Active" (1911)
** "Amphion" (1911)
** "Fearless" (1912)

Light cruisers

The light armoured cruiser - light cruiser - succeeded the protected cruiser; improvements in machinery and armour rendering the latter obsolete. The Town class of 1910 were rated as second class protected cruisers, but were effectively light armoured cruisers with mixed coal and oil firing. The "Arethusa" class of 1913 were the first oil-only fired class. This meant that the arrangement of coal bunkers in the hull could no longer be relied upon as protection and the adoption of destroyer-type machinery resulted in a higher speed. This makes the "Arethusa"s the first "true example" of the warship that came to be recognised as the light cruiser. In the London Naval Treaty of 1930, light cruisers were officially defined as cruisers having guns of 6.1 inch (155 mm) calibre or less, with a displacement not exceeding 10,000 tons.
* Town class
**"Bristol" group 4,800 tons, 2-6in, 10-4in
*** "Bristol" (1910)
*** "Glasgow" (1910)
*** "Gloucester" (1910)
*** "Liverpool" (1910)
*** "Newcastle" (1910)
**"Weymouth" group 5,250 tons, 8-6in
*** "Weymouth" (1911)
*** "Dartmouth" (1911)
*** "Falmouth" (1911)
*** "Yarmouth" (1912)
**"Chatham" group 5,400 tons, 8-6in
*** "Chatham" (1912)
*** "Dublin" (1913)
*** "Southampton" (1912)
*** "Brisbane" (1916)
*** "Melbourne" (1913)
*** "Sydney" (1913)
**"Birmingham" group 5,440 tons, 9-6in
*** "Birmingham" (1914)
*** "Lowestoft" (1914)
*** "Nottingham" (1914)
*** "Adelaide" (1922)
**"Birkenhead" group 5,185 tons, 10-5.5in
*** "Birkenhead" (1915)
*** "Chester" (1916)
* "Arethusa" class, 3,750 tons, 6-in, 6-4in
** "Arethusa" (1914)
** "Aurora" (1914)
** "Galatea" (1914)
** "Inconstant" (1915)
** "Penelope" (1914)
** "Phaeton" (1915)
** "Royalist" (1915)
** "Undaunted" (1914)
* C class
** "Caroline" group 4,219 tons, 2-6in, 8-4in
*** "Caroline" (1914)
*** "Carysfort" (1914)
*** "Cleopatra" (1915)
*** "Comus" (1914)
*** "Conquest" (1915)
*** "Cordelia" (1914)
** "Calliope" group 4,228 tons, 2-6in, 8-4in
*** "Calliope" (1914)
*** "Champion" (1915)
** "Cambrian" group 4,320 tons, 2-6in, 8-4in
*** "Cambrian" (1916)
*** "Canterbury" (1915)
*** "Castor" (1915)
*** "Constance" (1915)
** "Centaur" group 4,165 tons, 5-6in
*** "Centaur" (1916)
*** "Concord" (1916)
** "Caledon" group 4,180 tons, 5-6in
*** "Caledon" (1916)
*** "Calypso" (1917) - torpedoed 1940
*** "Cassandra" (1916) - mined 1918
*** "Caradoc" (1916)
** "Ceres" group 4,190 tons, 5-6in
*** "Cardiff" (1917)
*** "Ceres" (1917)
*** "Coventry" (1917) - sunk 1942
*** "Curacoa" (1917) - sunk in collision 1942
*** "Curlew" (1917) - bombed 1940
** "Carlisle" group 4,290 tons, 5-6in
*** "Cairo" (1918) - torpedoed 1942
*** "Calcutta" (1919) - sunk in collision 1941
*** "Capetown" (1919)
*** "Carlisle" (1918)
*** "Colombo" (1918)
* "Danae" class 4,850 tons, 6-6in
** "Danae" (1918)
** "Dauntless" (1918)
** "Dragon" (1918) - scuttled 1944
** "Delhi" (1919)
** "Dunedin" (1919) - torpedoed 1941
** "Durban" (1921) - scuttled 1944
** "Despatch" (1922)
** "Diomede" (1922)
* "Emerald" class 7,580 tons, 7-6in
** "Emerald" (1926)
** "Enterprise" (1926)
* "Leander" class
** "Leander" group 7,200 tons, 8-6in
*** "Achilles" (1933) - to India 1948 as "Delhi"
*** "Ajax" (1935)
*** "Leander" (1933)
*** "Neptune" (1934) - mined 1941
*** "Orion" (1934)
** "Amphion" group 6,900 tons, 8-6in
*** "Amphion" (1936) - to Royal Australian Navy 1939 as "Perth" - torpedoed 1942
*** "Apollo" (1936) - to RAN 1938 as "Hobart"
*** "Phaeton" (1935) - to RAN 1935 as "Sydney" - sunk 1941
* "Arethusa" class 5,220 tons, 6-6in
** "Arethusa" (1935)
** "Aurora" (1937) - Sold on 19 May 1948 to the Nationalist Chinese Navy
** "Galatea" (1935) - torpedoed 1941
** "Penelope" (1936) - torpedoed 1944
* Town class
** "Southampton" group 9,100 tons, 12-6in
*** "Southampton" (1937) - sunk 1941
*** "Birmingham" (1937)
*** "Glasgow" (1937)
*** "Newcastle" (1937)
*** "Sheffield" (1937)
** "Gloucester" group 9,400 tons, 12-6in
*** "Gloucester" (1939) - bombed 1941
*** "Liverpool" (1938)
*** "Manchester" (1938) - sunk 1942
** "Edinburgh" group 10,565 tons, 12-6-in
*** "Edinburgh" (1939) - sunk 1942
*** "Belfast" (1939)
* "Dido" class
**"Dido" group 5,600 tons, 10-5.25in
*** "Bonaventure" (1940) - torpedoed 1941
*** "Dido" (1940)
*** "Hermione" (1941) - torpedoed 1942
*** "Naiad" (1940) - torpedoed 1942
*** "Phoebe" (1940)
*** "Euryalus" (1941)
*** "Sirius" (1942)
*** "Charybdis" (1941) - torpedoed 1943
*** "Cleopatra" (1941)
*** "Scylla" (1942)
*** "Argonaut" (1942)
**"Bellona" group 5,770 tons, 8-5.25in
*** "Bellona" (1943) - to Royal New Zealand Navy 1956
*** "Black Prince" (1943) - to RNZN 1948
*** "Diadem" (1943) - to Pakistan 1956 as "Babur"
*** "Royalist" (1943) - to RNZN 1956
*** "Spartan" (1943) - bombed 1944
* Crown Colony class
** "Fiji" group 8,525 tons, 12-6in
*** "Bermuda" (1942)
*** "Fiji" (1940) - bombed 1941
*** "Gambia" (1942)
*** "Jamaica" (1942)
*** "Kenya" (1940)
*** "Mauritius" (1941)
*** "Nigeria" (1940) - to India as "Mysore"
*** "Trinidad" (1941) - bombed 1942
** "Ceylon" group 8,875 tons, 9-6in
*** "Ceylon" (1943)
*** "Newfoundland" (1943)
*** "Uganda" (1943) - to Royal Canadian Navy as "Quebec" 1944
* "Minotaur" class 8,800 tons, 9-6in
** "Swiftsure" (1944)
** "Minotaur" (1945), to Royal Canadian Navy 1945 as "Ontario"
** "Superb" (1945)
* "Tiger" class 11,700 tons, 4-6in, 6-3in
**"Tiger" (1959)
**"Lion" (1960)
**"Blake" (1961)

Heavy cruisers

The heavy cruiser was defined in the London Naval Treaty of 1930 as a cruiser with a main gun calibre not exceeding 8 inches. The earlier "Hawkins" class were therefore retrospectively classified as such, although they had been initially built as "improved light cruisers".
* "Cavendish" or "Hawkins" class 9,860 tons, 7-7.5in
** "Cavendish" (1918) - completed as carrier "Vindictive", to cruiser 1925, to training ship 1937
** "Hawkins" (1919) - scrapped 1947
** "Raleigh" (1920) - wrecked 1922
** "Frobisher" (1924) - scrapped 1949
** "Effingham" (1925) - wrecked 1940
* County class, 8-8in
** "Kent" group 10,570 tons
***"Cumberland" (57) (1928) - scrapped 1959
***"Berwick" (65) (1928) - scrapped 1948
***"Cornwall" (56) (1928) - bombed 1942
***"Suffolk" (55) (1928) - scrapped 1948
***"Kent" (54) (1928) - scrapped 1948
*** "Australia" (1928) - Royal Australian Navy, scrapped 1955
*** "Canberra" (1928) - Royal Australian Navy, torpedoed 1942
** "London" group 9,830 tons
*** "London" (69) (1929) - scrapped 1950
*** "Devonshire" (39) (1929) - scrapped 1954
*** "Shropshire" (73) (1929) - to Royal Australian Navy 1943, scrapped 1955
*** "Sussex" (96) (1929) - scrapped 1950
** "Norfolk" group 10,300 tons
*** "Norfolk" (78) (1930) - scrapped 1950
*** "Dorsetshire" (40) (1930) - bombed 1942
* "York" class 8,250 tons, 6-8in
** "York" (90) (1930) - abandoned 1941, scrapped 1952
** "Exeter" (68) (1931) - sunk 1942

Large light cruisers

The "large light cruisers" were a pet project of Admiral Fisher to operate in shallow Baltic Sea waters and they are often classed as a form of battlecruiser.
* "Glorious" class
** "Glorious" group 19,320 tons, four 15-inch, eighteen 4-inch
***"Glorious" (77) (1916) - converted to aircraft carrier 1924-1930
*** "Courageous" (50) (1916) - converted to aircraft carrier 1924-1928
** "Furious" 19,513 tons, two 18-inch, eleven 5.5-inch
***"Furious" (47) (1917) - completed as aircraft carrier

ee also

* List of cruisers