- Highflyer class cruiser
The "Highflyer" class cruisers were a three-ship class of second class
protected cruiser s of theRoyal Navy , laid down in 1897 and completed at an average cost of £300,000.They were essentially repeats of the "Eclipse" class, but carried eleven six inch main guns as the main armament instead of the mix of 6 inch and 4.7 inch guns used on the earlier ships. They also used water tube boilers like the "Arrogant" class, with slightly upgraded machinery, but unlike the "Arrogant" class they were not designed to act as rams. The watertube boilers raised the speed of the ships by half a knot, and were 100 tons lighter than the boilers used in the "Eclipse" class ships, almost making up for the increased weight of the guns. With the very similar "Challenger" class ships they were the last British light cruisers before HMS "Bristol" was laid down in 1909.
hips
*HMS "Highflyer" - launched on
4 June 1898, she served on numerous stations and huntedcommerce raiders . She was sold for scrapping10 June 1921, by now the lastVictorian era cruiser in service with theRoyal Navy .
*HMS "Hermes" - launched on7 April 1898, she was converted to aseaplane carrier in 1913, and sunk on31 October 1914 by U 27
*HMS "Hyacinth" - launched on27 October 1898, she served on southern stations in theFirst World War , and assisted in the blockade of SMS "Königsberg". She was sold for scrapping on11 October 1923.ee also
*
List of cruiser classes of the Royal Navy
*Protected cruiser References
*Colledge
*Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/light-cruiser/hms-Highflyer.html Highflyer class in World War I]
* [http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_highflyer_class_cruisers.html History of the Highflyer class]
* [http://www.worldnavalships.com/hermes_class1.htm Highflyers]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/carriers/uk_sea.htm#herm Experimental seaplane carrier "Hermes"]
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