Eclipse-class cruiser

HMS Talbot
Class overview
Name	Eclipse-class
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Completed	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)
Propulsion	2 Triple-expansion oil-fired steam engines 8,000 ihp (5,970 kW) 2 screws
Speed	18.5 knots (21.3 mph; 34.3 km/h)
Complement	450
Armament	As built: • 5 × QF 6-inch (152 mm) guns (5×1) • 6 × QF 4.7 inch (120 mm) guns (6×1) • 6 × 3-pounder QF guns (6×1) • 2 × Machine guns • 3 × 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes After 1905: • 11 × 6 in (150 mm) QF guns • 3 × 12-pounder guns • 3 × 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	• Gun shields: 1.5–3 in (38–76 mm) • Engine hatch: 3 in (76 mm) • Decks: 1.5–3 in (38–76 mm) • Conning tower: 1.5–3 in (38–76 mm)

For the 1867 class of sloop (later corvette) see:Eclipse class sloop

The Eclipse-class cruisers of the Royal Navy were protected cruisers constructed in the mid-1890s.

Design and history

Right elevation, deck plan and hull section as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1896

They were enlarged versions of the preceding Astraea class. Between 1903 and 1905, all of the ships in the class except for Eclipse had their mixed 6-inch (152 mm) and 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns removed and replaced with a uniform armament of 11 modern 6-inch (152 mm) guns.

Ships

There were 9 ships in the class:

Name	Yard	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
HMS Eclipse	Portsmouth Dockyard	11 December 1893	19 July 1894	23 March 1897	Sold for scrap 1921
HMS Diana	Fairfield	13 August 1894	5 December 1895	15 June 1897	Sold for scrap 1920
HMS Dido	London & Glasgow Engineering, Govan	30 August 1894	17-20 March 1896	10 May 1898	Sold for scrap 1926
HMS Doris	Naval Construction & Armaments Co, Barrow	29 Thomas 1894	3 March 1896	18 November 1897	Sold for scrap 1919
HMS Isis	London & Glasgow Engineering, Govan	January 1895		May 1898	Sold for scrap 1920
HMS Juno	Naval Construction & Armaments Co, Barrow	22 June 1895	18 November 1895	16 June 1897	Sold for scrap 1920
HMS Minerva	Chatham Dockyard	4 December 1893	23 September 1895	4 February 1897	Sold for scrap 1920
HMS Talbot	Devonport Dockyard	5 March 1894	25 April 1895	15 September 1896	Sold for scrap 1921
HMS Venus	Fairfield	August 1894		November 1897	Sold for scrap 1921

HMS Dido launch

At her launch on 17 March 1896 an unusual accident occurred. As the ship was moving into the water the ground under the ways suddenly sank, and the ship was thrown out of the cradle, sustaining serious damage. She lay half in and half out of the water for three days before she was finally floated.

See also

Media related to Eclipse class cruiser at Wikimedia Commons

• Protected cruiser

Sources

• "World War 1 Naval Combat". Eclipse Class Second Class Protected Cruisers. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
• "Battleships & Cruisers". Eclipse Class. Retrieved 2010-03-10.