Boadicea-class cruiser
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Sentinel class |
| Succeeded by | Blonde class |
| Built | 1907–10 |
| In commission | 1909–26 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Scout cruiser |
| Displacement | 3,350 long tons (3,400 t) (normal) |
| Length | 405 ft (123.4 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 41 ft 6 in (12.6 m) |
| Draught | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Installed power | list error: <br /> list (help) 18,000 shp (13,000 kW) 12 × Yarrow boilers |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 4 × shafts 2 × Parsons steam turbine sets |
| Speed | 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
| Range | 4,260 nautical miles (7,890 km; 4,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 317 |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 6 × single BL 4-inch (102 mm) guns 4 × single QF 3-pounder (47 mm (1.9 in)) guns 2 × single 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
| Armour | list error: mixed text and list (help)
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The Boadicea-class cruiser was a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. They were the first class of the types to be fitted with steam turbine machinery.
Design
Like the earlier scout cruisers, the Boadicea class was designed to provide destroyer flotillas with a command ship, theoretically offering the ability to scout ahead of the group and locate targets for the smaller ships to attack. They were enlarged and more powerfully armed versions of the earlier ships, fitted with steam turbines. Curiously, they were no faster than the older ships and equally unsuccessful in their intended role as they lacked the speed of the destroyers they were supposed to escort.[1]
Displacing 3,350 long tons (3,400 t), the ships had an overall length of 405 feet (123.4 m), a beam of 41 feet 6 inches (12.6 m) and a deep draught of 14 feet (4.3 m). They were powered by two sets of Parsons steam turbines, each driving two shafts. The turbines produced a total of 18,000 indicated horsepower (13,000 kW), using steam produced by 12 Yarrow boilers that burned both fuel oil and coal, and gave a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph). They carried a maximum of 780 long tons (790 t) of coal and 189 long tons (192 t) of fuel oil that gave them a range of 4,260 nautical miles (7,890 km; 4,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2] Her crew consisted of 317 officers and enlisted men.[3]
The main armament of the Boadicea class consisted of six breech-loading (BL) four-inch Mk VII guns. The forward pair of guns were mounted side by side on a platform on the forecastle, the middle pair were amidships, one on each broadside, and the two remaining guns were on the centreline of the quarterdeck, one ahead of the other.[3] The guns fired their 31-pound (14 kg) shells to a range of about 11,400 yards (10,400 m).[4] Her secondary armament was four quick-firing (QF) three-pounder (47 mm (1.9 in)) Vickers Mk I guns and two submerged 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. During the war, four additional four-inch guns were added amidships to increase her firepower. A QF three-inch 20 cwt[Note 1] anti-aircraft gun was also added. In 1918 it was replaced by a four-inch gun.[3]
As scout cruisers, the ships were only lightly protected to maximize their speed. They had a curved protective deck that was one inch (25 mm) thick on the slope and .5 inches (13 mm) on the flat.[2] Their conning tower was protected by four inches of armour.[3]
Ships
- Bellona - launched on 20 March 1909, converted to minelayer in June 1917 and sold on 9 May 1921.
- Boadicea - launched on 14 May 1908, converted to minelayer in December 1917, on harbour service from January 1921, and sold on 13 July 1926.
Service
Bellona led the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla from 1909 to 1912, while Boadicea led the 1st Destroyer Flotilla during the same time. Both ships served during the First World War, fighting in the Battle of Jutland. Both were later converted to minelayers.[3]
Notes
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Footnotes
Bibliography
- Corbett, Julian. Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol. I (2nd, reprint of the 1938 ed.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-256-X.
- Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
- 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. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
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External links
