Drake-class cruiser
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The Drake class was a four-ship class of armoured cruisers built around 1900 for the Royal Navy.
Design and description
The Drake class were enlarged and improved versions of the Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". designed by Sir William White, Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy, to counter the new French armoured cruiser Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"..[1] The ships had an overall length of Script error: No such module "convert"., a beam of Script error: No such module "convert". and a deep draught of Script error: No such module "convert".. They displaced Script error: No such module "convert". and proved to be good seaboats in service.[2] Their crew consisted of 900 officers and other ranks.[3]
The ships were powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by 43 Belleville boilers. The engines produced a total of Script error: No such module "convert". and the Drakes easily reached their designed speed of Script error: No such module "convert"..[2] They carried a maximum of Script error: No such module "convert". of coal.[3]
The main armament of the Drake-class ships consisted of two breech-loading (BL) Script error: No such module "convert". Mk X guns in single gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure.[3] They fired Script error: No such module "convert". shells to a range of Script error: No such module "convert"..[4] The ships' secondary armament of sixteen BL 6-inch Mk VII guns was arranged in casemates amidships. Eight of these were mounted on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather.[5] They had a maximum range of approximately Script error: No such module "convert". with their Script error: No such module "convert". shells.[6] A dozen quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 12 cwt guns were fitted for defence against torpedo boats. Two additional 12-pounder 8 cwt guns could be dismounted for service ashore.[7] The ships also carried three 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged Script error: No such module "convert". torpedo tubes.[2]
The ship's waterline armour belt had a maximum thickness of Script error: No such module "convert". and was closed off by Script error: No such module "convert". transverse bulkheads. The armour of the gun turrets and their barbettes was 6 inches thick while the casemate armour was 5 inches thick. The protective deck armour ranged in thickness from Script error: No such module "convert". and the conning tower was protected by Script error: No such module "convert". of armour.[2]
Ships
The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Drake class. Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores. The compilers of The Naval Annual revised costs quoted for British ships between the 1905 and 1906 editions. The reasons for the differences are unclear.
| Ship | Builder | Date of | Cost according to | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laid down | Launch | Completion | (BNA 1905)[8] | (BNA 1906)[9] | ||
| Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". | HM Dockyard, Pembroke | 24 Apr 1899 | 5 Mar 1901 | 13 Jan 1902 | £1,050,625 | £1,002,977 |
| Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". (ex-Africa) |
Fairfield Shipping and Engineering, Govan | 11 Sep 1899 | 21 Feb 1901 | 8 Nov 1902 | £1,023,629 | £990,759 |
| Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". | Vickers, Sons & Maxim, Barrow-in-Furness | 11 Aug 1899 | 28 Oct 1901 | 22 Dec 1903 | £1,013,772 | £978,125 |
| Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". | John Brown, Clydebank | 30 Nov 1899 | 3 Jul 1901 | 16 Jun 1903 | £1,043,097 | £1,012,959 |
Service history
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The ships served in the First World War with only two surviving it. Good Hope was sunk at the Battle of Coronel in 1914 and Drake was torpedoed in 1917. Drake was also used to ferry Russian bullion (gold) in October 1914 from Arkhangelsk. The gold (equivalent of $39 million) was security for western loans. The transfer took place at high seas, 30 miles off the coast in the dead of night.[10]
Notes
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Footnotes
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- ↑ Friedman 2012, pp. 243–52
- ↑ a b c d Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 69
- ↑ a b c Friedman 2012, p. 336
- ↑ Friedman 2011, pp. 71–72
- ↑ Friedman 2012, pp. 243, 260–61
- ↑ Friedman 2011, pp. 80–81
- ↑ Friedman 2012, pp. 250, 336
- ↑ Brassey's Naval Annual 1905, pp. 234–243
- ↑ Brassey's Naval Annual 1906, pp. 208–215
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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Bibliography
- Brassey, T.A. (ed) The Naval Annual 1905
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- Leyland, J. and Brassey, T.A. (ed.) The Naval Annual 1906[1]
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External links
- The Dreadnought Project Technical details of the ships.
Script error: No such module "Military navigation". Template:WWI British ships