Like their US and Japanese counterparts of that era, the Town-class cruisers were "light cruisers" in the strict terms of the Treaty. They had no secondary armament but did have AA weaponry that consisted of four 3 pounder guns. The Birmingham class were all ordered under the 1912 Programme and was commissioned in 1914. They had a rather low freeboard which was rectified in the subsequent Weymouth-class. Their AA armament was further increased during the First World War, with the addition of four 3 in guns. The Town class of 1910 were rated as second-class protected cruisers, but were effectively light armoured cruisers with mixed coal and oil firing. Check out my Modern and WW2 Armour section too! There was in effect a projected 16-18,000 tonnes standard design in 1939 calling for three triple turrets with 8-in guns like American cruisers, but it never materialized. Further improvement to the Birmingham class resulted in five ships of the Hawkins class. She had one of her funnels removed in the late 1930s. [3] They were 453 feet (138.1 m) long overall, with a beam of 47 feet (14.3 m) and a draught of 15 feet 6 inches (4.7 m). In the mid-1930s, the Arethusa-class cruiser was the Royal Navy's latest light cruiser design, with the intention that it number six vessels. [14], Armour remained unchanged from the Bristols,[5] while the main gun armament was changed to eight BL 6 inch Mk XI guns. Torpedoed three times by German submarine. [18], The 1911–1912 Programme brought the Birmingham class. HMS Chester, showing damage sustained at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916. The #1 Source for Custom Made Truck and Car Seat Covers Designed for Comfort and Protection Since 1983. They were 453 feet (138 m) long and had a full load displacement of 5,300 tons. Ten BL 5.5 inch (140 mm) Mk I (50 calibre) guns British naval ship classes of the First World War, Further developments: Atlantic cruisers and, Sources differ as to the layout of the machinery. Deck armour was reduced in order to allow the introduction of belt armour, and they had eight 6 in guns in single mountings with shields. [12] Machinery layout was again similar to the earlier Towns, with one ship, Southampton, having a two-shaft layout. The solution was to mount two guns side-by side on the forecastle, forward of the bridge, giving a total armament of nine BL 6 inch Mk XII guns. Their main armament was relatively light, with j… Machinery was similar to the Bristol class, with again a single example (Yarmouth) having the Brown-Curtis turbines and two-shaft arrangement used in Bristol, while the remaining three ships had the four-shaft, Yarrow turbine machinery. [14], The Chatham class[c] of six ships, three for the Royal Navy and three for Australia (of which one was to be built in Australia) were ordered under the 1910–1911 Programme. [3], The Weymouth class[b] were ordered under the 1909–1910 Programme and commissioned between 1911 and 1912. Sold for scrap 8 November 1921. They were also the first cruisers to be fitted with an aircraft, the Sopwith Pup, though the aircraft could only launch from the ship and not land on it and the pilot would have to ditch into the sea if it was not possible to reach land. The remaining waist guns were protected by a bulwark to make them more weather resistant. Three ships were ordered for the Royal Navy, commissioning in 1914. In 1915, HMS Glasgow found SMS Dresden which had escaped from the engagement at the Falkland Islands the previous year, in which Glasgow had helped in sinking SMS Leipzig. She spent more than two years undergoing extensive repairs … When the rumoured German ships proved to be false, the Atlantic cruiser was abandoned. USS California (BB-44) was the second of two Tennessee-class battleships built for the United States Navy between her keel laying in October 1916 and her commissioning in August 1921. Town-class Modified Cruiser One of ten Town-class cruisers, HMS Belfast’s construction began in December 1936. A be-all-end-all Heavy Cruiser of 22,500 tons (Size of a WW1 Battlecruiser) Std Displacement, armed with twelve rifles of the new 9.2 Inch guns. One ship, Bristol, had Brown-Curtis turbines driving two propeller shafts, while the remaining three ships used Parsons turbines driving four shafts. [19] They were closely based on the Chatham class but with a revised armament. The London Treaty defined a "light cruiser" as one having a main armament no greater than 6.1 in (155 mm) calibre, all three major naval powers sought to circumvent the limitations on heavy cruiser numbers by building "light cruisers" that were equal in size and effective power to heavy cruisers. All ships, except Adelaide, were scrapped by the 1930s. [18] The ships' machinery[d] was rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) giving a speed of 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph). Although firing a lighter shell the gun was easier to handle in rough weather and indeed the gun proved so successful[citation needed] that it was introduced properly into the RN, being fitted to a small number of warships, including the battlecruiser HMS Hood. In 1917, a Sopwith Pup from HMS Yarmouth became the first aircraft from a cruiser to shoot down an aircraft, specifically the Zeppelin L23. While faring well against Japanese cruisers in gunnery duels, US cruisers had experienced heavy losses from Japanese de… The Bristol class were all ordered under the 1909 Programme and commissioned in late 1910. Displacement was between 5,185 long tons (5,268 t) and 5,235 long tons (5,319 t) normal, and between 5,795 long tons (5,888 t) and 5,845 long tons (5,939 t) deep load. They were 453 feet (138 m) long and had a full load displacement of 5,300 tons. four QF 3 pounder guns In November 1939, as part of the British naval blockade against Germany, she was severely damaged by a German acoustic mine. Birmingham, Weymouth, Chatham subclasses : The Colony class cruisers however like the following Minotaurs, essentially fit the same armament on a 1,000 ton less displacement and the Colony class and the follow on Swiftsure were very tight designs, built largely in war emergency conditions with little marg… Chatham was briefly part of the New Zealand Naval Forces in 1920, subsequently the New Zealand Division, until it returned to the RN in 1924. [15][12] In 1918, Weymouth also received a similar installation. [7] One problem with the armour of the Bristols which was shared with the other Town-class ships was the sizable gap between the bottom of the gun shields and the deck, which allowed shell splinters to pass through the gap, giving large numbers of leg injuries in the ships' gun crews. [16], While main armament again consisted of eight 6 in guns in single mountings, a new gun, the BL 6 inch Mk XII was used. As was common at the time the guns only had shields to protect them from splinters and so were spaced well apart to reduce the chance of a single hit knocking out several at once. The arrangement of the armament was revised, with three guns (one on the centreline and two on the beam) on an enlarged forecastle that also provided accommodation for the ships' officers. [5] The ships' forecastle was again extended aft, reaching two-thirds of the length of the ship, and allowing two more guns to be raised up onto the forecastle, while the ships' metacentric height was reduced, making the ships better gun platforms. Fittingly, she was launched on St Patrick"s Day 1938 and commissioned in early August 1939. [41] That same year, Sydney attacked SMS Emden in an action that lasted over an hour and resulted in the German warship being beached by her captain to avoid his ship sinking. They were modified versions of the previous sub-class. [3][7] They had two BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XI naval guns mounted on the ships' centreline fore and aft, with ten BL 4-inch Mk VII guns in waist mountings. The HMS Sheffield in game cost the same amount of points and has the same armor, slightly worst main guns (by one dice essentially), but an additional secondary attack, torpedo attack and an AA rating of 7. The Town class cruisers as a whole in game (Belfast, Sheffield) seem much better than the County class rares (Aussie, and Kent.) When the admiralty went back to 10,000 tons cruisers of the “Town” class from 1936, the fad then was to display more guns of smaller caliber (6 inches) instead. Adelaide saw an extensive refit between 1938 and 1939. [17] Officer's accommodation was moved back to the rear of the ships in this class. Overall they were enlarged and improved versions of the Bristol class with a uniform 6-inch gun armament that were mounted in more weather resistant positions. Marlin 4's greatest gift is its versatility. This, however, resulted in the ships rolling badly, making them poor gun platforms. 40. These ships made up for their smaller calibre guns by carrying larger numbers of them. The Southampton class cruiser is a light cruiser. 1 Year Risk Free Warranty. During the course of the war, two ships of the class were sunk: these were HMS Falmouth and HMS Nottingham, both torpedoed by German submarines. The last group of cruisers to be built in time to commission before the war were 8 Southampton class ships, of which the first two, originally named Minotaur and Polyphemus, were included within the 91,000-ton restriction imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930. Displacement was 4,800 long tons (4,900 t) normal and 5,300 long tons (5,400 t) full load. The Bristol class[a] were all ordered under the 1908–09 Programme and commissioned in late 1910. The class saw much service in World War I and many of the ships left their mark on history. [16], The Chatham class were 458 feet (139.6 m) long overall, with a beam of 49 feet (14.9 m) and a draught of 16 feet (4.9 m). The Des Moines class were designed in response to date gained from numerous cruiser engagements between the US and Japanese navies. [18], A 3-inch anti-aircraft gun was fitted in 1915, while Lowestoft and Birmingham were fitted with director control. She was subject to further armament revisions during the Second World War, with more 6- and 4-inch guns removed to accommodate depth charge throwers, and radar being fitted. Corbett 1920, pp. HMS Edinburgh was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, which served during the Second World War.She was one of the last two Town class cruisers, which formed the Edinburgh sub-class.Edinburgh saw a great deal of combat service during the Second World War, especially in the North Sea and the Arctic Sea, where she was sunk by torpedoes in 1942. They displaced 5,440 long tons (5,530 t) normal and 6,040 long tons (6,140 t) deep load (Adelaide displaced 5,550 long tons (5,640 t) normal and 6,160 long tons (6,260 t) deep load). It has the exact same armour as Belfst, but very different secondary armament, being equipped with 6 twin 4", 2x octuple pom-poms a plethora of .50cals and torpdeo tubes. The conning tower was protected by 6 inches (150 mm) of armour, with the gun shields having 3 inches (76 mm) armour, as did the ammunition hoists. This arrangement was unpopular, however, as it was preferred to keep officer's and other ranks accommodation separate for disciplinary reasons, while the Bristol class were very cramped, with only 12.5 square feet (1.16 m2) for each seaman to live eat and sleep. [22], In 1915, as a response to German commerce raiding in the early months of the war, the British Admiralty decided to build a new class of large, fast and heavily armed cruisers for trade protection work. This belt was part of the load bearing structure of the ship, reducing the overall weight of structure required. Why you'll love it Highly detailed model upgrade parts available in the most common scales: (1/35, 1/48, 1/56, 1/72, 1/87 (HO), 1/96, 1/120 (TT), 1/128, 1/144, 1/160 (N), 1/192, 1/200, 1/285 (6mm), ... Town Class Cruisers. The ships of the class saw more service than mentioned above, including action against German merchant ships. A helmet is only legally mandatory for class 3 ebikes in California, as is also true in Tennessee. 5. After the end of World War I, the surviving ships performed a variety of duties, including service on foreign stations. [30] The ships' main armament was kept by the Royal Navy, and proved to be successful in service, with the 5.5 in gun being selected as secondary armament for the battlecruisers HMS Hood and HMS Furious and the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. Broken up in Germany. Exact Fit Guaranteed. These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire. She was broken up in 1949. All ships, except Adelaide, were scrapped by the 1930s. Based on the initial design chosen in November 1933, the estim… The class saw a number of alterations during the war, including the addition of one QF 3 in (76 mm) AA gun. This cannon is mounted in three twin mounts in various positions across the ship (one front and one on either side of the superstructure), proving good all round firing arc… Imagine a Town Class cruiser but over Twice the displacement and Twice the armour thickness both in hull belt and deck.) [5] The ships used both coal and oil for fuel, with 1353 tons of coal and 260 tons of oil carried,[6] giving an endurance of about 5,070 nautical miles (9,390 km; 5,830 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). [14][10], The class saw a number of alterations during the war, including the addition of a single 3 in (76 mm) AA gun in 1915, while the surviving ships were fitted with director control equipment for the ships' guns on a new tripod foremast. York Class Cruisers. They were second class cruisers and designed for a variety of roles including both trade protection and fleet duties. The five British-built ships commissioned between 1912 and 1913, while Brisbane, the Australian-built ship was laid down in 1913 and completed in 1916. Gardiner and Gray. [26][27], The new cruisers were 446 feet (135.9 m) long overall, with a beam of 50 feet (15.2 m) and a draught of 16 feet (4.9 m). [8], Work continued on the two ships for the Greeks after the outbreak of the First World War, but early in 1915,[f] with no sign of an end to the war, the British Admiralty took over the contract for the two ships, which became the Birkenhead class, together with the 5.5-inch guns and ammunition. 102–120, 352–354, 414–436. Displacement was 5,400 long tons (5,500 t) normal and 6,000 long tons (6,100 t) full load. 45. British naval ship classes of the First World War, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XI guns (50 calibre), BL 5.5 inch (140 mm) Mk I (50 calibre) guns, Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, List of major warship classes of the Royal Australian Navy, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Town-class_cruiser_(1910)?oldid=4546634, Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls. Their main armament was relatively light, with just two 6 inch (152 mm) single guns located fore and aft. [16][17] They had larger magazines, giving up to 200 rounds per gun rather than 150 in earlier ships. It covered from 8.25–10.5 feet (2.51–3.20 m) above the waterline to 2.5 feet (0.76 m) below it. [42] Also that year, Birmingham became the first ship to sink a submarine when she rammed the German submarine U-15 on 9 August.[43]. Also that year, Birmingham became the first ship to sink a submarine when she rammed U-15. A series of designs were drawn up for what became known as the "Atlantic cruiser", featuring various combinations of 7.5-inch (190 mm) and 6-inch guns, mixed oil- and coal-fired boilers and speeds of between 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) and 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). A class 3 ebike is the most strictly regulated because it assists up to a higher maximum speed. 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