Forward-class cruiser

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Class overview
HMS Forward
Name:	Forward
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Adventure class
Succeeded by:	Pathfinder class
In commission:	1905 - 1921
Completed:	Two
General characteristics
Type:	scout cruiser
Displacement:	2,860 tons
Length:	365 ft (111.3 m) (p/p), 379 ft (115.5 m) (o/a)
Beam:	39 ft 3 in (11.96 m)
Draught:	14 ft 3 in (4.34 m)
Propulsion:	Two 4-cylinder triple-expansion oil-fired steam engines driving twin screws 16,500 ihp
Speed:	25 knots
Range:	Carried 150 tons coal (500 tons max)
Complement:	298
Armament:	As built 10 x QF 12-pounder (76-mm) guns 8 x QF 3-pounder (47-mm) guns 2 x 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes As modified 1911/12 9 x QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk IV guns 6 x 6-pounder (57-mm) guns 2 x 18-inch torpedo tubes
Armour:	conning tower: 3 in (76 mm) deck: 1⅛ inch - ⅝ inch belt: 2 in (51 mm)

The Forward class was a two ship group of scout cruiser serving with the Royal Navy in World War I; the vessels consisted of HMS Forward and HMS Foresight.

Design

The ships were one of four pairs of scouts ordered to a general specification with the exact design left up to the individual builders. They were built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan at a cost of £289,000 each. The class was originally designated as Nore but this was changed before their construction. Their main disadvantage in action proved to be a lack of range and endurance, having been designed at a time when destroyer operations were planned to take place relatively close to home bases, rather than on long patrols on the open sea. Fairfield's original design was criticised by the Admiralty for lacking structural strength and being unrealistic regarding coal consumption. A complete redesign was undertaken but in practice the problem of their lack of range was never satisfactorily addressed. Not long after completion, two additional 12 pounder guns were added and the 3 pounder guns were replaced with six 6 pounders. In 1911-12 they were reamed with nine 4-inch (102 mm) guns.

They were protected with a 2-inch (51 mm) armour belt, with one inch plating on the decks, in an effort to reduce their weight and increase their speed. The 365-foot (111.3 m) long ships displaced 2,850 tons and produced 15,000 horsepower (11,190 kW) which gave them a best speed of 25 knots (46.3 km/h). Despite this, they were slower than the new destroyers they were planned to lead and were increasingly relegated to other roles. Both ships survived the First World War, but were scrapped shortly after its end.

Ships

HMS Forward - launched on 27 August 1904 and sold for scrap on 27 July 1921.
HMS Foresight - launched on 8 October 1904 and sold for scrap on 3 March 1920.

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References

Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
Forward class in World War I
History of the Forward class

v t e Forward-class cruisers

Foresight Forward

Preceded by: Adventure class Followed by: Pathfinder class List of cruisers of the Royal Navy

v t e British naval ship classes of the First World War

Aircraft/Seaplane carriers	Anne^S Argus^S Ark Royal^S Ben-my-Chree^S Campania^S Empress^S Engadine^S Furious^M Manxman^S Nairana^S Pegasus^S Raven II^S Riviera^S Vindex^S Vindictive^S

Dreadnought battleships	Dreadnought^S Bellerophon St. Vincent Neptune^S Colossus Orion King George V Erin^S Agincourt^S Iron Duke Canada^S Queen Elizabeth Revenge

Pre-dreadnought battleships	Royal Sovereign Majestic Canopus Formidable Duncan King Edward VII Swiftsure Lord Nelson

Battlecruisers	Invincible Indefatigable Lion Queen Mary^S Tiger^S Renown Courageous Admiral^S^C Incomparable^X

Armoured cruisers	Cressy Drake Monmouth Devonshire Duke of Edinburgh Warrior Minotaur

Heavy cruisers	Hawkins

Light cruisers	Town^G Arethusa C^{G, C} Danae^C Emerald^A

Protected cruisers	Apollo Astraea Eclipse Blake Pearl Edgar Powerful Diadem Arrogant Pelorus Highflyer Challenger Topaze

Scout cruisers	Adventure Forward Pathfinder Sentinel Boadicea Blonde Active

Destroyer flotilla leaders	Swift^S Faulknor Marksman Parker Admiralty (or Scott)^C Thornycroft (or Shakespeare)^C

Destroyers	A^G B^G C^G D^G E^G F Cricket^G G H I K L Admiralty M Hawthorn M Thornycroft M Yarrow M Yarrow Later M R^G S^{G, C} Talisman V and W^{G, C}

Monitors	Marshal Ney Abercrombie Lord Clive Humber Gorgon M15 M29 Erebus

Minesweepers	Flower Racecourse Hunt 24^C

Gunboats	Fly Insect

Submarines	A B C D E F G H^C J K L^C M^C R^C Swordfish^S V

S Single ship of class C One or more completed after the war X Cancelled G Grouping of several classes A All completed after the war V Conversions M converted from Courageous class

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