Adventure-class cruiser

Class overview
HMS Adventure in dazzle camouflage during the First World War
Name:	Adventure class
Builders:	Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	None
Succeeded by:	Forward class
Built:	1904–05
In commission:	1905–19
Completed:	2
Scrapped:	2
General characteristics (as built)
Type:	Scout cruiser
Displacement:	2,670 long tons (2,713 t)
Length:	374 ft (114.0 m) (p/p)
Beam:	38 ft 3 in (11.7 m)
Draught:	12 ft 5 in (3.8 m)
Installed power:	16,000 ihp (12,000 kW) 12 Yarrow boilers
Propulsion:	2 Shafts, 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Complement:	289
Armament:	10 × QF 12-pounder (76 mm) 12 cwt guns^{[Note 1]} 8 × QF 3-pounder (47 mm) guns 2 × 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Deck: 0.75–2 in (19.1–50.8 mm) Conning tower: 3 in (76 mm)

The Adventure-class cruiser was a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. They served in the First World War and consisted of the ships HMS Adventure and HMS Attentive.

Background and design

In 1901–02, the Admiralty developed scout cruisers to work with destroyer flotillas, leading their torpedo attacks and backing them up when attacked by other destroyers. In May 1902, it requested tenders for a design that was capable of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), a protective deck, a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) and an armament of six quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 18 cwt guns, eight QF 3-pounder (47 mm) guns and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. It accepted four of the submissions and ordered one ship from each builder in the 1902–03 Naval Programme and a repeat in the following year's programme.^[1]

The two ships from Armstrong Whitworth became the Adventure class; the name for the lead ship was originally intended to be named Eddystone, but the name was altered prior to construction. Four more 12-pounders were added to the specification in August. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of 374 feet (114.0 m), a beam of 38 feet 3 inches (11.7 m) and a draught of 12 feet 5 inches (3.8 m). They displaced 2,670 long tons (2,713 t) at normal load and 2,893 long tons (2,939 t) at deep load. Their crew consisted of 289 officers and other ranks.^[2]

The ships were powered by a pair of three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by a dozen Yarrow boilers. They were the only one of the four pairs of scout cruisers of this group to have four funnels and a clipper-style bow. The engines were designed to produce a total of 16,000 indicated horsepower (12,000 kW) which was intended to give a maximum speed of 25 knots.^[3] The scout cruisers soon proved too slow for this role as newer destroyers outpaced them. The Adventure-class ships carried a maximum of 454 long tons (461 t) of coal.^[4]

The main armament of the Adventure class consisted of ten quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 18-cwt guns.^[5] Three guns were mounted abreast on the forecastle and the quarterdeck, with the remaining four guns positioned port and starboard amidships. They also carried eight 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.^[3] The ships' protective deck armour ranged in thickness from .75 to 2 inches (19 to 51 mm) and the conning tower had armour 3 inches (76 mm) inches thick.^[3]

Ships

HMS Adventure - launched on 8 September 1904, sold for scrap, 3 March 1920.
HMS Attentive - launched on 24 November 1904, sold for scrap, 12 April 1920.

Construction and service

The two ships were laid down in 1904 by Armstrong Whitworth at their Elswick, Tyne and Wear shipyard. Not long after completion, two additional 12-pounder guns were added and the 3-pounder guns were replaced with six QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns. In 1911–12,^[3] they were rearmed with nine QF 4-inch (100 mm) Mk IV guns.^[6] After the war, the remaining scout cruisers, including the two Adventures, were paid off and sold for scrap in 1920.^[3]

Notes

↑ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Footnotes

↑ Friedman 2009, pp. 99–101
↑ Friedman 2009, pp. 100, 294, 301
1 2 3 4 5 Chesneau & Kolesnik, pp. 84–85
↑ Friedman 2009, pp. 101, 294
↑ Friedman 2011, p. 112
↑ Friedman 2011, p. 102

Bibliography

Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
Corbett, Julian. Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents 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.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adventure class cruiser.

British naval ship classes of the First World War

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

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

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

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