Devonshire-class cruiser (1903)

Devonshire-class cruiser (1903)
HMS Antrim
Class overview
Name:	Devonshire
Preceded by:	Monmouth class
Succeeded by:	Duke of Edinburgh class
Completed:	6
General characteristics
Type:	first class armoured cruiser
Displacement:	10,850 tons
Length:	450 ft (137.2 m)
Beam:	68 ft 6 in (20.88 m)
Draught:	24 ft (7.3 m)
Installed power:	21,000 shp (15,660 kW)
Propulsion:	2 shafts
Speed:	22 knots (41km/h)
Complement:	655
Armament:	4 x 7.5"BL Mk I guns 6 x 6.0"BL Mk VII guns 18 x QF 3 pounder guns 2 x 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	6 in (152 mm)belt 6 in (152 mm) barbette 5 in (127 mm) turret

The Devonshire class was a class of six armoured cruisers of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1903–1904 at a cost of around £850,000 each.

The ships were designed for commerce protection, and the design was similar to the Monmouth class except that the twin 6 inch (152 mm) turrets and the forward double casemates were replaced by four 7.5 inch (190 mm) single turrets in a diamond arrangement. The 7.5 inch gun was introduced because the all – 6 inch gun armament of the Monmouth class was no longer adequate to deal with the latest likely commerce raiding threats.

All ships of the class served in World War I. Argyll was wrecked, and Hampshire was sunk by a naval mine. The four survivors were disposed of soon after the end of the war.

Ships

• Antrim, launched on 8 October 1903, sold for breaking up on 19 December 1922.
• Argyll, launched on 3 March 1904, wrecked on 28 October 1915.
• Carnarvon, launched on 7 October 1903, sold for breaking up on 8 November 1921.
• Devonshire, launched on 30 April 1904, sold for breaking up on 9 May 1921.
• Hampshire, launched on 4 September 1903, sunk by a naval mine on 5 June 1916.
• Roxburgh, launched on 19 January 1904, sold on 8 November 1921.

Building Programme

The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Devonshire class. Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores. The 1905 edition costs were compiled before the ships were complete.

Ship	Builder	Engine Maker	Date of			Cost according to
			Laid Down	Launch	Completion	(BNA 1905)	(BNA 1906)
Devonshire	Chatham Dockyard	Thames Ironworks	25 Mar 1902	30 Apr 1904	24 Aug 1905	£900,792 ***	£818,167
Antrim	John Brown, Clydebank	John Brown	27 Aug 1902	8 Oct 1903	23 Jun 1905	£899,050 ***	£873,625
Argyll	Scott, Greenock	Greenock Foundry	1 Sep 1902	3 Mar 1904	December 1905	£912,588 ***	£873,598
Carnarvon	Beardmore	Humphrys	1 Oct 1902	17 Oct 1903	29 May 1905	£899,465 ***	£858,130
Hampshire	Armstrong, Elswick	Hawthorn	1 Sep 1901	24 Sep 1903	15 Jul 1905	£872,327 ***	£833,817
Roxburgh	London & Glasgow Shipping Company	London & Glasgow Shipping Company	13 Jun 1902	9 Jan 1904	5 Sep 1905	£866,199 ***	£829,327

*** = cost published by Brassey before the ship was complete. i.e. The total cost may have been more than this.

References

• Brassey, T.A. (ed)The Naval Annual 1905
• Chesnau, Roger and Kolesnik, Eugene (Ed.) Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860–1905. Conway Maritime Press, 1979. ISBN 0-83170-302-4
• 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, 1919.
• Leyland, J. and Brassey, T.A. (ed)The Naval Annual 1906

External links

• The Dreadnought Project Technical details of the ships.