Edgar Class Cruiser (1890)

The nine protected cruisers of the Edgar Class were completed between 1893 and 1896. They were occasionally referred to as the Crescent Class.

Overview of 9 vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Crescent	Portsmouth Royal Dockyard	13 Oct, 1890	30 Mar, 1892	22 Feb, 1894	Sold 22 Sep, 1921
Edgar	Devonport Royal Dockyard	3 Jun, 1889	24 Nov, 1890	2 Mar, 1893	Sold 9 May, 1921
Endymion	Earle's Shipbuilding, Hull	21 Nov, 1889	22 Jul, 1891	26 May, 1894	Sold 16 Mar, 1920
Gibraltar	Robert Napier & Sons, Glasgow	2 Dec, 1889	27 Apr, 1892	1 Nov, 1894	Sold Sep, 1923
Grafton	Thames Ironworks, Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Blackwall	1 Jan, 1890	30 Jan, 1892	18 Oct, 1894	Sold 1 Jul, 1920
Hawke	Chatham Royal Dockyard	17 Jun, 1889	11 Mar, 1891	16 May, 1893	Torpedoed 15 Oct, 1914
Royal Arthur	Portsmouth Royal Dockyard	20 Jan, 1890	26 Feb, 1891	2 Mar, 1893	Sold 22 Sep, 1921
St. George	Earle's Shipbuilding, Hull	23 Apr, 1890	23 Jun, 1892	25 Oct, 1894	Sold 1 Jul, 1920
Theseus	Thames Ironworks, Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Blackwall	16 Jul, 1890	8 Sep, 1892	14 Jan, 1896	Sold 1921

Service

At the start of the war, the entire class seemed to embody the Tenth Cruiser Squadron, operating as the Northern Patrol as part of Third Fleet.^[1]

Construction

Edgar, Hawke, Theseus, Grafton and Endymion were unsheathed. The others were sheathed. Royal Arthur and Crescent featured a forecastle absent on the other vessels.^[2]

Armament

Guns

two 9.2-in Mark VI guns
ten Q.F. 6-in guns
twelve Q.F. 6-pdr guns

In late 1903, there was a lively consideration of altering the armament of the cruisers of the Blake and Edgar classes, sparked by unfavourable comparisons to French cruisers. All ships were to have the four 6-in guns on the main deck removed and have the six on the upper deck replaced by Mark VII weapons in 6-inch casemate armour with 0.5-inch tops. Royal Arthur and Crescent were to further replace their 9.2-in guns with Mark X weapons, mounted as in Cressy, and to replace the two 6-in Q.F. guns on the forecastle with 6-in Mark VII guns. However, on Christmas Eve, it was decided that no action was to be taken.^[3]

Other Weapons

Prior to reductions in such provisions enacted in mid-1903, the ships had been allowed 166 cutlasses.^[4]

Torpedoes

two 14-in Mark V D₂ overhead tubes, unprotected, trainable from 10 degrees abaft to 70 degrees ahead of the beam.^[5]

Wikipedia claims these ships had four tubes. This may be because they also had 18-in tubes, as outlined in a 1909 primary source:^[6]^[Inference]

two 18-in submerged tubes on broadside forward, depressed three degrees and bearing abeam; axis of tube was 6 foot 6 inches below load water line and 1 feet 6 inches above deck.

Dreyer Table

These ships had no fire control tables.^[7]

Radio

By the end of 1901 or soon after,^[8]

Edgar and Hawke in reserve were fitted to receive a W/T set
Gibraltar at the Cape was fitted to receive a W/T set
Theseus had a Jackson set in the Mediterranean
Endymion had a Jackson set with the China Squadron
St. George had a Marconi in the Cruiser Squadron

Alterations

In October 1914, the eight remaining ships were each to be given seven Pattern 1582 Electric Radiators to warm cabins whose stoves could not be used for heating them.^[9]

Footnotes

↑ See Tenth Cruiser Squadron for details.
↑ Principal Questions Dealt with by the Director of Naval Ordnance, 1904. p. 209.
↑ Principal Questions Dealt with by the Director of Naval Ordnance, 1904. pp. 206-211.
↑ Principal Questions Dealt with by the Director of Naval Ordnance, 1904. pp. 249-253.
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1891. p. 39.
↑ Torpedo Manual, Vol. III, 1909. p. 265.
↑ Handbook of Captain F. C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, 1918. p. 3.
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1901. pp. 111-112.
↑ Admiralty Weekly Order No. 512 of 16 Oct, 1914.

Bibliography

Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1914). Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914. G. 01627/14. C.B. 1030. Copy 1235 at The National Archives. ADM 186/191.
Brooks, John (2005). Dreadnought Gunnery and the Battle of Jutland: The Question of Fire Control. Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 0714657026. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1917). The Director Firing Handbook. O.U. 6125 (late C.B. 1259). Copy No. 322 at The National Archives. ADM 186/227.
Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1918). Handbook of Captain F. C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, 1918. C.B. 1456. Copy No. 10 at Admiralty Library, Portsmouth, United Kingdom.