Emerald Class Cruiser (1920)
The two light cruisers of the Emerald Class were completed in 1926. A third vessel, Euphrates, was not completed.
| Overview of 2 vessels | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citations for this data available on individual ship pages | |||||
| Name | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
| Emerald | Armstrong, Whitworth & Company | 23 Sep, 1918 | 19 May, 1920 | Jan, 1926 | Sold Jun, 1948 |
| Enterprise | John Brown & Company | 28 Jun, 1918 | 23 Dec, 1919 | Apr, 1926 | Sold Apr, 1946 |
Armament
Guns
Seven 6-in guns, 5 on the centre-line and a tandem pair of single mounts forward, had a maximum elevation of 30 degrees.[1][2]
Torpedoes
Fire Control
Range Dials
As of 1920, both ships had a Range Dial Type C with a 10 foot dial.[3]
Rangefinders
In 1918, it was thought that the ships would carry three 12-foot rangefinders and a 15-foot instrument, the latter with a hand-following mechanism to transmit ranges. The arrangement of this equipment was not then known, but it was likely to resemble the "Cardiff class".[4]
By 1921, the ships were equipped as follows:[5]
- Fore bridge, port and starboard: two 12ft F.Q. 2 on M.Q. 12 mountings
- Spotting top: 12ft F.Q. 2 on M.Q. 1
- After control platform: 15ft F.Q. 10 on M.Q. 11
- High Angle: 2m F.T. 29 on M.T. 10
Mechanical Aid-to-Spotter
By 1920, both ships were likely equipped with four Mechanical Aid-to-Spotter Mark II*s with Evershed Bearing Transmitters.[6] The installations generally consisted of placing one on each side of the foretop, driven by flexible shafting from a gearbox on the director tower.[7]
Supplies of these devices began in June 1918.[8]
Evershed Bearing Indicators
These ships almost certainly had Evershed gear for gun control from delivery, and would also feature Evershed installations for searchlight control after orders for such installations from February 1917.[9]
Gunnery Control
Control Positions
Control Groups
Directors
All ships were completed with gunnery directors in place.[10]
The director was likely on a pedestal mounting in a tower on the foremast. "X" or 'Y' may have served as a directing gun in addition.[11]
Transmitting Stations
Dreyer Table
In 1930, they are noted as possessing a Dreyer Table Mark III*,[12] presumably installed upon completion.
Fire Control Instruments
Torpedo Control
In 1919, it was decided to reserve a Renouf Torpedo Tactical Instrument Type A for each ship in this class.[13] A year later, the two vessels were also named as being destined to receive this equipment.[14]
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Progress in Naval Gunnery, 1914-1918", p. 10.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 64.
- ↑ Manual of Gunnery (Volume III) for His Majesty's Fleet, 1920. p. 45.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1918. p. 179 (A.L.G. 4657/18).
- ↑ Handbook for Naval Range-Finders and Mountings, Book I. p. 170.
- ↑ Manual of Gunnery (Volume III) for His Majesty's Fleet, 1920. p. 35.
- ↑ Manual of Gunnery (Volume III) for His Majesty's Fleet, 1920. p. 35, 37.
- ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. pp. 25-6.
- ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. p. 29.
- ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. p. 11.
- ↑ Handbook of Captain F. C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, 1918. p. 142 and plate opposite.
I am inferring that the pattern of installation prevalent on the larger light cruisers would be adopted. - ↑ Pamphlet on the Mark III* Dreyer Table. p. 1.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1919. p. 119.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1920. pp. 90-1.
Bibliography
- 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 (1910). Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909. Copy No. 173 is Ja 345a at Admiralty Library, Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
- 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.
- Admiralty, Technical History Section (1919). The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in H.M. Ships. Vol. 3, Part 23. C.B. 1515 (23) now O.U. 6171/14. At The National Archives. ADM 275/19.
- Admiralty, Gunnery and Torpedo Division (July, 1919). Progress in Naval Gunnery, 1914-1918. C.B. 902. The National Archives. ADM 186/238.
| Emerald Class Light Cruiser | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Emerald | Enterprise | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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