Eclipse Class Cruiser (1894)
The nine Second-Class Cruisers of the Eclipse Class (sometimes referred to as the Talbot class) were completed for the Royal Navy between 1896 and 1898.
| Overview of 9 vessels | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citations for this data available on individual ship pages | |||||
| Name | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
| Diana | Fairfield | 13 Aug, 1894 | 5 Dec, 1895 | 15 Jun, 1897 | Sold 1 Jul, 1920 |
| Dido | London & Glasgow | 30 Aug, 1894 | 20 Mar, 1896 | 10 May, 1898 | Sold 16 Dec, 1926 |
| Doris | Vickers | 29 Aug, 1894 | 3 Mar, 1896 | 18 Nov, 1897 | Sold 20 Feb, 1919 |
| Eclipse | Portsmouth Royal Dockyard | 11 Dec, 1893 | 19 Jul, 1894 | 23 Mar, 1897 | Sold Aug, 1921 |
| Isis | London & Glasgow | 30 Jan, 1895 | 27 Jun, 1896 | 10 May, 1898 | Sold 26 Feb, 1920 |
| Juno | Vickers | 22 Jun, 1894 | 16 Nov, 1895 | 16 Jun, 1897 | Sold 24 Sep, 1920 |
| Minerva | Chatham Royal Dockyard | 4 Dec, 1893 | 23 Sep, 1895 | 4 Feb, 1897 | Sold 5 Oct, 1920 |
| Talbot | Devonport Royal Dockyard | 5 Mar, 1894 | 25 Apr, 1895 | 15 Sep, 1896 | Sold 6 Dec, 1921 |
| Venus | Fairfield | 28 Jun, 1894 | 5 Sep, 1895 | 9 Nov, 1897 | Sold 22 Sep, 1921 |
Contents
Binoculars
In September 1914, the ships were allowed four additional pairs of Pattern 343 Service Binoculars.[1]
Armament
Main Battery
Originally, all ships carried a mixed main battery:[2]
- Five 6-in P.II Mountings for Q.F. Mark II Guns
- Six 4.7-in P.IV Mountings for Q.F. Mark IV Guns
With the exception of Eclipse all were re-armed with a single gun main battery (for dates see individual ships):
- Eleven 6-in P.III U.D. Mountings for B.L. Mark VII Guns
Torpedoes
Originally, there were three tubes:[3][4]
- two submerged tubes with three torpedoes each and one (shared between them) for exercise, depressed 3 degrees and bearing abeam; axis of tube was 6 feet below load water line and 10 inches above the deck.
- one stern tube with two torpedoes and one for exercise
All torpedoes would be stored at the submerged tubes except a single one stored at the stern tube.
In Talbot's trials, she was able to fire from submerged tubes with no deflection while running full speed. Her stern tube appears to have been above-water by design but was firing reliably even when full of water at speed, unlike the Apollo class which found this problematic the same year.[5]
By 1909, the stern tube had been removed.[6]
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Admiralty Weekly Order No. 331 of 8 Sep, 1914.
- ↑ Quarterly Appropriation List of Gun Mountings for B.L., Q.F, and Machine Guns, August 1914. The National Archives. ADM 186/195p.29.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1894. pp. 72-73.
- ↑ Torpedo Manual, Vol. III, 1909. p. 265.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1896. pp. 36, 37, 41.
- ↑ Torpedo Manual, Vol. III, 1909. p. 265.
Bibliography
- Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan.
| Eclipse Class Second Class Protected Cruiser | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diana | Dido | Doris | Eclipse | Isis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Juno | Minerva | Talbot | Venus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <– | Astræa Class | Minor Cruisers (UK) | Arrogant Class | –> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
