Highflyer-class cruiser

The Highflyer-class cruisers were a group of three second-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1890s.

Design and description
The Highflyer-class cruisers were essentially repeats of the previous Eclipse-class cruiser, albeit with a more powerful armament and propulsion machinery. They were designed to displace 5650 LT. The ships had an overall length of 372 ft, a beam of 54 ft and a draught of 21 ft. Their crew consisted of 470 officers and other ranks.

The ships were powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by 18 Belleville boilers, which were lighter and more powerful than the cylindrical boilers used by the Eclipses. The engines were designed to produce a total of 10000 ihp which was intended to give a maximum speed of 20 kn. The ships easily exceeded their designed power and speeds during their sea trials. They carried a maximum of 1125 LT of coal.

The main armament of the Highflyer class consisted of 11 quick-firing (QF) 6 in Mk I guns. One gun was mounted on the forecastle and two others were positioned on the quarterdeck. The remaining eight guns were placed port and starboard amidships. They had a maximum range of approximately 10000 yd with their 100 lb shells. Eight QF 12-pounder 12 cwt guns were fitted for defence against torpedo boats. One additional 12-pounder 8 cwt gun could be dismounted for service ashore. They also carried six 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.

The ships' protective deck armour ranged in thickness from 1.5 to 3 in. The engine hatches were protected by 5 in of armour. The main guns were fitted with 3-inch gun shields and the conning tower had armour 6 inches thick.

Ships

 * HMS Highflyer - launched on 4 June 1898, she served on numerous stations and hunted commerce raiders. She was sold for scrapping 10 June 1921, by then the last Victorian era cruiser in service with the Royal Navy.
 * HMS Hermes - launched on 7 April 1898, she was converted to a seaplane carrier in 1913, and sunk on 31 October 1914 by U 27
 * HMS Hyacinth - launched on 27 October 1898, she served on southern stations in the First World War, and assisted in the blockade of SMS Königsberg. She was sold for scrapping on 11 October 1923.