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Astraea Class. Enlarged and improved Apollo class. The extra displacement was primarily used to improve sea keeping by increasing freeboard amidships. Once again the design was criticised for having a week armament despite it being increased by two 4.7 inch guns and slightly better sighted. |
HMS Astraea
Built Devonport Dockyard, laid down August 1890, completed November 1895.
HMS Bonaventure
Built Devonport Dockyard, laid down December 1890, completed July 1894.
HMS Cambrian
Built Pembroke Dockyard, laid down 1890, completed 1894.
HMS Charybdis
Built Sheerness Dockyard, laid down 1891, completed January 1896.
HMS Flora
Built Pembroke Dockyard, laid down 1891, completed 1895.
HMS Forte
Built Chatham Dockyard, laid down September 1891, completed November 1895.
HMS Fox
Built Portsmouth Dockyard, laid down 1891, completed April 1896.
HMS Hermione
Built Devonport Dockyard, laid down December 1891, completed January 1896.
Size:
Length 320 feet pp 339 feet 6 inches overall, beam 49 feet 6 inches, draught 19 feet, displacement 4,360 tons load.
Propulsion:
2 shaft TE engines, 7,500 ihp, 18kts
Armour:
6in gun shields, 2in decks
Armament:
2 x 6in QF (2 x 1), 8 x 4.7in (8 x 1), 10 x 6 pounder QF (10 x 1), 1 x 3 pounder, 4 x 18in TT
Comments:
All ships were sheathed for overseas service. Crew 318.
World War 1 Service:
Astraea
Cape Station.
Involved in the blockade of SMS Konigsberg.
1920 Sold for scrap.
Bonaventure
Submarine depot ship.
1920 Sold for scrap.
Cambrian
Stokers training ship at Devonport.
1916 Renamed Vivid.
1923 Sold for scrap.
Charybdis
Flagship 12 Cruiser Squadron Western Channel.
1 September 1915 Damaged in collision and then laid up.
1922 Sold for scrap.
Flora
Workshop at Devonport.
1915 Renamed Indus II
1922 Sold.
Forte
1914 Sold for scrap.
Fox
East Indies.
August 1914 Captured two German merchant ships off Colombo.
Involved in the blockade of SMS Konigsberg.
1915 East Africa and Egypt.
1917 Red Sea.
1920 Sold for scrap.
Hermione
Depot ship Southampton.
1921 Sold for scrap but then became training ship.
1940 Scrapped.
| HMS Fox, one of two of the class to still be active as cruisers by the end of World War 1, the rest having been reduced to auxiliary use. Fox was involved in the blockade of SMS Königsberg and on Christmas day 1914 sent the German cruiser the message "Kony, we wish you the best of good cheer, but blame you for stopping our Xmas beer." - clearly the crew contained many talented poets. |
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