The ''Cressy''-class cruiser was a class of six
armoured cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...
s built for the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
around 1900. Their design's incorporation of a pair of 9.2-inch guns and armoured sides served to address criticism directed against the previous — advances made possible by their 1,000 ton increase in displacement over their predecessors. The ships were notably stable, except for a susceptibility to
pitching.
Service
Until 1908, the ships served in
Home waters, the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
and the
Far East
The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
. On the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
''Cressy'', ''Aboukir'', ''Hogue'', ''Bacchante'' and ''Euryalus'' formed the Seventh Cruiser Squadron. Due to the obsolescence of the ships and because they were crewed by
inexperienced reservists the squadron was known as the "
Live Bait Squadron
The 7th Cruiser Squadron (also known as Cruiser Force C) was a blockading force of the Royal Navy during the First World War used to close the English Channel to German traffic. It was employed patrolling an area of the North Sea known as the ...
". This epithet proved prophetic when ''Cressy'', ''Hogue'' and ''Aboukir'' were sunk in a
single action on 22 September 1914 by the German submarine
''U-9'' near the Dutch coast. After the first cruiser had been hit, the following cruisers both came to a dead halt to pick up survivors, making themselves easy targets for torpedoes.
Ships
*
HMS ''Cressy'': launched 4 December 1899, torpedoed and sunk 22 September 1914
*
HMS ''Sutlej'': launched 18 November 1899, scrapped 9 May 1921
*
HMS ''Aboukir'': launched 16 May 1900, torpedoed and sunk 22 September 1914
*
HMS ''Hogue'': launched 13 August 1900, torpedoed and sunk 22 September 1914
*
HMS ''Bacchante'': launched 21 February 1901, scrapped 1 July 1920
*
HMS ''Euryalus'': launched 20 May 1901, scrapped 1 July 1920
Building Programme
The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the ''Cressy'' class. Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores. The compilers of
The Naval Annual revised costs quoted for British ships between the 1905 and 1906 editions.
Image gallery
File:Cressy class diagrams Brasseys 1906.jpg,
File:BL 9.2 inch gun turret Cressy class Right Elevation.jpg, Right elevation of 9.2 inch gun turret
File:BL 9.2 inch gun turret Cressy class Rear Elevation.jpg, Rear elevation of 9.2 inch gun turret
Notes
1. The ''Cressy'', ''Hogue'' and ''Aboukir'' were all sunk in under an hour by the German submarine SM U-9.
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
Brassey, T.A. (ed)
The Naval Annual 1904
*
*
*
*
* Leyland, J. and
Brassey, T.A. (ed)
The Naval Annual 1906
*
*
External links
Loss of HMS ''Aboukir'', ''Cressy'' and ''Hogue''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cressy Class Cruiser
Cruiser classes
Ship classes of the Royal Navy