The ''Eclipse''-class cruisers were a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

of nine second-class

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...

s constructed for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

in the mid-1890s.

Design and description

Eclipse class cruiser diagrams Brasseys 1896

These ships were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding . The ''Eclipse''-class ships were long overall, had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy * Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy ** Laser beam * Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...

of and a draught of . They displaced at normal load. To reduce

biofouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...

, the hulls of the ships were sheathed with wood and copper. Their crew consisted of 450 officers and enlisted men. Their

metacentric height The metacentric height (GM) is a measurement of the initial static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre. A larger metacentric height implies greater initial stab ...

was approximately . The ''Eclipse''-class ships were powered by two inverted triple-expansion steam engines using steam generated by eight cylindrical

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...

s at a pressure of . Using normal draught, the boilers were intended to provide the engines with enough steam to generate and to reach a speed of ; using forced draft, the equivalent figures were and a speed of . During their

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s, all of the lightly loaded ships exceeded their specifications and reached a top speed of . They carried a maximum of of coal. The ships carried five 40-

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore matc ...

quick-firing (QF) guns in single mounts protected by

gun shield A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, ri ...

s. One gun was mounted on the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " b ...

, two on the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on b ...

and one pair was abreast the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. They fired shells at a muzzle velocity of . The secondary armament consisted of six 40-calibre guns; three on each broadside. Their shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of . Defense against

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...

s was provided by eight QF 12-pounder 12 cwt"Cwt" is the abbreviation for

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are distin ...

, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. guns and six three-pounder

Hotchkiss gun The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun; there were also a navy (47 mm) and a 3-inch (76&nbs ...

s. Four of the 12-pounders were mounted in the sides of the hull fore and aft while the remaining four guns were interspersed between the 4.7-inch guns. The three-pounders were mounted in the fighting tops, three in each one.McBride, pp. 137–38 The 12-pounders fired , projectiles at a

muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/ shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximatel ...

of . The ships also equipped with three 18-inch

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed abo ...

s, one submerged tube on each broadside and one above water in the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

. The ammunition supply consisted of 200 six-inch rounds per gun, 250 shells for each 4.7-inch gun, 300 rounds per gun for the 12-pounders and 500 for each three-pounder. Each ship also carried ten torpedoes, presumably four for each broadside tube and two for the stern tube.McBride, p. 139 Between 1903 and 1905, all of the ships in the class except for ''

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

'' had their mixed armament replaced with a more uniform armament of eleven 6-inch, nine 12-pounders and seven 3-pounder guns. The primary protection of the ''Eclipse'' class was its sloping armoured deck. This ranged in thickness from , with its slopes being thick. It covered an area six inches above the waterline to below it. The engines were protected by a six-inch armoured hatch that extended above the armoured deck. The gun shields for the six-inch guns were three inches thick and the conning tower's armour was six inches thick.

Ships

Notes

Footnotes

References

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External links

Eclipse Class Second Class Protected Cruisers on World War 1 Naval Combat
{{WWI British ships Cruiser classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy