Draft:Scout-class cruiser
British torpedo cruiser ship class (1884–1905)
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The Scout-class cruiser was a class of 2 torpedo cruisers built for the Royal Navy laid down in 1884. Protection was limited to 3/8 in. plating over the machinery spaces, complemented by wing coal bunkers and good internal subdivision. They were rearmed in the 1890s with 4.7 inch quick-firing (QF) guns in place of the 5-inch breach-load rifled (BLR) guns. [1]
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| Submission declined on 24 June 2025 by Theroadislong (talk). This draft's references do not show that the subject meets Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion. The draft requires multiple published secondary sources that:
Declined by Theroadislong 8 months ago.
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 HMS Scout with 20mm guns | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Scout class |
| Builders |
|
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Archer class |
| Built | 1898–1902 |
| In service | 1887–1904 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Lost | 0 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Torpedo cruiser |
| Displacement | 1,580 long tons (1,610 t) (normal) |
| Length | 225 ft (68.6 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 34 ft 3 in (10.4 m) |
| Draught | 14 ft 6 in (4.4 m) (maximum) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × HDAC boilers |
| Speed | 16–17 knots (30–31 km/h; 18–20 mph) |
| Complement | 147 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | 3/8 in. plating over the machine spaces, 10mm steel deck, 25mm plated torpedo ports. |
Britain's first torpedo cruisers, these were an attempt to produce small sea-going vessels of high speed and endurance capable of providing the fleet with defence against torpedo boat attacks and carrying out torpedo attacks on an enemy fleet. They had therefore to be larger than torpedo boats, which were not sufficiently seaworthy, but not so large as to be too expensive to build and operate in reasonable numbers. Unfortunately, they proved to be poor seaboats and were too slow to operate effectively as fleet torpedo craft and they were therefore employed as small cruisers for commerce protection, scouting, and independent duties. They were reclassified third class cruisers a few years after completion.[2] They carried one 127mm BLR gun on each side of the poop and forecastle, abreast the fore- and mizzenmasts, and eight 47mm QFs on the upper deck, two each side amidships and one each side forward and aft. There was a fixed torpedo tube in the bow, above water, another submerged, and a 3rd tube submerged aft. The ships had two boiler rooms, with two boilers in each room, and a single engine room containing two engines fore and aft of each other. On trials, HMS Fearless made 17.27kts with 3302ihp and Scout 17.6kts with 3370ihp. A 10mm steel deck, just below water level, provided splinter protection to the machinery compartments, and 25mm plating was fitted around the torpedo ports, but the main forms of protection were extensive watertight subdivision and the provision of wing coal bunkers abreast the boiler rooms and above the protective deck over the length of the machinery compartments. [3]
Service
HMS Scout served in the Mediterranean from 1887-1903, though with service off Gambia in 1901, and earning a Battle Honor for South Africa, 1900-1901. She was sold in 1904.
HMS Fearless served in the Mediterranean from 1888-1900 for the most part but also earned a Battle Honor for South Africa, 1899-1900.
Following a refit in Sheerness in 1901, Fearless then on to the Far East from 1901-1904. She was sold in 1905.
Ships in Class
| Images | Name | Laid down | Launched | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | HMS Scout | 1 August 1884 | 30 July 1885 | 1887 |
 | HMS Fearless | 22 September 1884 | 20 March 1886 | July 1887 |
Bibliography
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905Chesneau, Roger (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905 (1 ed.). New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 61, 80–81. ISBN 0-831703-02-4.
- Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth NaviesMorris, Douglas (1987). Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies (1 ed.). Liskeard, Cornwall, Great Britain: Maritime Books. pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-907771-35-1.
- Navypedia - "Scout class torpedo cruiser". Navypedia.
