Imperieuse-class cruiser explained

The Imperieuse-class cruiser was a class of two armoured cruisers launched between 1883 and 1884 for the Royal Navy.

Description

In an 1886 magazine article,[1] Sir Edward Reed complained that these ships did not deserve to be called "armoured", as they were not armoured at bow or stern, only along the middle 140feet of each side. This armour belt was additionally only 8feet wide, and as designed would have extended 3inchesft3inchesin (ftin) above the waterline. As completed, the two ships were overweight, with the result that the belt was completely submerged, leaving them armoured in name only.

The layout of the main armament was unusual for the time, having one gun each forward and aft, and another gun mounted on either beam – in a lozenge arrangement similar to that employed by the French. The original secondary battery comprised ten 6-inch (152mm) guns, but the overweight condition of these ships forced the elimination of four of these weapons.

Intended for prolonged deployments on distant foreign stations, the ships were sheathed with wood and copper to prevent marine growth on the hull, and were originally fitted with a brig sailing rig to economize on coal. After trials showed them to be sluggish under sail, the masts and yards were removed and replaced by a single pole mast between the funnels. This reduction in rig and the weight saved thereby allowed the reinstallation of two 6-inch guns, for a total of eight.

Ships

Building Programme

The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Imperieuse class. Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores.[2] In the table:

width=120 rowspan=3 Shipalign = center rowspan=3 Builderalign = center rowspan=3 Maker
of
Engines		Date ofCost according to
Laid DownLaunchCompletionalign = center colspan= 3(BNA 1895)[4] align = center rowspan= 2(BNA 1903)[5] align = center rowspan= 2Parkes[6]
HullMachineryTotal
excluding
armament
Portsmouth DockyardMaudslayalign=right 10 Aug 1881align=right 18 Dec 1883align=right Sep 1886align= right £417,437align= right £113,377align= right £530,814Details of cost
incomplete		align= right £543,758
Chatham DockyardPennalign=right 25 Oct 1881align=right 29 Jan 1884align=right Jun 1888align= right £415,546align= right £113,786align= right £529,332align= right £653,072align= right £538,797

References

Notes and References

  1. Sir Edward Reed, "The British Navy", Harper's Monthly Magazine (European edition), February 1886
  2. Note that the costs quoted in the 1895 edition and the 1903 edition are not the same. There seems to have been a revision of the costs quoted for British warships in The Naval Annual between the 1902 and 1903 editions, and a further revision between the 1905 and 1906 editions. (The 1906 edition costs cannot be quoted for the Imperieuse class because the class is not listed in the 1906 edition.)
  3. [Brassey's Naval Annual|The Naval Annual 1895]
  4. [Brassey's Naval Annual|The Naval Annual 1895]
  5. [Brassey's Naval Annual|The Naval Annual 1903]
  6. Parkes, Oscar, British Battleships, p307-313.

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