The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) of the first half of the 20th century. These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire. These ships, initially rated as second class cruisers, were built to a series of designs, known as the Bristol (five ships), Weymouth (four ships), Chatham (three RN ships, plus three RAN ships), Birmingham (three ships, plus one similar RAN ship) and Birkenhead (two ships) classes – all having the names of British towns except for the RAN ships, which were named after Australian cities.
In 1911, the system for classifying cruisers changed such that ships over 6,000 tons were simply 'cruisers'. This would have included armored cruisers and 1st class protected cruiser. The smaller protected cruisers, scout cruisers, and the new Towns were to be 'light cruisers'. Effectively then, the Weymouths were the first Royal Navy ships built as light cruisers
Design
Bristol subclass
thumb|left|Left elevation and deck plan of Bristol sub-class as depicted in [[Jane's Fighting Ships 1914]]
The Bristols were all ordered under the 1908–09 Programme and commissioned in late 1910. They were second class cruisers suitable for a variety of roles including both trade protection and fleet duties. They were long overall, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was normal and full load. Twelve Yarrow three-drum boilers fed steam turbines rated at , giving a speed of . One ship, Bristol, had Brown-Curtis turbines driving two propeller shafts, while the remaining three ships used Parsons turbines driving four shafts. The experimental two-shaft layout of Bristol was successful, giving greater efficiency, especially at lower speeds. The ships used both coal and oil for fuel, with 1353 tons of coal and 260 tons of oil carried, giving an endurance of about at . One problem with the armour of the Bristols which was shared with the other Town-class ships was the sizable gap between the bottom of the gun shields and the deck, which allowed shell splinters to pass through the gap, leading to large numbers of leg injuries in the ships' gun crews.
It was originally intended that the Bristols would be fitted with a main gun armament of unshielded guns, but the need to counter German light cruisers (such as the ), which were armed with ten guns that outranged British 4-inch guns, resulted in the new class's armament being revised. This armament was considered rather too light for ships of this size, while the waist guns were subject to immersion in a high sea, making them difficult to work. In the First World War, the class's anti-aircraft armament was increased with the fitting of a single QF 3 inch (76 mm) 20 cwt gun.
thumb|HMS Weymouth
Armour remained unchanged from the Bristols, while the main gun armament was changed to eight BL 6 inch Mk XI guns. The arrangement of the armament was revised, with three guns (one on the centreline and two on the beam) on an enlarged forecastle that also provided accommodation for the ships' officers. The remaining waist guns were protected by a bulwark to make them more weather resistant. Torpedo armament was increased, with two 21-inch (533 mm) submerged tubes (with seven torpedoes carried), while the ships' armament was completed by four 3-pounder saluting guns.
The Chathams were long overall, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was normal and full load. Officer's accommodation was moved back to the rear of the ships in this class.
Birmingham subclass
thumb| at [[Valparaiso in Chile before the Battle of Coronel, 1 November 1914]]
The 1911–1912 Programme brought the Birmingham subclass. Three ships were ordered for the Royal Navy, commissioning in 1914. They were closely based on the Chatham subclass but with a revised armament. While in theory, three guns could fire forwards in the previous arrangement (the forward centreline gun and the forward two waist guns), in practice the effects of blast from the waist guns on the bridge and conning tower prevented this. The solution was to mount two guns side-by side on the forecastle, forward of the bridge, giving a total armament of nine BL 6 inch Mk XII guns. The remainder of the armament was unchanged (i.e. four 3-pounder saluting guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes). while Brook says that Birmingham also had two-shaft machinery.|group=lower-alpha was rated at giving a speed of .
In 1915, as a response to German commerce raiding in the early months of the war, the British Admiralty decided to build a new class of large, fast and heavily armed cruisers for trade protection work. Again, a mixed armament of 7.5 in and 6 in guns were chosen, with mixed oil- and coal-fired boilers in order to aid operations in distant waters where oil supplies would be limited. The new design became known as the "Improved Birmingham" class or , with five being built, completing between 1918 and 1925. Later, with the advent of the 1930 London Naval Treaty, the class would become the Royal Navy's first heavy cruisers.
Birkenhead subclass
In early 1914, the Greek Navy, in response to Turkish naval expansion, placed an order with the Coventry Syndicate, a consortium of the shipbuilders Cammell Laird, Fairfields, John Brown and the armament company Coventry Ordnance Works, for two light cruisers and four destroyers. The light cruisers, which were both to be built by Cammell Laird, and to be named Antinavarchos Kountouriotis and Lambros Katsonis, were based on the design of the Chatham and Birmingham subclasses, but with a revised armament to be supplied by the Coventry Ordnance Works.
The new cruisers were long overall, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was between and normal, and between and deep load. Armour was as fitted to the Chathams. It was planned to fit the ships with two 12-pounder (76 mm) anti-aircraft guns, while two 21-inch torpedo tubes were fitted. The ships' main armament was kept by the Royal Navy, and proved to be successful in service, with the 5.5 in gun being selected as secondary armament for the battlecruisers and and the aircraft carrier . The 12-pounder anti-aircraft guns were unavailable, however, and Vickers 3-pounder guns were fitted in their place.
Ships
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
! scope="col"|Ship
! scope="col"|Builder
!scope="col"|Laid down
! scope="col"|Launched
!scope="col"|Commissioned
! scope="col"|Fate
|-
!colspan=6|Bristol subclass
|-
|
|John Brown, Clydebank
|23 March 1909
|-
|
|Fairfield Shipbuilding, Govan
|25 March 1909|group=lower-alpha
|October 1911
|-
|
|William Beardmore, Dalmuir
|21 February 1910
|-
!colspan=6|Chatham subclass
|-
!align=center colspan=6|Royal Navy
|-
|
|HM Dockyard, Chatham
|3 January 1911 Sold for breaking up to Thos. W. Ward, Pembroke Dock, 13 July 1926. have Dublin launched on 9 November 1911, Dittmar and Colledge and Colledge say she was launched on 30 April 1912.|group=lower-alpha
|March 1913
|-
|
|HM Dockyard, Chatham
|29 July 1912 state 23 April.|group=lower-alpha
|21 April 1914
|-
!align=center colspan=6|Royal Australian Navy
|-
|
|HMA Dockyard, Cockatoo Island
|20 November 1915 That same year, Sydney attacked in an action that lasted over an hour and resulted in the German warship being beached by her captain to avoid his ship sinking. Also that year, Birmingham became the first ship to sink a submarine when she rammed the German submarine on 9 August.
In 1915, HMS Glasgow found , which had escaped from the engagement at the Falkland Islands the previous year, in which Glasgow had helped in sinking . Dresden was eventually scuttled by her own crew after a short engagement. Ships of the class also took part in the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915.
thumb|left|HMS Chester, showing damage sustained at the [[Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916]]
In 1916, ships of the class also saw action at the Battle of Jutland, the largest surface engagement of the First World War . In 1917, a Sopwith Pup from HMS Yarmouth became the first aircraft from a cruiser to shoot down an aircraft, specifically the Zeppelin L23. The ships of the class saw more service than mentioned above, including action against German merchant ships. During the course of the war, two ships of the class were sunk: these were HMS Falmouth and HMS Nottingham, both torpedoed by German submarines.
After the end of the First World War, the surviving ships performed a variety of duties, including service on foreign stations. All ships, except Adelaide, were scrapped by the 1930s. Adelaide saw an extensive refit between 1938 and 1939. However, Adelaide was obsolete when the Second World War began, and she saw limited service, performing patrol and escort duties in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. She was decommissioned in 1945, but recommissioned to become a tender at Sydney. She was broken up in 1949.
Notes
Citations
References
External links
- Allied light cruisers of World War I