Patrol 1906
| Name | No | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| Pathfinder (ex-Fastnet) | 655 | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead | 15.8.1903 | 16.7.1904 | 18.7.1905 | sunk 5.9.1914 | |
| Patrol | N24, N80 | 658 | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead | 31.10.1903 | 13.10.1904 | 26.9.1905 | sold 4.1920 |
|
Displacement normal, t |
2900 |
|
Displacement full, t |
|
|
Length, m |
112.8 pp 115.5 oa |
|
Breadth, m |
11.8 |
|
Draught, m |
3.96 |
|
No of shafts |
2 |
|
Machinery |
2 4-cyl VTE, 12 Laird-Normand boilers |
|
Power, h. p. |
16500 |
|
Max speed, kts |
25 |
|
Fuel, t |
coal 600 |
|
Endurance, nm(kts) |
3000(10) |
| Armour, mm | belt: 51, deck: 38 - 16, CT: 76 |
|
Armament |
10 x 1 - 76/50 12pdr 18cwt QF Mk I, 8 x 1 - 47/40 3pdr Hotchkiss Mk I, 2 x 1 - 450 TT |
|
Complement |
268 |
Project history: Eight cruisers were intended to work in company with destroyers as scouts, to lead torpedo attacks and to back up their flotillas when attacked by enemy destroyers. The Admiralty provided a broad specification for the ships and left the detailed design to the builders, a common practice when ordering torpedo craft but unusual with cruisers. The Admiralty requirement was for a 25kt ship, with a 38mm protective deck or equivalent side armour, shallow draught for operating in inshore waters, and an armament of 10 76mm, 8 47mm and 2 TT. They were ordered in four pairs which, as might be expected, resulted in four sub-classes that varied substantially in form, machinery and structure. Only one builder, Fairfield, followed traditional small cruiser style in providing a poop as well as a forecastle, but all abandoned the bulwarks amidships which had become a common feature of Victorian cruisers. The Armstrong pair differed from all the others in having four instead of three funnels and a clipper bow, while the Vickers ships had shorter funnels than the other ships. The Fairfield pair employed side armour abreast the machinery compartments with a protective deck at the ends, while Cammell provided side armour abreast the engine rooms only with a protective deck over the remainder of the ship, an expedient intended to protect the engine cylinders. The remaining ships were fitted in the usual manner with a full length protective deck. The 12pdr QF guns were mounted 3 abreast on the forecastle and aft and two on each side amidships, but this armament was heavily criticised for being too light.
Ship protection: 51mm belt protected only machinery, main deck with 16mm flat was connected with its lower edge by 38mm slopes.
Modernizations: 1905-1906, both: - 8 x 1 - 47/40; + 2 x 1 - 76/50 12pdr 18cwt QF Mk I, 6 x 1 - 57/40 6pdr Hotchkiss Mk I
1912, both: - 12 x 1 - 76/50, 6 x 1 - 57/40; + 9 x 1 - 102/40 QF Mk IV
by 1918, Patrol: + 1 x 1 - 76/45 20cwt QF Mk I
Naval service: Pathfinder was torpedoed and sunk 5.9.1914 by German submarine U21 off St. Abbs Head, 259 lives lost.
Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.
© Ivan Gogin, 2008-09