EFFINGHAM (building), FROBISHER (building), HAWKINS (Oct., 1917), RALEIGH (29th Aug., 1919).

Photo, Cribb Southsea. HAWKINS. Port bow view.

• Displacement, 9750 tons.
• Complement, ?
• Length p.p. 565 feet, o.a. 605, Beam: w.l. 58* feet., outside bulges, 65 feet; Draught max. 20.5; mean 17.25 feet.
• Guns: 7 - 7.5 inch, 50 cal. (Dir. Con.) ; 8 - 12 pdr. ; 4 - 3 inch A.A. ; 4 - 3 pdr. ; 2 - 2 pdr pom-pom ; __ M.G.
• Torpedo Tubes (21 inch): 4 above water, 2 submerged.
• Armour (H.T. or Nickel): 3" - 2" Side (amidships) ; 2.5" - 1.5" Side (bow) ; 2.5" - 2.25" side (stern) ; 1" Upper decks (amids.) ; 1.5" - 1" Deck over rudder. (Hadfield) ; 3" C.T.
• Anti-torpedo Protection: Bulges 10 ft. deep ; Unpierced bulkheads below lower deck.
• Machinery: Turbines, Brown-Curtis or Parsons (geared cruising). Designed S.H.P. in Hawkins, 60,000 = 30 kts. (other 3 ships, with oil fuel only, expected to develop 70,000 S.H.P. and about 31 kts.). 4 screws. Boilers: 12 Yarrow (small tube).
• Fuel: As originally designed. Coal : normal, 800 tons; maximum, 1000 tons + 1600 tons oil. Hawkins reported to have these proportions of fuel, but other three ships may be modified to take about 3000 tons oil only, max. capacity.

Photo, Cribb, Southsea. HAWKINS. Port quarter view.

Gunnery Notes.- 7.5's area new semi-auto. B.L. mark on centre-pivot mountings and with H. A. elevation. Unofficially stated that projectile is light and muzzle velocity high, so that guns have practically a range only limited by maximum visibility. Armaments originally projected for this class were (a) mixed battery of 9.2 inch and 6 inch, (b) 14 - 6 inch.

Torpedo Notes.- Above water tubes are single (side-loading ?), mounted athwartships on upper deck below mainmast. In Repulse class, Glorious class and Centaur class, submerged tubes have proved very satisfactory. as bars bend when attempting to fire torpedoes over 20 kts. Possible that submerged tubes have not been mounted in Hawkins.

Armour and Protection Notes.- Armour on Light Cruiser lines. Estimated that bulges and sub-division will keep ship afloat, even if all three boiler-rooms and both engine-rooms are flooded.

* Approximate.

Cancelled Ships.- Building of Effingham and Frobisher has been proceeding intermittently for the past three years, and, in the spring of 1919, Effingham was only in frame, and Frobisher little advanced. Possible that these two ships may be stopped. Raleigh is launched, but her completion is being delayed indefinitely.

General Notes.- Begun under Emergency War Programme. These ships were designed in the summer of 1915 and ordered December, 1915. They were planned to meet possible improvements in German Light Cruiser types, and also for hunting enemy commerce raiders in the Atlantic - hence their big fuel capacities. Since oil fuel might not be obtainable at distant naval stations and ports, they were given some coal and 4 small coal-burning boilers arranged to provide sufficient steam for cruising speeds. In the post-war era, they will prove excellent Flagships to Light Cruiser Squadrons. Internally, design is very spacious, and Hawkins has proved a very good sea-boat. One unit of this class, Cavendish (Harland & Wolff), was accelerated in building, and completed as the Aircraft Carrier Vindictive (q.v.).

Ahead: 2 to 4 - 7.5 inch ;   Broadside: 6 - 7.5 inch, 3 - 21 inch tubes ;    Astern: 2 to 4 - 7.5 inch

Source: As extracted from Jane's Fighting Ships © for 1919 - Page 77

© Jane's Information Group

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