View source for Engineering:Monmouth-class cruiser

{{EngvarB|date=November 2013}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Suffolk LOC ggbain.16829.jpg
|Ship caption=''Suffolk''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Monmouth'' class
|Builders=
|Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}}
|Class before={{sclass|Drake|cruiser|4}}
|Class after={{sclass|Devonshire|cruiser (1903)|4}}
|Cost=
|Built range=1899–1904
|In service range=
|In commission range= 1903–1921
|Total ships completed=10
|Total ships scrapped=8
|Total ships lost=2
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=Armoured cruiser
|Ship displacement={{convert|9800|LT|t|lk=on}} (normal)
|Ship length={{convert|463|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} ([[Engineering:Length overall|o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|66|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|25|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*31 [[Engineering:Water-tube boiler|water-tube boiler]]s
*{{cvt|22000|ihp|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 × shafts; 2 × triple-expansion steam engines
|Ship speed={{convert|23|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=678
|Ship armament=*2 × twin, 10 × single {{cvt|6|in|0}} guns
*10 × single 12-pdr ({{cvt|3|in}}) guns
*3 × single 3-pdr ({{cvt|47|mm|order=flip}}) guns
*2 × 18 in (450&nbsp;mm) torpedo tubes
|Ship armour=*Belt: {{convert|2|-|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Engineering:Deck (ship)|Decks]]: {{convert|0.75|-|2|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Engineering:Barbette|Barbette]]s: {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Engineering:Gun turret|Turrets]]: {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Engineering:Conning tower|Conning tower]]: {{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
}}
|}

The '''''Monmouth'' class''' was a ten-ship class of 10,000-ton armoured cruisers built around 1901 to 1903 for the Royal Navy and designed specifically for commerce protection. The ships were also referred to as '''County class''' cruisers as they carried the names of British counties.

== Design ==
[[File:Monmouth class cruiser diagrams Janes 1914.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|Left elevation and deck plan as depicted in Jane's Fighting Ships 1914}}]]
[[File:HMS Berwick aft port 6 inch gun casemates.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|Aft port casemate guns on {{HMS|Berwick|1902|2}}, illustrating the unfortunate positioning}}]]
Expected only to fight light cruisers and armed merchant ships, the class was armed with fourteen 6-inch guns at a time when most British armoured cruisers also carried at least a pair of 9.2-inch guns: Four of the guns were mounted in two twin turrets at a good height, the remaining ten were installed in hull-mounted [[Engineering:Casemate|casemate]]s, five on each side. The lower casemate guns were just a few feet above water, making them impossible to use in heavy seas.  Sir John Fisher commented that "Sir William White designed the County class but forgot the guns."<ref name="castles">{{cite book|title=Castles of Steel |first=Robert K. |last=Massie |date=2004 |publisher=Balantine Books |isbn=0-345-40878-0}}</ref> On the other hand, they were relatively fast ships for their time.
{{clear left}}

== Ships ==
The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the ''Monmouth'' class.  Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to '''exclude''' armament and stores.  The compilers of The Naval Annual revised costs quoted for British ships between the 1905 and 1906 editions.  The reasons for the differences are unclear.<ref>The 1906 figure for ''Monmouth'' is particularly high.  but is as quoted in the original. The 1914 edition also quotes £979,591 as the cost of ''Monmouth''.</ref>
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
! scope="col" rowspan=2 |Ship
! scope="col" align = center rowspan=2 | Builder
! scope="col" colspan = 3 |Date of
! scope="col" colspan = 2 |Cost<small> according to</small>
|-valign="top"
! align = center scope="col" | Laid down
! align = center scope="col" | [[Engineering:Ceremonial ship launching|Launch]]
! align = center scope="col" | Completion
! align = center  | (BNA 1905)<ref>Brassey's Naval Annual 1905, p234-243</ref>
! align = center   | (BNA 1906)<ref>Brassey's Naval Annual 1906, p208-215</ref>
|-valign=top
| scope="row"|{{HMS|Monmouth|1901|2}}
|align=center  |  London & Glasgow Shipbuilding, Govan
|align=right   |  29 Aug 1899
|align=right   |  13 Nov 1901
|align=right   |  2 Dec 1903
|align=right   |  [[Finance:Pound sterling|£]]709,085
|align=right   |  £979,591
|-valign=top
| scope="row"|{{HMS|Bedford|1901|2}}
|align=center  |  Fairfield Shipping and Engineering, Govan
|align=right   |  19 Feb 1900
|align=right   |  31 Aug 1901
|align=right   |  11 Nov 1903
|align=right   |  £734,330
|align=right   |  £706,020
|-valign=top
| scope="row"|{{HMS|Essex|1901|2}}
|align=center  |  HM Dockyard, Pembroke
|align=right   |  1 Jan 1900
|align=right   |  29 Aug 1901
|align=right   |  22 Mar 1903
|align=right   |  £770,325
|align=right   |  £736,557
|-valign=top
| scope="row"| {{HMS|Kent|1901|2}}
|align=center  |  HM Dockyard, Portsmouth
|align=right   |  12 Feb 1900
|align=right   |  6 Mar 1901
|align=right   |  1 Oct 1903
|align=right   |  £733,940
|align=right   |  £700,283
|-valign=top
| scope="row"| {{HMS|Berwick|1902|2}}
|align=center  |  [[Company:William Beardmore and Company|William Beardmore and Company]]
|align=right   |  19 Apr 1901
|align=right   |  20 Sep 1902
|align=right   |  9 Dec 1903
|align=right   |  £776,868
|align=right   |  £750,984
|-valign=top
| scope="row"|{{HMS|Cornwall|1902|2}}
|align=center  |  HM Dockyard, Pembroke
|align=right   |  11 Mar 1901
|align=right   |  29 Oct 1902
|align=right   |  1 Dec 1904
|align=right   |  £789,421
|align=right   |  £756,274
|-valign=top
| scope="row"| {{HMS|Cumberland|1902|2}}
|align=center  |  London & Glasgow Shipbuilding, Govan
|align=right   |  19 Feb 1901
|align=right   |  16 Dec 1902
|align=right   |  1 Dec 1904
|align=right   |  £751,508
|align=right   |  £718,168
|-valign=top
| scope="row"|{{HMS|Donegal|1902|2}}
|align=center  |  Fairfield Shipping and Engineering, Govan
|align=right   |  14 Feb 1901
|align=right   |  4 Sep 1902
|align=right   |  5 Nov 1903
|align=right   |  £752,964
|align=right   |  £715,947
|-valign=top
| scope="row"| {{HMS|Lancaster|1902|2}}
|align=center  |  Armstrong-Whitworth, Elswick
|align=right   |  4 Mar 1901
|align=right   |  22 Mar 1903
|align=right   |  5 Apr 1904
|align=right   |  £763,084
|align=right   |  £732,858
|-valign=top
| scope="row"| {{HMS|Suffolk|1903|2}}
|align=center  |  HM Dockyard, Portsmouth
|align=right   |  25 Mar 1901
|align=right   |  15 Jan 1903
|align=right   |  21 May 1904
|align=right   |  £783,054
|align=right   |  £722,681
|}

== Service ==
[[File:HMS Donegal at HM Dockyard Bermuda circa 1918.jpg|thumb|HMS ''Donegal'' at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda ''circa'' 1918.]]
[[File:HMS Cornwall at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda circa 1918.jpg|thumb|HMS ''Cornwall'' at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda ''circa'' 1918]]
Upon completion, the ships served briefly in home waters before being assigned to various oversea stations (the China Station and the North America and West Indies Station). During this time HMS ''Bedford'' was wrecked in the East China Sea in 1910 and scrapped.

Following the outbreak of [[Social:World War I|World War I]], the ships were primarily tasked with combating German commerce raiders, patrolling in both the North and South Atlantic.  HMS ''Monmouth'' was assigned to Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock's squadron, and was sunk at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914.  HMS ''Kent'' was also assigned to Cradock's squadron, but failed to join in time; she remained at the Falkland Islands and joined Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee's squadron, which also included HMS ''Cornwall''.  In the ensuing Battle of the Falklands in December 1914, HMS ''Kent'' pursued and sank the [[Engineering:Light cruiser|light cruiser]] {{SMS|Nürnberg||2}}, while HMS ''Cornwall'' pursued and sank the light cruiser {{SMS|Leipzig|1905|2}}. HMS ''Kent'' continued the pursuit of the light cruiser {{SMS|Dresden|1907|2}}, eventually locating her and forcing her to be [[Engineering:Scuttling|scuttled]] at the Battle of Más a Tierra.  In 1915, HMS ''Cornwall'' participated in the blockade of the light cruiser {{SMS|Königsberg|1905|2}} in the Rufiji River.

After World War I, several of the ships served briefly as [[Engineering:Training ship|training ship]]s.  All soon were withdrawn from service and scrapped in 1920 and 1921.

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* Brassey, T.A. (ed) The Naval Annual 1905
* {{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian|title=Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands|edition=2nd|year=1997|orig-year= 1938|series=History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents|volume=I|publisher=Imperial War Museum and Battery Press|location=London and Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=0-89839-256-X}}
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Cruisers of the Victorian Era|year=2012 |publisher=Seaforth |location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-068-9 |}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory|publisher= Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley, UK |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-84832-100-7}}
* Leyland, J. and Brassey, T.A. (ed) The Naval Annual 1906
* {{cite book|title=Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea |last=Massie |first=Robert K. |publisher=Random House|year=2003|location= New York |isbn=0-679-45671-6|ref=Massie|title-link=Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea}}
* {{cite journal|last1=McBride|first1=K. D.|year=1998 |title=Re: HMS ''Kent'' (1914–1915)|journal=Warship International|volume=XXXV |issue=4 |pages=334–341 |issn=0043-0374}}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-85177-245-5 |chapter=Great Britain and Empire Forces|first1=Antony|last1=Preston|pages=1–104}}
* {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}

== External links ==
*[http://dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Monmouth_Class_Cruiser_(1901) The Dreadnought Project] Technical details of the ships.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Monmouth Class Cruiser}}
[[Category:Cruiser classes]]

de:HMS Monmouth (1901)#Die Schiffe der Monmouth- oder County-Klasse

{{Sourceattribution|Monmouth-class cruiser}}