This is a list of cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

s of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 from 1877 (when the category was created by amalgamating the two previous categories of frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 and corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

) until the last cruiser was deleted more than a century later. There are no longer any cruisers in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

First class cruisers

Armoured cruisers were protected by a belt of side armour and an armoured deck. In the Royal Navy this classification was not actually used, the term first class cruiser being used instead for both armoured cruisers and large protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

s. Thus, the first class cruisers built between the Orlando class

Orlando class cruiser

The Orlando-class was a seven ship class of Royal Navy armoured cruisers completed between 1888 and 1889.- Building Programme :On 2 December 1884, the Secretary to the Admiralty stated, "The present Board have been gradually developing, and, as I would venture to say, in an effective manner, our...

 (1886) and the Cressy class

Cressy class cruiser

The Cressy class cruiser was a class of six armoured cruisers launched between December 1899 and May 1901, for the Royal Navy.-Service:...

 (1897) were, strictly speaking, protected cruisers as they lacked an armoured belt. The first class cruiser was succeeded by the Battlecruiser in the Royal Navy.

• Shannon
  HMS Shannon (1875)
  The eighth HMS Shannon was the first British armoured cruiser. She was the last Royal Navy ironclad to be built which had a propeller that could be hoisted out of the water to reduce drag when she was under sail, and the first to have an armoured deck....
  
   first class armoured cruiser, (1875) 5,670 tons, two 10-inch, seven 9-inch guns
• Nelson class
  Nelson class cruiser
  The Nelson class cruiser was a class of two armoured cruisers launched in 1876 for the Royal Navy.They were also known as iron armoured frigates.- Ships:*Nelson - launched in 1876, converted to a training school in 1902, and sold in 1910....
  
   first class armoured cruiser, 7,473 tons, four 10-in, six 9-in guns
  • Nelson (1876) - Sold 1910
  • Northampton
    HMS Northampton (1876)
    HMS Northampton was a armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy, built by Robert Napier & Sons, Govan, Scotland and launched in 1876. The Nelson class were "essentially second-class ironclads". She was launched in 1876 but not commissioned until 1881....
    
     (1876) - Sold 1905
• Imperieuse class
  Imperieuse class cruiser
  The Imperieuse class cruiser was a class of two armoured cruisers launched between 1883 and 1884 for the Royal Navy.-History:In an 1886 magazine article, 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...
  
   first class armoured cruiser, 8,500 tons, four 9.2 in, ten 6 in guns
  • Imperieuse
    HMS Imperieuse (1883)
    HMS Imperieuse was the lead ship of the Imperieuse-class of first-class armoured cruiser, built at Portsmouth and launched on 18 December 1883. She was the flagship of the China Station from 1889 to 1894 and the Pacific Station from 1896 to 1899....
    
     (1883) - Sold 1913
  • Warspite
    HMS Warspite (1884)
    HMS Warspite was an Imperieuse-class first-class armoured cruiser, launched on 29 January 1884 and commissioned in 1886. Warspite was the flagship on the Pacific Station between 1890 and 1893, then a port guard ship at Queenstown until 1896...
    
     (1884) - Sold 1905
• Orlando class
  Orlando class cruiser
  The Orlando-class was a seven ship class of Royal Navy armoured cruisers completed between 1888 and 1889.- Building Programme :On 2 December 1884, the Secretary to the Admiralty stated, "The present Board have been gradually developing, and, as I would venture to say, in an effective manner, our...
  
   first class armoured cruiser, 5,600 tons, 2-9.2in, 10-6in
  • Orlando
    HMS Orlando (1886)
    HMS Orlando was the lead ship of the Orlando-class of first-class cruisers built in the yards of Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow and launched on 3 August 1886....
    
      (1886) - Sold 1905
  • Australia
    HMS Australia (1888)
    HMS Australia, an Orlando-class cruiser of the Royal Navy completed in 1888 and named after the colonies of Australia...
    
      (1886) - Sold 1905
  • Undaunted
    HMS Undaunted (1886)
    HMS Undaunted was a ship of the Orlando-class of first-class cruisers built in the yards of Palmer and launched on 3 August 1886 and sold for scrapping on 9 April 1907 to Harris of Bristol.-References:...
    
      (1886) - Sold 1907
  • Narcissus
    HMS Narcissus (1886)
    HMS Narcissus was a ship of the Orlando-class of first-class cruisers built in the yards of Earle of Hull and launched on December 15, 1886. Future Admiral Ernest Gaunt served aboard her in 1896 as First Lieutenant. She was sold for scrapping on September 11, 1906.-References:* Roger Chesneau and...
    
      (1886) - Sold 1906
  • Galatea
    HMS Galatea (1887)
    HMS Galatea was an Orlando-class first-class cruiser built in Glasgow, and launched on 10 March 1887 and sold for scrapping on 5 April 1905.-References:...
    
      (1887) - Sold 1905
  • Immortalite
    HMS Immortalité (1887)
    HMS Immortalité was a ship of the Orlando-class of armored cruisers of the British Royal Navy built in the yards of Earle of Hull and launched on 7 July 1887. She was sold for scrapping on 1 January 1907 to S. Breaking Company of Blackwall....
    
      (1887) - Sold 1907
  • Aurora
    HMS Aurora (1887)
    HMS Aurora was a ship of the Orlando-class of first-class cruisers built in the yards at Pembroke Dock and launched on 28 October 1887. She was sold for scrapping on 2 October 1907 to Payton of Milford Haven....
    
      (1887) - Sold 1907
• Blake class
  Blake class cruiser
  The Blake class was a two-ship class of first-class protected cruiser built around 1890 for the Royal Navy.-Service:The two ships were obsolete by the outbreak of the First World War, and served as depot ships...
  
   first class protected cruiser, 9,150 tons, two 9.2-inch, ten 6-inch guns
  • Blake
    HMS Blake (1889)
    HMS Blake, named in honour of Admiral Robert Blake, was the lead ship of the her class of protected cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1889-1922.She was launched on 23 November 1889 at Chatham Dockyard, but not completed until 2 February 1892....
    
     (1889) - Sold 1922
  • Blenheim
    HMS Blenheim (1890)
    HMS Blenheim was a Blake class first class protected cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1890–1926.Launched 5 July 1890, she displaced 9,150 tons and her steel hull measured 375 feet and 65 feet with turning 2 propellers giving a top speed of...
    
     (1890) - Sold 1926
• Edgar class
  Edgar class cruiser
  The Edgar-class was a nine-ship class of protected cruiser built around 1891 for the Royal Navy.-Design:Crescent and Royal Arthur were built to a slightly modified design with a raised forecastle and a pair of 6 inch guns replacing the forward 9.2 inch gun, and are sometimes considered a...
  
   first class protected cruiser, 7,700 tons, 2-9.2in, 10-6in
  • Edgar
    HMS Edgar (1890)
    HMS Edgar was a first class cruiser of the Royal Navy, and lead ship of the Edgar class. She was built at Devonport and launched on 24 November 1890...
    
     (1890)
  • Hawke
    HMS Hawke (1891)
    HMS Hawke, launched in 1891, was the sixth British warship to be named Hawke. She was an Edgar-class protected cruiser.-Service:...
    
     (1891) - Torpedoed 1914
  • Endymion
    HMS Endymion (1891)
    HMS Endymion was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class. She was launched on 22 July 1891. She took part in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion in China, during which time future rear admiral and VC recipient Eric Gascoigne Robinson served aboard her...
    
     (1891)
  • Royal Arthur
    HMS Royal Arthur (1891)
    HMS Royal Arthur was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class, previously named Centaur, but renamed in 1890 prior to launching. Royal Arthur, and her sister ship Crescent, were built to a slightly modified design and are sometimes considered a separate class...
    
     (1891)
  • Gibraltar
    HMS Gibraltar (1892)
    HMS Gibraltar, was an Edgar class cruiser launched in 1892 for service in the Royal Navy. She was built and engineered by Messrs Napier of Glasgow. Of 7,700 loaded displacement, she was coal-fired with four double-ended cylindrical boilers driving two shafts. She could make with forced draught...
    
     (1892) - Sold 1923
  • Grafton
    HMS Grafton (1892)
    HMS Grafton was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class. She was launched on 30 January 1892. She served in the First World War in the Gallipoli Campaign, along with her sisters Endymion, Edgar and Theseus...
    
     (1892)
  • St George
    HMS St George (1892)
    HMS St George was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class. She was launched on June 23, 1892.She took part in the 40 minute long Anglo-Zanzibar War and served in the First World War. She was designated as a depot ship in 1909, and sold for breaking up at Plymouth on July 1, 1920.-References:*...
    
     (1892)
  • Theseus
    HMS Theseus (1892)
    HMS Theseus was an Edgar-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy. The Edgars were basically smaller versions of the Blake class. Theseus was launched at Leamouth, London in 1892 and commissioned on 14 January 1896....
    
     (1892)
  • Crescent
    HMS Crescent (1892)
    HMS Crescent was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class. Crescent, and her sister ship Royal Arthur, were built to a slightly modified design and are sometimes considered a separate class. She was built at Portsmouth and launched on 30 March 1892. As at 11 January 1895 she was leaving Australia...
    
     (1892)
• Powerful class
  Powerful class cruiser
  The Powerful class were first-class protected cruisers built for the British Royal Navy in the 1890s. There were two ships in the Powerful class, the lead ship Powerful and the Terrible.-Design:...
  
   first class protected cruiser, 14,200 tons, 2-9.2in, 12-6in
  • Powerful
    HMS Powerful (1895)
    HMS Powerful was a ship of the Powerful-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy.-Career:She was built by Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness and launched on 24 July 1895 by the Duchess of Devonshire....
    
     (1895) - Sold 1929
  • Terrible
    HMS Terrible (1895)
    HMS Terrible was a ship of the Powerful-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy.-Terrible 1898 Trials:* 60 hours at 1/5 power 5084 ihp = * 68 hours at 2/5 power = * 60 hours at 3/5 power = * 60 hours at 3/4 power =...
    
     (1895) - Sold 1932
• Diadem class
  Diadem class cruiser
  The Diadem class cruiser was a class of "First-Class" protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the 1890s that served in the First World War...
  
   first class protected cruiser, 11,000 tons, sixteen 6-inch
  • Diadem
    HMS Diadem (1896)
    HMS Diadem was the lead ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy. She was built at Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Govan and launched on 21 October 1896. She served in the First World War with her sisters. In 1914 she was a stokers' training ship, and was...
    
     (1896)
  • Niobe
    HMS Niobe (1897)
    HMS Niobe was a ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy. She served in the Boer War and was then given to Canada as the first ship of the then newly-created Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Niobe. After patrol duties at the beginning of the First World War, she became a depot...
    
     (1897) - To Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
    
     as HMCS Niobe, BU 1922
  • Europa
    HMS Europa (1897)
    HMS Europa was a ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy. She was built by J&G Thompson, of Clydebank and launched on 20 March 1897...
    
     (1897)
  • Andromeda
    HMS Andromeda (1897)
    HMS Andromeda was a ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 5 January 1898. In 1913 she was converted to a training ship and renamed Powerful II on 23 September 1913...
    
     (1897)
  • Amphitrite
    HMS Amphitrite (1898)
    HMS Amphitrite was a ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruisers in the Royal Navy. She was built at Vickers Limited, Barrow in Furness and launched on 5 January 1898. She served in the First World War with her sisters. In 1914 she was part of the Ninth Cruiser Squadron, serving in the Atlantic...
    
     (1898)
  • Argonaut
    HMS Argonaut (1898)
    HMS Argonaut was a ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan and launched on 24 January 1898....
    
     (1898)
  • Ariadne
    HMS Ariadne (1898)
    HMS Ariadne was a Diadem-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by J&G Thompson of Clydebank and launched on 22 April 1898. In March 1913, she was converted to a stokers' training ship and in 1917 was converted to a minelayer and assigned to the Nore Command...
    
     (1898)
  • Spartiate
    HMS Spartiate (1898)
    HMS Spartiate was a ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dock and launched on October 27, 1898. She was a stokers' training ship in 1914 and was renamed Fisgard in June 1915. She survived the War and was sold in July 1932. She returned to...
    
     (1898)
• Cressy class
  Cressy class cruiser
  The Cressy class cruiser was a class of six armoured cruisers launched between December 1899 and May 1901, for the Royal Navy.-Service:...
  
   first class armoured cruiser, 12,000 tons, two 9.2-inch, twelve 6-inch guns
  • Cressy
    HMS Cressy (1899)
    HMS Cressy was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser in the Royal Navy. Cressy was sunk by the German U-boat U-9 in September 1914.-Service history:...
    
     (1899) - Torpedoed 1914
  • Sutlej
    HMS Sutlej (1899)
    Named after one of the five great rivers of the Punjab, HMS Sutlej was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser in the Royal Navy. She served with her sisters in the First World War, and was one of the three who survived the war. Already obsolete by the outbreak of war, she was sold on May 9, 1921 and...
    
     (1899)
  • Aboukir
    HMS Aboukir (1900)
    HMS Aboukir was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Govan, Scotland in 1902.-First World War:...
    
     (1900) - Torpedoed 1914
  • Hogue
    HMS Hogue (1900)
    HMS Hogue was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser in the Royal Navy. Hogue was sunk by the German U-boat U-9 on 22 September 1914.-Service history:...
    
     (1900) - Torpedoed 1914
  • Bacchante
    HMS Bacchante (1901)
    HMS Bacchante was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser launched in 1901 for the Royal Navy. Bacchante served for a while with the Mediterranean Fleet...
    
     (1901)
  • Euryalus
    HMS Euryalus (1901)
    HMS Euryalus was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser in the Royal Navy. Though the class was already obsolete by the outbreak of the First World War, the Euryalus and her sisters Aboukir, Bacchante, Hogue and Cressy were assigned to patrol the Broad Fourteens of the North Sea, in support of a force of...
    
     (1901)
• Drake class
  Drake class cruiser
  The Drake-class was a four-ship class of armoured cruisers built around 1900 for the Royal Navy.-Design:The class were enlarged versions of the Cressy class.-History:The ships served in the First World War with only two surviving it...
  
   first class armoured cruiser, 14,150 tons, 2-9.2in, 16-6in
  • Drake
    HMS Drake (1901)
    HMS Drake was a armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class. She was built at Pembroke Dock and launched on 5 March 1901....
    
     (1901) - Torpedoed 1917
  • Good Hope
    HMS Good Hope (1901)
    HMS Good Hope was a 14,100-ton Drake-class armoured cruiser of the British Royal Navy; she was originally planned to be named Africa, but was renamed before she was launched...
    
     (ex-Africa) (1901) - Sunk during the Battle of Coronel
    Battle of Coronel
    The First World War naval Battle of Coronel took place on 1 November 1914 off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. German Kaiserliche Marine forces led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee met and defeated a Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher...
    
    , 1914
  • King Alfred
    HMS King Alfred (1901)
    HMS King Alfred was a 14,100-ton Drake-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name, after Alfred the Great, historical king of Wessex...
    
     (1901) - Sold 1920
  • Leviathan
    HMS Leviathan (1901)
    HMS Leviathan was a 14,100-ton Drake-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy, and the third ship to bear the name.Like her sisters, Leviathan served in the First World War, surviving it to be sold for breaking up on 3 March 1920 to Hughes Bolckow of Blyth....
    
     (1901) - Sold 1920
• Monmouth class
  Monmouth class cruiser
  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...
  
   first class armoured cruiser, 9,800 tons, 14-6in
  • Monmouth
    HMS Monmouth (1901)
    The sixth HMS Monmouth of the British Royal Navy was the lead ship of a class of armoured cruisers of 9,800 tons displacement. She was sunk at the Battle of Coronel in 1914....
    
     (1901)
  • Bedford
    HMS Bedford (1901)
    HMS Bedford was a Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of 9,800 tons displacement, of the British Royal Navy. Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Govan, she was launched on 31 August 1901. She only spent nine years in service before she was wrecked on 21 August 1910 off Quelport...
    
     (1901) - Wrecked on 21 August 1910 off Quelport Island in the China Sea
  • Essex
    HMS Essex (1901)
    HMS Essex was a Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dock and launched on 29 August 1901. She served in the First World War with most of her sisters, and survived to be sold for scrap on 8 November 1921. Essex was eventually broken up in Germany....
    
     (1901)
  • Kent
    HMS Kent (1901)
    HMS Kent was a Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of 9,800 tons displacement, of the British Royal Navy. She was launched on 6 March 1901, with her heaviest guns being 6 inch quick-firers...
    
     (1901)
  • Berwick
    HMS Berwick (1902)
    HMS Berwick was a Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was launched on 20 September 1902. In 1908, she collided with the destroyer Tiger when the destroyer crossed Berwicks bows during an exercise in the English Channel, south of the Isle of Wight...
    
     (1902)
  • Cornwall
    HMS Cornwall (1902)
    HMS Cornwall was a 9,800 ton Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Pembroke, Wales in 1902, and commissioned in 1904....
    
     (1902)
  • Cumberland
    HMS Cumberland (1902)
    HMS Cumberland was a Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was built by London & Glasgow Co. and launched on 16 December 1902. She served in the First World War with most of her sisters, seeing service in the Cameroons...
    
     (1902)
  • Donegal
    HMS Donegal (1902)
    HMS Donegal was a Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd of Govan and launched on 4 September 1902. She served in the First World War with most of her sisters, and survived to be sold for scrap on 1 July 1920. She...
    
     (1902)
  • Lancaster
    HMS Lancaster (1902)
    HMS Lancaster was a Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Armstrong and launched on 22 March 1902. She served in the First World War with most of her sisters, and survived to be sold for scrap on 3 March 1920 to Ward of Birkenhead & Preston....
    
     (1902)
  • Suffolk
    HMS Suffolk (1903)
    HMS Suffolk was a Monmouth class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy built in 1903 and sold out of the Royal Navy in 1920. She had a displacement of 9,800 tons, a speed of 23 knots, and a crew complement of about 680. Her primary armament consisted of 14 quick-firing 6-inch guns, arranged in a...
    
     (1903) - Sold 1920
• Devonshire class
  Devonshire class cruiser (1903)
  The Devonshire class was a class of six armoured cruisers of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1903–1904 at a cost of around £850,000 each....
  
   first class armoured cruiser, 10,850 tons, four 7.5-inch, six 6-inch guns
  • Devonshire
    HMS Devonshire (1904)
    HMS Devonshire was a 10,850 ton Devonshire-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy built at Chatham Dockyard and launched on 30 April 1904...
    
     (1904) - Sold 1921
  • Hampshire
    HMS Hampshire (1903)
    HMS Hampshire was a Devonshire-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick, Tyne and Wear and commissioned in 1905 at a cost of £833,817....
    
     (1903) - Mined 1916
  • Carnarvon
    HMS Carnarvon (1903)
    HMS Carnarvon was a Devonshire-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy. She has been the only ship of the navy to be named after the town of Caernarfon in Wales. Launched in 1903, she served with the Mediterranean Fleet in the 3rd Cruiser Squadron until March 1907, and then joined the 2nd Cruiser...
    
     (1903)
  • Antrim
    HMS Antrim (1903)
    HMS Antrim was a 10,850 ton Devonshire-class armoured cruiser of the British Royal Navy, built by John Brown & Company and launched on 8 October 1903. Like her sisters, she served in the First World War and survived. After the war she became the first ship to be fitted with an experimental sonar...
    
     (1903) - Sold 1922
  • Roxburgh
    HMS Roxburgh (1904)
    HMS Roxburgh was a 10,850 ton Devonshire-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy, and so far, the only ship to bear the name. She was built by London and Glasgow Co., and launched on 19 January 1904. She was assigned to the Channel Fleet early in her career...
    
     (1904) - Sold 1921
  • Argyll
    HMS Argyll (1904)
    HMS Argyll was a Devonshire-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy launched in 1904. She was the second HMS Argyll after an interval of over 160 years.-History:...
    
    (1904) - Wrecked 1915
• Duke of Edinburgh class
  Duke of Edinburgh class cruiser
  The Duke of Edinburgh-class was a class of six armoured cruisers built around 1905 for the British Royal Navy. The later four ships were armed differently, and are sometimes considered as a separate class, the Warrior-class....
  
   first class armoured cruiser,
  • Duke of Edinburgh group 13,550 tons, 6-9.2in, 10-6in
    • Duke of Edinburgh
      HMS Duke of Edinburgh (1904)
      HMS Duke of Edinburgh was the lead ship of the armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser and light cruiser...
      
       (1904) - Sold 1920
    • Black Prince
      HMS Black Prince (1904)
      HMS Black Prince was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. During the First World War she served in the Mediterranean before joining the Grand Fleet...
      
       (1904) - Sunk at the Battle of Jutland
      Battle of Jutland
      The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
      
      , 1916
  • Warrior group 13,550 tons, 6-9.2in, 4-7.5in
    • Warrior
      HMS Warrior (1905)
      HMS Warrior was a Duke of Edinburgh-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser and light cruiser . Warrior was transferred to the Grand Fleet in...
      
       (1905) - Sunk at the Battle of Jutland
      Battle of Jutland
      The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
      
      , 1916
    • Cochrane
      HMS Cochrane (1905)
      HMS Cochrane was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy before the First World War. She served in the 2nd Cruiser Squadron during the war under Rear-Admiral Herbert Heath, taking part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. She was based in Murmansk in mid-1918 during the Allied intervention in the...
      
       (1905) - Wrecked 1918
    • Achilles
      HMS Achilles (1905)
      HMS Achilles was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She served with the 2nd Cruiser Squdron for most of the First World War. Achilles did not participate in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, but did sink the German raider Leopard in 1917...
      
       (1905) - Sold 1921
    • Natal
      HMS Natal (1905)
      HMS Natal was a Duke of Edinburgh-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She escorted the royal yacht in 1911–1912 for the newly-crowned King George V's trip to India to attend the Delhi Durbar. During World War I the ship was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the...
      
       (1905) - Explosion 1915
• Minotaur class
  Minotaur class cruiser (1906)
  The Minotaur class was a three-ship class of armoured cruiser built around 1906 for the Royal Navy. They served during World War I, with all three being present at the Battle of Jutland, where HMS Defence was sunk. The surviving ships were scrapped postwar.-History:The Minotaur class was the last...
  
   first class armoured cruiser, 14,600 tons, four 9.2-inch, ten 7.5-inch guns
  • Minotaur
    HMS Minotaur (1906)
    HMS Minotaur was the lead ship of the Minotaur-class of armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy, launched in 1906.-Career:She served in the First World War with her sisters, taking part in convoy duties from Australia to the Mediterranean. She fought at Jutland as part of the Second Cruiser Squadron. ...
    
     (1906) - Sold 1920
  • Shannon
    HMS Shannon (1906)
    HMS Shannon was a ship of the Minotaur-class of armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy.-Career:She was built at Chatham and launched on 20 September 1906. She served in the First World War with her sisters and fought at Jutland, where she was captained by John S. Dumaresq...
    
     (1906) - Sold 1922
  • Defence
    HMS Defence (1907)
    HMS Defence was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was the last armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser and light cruiser...
    
    (1907) - Sunk at the Battle of Jutland
    Battle of Jutland
    The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
    
    , 1916

Protected cruisers

Protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

s were so-called because their vital machinery spaces were protected by an armoured deck and the arrangement of coal bunkers. The ships below are all protected cruisers, but were rated as second and third class cruisers by the Royal Navy. The third class cruiser was not expected to operate with the fleet, was substantially smaller than the second class and lacked the watertight double-bottom of the latter. With the advent of turbine machinery, oil firing and better armour plate the protected cruiser became obsolete and was succeeded by the light cruiser.

• Iris class
  Iris class cruiser
  The Iris class comprised two ships, and , which served with the Royal Navy. They were the Royal Navy's first all steel ships.They were designed as dispatch vessels by William White under the direction of Nathaniel Barnaby but were later re-created as Second Class Cruisers...
  
   second class cruiser, 3,730 tons, 13-5in
  • Iris
    HMS Iris (1877)
    HMS Iris was an Iris Class second-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. The Iris class ships were the first all-steel ships to serve with the Royal Navy and were employed as armed dispatch vessels. She had a double bottom and her Maudslay machinery produced , slightly less than her stablemate HMS...
    
     (1877)
  • Mercury
    HMS Mercury (1878)
    HMS Mercury was an Iris class second class cruiser of the Royal Navy. The two ships of the class were the first all steel ships in the Royal Navy. She was distinguished from the Iris by her straight bow, which gave her a slightly shorter length of 315 feet...
    
     (1878)
• Comus class third class cruiser, 2,380 tons (Constance 2,590 tons), 2-7in + 12-64pdr (except Comus 4-6in + 8-64pdr; Canada & Cordelia 10-6in)
  • Comus
    HMS Comus (1878)
    HMS Comus was a corvette of the Royal Navy. She was the name ship of her class. Launched in April 1878, the vessel was built by Messrs. J. Elder & Co of Glasgow at a cost of ₤123,000....
    
     (1878) - Sold 1904
  • Curacoa
    HMS Curacoa (1878)
    HMS Curacoa was an of the Royal Navy, built by John Elder & Co., Govan and launched on 18 April 1878.Commenced service on the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station before being transferred to the Australia Station arriving on 5 August 1890. She left the Australia Station in December...
    
     (1878) - Sold 1904
  • Champion (1878) - Sold 1919
  • Cleopatra (1878) - Sold 1931
  • Carysfort (1878) - Sold 1899
  • Conquest (1878) - Sold 1899
  • Constance
    HMS Constance (1880)
    HMS Constance was a Comus-class steel corvette of the Royal Navy. She was launched from Chatham Dockyard on 9 June 1880.-Design and construction:...
    
     (1880) - Sold 1899
  • Canada (1881) - Sold 1897
  • Cordelia
    HMS Cordelia (1881)
    HMS Cordelia was an of the Royal Navy, built at the Portsmouth Dockyard and launched on 25 October 1881.Commenced service on the China Station before being transferred to the Australia Station arriving in April 1890. On 29 June 1891, during gun practice while on a cruise from Fiji to Noumea, a gun...
    
     (1881) - Sold 1904
• Leander class
  Leander class cruiser (1882)
  The Leander Class were a four ship cruiser programme ordered by the Admiralty in 1880. The class comprised HMS Leander, HMS Phaëton, HMS Amphion and HMS Arethusa.-Genesis:...
  
   second class cruiser, 4,300 tons, 10-6in
  • Leander
    HMS Leander (1882)
    HMS Leander was a second class cruiser, name ship of the Royal Navy's first Leander-class cruisers. During a revolution in Panama in 1900, the Leander helped protect the lives and property of foreign residents.-Design and construction:...
    
     (1882) - Sold 1920
  • Amphion
    HMS Amphion (1883)
    HMS Amphion was a second class cruiser of the Leander Class which served with the Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dockyard, being laid down in 1881, launched in 1883 and completed in financial year 1885-86, and then lay in ordinary at Devonport. She was commissioned for the 1887 and 1888...
    
     (1883) - Sold 1906
  • Arethusa
    HMS Arethusa (1882)
    HMS Arethusa was a second class cruiser of the Leander Class which served with the Royal Navy. She was built at Napier, Glasgow, being laid down in 1880, launched in 1882 and completed in Financial Year 1886-87. She remained in ordinary reserve at Chatham, being commissioned for the 1887, 1888,...
    
     (1882) - Sold 1905
  • Phaeton
    HMS Phaeton (1883)
    HMS Phaeton was a second class cruiser of the Leander class which served with the Royal Navy.-Construction:She was built by Napier in Glasgow, being laid down in 1880, launched in 1883 and completed in 1886.-Acceptance Trials:...
    
     (1883) - Sold 1947
• Calypso class
  Calypso class corvette
  The Calypso class comprised two steam corvettes of the Royal Navy. Built for distant cruising in the heyday of the British Empire, they served with the fleet until the early twentieth century, when they became training ships...
  
   third class cruiser, 2,770 tons, 4-6in + 12-5in.
  • Calliope
    HMS Calliope (1884)
    HMS Calliope was a Calypso-class corvette of the Royal Navy which served from 1887 until 1951. Like all the remaining frigates and corvette extent in 1887, she was re-classified as a third-class cruiser in the year she was completed, and exemplified the transitional nature of the late Victorian navy...
    
     (1884) - Sold 1951 (drill ship from 1907)
  • Calypso
    HMS Calypso (1883)
    HMS Calypso was a corvette of the Royal Navy and the name ship of her class. Built for distant cruising in the heyday of the British Empire, she served as a warship and training vessel until 1922, when she was sold.As originally classified as a screw corvette, Calypso was one of the Royal Navy’s...
    
     (1883) - Sold 1922
• Mersey class second class cruiser, 4,050 tons, 2-8in, 10-6in
  • Mersey
    HMS Mersey (1885)
    HMS Mersey was Mersey-class second class protected cruiser. They were relatively modern, in that they were the first cruisers that had discarded their sailing rigs in the design, that was synonymous with the old wooden warships, and were now solely steam powered warships...
    
     (1885) - Sold 1905
  • Severn (1885) - Sold 1905
  • Thames
    HMS Thames (1885)
    HMS Thames was a Mersey class second class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy. She later served in the South African Navy under the name SATS General Botha as a training vessel.-Royal Navy:...
    
     (1885) - Renamed General Botha, scuttled 1947
  • Forth (1886) - Sold 1921
• Marathon class
  Marathon class cruiser
  The Marathon class cruiser was a class of second class cruiser of the Royal Navy ordered under the naval programme of 1887. It was a smaller version of the Mersey class ....
  
   third class cruiser, 2,850 tons, 6-6in
  • Medea (1888) - Sold 1914
  • Marathon (1888)
  • Magicienne (1888)
  • Medusa (1888) - Sold 1920
  • Melpomene (1888)
• Apollo class
  Apollo class cruiser
  The Apollo class were a class of second-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the late 19th century that served during the Boer War and World War I....
  
   second class cruiser, 3,400 tons, 2-6in, 6-4.7in
  • Apollo
    HMS Apollo (1891)
    HMS Apollo, the sixth ship of the Royal Navy to be named for the Greek god Apollo, was a second-class protected cruiser launched in 1891 and converted to a minelayer in 1909 along with six of her sisters...
    
     (1891)
  • Aeolus (1891)
  • Andromache
    HMS Andromache (1890)
    HMS Andromache was a 2nd class cruiser designed by W. H. White, built at Chatham Dock Yard and launched 14 August 1890. Total cost of construction was £186,234.The ship was initially allocated to A Division of the Fleet Reserve....
    
     (1890)
  • Brilliant
    HMS Brilliant (1891)
    HMS Brilliant was an Apollo class cruiser of the British Royal Navy which served from 1893 to 1918 in various colonial posts and off the British Isles as a hastily converted minelayer during the First World War. In April 1918, Brilliant was deliberately scuttled in the mouth of Ostend harbour in...
    
     (1891)
  • Indefatigable (1891)
  • Intrepid (1891) - Scuttled 1918
  • Iphigenia (1891) - Scuttled 1918
  • Latona (1890) - Sold 1920
  • Melampus (1890) - Sold 1910
  • Naiad (1890) - Sold 1922
  • Pique (1890) - Sold 1911
  • Rainbow (1891) - To Canada as HMCS Rainbow 1910
  • Retribution (1891) - Sold 1911
  • Sappho
    HMS Sappho (1891)
    HMS Sappho was an Apollo class cruiser of the British Royal Navy which served from 1892 to 1918 in various colonial posts, including service during the Second Boer War in 1901. During the First World War, Sappho and her sisters saw service off the British Isles as hastily converted minelayers...
    
     (1891) - Sold 1921
  • Scylla (1891) - Sold 1914
  • Sirius (1890) - Scuttled 1918
  • Spartan
    HMS Spartan (1891)
    HMS Spartan was an Apollo class cruiser of the Royal Navy constructed in 1891. The design was a variant of the Marathon class cruiser. The ships had quick firing guns which were effective as a broadside, but less so when attempting to fire fore or aft.From 1907 she was placed on harbour duty...
    
     (1891) - Renamed Defiance 1921, sold 1931
  • Sybille (1890) - Wrecked 1901
  • Terpsichore (1890) - Sold 1914
  • Thetis
    HMS Thetis (1890)
    HMS Thetis was an Apollo-class 2nd class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 December 1890. Her first significant mission was service in the Bering Sea Patrol with American warships in a combined effort to suppress poaching in the Bering Sea. The latter half of her career was spent...
    
     (1890) - Scuttled 1918
  • Tribune (1891) - Sold 1911
• Astraea class
  Astraea class cruiser
  The Astraea class was an eight ship class of protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the 1890s. The ships served on a number of foreign stations during their careers, particularly in the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and around the Cape of Good Hope...
  
   second class cruiser, 4,360 tons, 2-6in, 8-4.7in
  • Astraea
    HMS Astraea (1893)
    HMS Astraea was an Astraea class second class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built towards the end of the nineteenth century, and survived to serve in the First World War.-Construction and commissioning:...
    
     (1893) - Sold 1920
  • Bonaventure (1892) - Sold 1920
  • Cambrian
    HMS Cambrian (1893)
    HMS Cambrian was a second-class protected cruiser, of the Royal Navy, built at the Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 30 January 1893. She was the last flagship of the Australia Station....
    
     (1893) - Sold 1923
  • Charybdis (1893) - Sold 1922
  • Flora
    HMS Flora (1893)
    HMS Flora was an Astraea class cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 21 November 1893. She was constructed under the Naval Defence Act of 1889 along with several other Astraea class cruisers...
    
     (1893) - Renamed Indus II, sold 1922
  • Forte (1893) - Sold 1914
  • Fox
    HMS Fox (1893)
    HMS Fox was a second class protected cruiser of the Astraea-class of the Royal Navy. The class represented an improvement on previous types, 1,000 tons displacement larger with better seaworthiness due to improved hull design...
    
     (1893) - Sold 1920
  • Hermione
    HMS Hermione (1893)
    HMS Hermione was an Astraea-class protected cruiser launched at Devonport in 1893. She served in World War I and was sold in 1921. She was renamed HMS Warspite in 1922, and broken up in 1940....
    
     (1893) - Renamed Warspite, sold 1940
• Eclipse class
  Eclipse class cruiser
  The Eclipse-class cruisers of the Royal Navy were protected cruisers constructed in the mid-1890s.-Design and history:They were enlarged versions of the preceding Astraea class. Between 1903 and 1905, all of the ships in the class except for Eclipse had their mixed and guns removed and replaced...
  
   second class cruiser, 5,600 tons, 5-6in, 6-4.7in
  • Eclipse (1894)
  • Diana (1895)
  • Dido (1896) - Sold 1926
  • Doris
    HMS Doris (1896)
    HMS Doris was an Eclipse-class masted cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Barrow by Naval Construction and Armaments Company and laid down on 29 August 1894, being launched 3 March 1896, and completed for service 18 November 1897....
    
     (1896) - Sold 1919
  • Isis (1896)
  • Juno
    HMS Juno (1895)
    HMS Juno was an of Britain's Royal Navy.Juno was assigned to the 11th Cruiser Squadron operating from Ireland. In 1915 she was sent to the Persian Gulf and took part in an engagement at Bushire in July-August 1915 against Tangistani raids under Rais Ali Delvari.In 1918 she was sent to the West...
    
     (1895)
  • Minerva
    HMS Minerva (1895)
    HMS Minerva was a second class protected cruiser of the Eclipse class.Minerva was laid down at Chatham Dockyard, Kent, on December 4, 1893, and was floated out on September 23, 1895. It was scrapped in 1920....
    
     (1895)
  • Talbot
    HMS Talbot (1895)
    HMS Talbot was an Eclipse-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy.-Early career:She was commissioned on 15 September 1895 for service on the North America and West Indies Station...
    
     (1895)
  • Venus (1895)
• Pearl class
  Pearl class cruiser
  The Pearl-class cruiser was a class of nine third-class cruisers designed by Sir William White, five of which were paid for by Australia under the terms of the Imperial Defence Act of 1887 to serve in Australian waters.-Design:...
  
   third class cruiser, 2,575 tons, 8-4.7in
  • Pallas (1890)
  • Pandora (1889)
  • Pearl (1890)
  • Pelorus
    HMS Pelorus (1889)
    HMS Mildura was an Pearl-class cruiser of the Royal Navy, built by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick, Tyne and Wear and launched on 25 November 1889 named HMS Pelorus. She was a 2,575 ton displacement, third class cruiser with a top speed of 19 knots, and a crew complement of 217...
    
     (1889)
  • Persian (1890)
  • Philomel
    HMS Philomel (1890)
    HMS Philomel was a Pearl-class cruiser. She was the sixth ship of that name and served with the Royal Navy from her commissioning in 1890 until 1914, when she was transferred to the New Zealand Navy with whom she served until 1947...
    
     (1890)
  • Phoebe (1890)
  • Phoenix (1889)
  • Psyche (1889)
• Arrogant class
  Arrogant class cruiser
  The Arrogant class cruiser was a class of four protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 1890s.-External links:*...
  
   second class cruiser, 5,750 tons, 4-6in, 6-4.7in
  • Arrogant (1896) - Sold 1923
  • Furious (1896) - Renamed Forte 1915, sold 1923
  • Gladiator
    HMS Gladiator (1896)
    HMS Gladiator was a second class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy, launched on 8 December 1896 at Portsmouth, England. She was an rated at displacement, with a crew of 250 officers and men...
    
     (1896) - Collision 1908, refloated, sold 1909
  • Vindictive
    HMS Vindictive (1897)
    HMS Vindictive was a British protected cruiser of the Arrogant class built at Chatham Dockyard. She was launched on 9 December 1897 and completed in 1899....
    
     (1897) - Scuttled 1918
• Pelorus class
  Pelorus class cruiser
  The Pelorus class cruiser was a "third-class" protected cruiser class of eleven Royal Navy warships designed by Sir William White , based on the earlier Pearl class cruisers. They were ordered in 1893 under the Spencer Program, and laid down 1896–1900...
  
   third class cruiser, 2,135 tons, 8-4in
  • Pelorus
    HMS Pelorus (1896)
    HMS Pelorus was the first of the , and was laid down at Sheerness dockyard in 1896. Completed and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 15 December the same year, it was designed by Sir William White. Construction cost £154,315. The ship was well armed for its size, but was primarily a workhorse for...
    
     (1896)
  • Pactolus
    HMS Pactolus (1896)
    HMS Pactolus was a Pelorus class cruiser of the Royal Navy. There were eleven ""Third class"" protected cruisers in the class, which was designed by Sir William White...
    
     (1896)
  • Proserpine
    HMS Proserpine (1896)
    HMS Proserpine was a Pelorus class cruiser of the Royal Navy. There were eleven "Third class" protected cruisers in the class, which was designed by Sir William White...
    
     (1896)
  • Pegasus
    HMS Pegasus (1897)
    HMS Pegasus was one of 11 Pelorus-class protected cruisers ordered for the Royal Navy in 1893 under the Spencer Program and based on the earlier Pearl-class. The class were fitted with a variety of different boilers most of which were not entirely satisfactory and by 1914 four ships had been...
    
     (1897) - Sunk 1914
  • Perseus
    HMS Perseus (1897)
    HMS Perseus was a Pelorus class cruiser of the Royal Navy. There were eleven "Third class" protected cruisers in the class, which was designed by Sir William White...
    
     (1897)
  • Pomone
    HMS Pomone (1897)
    HMS Pomone was a protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1890s. The ship's boilers were so troublesome that she was decommissioned in 1904 after only a single foreign deployment...
    
     (1897)
  • Pyramus
    HMS Pyramus (1897)
    HMS Pyramus was a Pelorus class cruiser of the Royal Navy. There were eleven ""Third class"" protected cruisers in the class, which was designed by Sir William White...
    
     (1897)
  • Psyche
    HMAS Psyche
    HMAS Psyche was a Pelorus class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century. She was transferred to the fledgling Royal Australian Navy in 1912.-Design and construction:...
    
     (1898) - To Australia 1915
  • Prometheus
    HMS Prometheus (1898)
    HMS Prometheus was a Pelorus class cruiser of the Royal Navy. There were eleven "Third class" protected cruisers in the class, which was designed by Sir William White...
    
     (1898)
  • Pioneer
    HMAS Pioneer
    HMAS Pioneer was a Pelorus class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century. She was transferred to the fledgling Royal Australian Navy in 1912...
    
     (1899) - To Australia 1912, scuttled 1931
  • Pandora
    HMS Pandora (1900)
    HMS Pandora was a of the Royal Navy. There were eleven "Third class" protected cruisers in the class, which was designed by Sir William White...
    
     (1900)
• Highflyer class
  Highflyer class cruiser
  The Highflyer class cruisers were a three-ship class of second-class protected cruisers of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1897 and completed at an average cost of £300,000....
  
   second class cruiser, 5,650 tons, 11-6in
  • Highflyer
    HMS Highflyer (1898)
    HMS Highflyer was the lead ship of the Highflyer class cruiser which served with the Royal Navy. She was built at the yards of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan, being laid down in June 1897, launched on 4 June 1898 and commissioned on 7 December 1899.-Pre-1914:Like her sisters...
    
     (1898) - Sold 1921
  • Hermes (1898) - Torpedoed 1914
  • Hyacinth
    HMS Hyacinth (1898)
    HMS Hyacinth was one of the Highflyer class cruisers of the Royal Navy. She was built by the London and Glasgow Shipbuilding Company in Glasgow, being laid down in January 1897, launched on 27 October 1898 and commissioned in September 1900....
    
     (1898) - Sold 1923
• Challenger class
  Challenger class cruiser
  The Challenger class cruisers were a two-ship class of second class protected cruisers of the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy.-Ships: - Sold 1920 - To Australia 1912 as HMAS Encounter, renamed Penguin 1923, scuttled 1932.-References:...
  
   second class cruiser, 5,880 tons, 11-6in
  • Challenger
    HMS Challenger (1902)
    HMS Challenger was a second-class protected cruiser of the Challenger class of the Royal Navy.Commissioned on 30 May 1904, she commenced duty on the Australia Station. She was paid off into reserve on 10 October 1912 before recommissioning during the First World War...
    
     (1902) - Sold 1920
  • Encounter (1902) - To Australia 1912 as HMAS Encounter, renamed Penguin 1923, scuttled 1932
• Topaze class
  Topaze class cruiser
  The Topaze-class cruisers were a class of third-class protected cruisers. They were the last class of protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy...
  
   third class cruiser, 3,000 tons, 12-4in
  • Topaze (1903) - Sold 1921
  • Amethyst
    HMS Amethyst (1903)
    HMS Amethyst was a third-class protected cruiser of the Topaze class of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1904, served during World War I at the Dardanelles and Gallipoli, in the Mediterranean and the South Atlantic...
    
     (1903) - Sold 1920
  • Diamond (1904) - Sold 1921
  • Sapphire
    HMS Sapphire (1904)
    HMS Sapphire was a third-class protected cruiser of the Topaze class of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1904, saw active service in World War I and was sold for scrap in 1921.-Construction:...
    
     (1904) - Sold 1921

Scout cruisers

The scout cruiser was a smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured cruiser than the protected cruiser, intended for fleet scouting duties and acting as a flotilla leader

Flotilla leader

A flotilla leader was a warship suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer...

. Essentially there were two distinct groups - the eight vessels all ordered under the 1903 Programme, and the seven later vessels ordered under the 1907-1910 Programmes. The advent of better machinery and larger, faster destroyers and light cruisers effectively made them obsolete.

• Sentinel class
  Sentinel class cruiser
  The Sentinel class was a two ship class of scout cruiser serving with the Royal Navy, and consisting of the ships HMS Sentinel and HMS Skirmisher.-History:...
  
   2,880 tons, 10 x 12pdr
  • Sentinel
    HMS Sentinel (1904)
    HMS Sentinel was one of two Sentinel class scout cruisers which served with the Royal Navy. She was built by Vickers Limited, laid down in June 1903, launched on 19 April 1904 and completed in April 1905 at a cost of about £282,000...
    
     (1904) - Sold 1923
  • Skirmisher
    HMS Skirmisher (1905)
    HMS Skirmisher was one of two Sentinel class scout cruisers which served with the Royal Navy. She was built by Vickers Limited, laid down in July 1903, launched on 7 February 1905 and completed in July 1905 at a cost of about £282,000. She sported a partial turtle deck forward and shorter funnels...
    
     (1905) - Sold 1920
• Adventure class
  Adventure class cruiser
  The Adventure class was a two ship class of scout cruiser serving with the Royal Navy in World War I, and consisting of the ships HMS Adventure and HMS Attentive.-Design:...
  
   2,640 tons, 10 x 12pdr
  • Adventure
    HMS Adventure (1904)
    HMS Adventure was an Adventure class scout cruiser which served with the Royal Navy before and during the First World War. She was built by Armstrong Whitworth of Elswick, Tyne and Wear, being laid down on 7 January 1904 and launched on 8 September 1904.-Career:In April 1907 she collided with, and...
    
     (1904) - Sold 1920
  • Attentive
    HMS Attentive (1904)
    HMS Attentive was an Adventure class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Armstrong Whitworth at their yards at Elswick, Tyne and Wear and launched on 24 November 1904...
    
     (1904) - Sold 1920
• Forward class
  Forward class cruiser
  The Forward class was a two ship class of scout cruiser serving with the Royal Navy in World War I, and consisting of the ships HMS Forward and HMS Foresight.-Design:...
  
   2,860 tons, 10 x 12pdr
  • Forward
    HMS Forward (1904)
    HMS Forward was one of two Forward-class scout cruiser which served with the Royal Navy. She was built in the yards of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan. She was laid down in October 1903, launched on 27 August 1904 and completed in September 1905...
    
     (1904) - Sold 1921
  • Foresight
    HMS Foresight (1904)
    HMS Foresight was one of two Forward class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy, built at the yards of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan. She was laid down in October 1903, launched on 8 October 1904 and completed in August 1905...
    
     (1904) - Sold 1920
• Pathfinder class
  Pathfinder class cruiser
  The Pathfinder class was a two ship class of scout cruiser serving with the Royal Navy in World War I, and consisting of the ships HMS Pathfinder and HMS Patrol....
  
   2,900 tons, 10 x 12pdr
  • Pathfinder
    HMS Pathfinder (1904)
    HMS Pathfinder was the lead ship of the Pathfinder class scout cruisers, and was the first ship ever to be sunk by a torpedo fired by submarine . She was built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, launched on 16 July 1904, and commissioned on 18 July 1905...
    
     (1904) - Torpedoed 1914
  • Patrol
    HMS Patrol (1904)
    HMS Patrol was a Pathfinder class scout cruiser which served with the Royal Navy before and during the First World War. She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name HMS Patrol.-Design:...
    
     (1904) - Sold 1920
• Boadicea class
  Boadicea class cruiser
  The Boadicea class was a two ship class of scout cruisers of the Royal Navy, consisting of HMS Bellona and HMS Boadicea. They were the first class to be fitted with turbine machinery, propulsion which became standard for all future cruisers...
  
   3,300 tons, 6 x 4in
  • Boadicea
    HMS Boadicea (1908)
    HMS Boadicea was the lead ship of the Boadicea-class scout cruisers which served with the British Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dockyard, being laid down in June 1907, launched on 14 May 1908 and commissioned in June 1909.-Design:...
    
     (1908)
  • Bellona
    HMS Bellona (1909)
    HMS Bellona was one of two Boadicea class scout cruisers which served with the Royal Navy. She was launched from Pembroke Dockyard on 20 March 1909 and completed in February 1910....
    
     (1909)
• Blonde class
  Blonde class cruiser
  The Blonde class cruisers were a two ship class of light scout cruisers of the British Royal Navy. They were developments of the earlier Boadicea class class, though were slightly bigger with ten 4 inch guns as their main armament.-History:...
  
   3,350 tons, 10 x 4in
  • Blonde
    HMS Blonde (1910)
    HMS Blonde was a Blonde class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in December 1909 in Pembroke Dockyard, launched on 22 July 1910 and completed in May 1911....
    
     (1910)
  • Blanche
    HMS Blanche (1909)
    HMS Blanche was a Blonde class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in December 1909 at Pembroke Dockyard, launched on 25 November 1909 and completed in November 1910.-Design:...
    
     (1909)
• Active class
  Active class cruiser
  The Active class was a class of three scout cruisers of the Royal Navy, built prior to the First World War, and later seeing service in that conflict...
  
   3,440 tons, 10 x 4in
  • Active
    HMS Active (1911)
    HMS Active was an Active class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 14 March 1911.-Career:...
    
     (1911)
  • Amphion
    HMS Amphion (1911)
    HMS Amphion was an Active-class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 4 December 1911. She became the first ship of the Royal Navy to be sunk in the First World War...
    
     (1911)
  • Fearless
    HMS Fearless (1912)
    HMS Fearless was an Active-class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 12 June 1912.On commissioning she was assigned to the Harwich Force with her sisters, and was the leader of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla...
    
     (1912)

Light cruisers

The light armoured cruiser - light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 - succeeded the protected cruiser; improvements in machinery and armour rendering the latter obsolete. The Town class

Town class cruiser (1910)

The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...

 of 1910 were rated as second class protected cruisers, but were effectively light armoured cruisers with mixed coal and oil firing. The Arethusa class of 1913 were the first oil-only fired class. This meant that the arrangement of coal bunkers in the hull could no longer be relied upon as protection and the adoption of destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

-type machinery resulted in a higher speed. This makes the Arethusas the first "true example" of the warship that came to be recognised as the light cruiser. In the London Naval Treaty

London Naval Treaty

The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...

 of 1930, light cruisers were officially defined as cruisers having guns of 6.1 inch (155 mm) calibre or less, with a displacement not exceeding 10,000 tons.

• Town class
  Town class cruiser (1910)
  The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...
  
  
  • Bristol group 4,800 tons, 2-6in, 10-4in
    • Bristol
      HMS Bristol (1910)
      The fifth HMS Bristol was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 23 February 1910 at John Brown & Company's Clydebank shipyard....
      
       (1910)
    • Glasgow
      HMS Glasgow (1909)
      HMS Glasgow, the sixth ship of that name, was launched on the Clyde at Govan in 1909 and was a Town-class light cruiser.On the outbreak of the First World War, she was operating off the coast of South America under Captain John Luce, and on 16 August 1914 she captured the German merchant ship SS...
      
       (1910)
    • Gloucester
      HMS Gloucester (1909)
      HMS Gloucester was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 28 October 1909 from the yards of William Beardmore and Company. She formed part of the Bristol subgroup....
      
       (1910)
    • Liverpool
      HMS Liverpool (1909)
      HMS Liverpool was a 4,800 ton Town-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy commissioned in 1909. Named for the port city of Liverpool, the cruiser served continuously in home waters subordinated to the Home Fleet from 1909 through the initial stages of the First World War.During the war,...
      
       (1910)
    • Newcastle
      HMS Newcastle (1909)
      HMS Newcastle was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 25 November 1909 from the yards of Armstrong Whitworth. She formed part of the Bristol subgroup....
      
       (1910)
  • Weymouth group 5,250 tons, 8-6in
    • Weymouth
      HMS Weymouth (1910)
      HMS Weymouth was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 18 November 1910 from the yards of Armstrong Whitworth. She was the lead ship of the Weymouth subgroup....
      
       (1911)
    • Dartmouth
      HMS Dartmouth (1911)
      HMS Dartmouth was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 14 December 1910 from the yards of Vickers Limited. She was part of the Weymouth subgroup....
      
       (1911)
    • Falmouth
      HMS Falmouth (1910)
      HMS Falmouth was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 20 September 1910 from the yards of William Beardmore and Company. She was part of the Weymouth subgroup.She saw action in a number of major naval engagements of the war...
      
       (1911)
    • Yarmouth
      HMS Yarmouth (1911)
      HMS Yarmouth was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 12 April 1911 from the yards of the London & Glasgow Co. She was part of the Weymouth subgroup....
      
       (1912)
  • Chatham group 5,400 tons, 8-6in
    • Chatham
      HMS Chatham (1911)
      HMS Chatham was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 9 November 1911 from Chatham Dockyard. She was the lead ship of the Chatham subgroup....
      
       (1912)
    • Dublin (1913)
    • Southampton
      HMS Southampton (1912)
      HMS Southampton was a Royal Navy warship that served in the First World War.Southampton was one of the third batch of "Town" class light cruisers, her sister ships were Dublin and Chatham...
      
       (1912)
    • Brisbane
      HMAS Brisbane (1915)
      HMAS Brisbane was a Town class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy . Built in Sydney between 1913 and 1916 to the Chatham subtype design, Brisbane operated in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Australian coastal waters during World War I.Following the end of the war, the cruiser was...
      
       (1916)
    • Melbourne
      HMAS Melbourne (1912)
      HMAS Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser operated by the Royal Australian Navy . Commissioned in 1913, the cruiser served during World War I. She was paid off in 1928, and broken up for scrap in 1929.-Design and construction:...
      
       (1913)
    • Sydney
      HMAS Sydney (1912)
      HMAS Sydney was a Chatham class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy . Laid down in 1911 and launched in 1912, the cruiser was commissioned into the RAN in 1913....
      
       (1913)
  • Birmingham group 5,440 tons, 9-6in
    • Birmingham
      HMS Birmingham (1913)
      HMS Birmingham was lead ship of the Birmingham group of three ships of the "Town" class of light cruisers built by the Royal Navy. Her sister ships were and...
      
       (1914)
    • Lowestoft
      HMS Lowestoft (1913)
      HMS Lowestoft was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 23 April 1913 from Chatham Dockyard. She was part of the Birmingham subgroup....
      
       (1914)
    • Nottingham
      HMS Nottingham (1913)
      The fifth HMS Nottingham was launched in 1913 and commissioned in 1914. A light Town class light cruiser of , in length and a complement of 401 men, she had thick armour plating and was armed with nine guns, one 13-pounder anti-aircraft gun and two torpedo tubes...
      
       (1914)
    • Adelaide
      HMAS Adelaide (1918)
      HMAS Adelaide was a Town class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy , named after Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia...
      
       (1922)
  • Birkenhead group 5,185 tons, 10-5.5in
    • Birkenhead
      HMS Birkenhead (1915)
      HMS Birkenhead was one of two Town class light cruisers originally ordered for the Greek Navy in 1914. She was to be named Antinavarchos Kountouriotis after Vice Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis. The order was placed with Cammell Laird and production continued for the Greek account after the outbreak...
      
       (1915)
    • Chester
      HMS Chester (1915)
      HMS Chester was a Town class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, and one of two ships forming the Birkenhead subtype. Along with her sister ship, HMS Birkenhead, she was originally ordered for the Greek Navy in 1914 and was to be named Lambros Katsonis...
      
       (1916)
• Arethusa class, 3,750 tons, 6-in, 6-4in
  • Arethusa
    HMS Arethusa (1913)
    HMS Arethusa was the name ship of the Arethusa class of light cruisers. She was laid down at Chatham Dockyard in October 1912, launched on 25 October 1913, and commissioned in August 1914 as flotilla leader for the Harwich Destroyer flotillas....
    
     (1914)
  • Aurora
    HMS Aurora (1913)
    HMS Aurora was an Arethusa-class light cruiser launched on 30 September 1913 at Devonport Dockyard.Construction started in 1912 and she was commissioned into the Royal Navy and saw service as part of the Grand Fleet from 1914 to 1915, as leader of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla...
    
     (1914)
  • Galatea
    HMS Galatea (1914)
    HMS Galatea was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 14 May, 1914 at William Beardmore and Company shipyard....
    
     (1914)
  • Inconstant
    HMS Inconstant (1914)
    HMS Inconstant was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 6 July, 1914 at William Beardmore and Company shipyard....
    
     (1915)
  • Penelope
    HMS Penelope (1914)
    HMS Penelope was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 25 August 1914 at Vickers Limited's shipyard. Unlike her sisters, she carried an extra 4 inch anti-aircraft gun in place of two 3 inch anti-aircraft guns....
    
     (1914)
  • Phaeton
    HMS Phaeton (1914)
    HMS Phaeton was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 21 October 1914 at Vickers Limited shipyard.On being commissioned, she was assigned to the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet, and between February and March 1915 was operating in the Dardanelles in support of...
    
     (1915)
  • Royalist
    HMS Royalist (1915)
    HMS Royalist was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 14 January 1915 at William Beardmore and Company's shipyard....
    
     (1915)
  • Undaunted
    HMS Undaunted (1914)
    HMS Undaunted was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 28 April 1914 at Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company's shipyard at Govan.Undaunted participated in numerous naval operations during the First World War...
    
     (1914)
• C class
  C class cruiser
  The C class was a group of twenty-eight light cruisers of the Royal Navy, and were built in a sequence of seven classes known as the Caroline , Calliope , Cambrian , Centaur , Caledon , Ceres and Carlisle classes...
  
  
  • Caroline group 4,219 tons, 2-6in, 8-4in
    • Caroline
      HMS Caroline (1914)
      HMS Caroline was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. Caroline was launched and commissioned in 1914. At the time of her decommissioning in 2011 she was the second-oldest ship in Royal Navy service, after HMS Victory...
      
       (1914)
    • Carysfort
      HMS Carysfort (1914)
      HMS Carysfort was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the Caroline group of the C-class of cruisers.She was laid down in February 1914, launched 14 November 1914 and commissioned into the navy in June 1915...
      
       (1914)
    • Cleopatra
      HMS Cleopatra (1915)
      HMS Cleopatra was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the Caroline group of the C-class of cruisers.She was laid down in February 1914, launched 14 January 1915 and commissioned into the navy in June 1915. On the outbreak of war she was assigned to the 5th Light Cruiser...
      
       (1915)
    • Comus
      HMS Comus (1914)
      HMS Comus was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the Caroline group of the C-class of cruisers.She was laid down on 13 November 1913, launched 16 December 1914 and commissioned into the navy on 15 May 1915. She was assigned to the Grand Fleet upon completion, and then went...
      
       (1914)
    • Conquest
      HMS Conquest (1915)
      HMS Conquest was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the Caroline group of the C-class of cruisers.She was laid down in March 1914, launched 20 January 1915 and commissioned into the navy in June 1915. She was assigned to the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron, Harwich Force,...
      
       (1915)
    • Cordelia
      HMS Cordelia (1914)
      HMS Cordelia was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the Caroline group of the C-class of cruisers.She was laid down in July 1913, launched 23 February 1914 and commissioned into the navy in January 1915...
      
       (1914)
  • Calliope group 4,228 tons, 2-6in, 8-4in
    • Calliope
      HMS Calliope (1914)
      HMS Calliope was a British C class light cruiser of the Royal Navy under construction at the outbreak of World War I. Both Calliope and her sister ship Champion were based on HMS Caroline. They were effectively test ships for the use of geared turbines which resulted in the one less funnel. They...
      
       (1914)
    • Champion
      HMS Champion (1915)
      HMS Champion was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy.Eight light cruisers were ordered for the Royal Navy in the 1913 budget. The six ships of the Caroline class used conventional direct drive turbine engines but two, Champion and Calliope had experimental engine designs using geared...
      
       (1915)
  • Cambrian group 4,320 tons, 2-6in, 8-4in
    • Cambrian (1916)
    • Canterbury
      HMS Canterbury (1915)
      HMS Canterbury was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was part of the Cambrian group of the C-class of cruisers. Unlike the rest of the subclass, Canterbury was armed with six torpedo tubes instead of the usual four....
      
       (1915)
    • Castor
      HMS Castor (1915)
      HMS Castor was one of the Cambrian subclass of the C-class of light cruisers. Her sister ships were HMS Cambrian, HMS Canterbury, and HMS Constance...
      
       (1915)
    • Constance
      HMS Constance (1915)
      HMS Constance was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was part of the Cambrian group of the C-class of cruisers....
      
       (1915)
  • Centaur group 4,165 tons, 5-6in
    • Centaur
      HMS Centaur (1916)
      HMS Centaur was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was the nameship of the Centaur group of the C-class of cruisers....
      
       (1916)
    • Concord
      HMS Concord (1916)
      HMS Concord was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the Centaur group of the C-class of cruisers.She was built by Vickers Limited and laid down in February 1915, launched on 1 April 1916 and commissioned into the Navy in December 1916. The Ottoman Empire had ordered a pair...
      
       (1916)
  • Caledon group 4,180 tons, 5-6in
    • Caledon
      HMS Caledon (D53)
      HMS Caledon was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was the nameship of the Caledon group of the C-class of cruisers....
      
       (1916)
    • Calypso
      HMS Calypso (D61)
      HMS Calypso was a C class cruiser of the Caledon sub-class of the Royal Navy, launched in 1917 and sunk in 1940 by the Italian submarine Bagnolini.HMS Calypso was built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company...
      
       (1917) - torpedoed 1940
    • Cassandra
      HMS Cassandra (1916)
      HMS Cassandra was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was part of the Caledon group of the C-class of cruisers.She was built by Vickers Limited, Barrow in Furness and laid down in March 1916, launched on 25 November 1916 and commissioned into the Navy in June 1917.She had a...
      
       (1916) - mined 1918
    • Caradoc
      HMS Caradoc (D60)
      HMS Caradoc was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was part of the Caledon group of the C-class of cruisers.She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock. She was laid down on 21 February 1916, launched on 23 December 1916 and completed and commissioned...
      
       (1916)
  • Ceres group 4,190 tons, 5-6in
    • Cardiff
      HMS Cardiff (1917)
      HMS Cardiff was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy, named after the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. She was part of the Ceres group of the C-class of cruisers....
      
       (1917)
    • Ceres
      HMS Ceres (D59)
      HMS Ceres was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was the name ship of the Ceres group of the C-class of cruisers.-Construction and early years:...
      
       (1917)
    • Coventry
      HMS Coventry (D43)
      HMS Coventry was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy, named after the English city of Coventry. She was part of the Ceres group of the C-class of cruisers.-Early career and wartime service:...
      
       (1917) - sunk 1942
    • Curacoa
      HMS Curacoa (D41)
      HMS Curacoa, named after the island Curaçao in the Caribbean Sea, was a Ceres group C-class light cruiser. In 1942, she became one of the Royal Navy's major accidental losses during the Second World War.-First World War:...
      
       (1917) - sunk in collision 1942
    • Curlew
      HMS Curlew (D42)
      HMS Curlew was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was part of the Ceres group of the C class of cruisers.She was laid down by Vickers Limited on 21 August 1916, and launched on 5 July 1917, being commissioned into the navy on 14 December 1917. In common with most of her...
      
       (1917) - bombed 1940
  • Carlisle group 4,290 tons, 5-6in
    • Cairo
      HMS Cairo (D87)
      HMS Cairo was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the Egyptian capital, Cairo. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name...
      
       (1918) - torpedoed 1942
    • Calcutta
      HMS Calcutta (D82)
      HMS Calcutta was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the Indian city of Calcutta. She was part of the Carlisle group of the C-class of cruisers.She was laid down by Vickers Limited in 1917, and launched on 9 July 1918...
      
       (1919) - sunk in collision 1941
    • Capetown
      HMS Capetown (D88)
      HMS Capetown was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the South African city of Cape Town. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was part of the Carlisle group of the C-class of cruisers....
      
       (1919)
    • Carlisle
      HMS Carlisle (D67)
      HMS Carlisle was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the English City of Carlisle. She was the name ship of the Carlisle group of the C-class of cruisers...
      
       (1918)
    • Colombo
      HMS Colombo (D89)
      HMS Colombo was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the former capital city of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name...
      
       (1918)
• Danae class
  Danae class cruiser
  The Danae or D-class was a class of light cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of World War I and that survived to see service in World War II.-Design:...
  
   4,850 tons, 6-6in
  • Danae (1918)
  • Dauntless
    HMS Dauntless (D45)
    HMS Dauntless was a Danae-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was launched from the yards of Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company on 10 April 1918 and commissioned on 22 November, 1918.-Design:...
    
     (1918)
  • Dragon
    HMS Dragon (D46)
    HMS Dragon, also known in Polish service as ORP Dragon , was a D- or Danae-class cruiser built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in Glasgow, in December 1917, and scuttled in July 1944 off the Normandy beaches as part of the Arromanches Breakwater.-Pre World War II:One of the fastest-built ships...
    
     (1918) - scuttled 1944
  • Delhi
    HMS Delhi (D47)
    HMS Delhi was a Danae class cruiser that served with the Royal Navy in the Baltic and in World War II. She was laid down in 1917 and scrapped in 1948 after war service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean....
    
     (1919)
  • Dunedin (1919) - torpedoed 1941
  • Durban
    HMS Durban (D99)
    HMS Durban was a Danae-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was launched from the yards of Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company on 29 May 1919 and commissioned on 1 November 1921.-Early career:...
    
     (1921) - scuttled 1944
  • Despatch
    HMS Despatch (D30)
    HMS Despatch was a Danae-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was launched from the yards of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company on 24 September 1919 and commissioned on 2 June 1922....
    
     (1922)
  • Diomede (1922)
• Emerald class
  Emerald class cruiser
  The Emerald or E class was a class of two light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. Following the Cavendish Class, three ships of a new class were ordered in March 1918, towards the end of World War I, designed to emphasise high speed at the cost of other qualities, for use against rumoured new high...
  
   7,580 tons, 7-6in
  • Emerald
    HMS Emerald (D66)
    HMS Emerald was an Emerald-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Armstrong , with the keel being laid down on 23 September 1918...
    
     (1926)
  • Enterprise
    HMS Enterprise (D52)
    HMS Enterprise was one of two Emerald-class light cruisers of the Royal Navy. She was built by John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd., with the keel being laid down on 28 June 1918. She was launched on 23 December 1919, and commissioned 7 April 1926...
    
     (1926)
• Leander class
  Leander class cruiser (1931)
  The Leander class was a class of eight light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s that saw service in World War II. They were named after mythological figures, and all ships were commissioned between 1933 and 1936...
  
  
  • Leander group 7,200 tons, 8-6in
    • Achilles
      HMNZS Achilles (70)
      HMNZS Achilles was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy in World War II. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, alongside HMS Ajax and HMS Exeter....
      
       (1933) - to India
      Indian Navy
      The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
      
       1948 as Delhi
      INS Delhi (1948)
      The INS Delhi was a Leander class cruiser built for the Royal Navy in 1933 as HMS Achilles, and commissioned into the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy in 1937 as HMNZS Achilles...
      
      
    • Ajax
      HMS Ajax (22)
      HMS Ajax was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the British Royal Navy during World War II. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, the Battle of Crete, the Battle of Malta and as a supply escort in the Siege of Tobruk. This ship was the eighth in the Royal...
      
       (1935)
    • Leander
      HMNZS Leander
      HMNZS Leander was a light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. She was the lead ship of a class of eight ships, the Leander class light cruiser and was initially named HMS Leander.- History :...
      
       (1933)
    • Neptune
      HMS Neptune (20)
      HMS Neptune was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy during World War II.Neptune was the fourth ship of its class and was the ninth Royal Navy vessel to carry the name...
      
       (1934) - mined 1941
    • Orion
      HMS Orion (85)
      HMS Orion was a Leander class light cruiser which served with distinction in the Royal Navy during World War II.She received 13 battle honours, a record only exceeded by one other ship, and matched by two others.-History:...
      
       (1934)
  • Amphion group 6,900 tons, 8-6in
    • Amphion (1936) - to Royal Australian Navy
      Royal Australian Navy
      The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
      
       1939 as Perth
      HMAS Perth (D29)
      HMAS Perth was a Modified Leander class light cruiser operated by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. She was constructed for the Royal Navy , and commissioned as HMS Amphion in 1936...
      
       - torpedoed 1942
    • Apollo
      HMAS Hobart (1939)
      HMAS Hobart was a Modified Leander class light cruiser which served in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. Originally constructed for the Royal Navy as HMS Apollo, the ship entered service in 1936, and was sold to Australia two years later...
      
       (1936) - to RAN 1938 as Hobart
      HMAS Hobart (1939)
      HMAS Hobart was a Modified Leander class light cruiser which served in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. Originally constructed for the Royal Navy as HMS Apollo, the ship entered service in 1936, and was sold to Australia two years later...
      
      
    • Phaeton
      HMAS Sydney (1934)
      HMAS Sydney , named for the Australian city of Sydney, was one of three Modified Leander class light cruisers operated by the Royal Australian Navy...
      
       (1935) - to RAN 1935 as Sydney
      HMAS Sydney (1934)
      HMAS Sydney , named for the Australian city of Sydney, was one of three Modified Leander class light cruisers operated by the Royal Australian Navy...
      
       - sunk 1941
• Arethusa class
  Arethusa class cruiser (1934)
  The Arethusa class was a class of four light cruisers built for the Royal Navy between 1933 and 1937 and that served in World War II. It had been intended to construct six ships, but the last pair, Polyphemus and Minotaur were ordered in 1934 as the 9,100 ton Town class Southampton and...
  
   5,220 tons, 6-6in
  • Arethusa
    HMS Arethusa (26)
    HMS Arethusa was the name ship of her class of light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. She was built by Chatham Dockyard , with the keel being laid down on 25 January 1933...
    
     (1935)
  • Aurora
    HMS Aurora (12)
    HMS Aurora was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard , with the keel being laid down on the 27 July 1935. She was launched on the 20 August 1936, and commissioned 12 November 1937....
    
     (1937) - Sold on 19 May 1948 to the Nationalist Chinese Navy
  • Galatea
    HMS Galatea (71)
    HMS Galatea was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. , with the keel being laid down on the 2 June 1933...
    
     (1935) - torpedoed 1941
  • Penelope
    HMS Penelope (97)
    HMS Penelope was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Harland & Wolff , with the keel being laid down on 30 May 1934...
    
     (1936) - torpedoed 1944
• Town class
  Town class cruiser (1936)
  The Town-class was a 10-ship class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy. The Towns were designed to the constraints imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930....
  
  
  • Southampton group 9,100 tons, 12-6in
    • Southampton
      HMS Southampton (C83)
      HMS Southampton was a member of the first group of five ships of the "Town" class of light cruisers. She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland and launched on 10 March 1936....
      
       (1937) - sunk 1941
    • Birmingham
      HMS Birmingham (C19)
      HMS Birmingham was a member of the first group of five ships of the "Town" class of light cruisers. She was built at Devonport Dockyard , and launched on 1 September 1936.-Early career:...
      
        (1937)
    • Glasgow
      HMS Glasgow (C21)
      The seventh HMS Glasgow , built on the Clyde, was a Southampton-class light cruiser, a sub-class of the Town-class and commissioned in September 1937. She displaced 11,930 tons and had a top speed of 32 knots . She was part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet; she escorted the...
      
        (1937)
    • Newcastle
      HMS Newcastle (C76)
      The seventh HMS Newcastle was a Town-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She belonged to the Southampton subclass. In the Second World War following extensive battle damage sustained in the Mediterranean, she spent some time being repaired in New York.She also saw action in the Korean...
      
        (1937)
    • Sheffield
      HMS Sheffield (C24)
      HMS Sheffield was one of the Southampton sub class of the Town-class cruisers of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She took part in actions against several major German warships. Unlike most Royal Navy ships of her time, her fittings were constructed from stainless steel instead of the...
      
       (1937)
  • Gloucester group 9,400 tons, 12-6in
    • Gloucester
      HMS Gloucester (C62)
      HMS Gloucester was one of the second group of three ships of the "Town" class of light cruisers. She was launched on 19 October 1937 prior to commissioning on 31 January 1939....
      
       (1939) - bombed 1941
    • Liverpool
      HMS Liverpool (C11)
      HMS Liverpool , named after the port city of Liverpool in north-west England, was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy in service from 1938 to 1952....
      
        (1938)
    • Manchester
      HMS Manchester (C15)
      The second HMS Manchester was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, belonging to the Gloucester subclass. She was laid down by Hawthorn Leslie at Hebburn in March 1936, launched in April the following year and commissioned in August 1938...
      
       (1938) - sunk 1942
  • Edinburgh group 10,565 tons, 12-6-in
    • Edinburgh
      HMS Edinburgh (C16)
      HMS Edinburgh was a Town-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy, which served during World War II. She was one of the last two "Town"-class, which formed the Edinburgh sub-class...
      
       (1939) - sunk 1942
    • Belfast
      HMS Belfast (C35)
      HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum....
      
       (1939) - Currently a museum ship in London
      London
      London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
      
      
• Dido class
  Dido class cruiser
  The Dido class was a class of sixteen light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. The design was influenced by the Arethusa class light cruisers. The first group of three ships was commissioned in 1940, the second group and third group were commissioned in 1941–1942...
  
  
  • Dido group 5,600 tons, 10-5.25in
    • Bonaventure
      HMS Bonaventure (31)
      HMS Bonaventure was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy.-References:**...
      
       (1940) - torpedoed 1941
    • Dido
      HMS Dido (37)
      HMS Dido was the name ship of her class of light cruisers for the Royal Navy. She was built by Cammell Laird Shipyard , with the keel being laid down on 26 October 1937. She was launched on 18 July 1939 and commissioned on 30 September 1940.-Mediterranean:On 18 August 1942 Captain H. W. U...
      
       (1940)
    • Hermione
      HMS Hermione (74)
      HMS Hermione was a Dido class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, She was built by Alexander Stephen and Sons, , with the keel being laid down on 6 October 1937. She was launched on 18 May 1939, and commissioned 25 March 1941....
      
       (1941) - torpedoed 1942
    • Naiad
      HMS Naiad (93)
      HMS Naiad was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company , with the keel being laid down on 26 August 1937. She was launched on 3 February 1939, and commissioned 24 July 1940....
      
       (1940) - torpedoed 1942
    • Phoebe
      HMS Phoebe (43)
      HMS Phoebe was a Dido class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , with the keel being laid down on 2 September 1937...
      
       (1940)
    • Euryalus
      HMS Euryalus (42)
      HMS Euryalus was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Chatham Dockyard UK), with the keel being laid down on 21 October 1937. She was launched on 6 June 1939, and commissioned 30 June 1941. Euryalus was the last cruiser that Chatham Dockyard built.-Mediterranean Service:-Second...
      
       (1941)
    • Sirius
      HMS Sirius (82)
      HMS Sirius was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard , with the keel being laid down on 6 April 1938. She was launched on 18 September 1940, and commissioned 6 May 1942.-History:...
      
       (1942)
    • Charybdis
      HMS Charybdis (88)
      HMS Charybdis was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Cammell Laird Shipyard , with the keel being laid down on 9 November 1939...
      
       (1941) - torpedoed 1943
    • Cleopatra
      HMS Cleopatra (33)
      HMS Cleopatra was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited , with the keel being laid down on 5 January 1939...
      
       (1941)
    • Scylla
      HMS Scylla (98)
      HMS Scylla was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , with the keel being laid down on 19 April 1939...
      
       (1942)
    • Argonaut
      HMS Argonaut (61)
      HMS Argonaut was a Dido class cruiser-References:***...
      
       (1942)
  • Bellona group 5,770 tons, 8-5.25in
    • Bellona
      HMS Bellona (63)
      HMS Bellona was the name ship of her subgroup of light cruisers for the Royal Navy. She was a modified Dido-class design with only four turrets but improved anti-aircraft armament...
      
       (1943) - to Royal New Zealand Navy
      Royal New Zealand Navy
      The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
      
       1956
    • Black Prince
      HMS Black Prince (81)
      HMS Black Prince was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, of the Bellona subgroup. The cruiser was commissioned in 1943, and served during World War II on the Arctic convoys, during the Normandy landings, and as part of the British Pacific Fleet. In 1946, the cruiser was loaned to the...
      
       (1943) - to RNZN 1948
    • Diadem
      HMS Diadem (84)
      HMS Diadem was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Bellona subgroup of the Royal Navy. She was a modified Dido design with only four turrets but improved AA armament - aka Dido Group 2. She was built by R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited , UK), with the keel being laid down on 15...
      
       (1943) - to Pakistan 1956 as Babur
    • Royalist
      HMS Royalist (89)
      HMS Royalist was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Bellona subgroup of the Royal Navy. She was a modified Dido design with only four turrets but improved AA armament - aka Dido Group 2. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company with the keel being laid down on 21 March 1940...
      
       (1943) - to RNZN 1956
    • Spartan
      HMS Spartan (95)
      HMS Spartan was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Bellona subgroup of the Royal Navy. She was a modified Dido design with only four turrets but improved anti-aircraft armament - aka Dido Group 2. She was built by Vickers-Armstrongs , with the keel being laid down on 21 December 1939...
      
       (1943) - bombed 1944
• Crown Colony class
  Crown Colony class cruiser
  The Crown Colony-class light cruisers of the Royal Navy were named after Crown Colonies of the British Empire. The first eight are known as the Fiji class, while the last three to be built are commonly referred to as the Ceylon class and were built to a slightly modified design.-Design:They were...
  
  
  • Fiji group 8,525 tons, 12-6in
    • Bermuda (1942)
    • Fiji (1940) - bombed 1941
    • Gambia (1942)
    • Jamaica (1942)
    • Kenya (1940)
    • Mauritius (1941)
    • Nigeria
      HMS Nigeria (60)
      HMS Nigeria was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy completed early in World War II and served throughout that conflict. She was named for the British territory of Nigeria.-Home waters:...
      
       (1940) - to India as Mysore
    • Trinidad (1941) - bombed 1942
  • Ceylon group 8,875 tons, 9-6in
    • Ceylon (1943)
    • Newfoundland
      HMS Newfoundland (C59)
      HMS Newfoundland was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. Named after Newfoundland, she fought in the Second World War and was later sold to the Peruvian Navy.-Early career:...
      
       (1943)
    • Uganda (1943) - to Royal Canadian Navy
      Royal Canadian Navy
      The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
      
       as Quebec
      HMCS Quebec (C66)
      HMCS Quebec was a Crown Colony–class light cruiser that served the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Uganda during World War II and under its last name during the Cold War.-Royal Navy service:...
      
       1944
• Minotaur class
  Minotaur class cruiser (1943)
  The Minotaur class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy, also known as the Swiftsure class, was designed as a modified version of the Crown Colony class incorporating war modifications and authorised in 1941, but, in spite of the heavy toll of cruisers in that year and the following one, the...
  
   8,800 tons, 9-6in
  • Swiftsure
    HMS Swiftsure (08)
    HMS Swiftsure was a Minotaur-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Vickers Armstrong at Newcastle-on-Tyne on 22 September 1941, launched on 4 February 1943 by Lady Wake-Walker and commissioned on 22 June 1944....
    
     (1944)
  • Minotaur
    HMCS Ontario (C53)
    HMCS Ontario was a Minotaur class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy as HMS Minotaur , but transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy on completion and renamed Ontario....
    
     (1945), to Royal Canadian Navy 1945 as Ontario
  • Superb
    HMS Superb (25)
    HMS Superb was a Minotaur-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, of Wallsend, Tyne and Wear on 23 June 1942, launched on 31 August 1943 and commissioned on 16 November 1945....
    
     (1945)
• Tiger class
  Tiger class cruiser
  The Tiger-class helicopter cruisers were the first of such a type in the Royal Navy, and the last cruisers built for the Royal Navy. They were originally designed to be Minotaur-class light cruisers...
  
   11,700 tons, 4-6in, 6-3in
  • Tiger (1959)
  • Lion
    HMS Lion (C34)
    HMS Lion was a light cruiser of the Royal Navy, ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur class and laid down that same year as Defence by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Greenock on 6 June 1942....
    
     (1960)
  • Blake
    HMS Blake (C99)
    HMS Blake was a guided missile cruiser of the Tiger class of the Royal Navy, the last of the Royal Navy cruisers. She was named after Admiral Robert Blake, a 17th century admiral who was the "Father of the Royal Navy". She was ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur class of light cruisers...
    
     (1961)

Heavy cruisers

The heavy cruiser

Heavy cruiser

The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...

 was defined in the London Naval Treaty of 1930 as a cruiser with a main gun calibre not exceeding 8 inches. The earlier Hawkins class

Hawkins class cruiser

The Hawkins class was a class of five heavy cruisers of the Royal Navy designed in 1915 and constructed throughout the First World War. All ships were named after Elizabethan sea captains...

 were therefore retrospectively classified as such, although they had been initially built as "improved light cruisers".

• Cavendish or Hawkins class
  Hawkins class cruiser
  The Hawkins class was a class of five heavy cruisers of the Royal Navy designed in 1915 and constructed throughout the First World War. All ships were named after Elizabethan sea captains...
  
   9,860 tons, seven 7.5-inch guns
  • Cavendish
    HMS Vindictive (1918)
    HMS Vindictive was a Royal Navy warship built between 1916 and 1918. Originally designed as a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser and laid down under the name Cavendish, she served in several different roles and underwent several conversions in a remarkably varied career that lasted until she was scrapped...
    
     (1918) - completed as carrier Vindictive, to cruiser 1925, to training ship 1937
  • Hawkins
    HMS Hawkins (D86)
    HMS Hawkins was a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Chatham Dockyard and launched on 1 October 1917. With the conversion of her sister, HMS Cavendish, to become the aircraft carrier HMS Vindictive, HMS Hawkins became the name ship of her class.-Interwar career:HMS...
    
     (1919) - scrapped 1947
  • Raleigh
    HMS Raleigh (1919)
    HMS Raleigh was a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was commissioned as part of the British North Atlantic squadron in 1921....
    
     (1920) - wrecked 1922
  • Frobisher
    HMS Frobisher (D81)
    HMS Frobisher was a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Devonport Dockyard and launched on 20 March 1920.-Interwar career:...
    
     (1924) - scrapped 1949
  • Effingham
    HMS Effingham (D98)
    HMS Effingham was a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was commissioned at Portsmouth in 1925, having had her construction halted for several years following the end of the First World War in 1918...
    
     (1925) - wrecked 1940
• County class
  County class cruiser
  The County class was a class of heavy cruisers built for the British Royal Navy in the years between the First and Second World Wars. They were the first post-war cruiser construction for the Royal Navy and were designed within the limits of the Washington Naval Conference of 1922...
  
  , eight 8-inch guns
  • Kent group 10,570 tons
    • Cumberland (57)
      HMS Cumberland (57)
      HMS Cumberland was a County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy that saw action during the Second World War.-Career:Cumberland served on the China Station with the 5th Cruiser Squadron from 1928 until 1938, returning to the UK in March 1935 for a refit...
      
       (1928) - scrapped 1959
    • Berwick (65)
      HMS Berwick (65)
      HMS Berwick was a Royal Navy County class heavy cruiser, of the Kent subclass. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , with the keel being laid down on 15 September 1924...
      
       (1928) - scrapped 1948
    • Cornwall (56)
      HMS Cornwall (56)
      HMS Cornwall was a County class heavy cruiser of the Kent subclass built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1920s. She was built at Devonport Dockyard .-History:...
      
       (1928) - bombed 1942
    • Suffolk (55)
      HMS Suffolk (55)
      HMS Suffolk was a County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy, and part of the Kent subclass. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard, Portsmouth, UK), with the keel being laid down on 15 November 1924...
      
       (1928) - scrapped 1948
    • Kent (54)
      HMS Kent (54)
      HMS Kent was a heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She was the lead ship of the Kent subclass. After completion the ship was sent to the China Station where she remained until the beginning of the Second World War, aside from a major refit in 1937–38...
      
       (1928) - scrapped 1948
    • Australia
      HMAS Australia (1927)
      HMAS Australia was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy . One of two Kent-subclass ships ordered for the RAN in 1924, Australia was laid down in Scotland in 1925, and entered service in 1928...
      
       (1928) - Royal Australian Navy, scrapped 1955
    • Canberra
      HMAS Canberra (1927)
      HMAS Canberra , named after the Australian capital city of Canberra, was a Royal Australian Navy heavy cruiser of the Kent subclass of County class cruisers...
      
       (1928) - Royal Australian Navy, torpedoed 1942
  • London group 9,830 tons
    • London (69)
      HMS London (69)
      HMS London was a member of the second group of the County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She and her sisters; Sussex, Shropshire, and Devonshire differed from the earlier group of Counties, , by having a smaller forward superstructure, which was positioned slightly further aft, and next...
      
       (1929) - scrapped 1950
    • Devonshire (39)
      HMS Devonshire (39)
      HMS Devonshire was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the London subgroup of the County class, and saw service in the Second World War.-Early career:...
      
       (1929) - scrapped 1954
    • Shropshire (73)
      HMS Shropshire (73)
      HMS Shropshire was a Royal Navy heavy cruiser of the London sub-class of County class cruisers. She is the only warship to have been named after Shropshire, England. Completed in 1929, Shropshire served with the RN until 1942, when she was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy following the...
      
       (1929) - to Royal Australian Navy 1943, scrapped 1955
    • Sussex (96)
      HMS Sussex (96)
      HMS Sussex was one of the London sub-class of the County-class heavy cruisers in the Royal Navy. She was laid down by R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, at Hebburn-on-Tyne on 1 February 1927, launched on 22 February 1928 and completed on 19 March 1929.-Mediterranean, Australia and...
      
       (1929) - scrapped 1950
  • Norfolk group 10,300 tons
    • Norfolk (78)
      HMS Norfolk (78)
      HMS Norfolk was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy; along with her sister ship , she was part of a planned four-ship subclass.She served throughout the Second World War....
      
       (1930) - scrapped 1950
    • Dorsetshire (40)
      HMS Dorsetshire (40)
      HMS Dorsetshire was a heavy cruiser of the County class of the Royal Navy, named after the English county . She was launched on 29 January 1929 at Portsmouth Dockyard, UK. During the Second World War, she was last commanded by Captain Augustus Agar V.C....
      
       (1930) - sunk by dive bombers in Far East 1942
• York class
  York class cruiser
  The York class was the second and last class of gunned cruisers built for the Royal Navy under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. They were essentially a reduced version of the preceding County class, scaled down in an effort to extract more, smaller ships from the treaty limits...
  
   modified County design 8,250 tons, six 8-inch guns
  • York (90)
    HMS York (90)
    HMS York, pennant number 90, was a heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy built in the late 1920s. She mostly served on the North America and West Indies Station before World War II. Early in the war the ship escorted convoys in the Atlantic and participated in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940...
    
     (1930) - damaged by explosive motor boats, salvage abandoned and wrecked 1941, scrapped 1952
  • Exeter (68)
    HMS Exeter (68)
    HMS Exeter was a York class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy that served in World War II. She was laid down on 1 August 1928 at the Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth, Devon. She was launched on 18 July 1929 and completed on 27 July 1931...
    
     (1931) - sunk 1942, Far East

Large light cruisers

The "large light cruisers" were a pet project of Admiral Fisher to operate in shallow Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 waters and they are often classed as a form of battlecruiser

Battlecruiser

Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...

.

• Glorious class
  Glorious class aircraft carrier
  The Courageous class, sometimes called the Glorious class, was the first multi-ship class of aircraft carriers to serve with the Royal Navy. The three ships were originally laid down as "large light cruisers" to be used in the Baltic Project during the First World War...
  
  
  • Glorious group 19,320 tons, four 15-inch, eighteen 4-inch
    • Glorious (77)
      HMS Glorious (77)
      HMS Glorious was the second of the cruisers built for the British Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Glorious was completed in late 1916...
      
       (1916) - converted to aircraft carrier 1924-1930
    • Courageous (50)
      HMS Courageous (50)
      HMS Courageous was the lead ship of the cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, John Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Courageous was completed in late...
      
       (1916) - converted to aircraft carrier 1924-1928
  • Furious 19,513 tons, two 18-inch, eleven 5.5-inch
    • Furious (47)
      HMS Furious (47)
      HMS Furious was a modified cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Lord John Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Furious was modified while...
      
       (1917) - completed as aircraft carrier

Minelaying cruisers

These "minelaying cruisers" were the only purpose-built oceangoing minelayer

Minelayer

Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...

s of the Royal Navy.

• Adventure 6,740 tons, four 4.7-inch
  • Adventure (M23)
    HMS Adventure (M23)
    HMS Adventure, pennant number M23, was a minelaying cruiser of the Royal Navy built in the 1920s that saw service during the Second World War. Her commander between 1928 and 1929 was the future First Sea Lord John H. D...
    
     (1926) - converted to repair ship 1944, scrapped 1947
• Abdiel class
  Abdiel class minelayer
  The Abdiel class were a class of six fast minelayers commissioned into the Royal Navy and active during the Second World War. They were also known as the Manxman class and as "mine-laying cruisers".-Design:...
  
  
  • 1938 group 2,650 tons, six 4-inch
    • Abdiel (M39)
      HMS Abdiel (M39)
      HMS Abdiel was an that served with the Royal Navy during World War II. She served with the Mediterranean Fleet , Eastern Fleet , Home Fleet , and the Mediterranean Fleet . Abdiel was sunk by mines in Taranto harbour in 1943...
      
       (1941) - sunk in Taranto Bay 1943
    • Latona (M76)
      HMS Latona (M76)
      HMS Latona was an Abdiel-class minelayer of the Royal Navy. She served briefly during the Second World War, but was sunk less than six months after commissioning.-Construction and commissioning:...
      
       (1941) - sunk off Libya 1941
    • Manxman (M70)
      HMS Manxman (M70)
      HMS Manxman was an Abdiel class minelayer.-Second World War:Commissioned on 7 June 1941, her first mission was the delivery of mines to Murmansk. Manxman then transferred to the Mediterranean, where she was employed on relief runs to Malta...
      
       (1941) - scrapped 1972
    • Welshman (M84)
      HMS Welshman (M84)
      HMS Welshman was an of the Royal Navy. During World War II she served with the Home Fleet carrying out minelaying operations, before being transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in mid-1942 for the Malta Convoys. She also saw service during "Operation Torch"...
      
       (1941) - sunk off Crete 1943
  • WEP group 2,650 tons, four 4-inch
    • Ariadne (M65)
      HMS Ariadne (M65)
      HMS Ariadne was an Abdiel-class minelayer of the Royal Navy. She was built by Alexander Stephen and Sons of Glasgow, Scotland. She was laid down on 10 October 1941, launched on 5 April 1943 and commissioned on 12 February 1944....
      
       (1944) - scrapped 1965
    • Apollo (M01)
      HMS Apollo (M01)
      HMS Apollo was an of the British Royal Navy, the eighth RN ship to carry the name. She served with the Home Fleet during World War II, taking part in the Normandy Landings before being transferred to the British Pacific Fleet...
      
       (1944) - scrapped 1962

Through deck cruisers

Although at times called "through deck cruisers", the Invincible class

Invincible class aircraft carrier

The Invincible class is a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the British Royal Navy. Three ships were constructed, , and . The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked...

of the 1980s were small aircraft carriers.