The ''Arrogant''-class cruiser was a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of four

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

s built for the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

at the end of the 1890s. One ship, , was lost following a collision with a merchant ship in 1908, while saw active service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, taking part in the

Zeebrugge Raid The Zeebrugge Raid ( nl, Aanval op de haven van Zeebrugge; ) on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge. The British intended to sink obsolete ships in the canal entrance, to prevent Germ ...

in April 1918 before being sunk as a blockship during the

Second Ostend Raid The Second Ostend Raid (officially known as Operation VS) was the later of two failed attempts made during the spring of 1918 by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy to block the channels leading to the Belgian port of Ostend as a part of its confl ...

in May 1918.

Design

The 1895–96 programme of naval construction for the Royal Navy included provision for four Second-class cruisers of the ''Arrogant'' class. While most contemporary Royal Navy cruisers were intended for trade protection, the ''Arrogant'' class was designed to operate with the main battle fleet, finishing off crippled enemy ships by ramming. They were originally described as "Fleet Rams".Brown 2003, pp. 162–163. To suit the class for its proposed role, the

ram bow A ram was a weapon fitted to varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between 2 and 4 meters (6–12 ft) in length. This would be dri ...

was larger and stronger than normal. It was supported by the ship's protective deck and by of side armour plating covering the forward part of the ship. While the protective deck had a similar thickness compared to that of the preceding , the ship's conning tower had much thicker protection than normal, with of armour to resist close-range enemy shells. The design had a shorter hull with greater beam and an auxiliary

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

ahead of the main rudder to improve manoeuvrability (with a turning circle of compared with for the same-length s). The ''Arrogants'' were the first British second-class cruisers to use

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gen ...

s, with 18

Belleville boiler There have been a vast number of designs of steam boiler, particularly towards the end of the 19th century when the technology was evolving rapidly. A great many of these took the names of their originators or primary manufacturers, rather than a m ...

s feeding triple-expansion steam engines which drove two shafts, giving a speed of . The ships' main gun armament was a mixture of four guns and six guns, and a secondary armament of eight 12-pounder (76 mm) and three 3 pounder (47 mm) guns, supplemented by 5 machine guns and three

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s. The ''Arrogants'', like many of the armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy, were often criticised by the contemporary press,Brown 2003, p. 162. with the 1896

Brassey's Naval Annual ''The Naval Annual'' was a periodical that provided considerable text and graphic information (largely concerning the British Royal Navy) which had previously been obtainable only by consulting a wide range of often foreign language publications. ...

considering that the class’s armament and speed were "hardly satisfactory", with unfavourable comparisons made to armoured cruisers being built for export, and ships in service with France and Germany.Brassey 1896, p. 155. The ships’ armament was strengthened in 1903–04, when the existing main gun armament was replaced by a homogeneous battery of ten 6 inch guns.

History

The four ships were laid down at Devonport and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

naval dockyards in 1895–96, launching in 1896–97 and were completed between 1898 and 1900. collided with the American liner in a heavy snowstorm off the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

on 25 April 1908, sinking with the loss of 27 men. Although she was raised in October 1908, ''Gladiator'' proved too expensive to repair and was sold for scrap.Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 16. became a submarine depot ship in 1911, while was paid off in 1912, being renamed HMS ''Forte'' in 1915, serving as a hulk attached to the

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. "Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French in 1803–04. ...

(or shore establishment) HMS ''Vernon''. served as a tender attached to HMS ''Vernon'' from 1912 until the outbreak of the First World War, when she returned to active service. In 1918, ''Vindictive'' was converted to an assault ship for the

on 23 April, and following that was scuttled as a blockship during the

on 10 May 1918.

Ships

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * *

External links

Arrogant Class Cruiser
{{WWI British ships Cruiser classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy