The ''Pathfinder''-class cruisers were a pair of scout cruisers built for the

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 F ...

in the first decade of the 20th century. The

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s spent much of the first decade of their careers in

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

. When 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 ...

began in August 1914 they were given coastal defence missions, on the coast of Scotland and on the coast of Yorkshire. The latter ship was badly damaged when the Germans bombarded Hartlepool in December. She spent the rest of the war in British waters. The ship was paid off in 1919 and sold for

scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...

the following year. ''Pathfinder'' was sunk by a German submarine shortly after the war began, the first sinking of a British warship during the war by a German submarine.

Background and description

In 1901–1902, the Admiralty developed scout cruisers to work with

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

flotillas, leading their torpedo attacks and backing them up when attacked by other destroyers. In May 1902, it requested tenders for a design that was capable of , a protective deck, a range of and an armament of six quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder () 18 cwt guns,"Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 18 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. eight QF 3-pounder (47 mm) guns and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. It accepted four of the submissions and ordered one ship from each builder in the 1902–1903 Naval Programme and a repeat in the following year's programme. The two ships from

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

became the ''Pathfinder'' class. Four more 12-pounders were added to the specification in August. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of at deep load. They displaced at normal load and at deep load. Their crew consisted of 289 officers and ratings.Friedman 2009, pp. 100, 294, 301 The ''Pathfinder''-class ships were powered by a pair of four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by a dozen Laird-

Normand boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...

s that exhausted into three funnels. The engines were designed to produce a total of which was intended to give a maximum speed of 25 knots.Robert 1979, pp. 84–85 ''Pathfinder'' slightly exceeded her design speed when she ran her sea trials in 1905. The scout cruisers soon proved too slow for this role as newer destroyers outpaced them. The sisters carried a maximum of of coal which gave them a range of at . The main armament of the ''Pathfinder'' class consisted of ten QF 12-pounder 18-cwt guns. Three guns were mounted abreast on the forecastle and the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

, with the remaining four guns positioned

port and starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

amidships. They also carried eight QF 3-pounder

Hotchkiss gun The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun; there were also a navy (47 mm) and a 3-inch (76&nbs ...

s and two single mounts for 18-inch torpedo tubes, one on each

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

. The ships' protective deck armour ranged in thickness from and the

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

had armour inches thick. They had a waterline belt thick abreast engine rooms only.

Ships

Service

The sisters were in reserve for most of the first decade of their existence. After the beginning of the

in August 1914, they were assigned to coastal defence duties on the East Coast of England. ''Patrol'' was badly damaged during the German bombardment of

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

in mid-December 1914 when she attempted to exit the harbour during the bombardment. After repairs were completed she remained on coast defence duties until she was transferred to the Irish Sea in 1918. The ship was paid off in 1919 and sold for

in 1920.Preston 1985, p. 17 ''Pathfinder'' was originally to have been named ''Fastnet'' but the name was changed before construction was started. Leader of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine in the approaches to the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

on 5 August 1914 with the loss of 259 men, giving her the distinction of being the first warship sunk by a submarine.Goldrick 2015, p. 142

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

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External links

Pathfinder class in World War I
{{WWI British ships Ship classes of the Royal Navy World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom