C-class cruiser


The C class was a group of twenty-eight light cruisers of the Royal Navy, and were built in seven groups known as the Caroline class, the Calliope class, the Cambrian class, the Centaur class, the Caledon class, the Ceres class and the Carlisle class. They were built for the rough conditions of the North Sea, and proved to be rugged and capable vessels, despite being somewhat small and cramped.

The ''Caroline'' class

The Caroline class were all ordered in July and August 1913, as the first six of eight "light armoured cruisers" under the 1913 programme. The ships were launched in 1914 or 1915 and commissioned in 1915. They had an armament of two single 6 in aft, eight 4 in and two 6-pounder guns. Their anti-aircraft weaponry consisted of four 3-pounder. Their aft 6 in guns were superfiring; the class had three funnels. During the First World War, the ships of the class underwent a variety of alterations, including the removal of the guns in Caroline, Carysfort and Comus, being replaced by two extra guns, while Cleopatra, Conquest and Cordelia retained one or two of the guns, with two 2-pounder guns being added to some of the ships.

Ships

  • was built by Cammell Laird and Company, Birkenhead. She was laid down on 28 January 1914, launched on 29 September 1914, and completed in December. She became a drill ship for the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in April 1924 and fulfilled that role in Alexandra Dock, Belfast until 31 March 2011, when she was decommissioned. In May 2013 the Heritage Lottery Fund announced an £845,600 grant to support her conversion to a museum.
  • was built by Pembroke Dockyard. Laid down on 25 February 1914, she was launched on 14 November 1914, and completed in June 1915. She was sold for breaking up in August 1931.
  • was built by Devonport Dockyard. Laid down on 26 February 1914, she was launched on 14 January 1915, and completed in June. She was sold for breaking up in June 1931.
  • was built by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Wallsend on Tyne. Laid down on 3 November 1913, she was launched on 16 December 1914, and completed in January 1915. She was sold for breaking up on 28 July 1934.
  • was built by Chatham Dockyard. She was laid down on 3 March 1914, launched on 20 January 1915, and completed in June. She was sold for breaking up on 29 August 1930.
  • was built by Pembroke Dockyard. She was laid down on 21 July 1913, launched on 23 February 1914, and completed in June. She was sold for breaking up 31 July 1923.

    The ''Calliope'' class

The two ships of the Calliope sub-class – HMS Calliope and Champion – were the last pair of the eight "light armoured cruisers" to be ordered in July and August 1914 under the 1913 Programme. They both had geared steam turbines, the first Royal Navy cruisers to be so fitted. They also had increased belt armour; Champion had just two screws. They were commissioned in mid to late 1915, as modifications to the Caroline subclass with higher speeds, a more efficient boiler layout and a reduction in the number of funnels to two. The two ships had different machinery types for comparative purposes. Calliope and Champion underwent similar gun armament modifications to the Caroline subclass. They also had underwater tubes rather than the deck mounted weapons of the Caroline subclass and were given two twin deck mounted torpedo tubes during the war but these were later removed to reduce top weight.

Ships

  • : Built by Chatham Dockyard, she was laid down on 1 January 1914, and launched on 17 December; she was completed in June 1915. She was sold for breaking up on 28 August 1931.
  • : Built by R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn on Tyne, she was laid on down 9 March 1914, launched on 29 May 1915, and completed in December 1915. She was sold for breaking up on 28 July 1934.

    The ''Cambrian'' class

The Cambrian class were ordered in September 1914 under the 1914–15 Programme, and commissioned between 1915 and 1916. The ships had two funnels rather than the three of the Caroline subclass, following on from the developments in the Calliope subclass. The Cambrian subclass had similar armament to the previous sub-class, with their main armament being four guns in single mounts. Their secondary armament consisted of eight guns. They were later removed, with Canterbury and Champion retaining one single gun. The rest of the ships used either two or three guns.

Ships

  • ; she was built by Pembroke Dockyard, having been laid down on 8 December 1914, she was launched on 3 March 1916, and completed in May. She was sold for breaking up on 28 July 1934.
  • , built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank; she was laid down on 14 October 1914, and launched on 21 December 1915; she was completed in May 1916. She was sold for breaking up on 28 July 1934.
  • ; she was built by Cammell Laird, having been laid down on 28 October 1914; she was launched on 28 July 1915, and completed in November. She was sold for breaking up on 30 July 1936.
  • , was built by Cammell Laird; she was laid down on 25 January 1915, launched 12 September, and completed in January 1916. She was sold for breaking up on 8 June 1936.

    The ''Centaur'' class

The Centaur subclass were ordered in December 1914, and built using materials originally intended for two scout cruisers to be built for Turkey. These vessels were launched and commissioned in 1916. The class also had geared turbines as well as four screws. They retained the two funnels introduced to the C class by the Cambrians. Their main armament was five 6 in guns in single mounts. Their guns were mostly replaced in a similar fashion to the previous sub-classes, with smaller calibre weapons.

Ships

  • ; she was built by Sir W.G. Armstrong-Whitworth & Co., Ltd., Walker on Tyne; she was laid down on 24 January 1915, launched on 6 January 1916, and completed in August 1916. She was sold for breaking up in February 1934.
  • ; she was built by Armstrong-Whitworth having been laid down on 1 February 1915, launched on 1 April 1916, and completed in December. She was sold for breaking up in August 1935.

    The ''Caledon'' class

The Caledon class were all ordered in December 1915 and commissioned in 1917. The ships retained the two funnels of the previous two sub-classes. Their propulsion was slightly different from the previous sub-classes. Their superstructure was also slightly altered. They had a main armament of five guns and a secondary armament of two 3 in guns, as well as an AA armament of four 3 pounder guns. The surviving ships of the class saw World War II, undergoing a number of modifications along the way. Five Oerlikon 20 mm cannons were added to all ships. Caledon herself had a different armament, as she underwent an extensive rebuild to become an AA cruiser. She was armed with the effective gun, of which she had twelve, two 40 mm Bofors and eight 20 mm Oerlikons.

Ships

  • was built by Cammell Laird; she was laid down on 17 March 1916, launched on 25 November, and was completed in March 1917. She became an AA ship in December 1943; she was sold for breaking up on 22 January 1948.
  • was built by Hawthorn Leslie; she was laid down on 7 February 1916, launched on 24 January 1917, and completed in June. She was sunk by the Italian submarine south of Crete on 12 June 1940.
  • was built by Vickers, Barrow in Furness; she was laid down March 1916, launched 25 November 1916, and completed in June 1917. She was sunk by a mine in the Baltic on 5 December 1918.
  • was built by Scott's Shipuilding and Engineering Company in Greenock; she was laid down on 21 February 1916, launched 23 December, and was completed in June 1917. She became a base ship in April 1944, and was sold for breaking up in May 1946.

    The ''Ceres'' class

The Ceres class were ordered in March and April 1916 and commissioned in 1917 and 1918. These ships were very "wet" forward, which was remedied in the subsequent Carlisle sub-class with the addition of a "trawler bow". Their main armament consisted of five guns, while their secondary armament consisted of two weapons, of which a further one was later added to Ceres herself. Four 3-pounder guns were also fitted.
Three ships underwent extensive rebuilds during the 1930s, becoming anti-aircraft cruisers, resulting in all previous armament being removed. The ships were Coventry, Curacoa and Curlew, with Curacoa being the last of the three to be rebuilt in 1939; the other two ships having been converted in 1935. Coventry and Curlew were given ten QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun for their AA role, disposed in single mounts one forward, three on each beam and three aft. Sixteen QF 2-pounder naval gun Mark VIII as two 8-barelled Mark VI mountings were fitted aft. Torpedo tubes were removed, and two High-Angle HACS gun directors and a Pom-Pom director added. Curacoa received similar gun directors but a slightly different armament, being equipped with eight QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun in twin mountings replacing 6 inch guns number 1,3,4 and 5; and four QF 2-pounder naval gun Mark VIII as a 4-barelled Mark VII mounting replacing 6 inch gun number 2 forward of the bridge. Later on in the Second World War, four 20 mm Oerlikons were added. Cardiff and Ceres were to have undergone the same conversion, but this was prevented by the outbreak of war.

Ships

  • was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, in Govan; she was laid down on 22 July 1916, and launched on 12 April; she was completed in June 1917. She was sold for breaking up on 23 January 1946.
  • built by John Brown; she was laid down on 11 July 1916, launched on 24 March 1917, and completed in June. She was sold for breaking up on 5 April 1946.
  • was built by Swan Hunter; she was laid down on 4 August 1916, launched on 6 July 1917, and completed in February 1918. She became an AA ship in 1937; but was sunk by aircraft off Tobruk in the Mediterranean on 14 September 1942.
  • was built by Pembroke Dockyard; she was laid down in July 1916, launched on 5 May 1917, and completed in February 1918. She became an AA ship in 1939; she was sunk in a collision with RMS Queen Mary north of Ireland on 2 October 1942.
  • was built by Vickers; she was laid down on 21 August 1916, launched on 5 July 1917, and was completed in December 1917. She became an AA ship in 1938; but was sunk by aircraft in Ofotfjord, Norway, on 26 May 1940.