Cressy-class cruiser


The Cressy-class cruiser was a class of six armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy around 1900. Their design's incorporation of a pair of 9.2-inch guns and armoured sides served to address criticism directed against the previous — advances made possible by their 1,000 ton increase in displacement over their predecessors. The ships were notably stable, except for a susceptibility to pitching.

Service

Until 1908, the ships served in Home waters, the Mediterranean and the Far East. On the outbreak of the First World War Cressy, Aboukir, Hogue, Bacchante and Euryalus formed the Seventh Cruiser Squadron. Due to the obsolescence of the ships and because they were crewed by inexperienced reservists the squadron was known as the "Live Bait Squadron". This epithet proved prophetic when Cressy, Hogue and Aboukir were sunk in a single action on 22 September 1914 by the German submarine U-9 near the Dutch coast. After the first cruiser had been hit, the following cruisers both came to a dead halt to pick up survivors, making themselves easy targets for torpedoes.

Ships

The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Cressy class. Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores. The compilers of The Naval Annual revised costs quoted for British ships between the 1905 and 1906 editions.
ShipBuilderEngine
Maker		Date ofDate ofDate ofCost according toCost according toFateFate
ShipBuilderEngine
Maker		Laid DownLaunchCompletion-
Fairfield, GovanFairfield12 October 189814 December 189928 May 1901£780,110£749,324torpedoed 22 Sept 1914-
J Brown ClydebankClydebank
Company		15 August 189818 November 18996 May 1902£790,706£755,690scrapped 9 May 1921-
Fairfield, GovanFairfield9 November 189816 May 19003 April 1902£783,883£751,118torpedoed 22 Sept 1914-
Vickers, BarrowVickers14 July 189813 August 190019 November 1902£787,507£749,809torpedoed 22 Sept 1914-
John Brown ClydebankJohn Brown15 February 189921 February 190125 November 1902£787,230£787,230scrapped 1 July 1920-
Vickers, BarrowVickers18 July 189920 May 19015 January 1904£817,880£782,901scrapped 1 July 1920-

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Footnotes