Astraea-class cruiser
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Astraea |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy
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| Preceded by: | Apollo class |
| Succeeded by: | Eclipse class |
| Completed: | 8 |
| Retired: | 8 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | protected cruiser |
| Displacement: | 4,360 tons |
| Length: | 320 ft (97.5 m) (pp) 339 ft 6 in (103.48 m) (oa) |
| Beam: | 49 ft 6 in (15.09 m) |
| Draught: | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | 8 cylinder boilers 3-cylinder turbine engines Two shafts 7,500 hp (5,600 kW) (natural draught) 9,500 hp (7,100 kW) (forced draught) |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) (natural draught) 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) (forced draught) |
| Range: | 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) Carried 1000 tons of coal |
| Complement: | 318 |
| Armament: | 2 × QF 6-inch (152.4 mm) guns 8 × QF 4.7 in (120 mm) guns 10 × QF 6-pounder 57 mm (2.2 in) guns 1 × QF 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) guns 4 × 18 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes |
| Armour: | Conning tower: 3–6 in (76–152 mm) Deck: 2 in (51 mm) Gun shields: 4.5 in (110 mm) Engine hatch: 5 in (130 mm) |
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. Already obsolete by the outbreak of the First World War, most continued to see service in a variety of roles, though rarely in a front line capacity. By the end of the war the majority were being used as training or depot ships, and they were soon sold out of the service and scrapped. However one ship, HMS Hermione, was bought by the Marine Society and used as a training ship until 1940.
The eight ships were ordered under the provisions of the 1889 Naval Defence Act as an improved design of the preceding Apollo-class cruisers. They were to displace 1000 tons more than the Apollos, and were to have improved sea-keeping abilities, and heavier and better placed armament. The result was a design with a full length deck that gave a higher freeboard amidships, and placed the main armament higher on the superstructure. Though this made them drier ships, the design was criticised for being a larger and more expensive development of the Apollos, but without offering any substantial increase in armament, speed or endurance. The increased weight did however make them more seaworthy, and the design provided the basis for the development of future protected cruisers. The ships were built at several of the principal navy dockyards: three at Devonport, two at Pembroke, and one each at Sheerness, Chatham and Portsmouth.
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