HMS Birkenhead (1915)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Greece
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| Name: | Antinavarchos Kountouriotis |
| Namesake: | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Builder: | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, England |
| Laid down: | 21 March 1914 |
| Launched: | 18 January 1915 |
| Fate: | Sold to the United Kingdom, 1915 |
 United Kingdom
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| Namesake: | Birkenhead |
| Acquired: | 1915 |
| Commissioned: | May 1915 |
| Renamed: | HMS Birkenhead |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 26 October 1921 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type: | Town-class light cruiser |
| Displacement: | 5,235 long tons (5,319 t) |
| Length: | |
| Beam: | 49 ft 10 in (15.2 m) |
| Draught: | 15 ft 3 in (4.65 m) (mean) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | 4 × shafts; 3 × Parsons steam turbines |
| Speed: | 25.5 kn (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph) |
| Complement: | about 500 |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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HMS Birkenhead was one of two Town-class light cruisers originally ordered for the Greek Navy in 1914. She was to be named Antinavarchos Kountouriotis after Vice Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis. The order was placed with Cammell Laird and production continued for the Greek account after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. In 1915, however, the two cruisers were purchased by the British government, and entered service with the Royal Navy.
Based on the Birmingham sub-class of the Towns, the two Greek ships primarily differed from their British half-sisters in their armament. The Greeks specified that they would use the new BL 5.5-inch (140 mm) Mk I gun built by the Coventry Ordnance Works. This weapon was significantly lighter than the standard 6-inch (152 mm) gun, which allowed the ships to mount ten guns, rather than the nine of the Birminghams, and fired an 85-pound (39 kg) shell rather than the 100-pound (45 kg) shell of the 6-inch weapon. It therefore had a higher rate of fire with little loss in hitting power. The Greeks also specified a secondary armament of two 12-pounder anti-aircraft guns, but these were still under development in 1915 and a pair of 3-pounder guns on high-angle mounts were substituted instead.
Birkenhead was 456 feet 6 inches (139.1 m) long overall, with a beam of 49 feet 10 inches (15.2 m) and a draught of 15 feet 3 inches (4.6 m).Displacement was 5,235 long tons (5,319 t) normal and 5,845 long tons (5,939 t) at full load. Twelve Yarrow boilers fed Birkenhead's Parsons steam turbines, driving four propeller shafts, that were rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) for a design speed of 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph). The boilers used both fuel oil and coal, with 1,070 long tons (1,087 t) of coal and 352 long tons (358 t) tons of oil carried.
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