HMS Black Prince (1904)

Black Prince at anchor, 1914
History
United Kingdom
Name:	Black Prince
Namesake:	Edward, the Black Prince
Builder:	Thames Ironworks
Laid down:	3 June 1903
Launched:	8 November 1904
Commissioned:	17 March 1906
Fate:	Sunk, 31 May 1916 at the Battle of Jutland
General characteristics
Class and type:	Duke of Edinburgh-class armoured cruiser
Displacement:	12,590 long tons (12,790 t) (normal) 13,965 long tons (14,189 t) (deep load)
Length:	505 ft 6 in (154.1 m)
Beam:	73 ft 6 in (22.4 m)
Draught:	27 ft (8.2 m) (maximum)
Installed power:	23,000 ihp (17,000 kW)
Propulsion:	2 shafts, 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines 20 Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers and 6 cylindrical boilers
Speed:	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range:	8,130 nmi (15,060 km; 9,360 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	789
Armament:	6 × 1 - BL 9.2-inch (234 mm) Mk X guns 10 × 1 - BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XI guns 20 × 1 - Vickers QF 3-pounder guns 3 × 1 - submerged 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Belt: 3–6 in (76–152 mm) Decks: 0.75–1.5 in (19–38 mm) Barbettes: 3–6 in (76–152 mm) Turrets: 4.5–7.5 in (110–190 mm) Conning tower: 10 in (250 mm) Bulkheads: 2–6 in (51–152 mm)

HMS Black Prince was a Duke of Edinburgh-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and light cruiser SMS Breslau. After the German ships reached Ottoman waters, the ship was sent to the Red Sea in mid-August to protect troop convoys arriving from India and to search for German merchant ships. After capturing two ships, Black Prince was transferred to the Grand Fleet in December 1914 and was sunk during the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, with the loss of all hands.

Two armoured cruisers of a new design, Duke of Edinburgh and Black Prince, the latter named for Edward, the Black Prince, were ordered for the Royal Navy as part of the 1902–03 Naval Estimates. They were the first ships to be designed for the Royal Navy under the supervision of the new Director of Naval Construction, Sir Philip Watts. The new design was significantly larger than the previous Monmouth and Devonshire-class cruisers, mounting a heavier main armament of six 9.2 in (234 mm) guns in single turrets.