HMS Essex (1901)

Essex at anchor
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Essex
Namesake:	Essex
Builder:	Pembroke Royal Dockyard, Wales
Laid down:	2 January 1900
Launched:	29 August 1901
Christened:	Mrs. Barlow
Completed:	22 March 1904
Fate:	Sold for scrap, 8 November 1921
General characteristics
Class and type:	Monmouth-class armoured cruiser
Displacement:	9,800 long tons (10,000 t) (normal)
Length:	463 ft 6 in (141.3 m) (o/a)
Beam:	66 ft (20.1 m)
Draught:	25 ft (7.6 m)
Installed power:	22,000 ihp (16,000 kW) 31 water-tube boilers
Propulsion:	2 × shafts 2 × 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement:	678
Armament:	2 × twin, 10 × single BL 6-inch Mk VII guns 10 × single QF 12-pdr (3-inch (76 mm)) 12-cwt guns 3 × QF 3-pounder (1.9 in (47 mm)) Hotchkiss guns 2 × single 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Belt: 2–4 in (51–102 mm) Decks: .75–2 in (19–51 mm) Barbettes: 5 in (127 mm) Turrets: 5 in (130 mm) Conning tower: 10 in (254 mm) Bulkheads: 5 in (127 mm)

HMS Essex was one of 10 Monmouth-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Upon completion in 1904 she was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet. The ship was placed in reserve in March 1906 and recommissioned in 1909 for service with the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station. In 1912, Essex returned home and was assigned to the Training Squadron of the Home Fleet. After a refit the following year, she rejoined the 4th Cruiser Squadron in early 1914.

After the beginning of World War I in August, the ship captured a German merchantman the following month. Essex spent most of the first half of the war in the Atlantic Ocean, escorting convoys and searching for German commerce raiders. The ship captured another German merchantman in mid-1916 and was reduced to second-line roles such as depot ship and accommodation ship a few months later. She was paid off in 1919 and sold for scrap two years later.

The Monmouths were designed to protect British merchant shipping from fast cruisers like the French Guichen, Châteaurenault or the Dupleix class. The ships were designed to displace 9,800 long tons (10,000 t). They had an overall length of 463 feet 6 inches (141.3 m), a beam of 66 feet (20.1 m) and a deep draught of 25 feet (7.6 m). They were powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, which produced a total of 22,000 indicated horsepower (16,000 kW) designed to give a maximum speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). Essex, however, was one of three of the Monmouths that failed to meet her designed speed. The engines were powered by 31 Belleville boilers. She carried a maximum of 1,600 long tons (1,600 t) of coal and her complement consisted of 678 officers and ratings.

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