HMS Shannon (1906)

Shannon with short funnels (1908–09).
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Shannon
Builder:	Chatham Dockyard
Laid down:	2 January 1905
Launched:	20 September 1906
Completed:	November 1907 (for trials)
Commissioned:	19 March 1908
Decommissioned:	2 May 1919
Fate:	Sold for scrap, 12 December 1922
General characteristics
Class and type:	Minotaur-class armoured cruiser
Displacement:	14,600 long tons (14,800 t)
Length:	490 ft (149.4 m) pp 519 ft (158.2 m) overall
Beam:	75.5 ft (23.0 m)
Draught:	26 ft (7.9 m) (mean)
Installed power:	27,000 ihp (20,000 kW) 24 Yarrow water-tube boilers
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 Vertical triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Range:	8,150 nmi (15,090 km; 9,380 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	842 (1912)
Armament:	2 × twin BL 9.2-inch Mk XI guns 10 × single BL 7.5-inch Mk V guns 16 × single QF 12-pounder, 18 cwt guns 5 × 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Belt: 3–6 in (76–152 mm) Deck: 1.5–2 in (38–51 mm) Barbettes: 7 in (178 mm) Gun turrets: 4.5–8 in (114–203 mm) Conning tower: 10 in (254 mm)

HMS Shannon was a Minotaur-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. Before the First World War, she served with the Home Fleet, generally as the flagship of a cruiser squadron. The ship remained with the Grand Fleet, as the Home Fleet was renamed when the war began, for the entire war, but only participated in a single battle, the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. Shannon spent most of the war unsuccessfully patrolling the North Sea for German warships and commerce raiders. She was paid off in 1919 and sold for scrap in 1922.

Shannon displaced 14,600 long tons (14,800 t) as built and 16,630 long tons (16,900 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 519 feet (158.2 m), a beam of 75 feet 6 inches (23.0 m) and a mean draught of 26 feet (7.9 m). Her beam was 1 foot (0.3 m) wider and her draught one foot less than her sisters in the belief that she would prove to be the fastest ship in the class. Shannon was powered by a pair of four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by 24 Yarrow water-tube boilers. The engines were designed to reach a total of 27,000 indicated horsepower (20,000 kW) and were intended to give a maximum speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). Shannon proved to be the slowest ship in the class; during her sea trials on 3 December 1907 her engines reached 29,644 indicated horsepower (22,106 kW), but she only reached a speed of 22.592 knots (41.8 km/h; 26.0 mph) The ship carried a maximum of 2,060 long tons (2,090 t) of coal and an additional 750 long tons (760 t) of fuel oil that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, she could steam for 8,150 nautical miles (15,090 km; 9,380 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Shannon was designed to carry 779 officers and enlisted men, but had a complement of 819 in 1908 and 842 in 1912.