Suffolk at anchor
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name: | Suffolk |
Namesake: | Suffolk |
Builder: | Portsmouth Royal Dockyard |
Laid down: | 25 March 1901 |
Launched: | 15 January 1903 |
Completed: | 21 May 1904 |
Fate: | Sold for scrap, 1 July 1920 |
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: |
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Propulsion: |
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Speed: | 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) |
Complement: | 678 |
Armament: |
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Armour: |
HMS Suffolk was one of 10 Monmouth-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Upon completion she was assigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet and was then assigned to the 5th Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean in 1909 after a lengthy refit. She returned home for another refit in 1912 and became the flagship of the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station in 1913.
After the beginning of World War I in August 1914, Suffolk became a private ship and searched for German commerce raiders while protecting British shipping. She captured a German merchantman shortly after the war began. She remained in the Atlantic until she became flagship of the China Station in 1917 In late 1918 the ship was deployed to Vladivostok to support the Siberian Intervention during the Russian Civil War. She returned home in 1919 and briefly became a training ship before she was sold for scrap in 1920.
Suffolk was designed to displace 9,800 long tons (10,000 t). The ship 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). She was 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) and gave a maximum speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). Suffolk, however, was one of two Monmouths that exceeded her designed speed; during her sea trials she reached 24.7 knots (45.7 km/h; 28.4 mph). The engines were powered by 31 Niclausse boilers. She carried a maximum of 1,600 long tons (1,600 t) of coal and her complement consisted of 678 officers and enlisted men.