NAVYPEDIA

Photo

Arrogant as built

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Arrogant	P42, N08		Devonport DYd	10.6.1895	26.5.1896	1898	depot ship 6.1911
Furious			Devonport DYd	10.6.1895	3.12.1896	1.7.1898	harbour service 6.1915
Gladiator			Portsmouth DYd	27.1.1896	18.12.1896	4.1899	collision 25.4.1908
Vindictive	7C, P75, P4C		Chatham DYd	27.1.1896	9.12.1897	4.7.1900	assault ship 1.1918, scuttled as blockship 10.5.1918

Technical data

Displacement normal, t	5750
Displacement full, t
Length, m	97.5 pp 104.2 oa
Breadth, m	17.5
Draught, m	6.10
No of shafts	2
Machinery	2 3-cyl VTE, 18 Belleville boilers
Power, h. p.	forced draught: 10000
Max speed, kts	forced draught: 19
Fuel, t	coal 1175
Endurance, nm(kts)	9000(10)
Armour, mm	Harvey steel; deck: 76 - 38, sides (forward): 51, gunshields: 114, engine hatch: 102, CT: 229
Armament	4 x 1 - 152/40 QF Mk I/II, 6 x 1 - 120/40 QF Mk I/II/III/IV, 8 x 1 - 76/40 12pdr 12cwt QF Mk I, 3 x 1 - 47/40 3pdr Hotchkiss Mk I, 5 x 1 - 11.4/94, 3 - 450 TT (2 beam sub, 1 aft aw)
Complement	480

Standard scale images

Graphics

Project history

Provided under the 1895/96 Programme the Arrogant class were intended for use with the fleet rather than on the trade routes and were designed to employ ramming tactics in action. For the latter they required good manoeuvrability and this was secured by reducing the length-to-beam ratio to 5.6:1 (compared with 6.5:1 in the Eclipse class), providing a second auxiliary rudder forward of the main rudder and reducing the deadwood aft. The ram was heavier and of more pronounced form than usual, and was well supported by the bow structure which included the forward end of the protective deck and 51mm side plating which extended aft for 12.2m. In addition the CT was given much thicker armour than was usual in a second class cruiser in order to provide protection at close range. They certainly proved successful in manoeuvrability, the tactical diameter being 350m compared with 590m for one of the Astraea class but the idea of designing a ram at this late date is rather strange and the best that can be assumed is that they were intended for attack on an already crippled enemy.     They were the first British second class cruisers to be fitted with water tube boilers, six Bellevilles being mounted in each of three boiler rooms. This provided a substantial increase in power but the designed speed was less than in preceding ships owing to the altered form although they proved good for 20kts on forced draught and 18kts natural draught on trial. The armament was identical to that in the Eclipse class except that only one 152mm gun was fitted on the quarterdeck instead of two. They were flush-decked except for a slightly raised forecastle and tops were only fitted on the foremasts.

Ship protection

The protective deck was 38mm thick on the flat and 76mm on the slope, and the engine cylinders, where they projected above this deck, were protected by a 102mm armoured glacis around the engine room hatch. Fwd part of the waterline was protected by 51mm armour at 12.2m length.

Modernizations

1903-1904, all: - 4 x 1 - 152/40, 6 x 1 - 120/40; + 10 x 1 - 152/45 BL Mk VII

early 1918, Vindictive: was armed with only 1 x 1 - 279/17 BL Mk VII/VIII howitzer, 2 x 1 - 190/9 BL Mk I howitzers, 2 x 1 - 40/39 2pdr QF Mk I, 2 x 1 - 76/16 SBML mortars, MGs; ship also received additional flydeck on portside with 18 gangways handled by derricks.

Naval service

Arrogant was paid off in May 1910 for conversion to submarine depot ship. Furious was in commission as a tender to HMS Vernon in 1906, in June 1915 she was renamed Forte and attached to Vernon as hulk. Gladiator 25.4.1908 collided with American liner St. Paul in the Solent and sank. She was raised in October 1908 but sold for BU in August 1909. Vindictive early in 1918 was fitted out as an assault ship for the Zeebrugge Raid. Upperworks were badly damaged by gunfire while she lay alongside Zeebrugge Mole 23.4.1918. On her return she was refitted as a blockship and was scuttled in Ostend harbour 10.5.1918. The wreck was raised 16.8.1920 and sold for scrap.