Blonde-class cruiser

HMS Blonde
Class overview
Name	Blonde
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Boadicea class
Succeeded by	Active class
Built	1909–11
In commission	1910–21
Completed	2
Scrapped	2
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Scout cruiser
Displacement	3,350 long tons (3,400 t) (normal)
Length	406 ft (123.7 m) (o/a)
Beam	41 ft 6 in (12.6 m)
Draught	14 ft 3 in (4.3 m)
Installed power	18,000 shp (13,000 kW) 12 × Yarrow boilers
Propulsion	4 × shafts 2 × Parsons steam turbine sets
Speed	24.5 knots (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph)
Range	4,100 nautical miles (7,600 km; 4,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	317
Armament	10 × single BL 4-inch (102 mm) guns 4 × single QF 3-pounder (47 mm (1.9 in)) guns 2 × single 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Deck: .5–1 in (13–25 mm) Conning Tower: 4 in (102 mm)

The Blonde class cruisers were a two ship class of light scout cruisers of the Royal Navy. They were developments of the earlier Boadicea class class, though were slightly bigger with ten 4-inch guns as their main armament.

History

They were the first cruisers to mount the 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo. There was also a slight thickness in the protective deck although this was still limited to the machinery spaces only. Like the earlier ships the Blonde class cruisers were too slow to perform their original duties. By the time they were completed the majority of new destroyers could reach at least 27 knots, making them two and a half knots quicker than the ships meant to lead them. Both HMS Blonde and HMS Blanche began their service careers with destroyer flotillas, Blonde as senior officers' ship for the 7th Flotilla and Blanche with the 1st Destroyer Flotilla, but for much of the war they were attached to specific Battle Squadrons to provide a close-in screen as the Battle Fleet operated. Both ships saw service in the First World War but were both converted to minelayers before its end and sold for scrapping after the end of hostilities.

Ships

• HMS Blonde - launched on 22 July 1910 and sold on 6 May 1920 for breaking up.
• HMS Blanche - launched on 25 November 1911, she was present at the Battle of Jutland and was sold on 27 July 1921 for breaking up.

Bibliography

• Corbett, Julian. Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol. I (2nd, reprint of the 1938 ed.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-256-X.
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)

External links

• Blonde class in World War I
• History of the Blonde class