HMS Essex (1901)

Essex at anchor
History
United Kingdom
Name	Essex
Namesake	Essex
Builder	HM Dockyard, Pembroke, Wales
Laid down	2 January 1900
Launched	29 August 1901
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	31 water-tube boilers 22,000 ihp (16,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement	678
Armament	2 × twin, 10 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns 10 × single 12-pdr (3 in (76 mm)) guns 3 × single 3-pdr (1.9 in (47 mm)) guns 2 × 18 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 2–4 in (51–102 mm) Decks: 0.75–2 in (19–51 mm) Barbettes: 4 in (102 mm) Turrets: 4 in (102 mm) Conning tower: 10 in (254 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.