Hawkins-class cruiser

Raleigh in Vancouver, Canada, December 1921
Class overview
NameHawkins class
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byCounty class
Built1916–1925
In commission1919–1947
Completed5
Lost2
Scrapped3
General characteristics
TypeHeavy cruiser
Displacement
Length605 ft (184.4 m)(o/a)
Beam65 ft (19.8 m)
Draught19 ft 3 in (5.9 m) (deep load)
Installed power
Propulsion4 shafts; 4 × geared steam turbine sets
Speed30–31 knots (56–57 km/h; 35–36 mph)
Range5,640 nmi (10,450 km; 6,490 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement709
Armament
Armour
  • Belt: 1.5–3 in (3.8–7.6 cm)
  • Deck: 1–1.5 in (2.5–3.8 cm)
  • Gun shields: 1 in (2.5 cm)
General characteristics (Vindictive)
TypeAircraft carrier
Displacement9,996 long tons (10,156 t) (standard)
Installed power12 Yarrow boilers; 60,000 shp
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Armament
  • 4 × single 7.5 in guns
  • 4 × single 3 in low-angle guns
  • 4 × single 3 in AA guns
  • 2 × single 2 pdr AA guns
  • 6 × 21 in torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried6–12 aircraft

The Hawkins class consisted of five heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War, although none of them saw service during the war. The first ship to be completed, HMS Vindictive, was renamed from HMS Cavendish and converted into an aircraft carrier while under construction. All ships were named after Elizabethan sea captains. The three ships remaining as cruisers in 1939 served in the Second World War, with Effingham being an early war loss through wreck; Raleigh had been lost in a similar shipwreck on uncharted rocks in 1922 (and Vindictive was nearly lost to grounding in 1919). Vindictive, though no longer a cruiser, also served throughout the War. This class formed the basis for the definition of the maximum cruiser type under the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.


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