Forward-class cruiser

In 1901–1902, the Admiralty developed scout cruisers to work with destroyer flotillas, leading their torpedo attacks and backing them up when attacked by other destroyers. In May 1902, it requested tenders for a design that was capable of {{convert|25|kn|lk=in}}, a protective deck, a range of {{convert|2000|nmi|lk=in}} and an armament of six quick-firing (QF) QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun,"Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 18 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. eight QF 3-pounder (47 mm) guns and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. It accepted four of the submissions and ordered one ship from each builder in the 1902–1903 Naval Programme and a repeat in the following year's programme.Friedman 2009, pp. 99–101

The two ships from Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company became the Forward class. Four more 12-pounders were added to the specification in August. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of {{convert|365|ft|m|1}}, a beam of {{convert|39|ft|2|in|m|1}} and a draught of {{convert|14|ft|3|in|m|1}}. They displaced {{convert|2850|LT|t|0}} at normal load and {{convert|3100|LT|t|0|}} at deep load. Their crew consisted of 289 officers and ratings.Friedman 2009, pp. 100, 294, 301

The Forward-class ships were powered by a pair of three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by a dozen Thornycroft boilers that exhausted into three funnels. The engines were designed to produce a total of {{convert|16500|ihp|lk=in}} which was intended to give a maximum speed of 25 knots.Roberts 1979, pp. 84–85 The sisters slightly exceeded their design speed when they ran their sea trials in 1905.McBride 1994, p. 277 The scout cruisers soon proved too slow for this role as newer destroyers outpaced them. The ships carried a maximum of {{convert|500|LT|t|0}} of coal which gave them a range of {{convert|3400|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}.Friedman 2009, pp. 101, 294

The main armament of the Forward class consisted of ten QF 12-pounder 18-cwt guns.Friedman 2011, p. 112 Three guns were mounted abreast on the forecastle and the quarterdeck, with the remaining four guns positioned port and starboard amidships. They also carried eight QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two single mounts for 18-inch torpedo tubes, one on each broadside. The ships' protective deck armour ranged in thickness from {{convert|.625|to|1.125|in|mm|0}} and the conning tower had armour {{convert|3|in}} inches thick. They had a waterline belt {{convert|2|in|mm|0}} thick abreast machinery spaces.

The sisters were in reserve for most of the first decade of their existence. After the beginning of the First World War in August 1914, Foresight was initially assigned to the Dover Patrol and was then transferred to a destroyer flotilla patrolling the English Channel. Forward was assigned to coastal defence duties on the East Coast of England; she was present when the Germans bombarded Hartlepool in mid-December 1914, but played no significant role in the battle. The sisters were sent to the Mediterranean in 1915 and were then assigned to the Aegean Sea a year later and remained there until the end of the war. After returning home in 1919, they were paid offPreston 1985, p. 17 and broken up in 1920–1921.

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2009|isbn=978-1-59114-081-8}}
• {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Weapons of World War One|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84832-100-7}}
• {{cite book|last=Massie |first= Robert K. |authorlink=Robert K. Massie |title=Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea |location=New York |publisher=Random House |year=2003 |isbn=0-679-45671-6}}
• {{cite journal |last1=McBride |first1=K. D. |title=The Royal Navy 'Scout' Class of 1904–05 |journal=Warship International |date=1994 |volume=XXXI |issue=3 |pages=260–281|issn=0043-0374}}
• {{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Douglas |title=Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies Since 1879 |date=1987 |publisher=Maritime Books |location=Liskeard, UK |isbn=0-907771-35-1}}
• {{cite book|last=Preston|first=Antony|chapter=Great Britain and Empire Forces|pages=1–104|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite book|last=Roberts|first=John|chapter=Great Britain (Including Empire Forces)|pages=1–114|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|name-list-style=amp|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}

{{Commons category|Forward class cruiser}}

• [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/light-cruiser/hms-Forward.html Forward class in World War I]
• [http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_forward_class_cruisers.html History of the Forward class]

{{Forward class cruiser}}

{{WWI British ships}}

Category:Cruiser classes

Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy