Pathfinder-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 Cammell Laird became the Pathfinder class. Four more 12-pounders were added to the specification in August. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of {{convert|370|ft|m|1}}, a beam of {{convert|38|ft|9|in|m|1}} and a draught of {{convert|15|ft|2|in|m|1}} at deep load. They displaced {{convert|2940|LT|t|0}} at normal load and {{convert|3240|LT|t|0|}} at deep load. Their crew consisted of 289 officers and ratings.Friedman 2009, pp. 100, 294, 301

The Pathfinder-class ships were powered by a pair of four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by a dozen Laird-Normand 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.Robert 1979, pp. 84–85 Pathfinder slightly exceeded her design speed when she ran her sea trials in 1905.McBride 1994, p. 277 The scout cruisers soon proved too slow for this role as newer destroyers outpaced them. The sisters carried a maximum of {{convert|600|LT|t|0}} of coal which gave them a range of {{convert|3400|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.Friedman 2009, pp. 101, 294

The main armament of the Pathfinder 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|1.5|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 engine rooms only.

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, they were assigned to coastal defence duties on the East Coast of England. Patrol was badly damaged during the German bombardment of Hartlepool in mid-December 1914 when she attempted to exit the harbour during the bombardment. After repairs were completed she remained on coast defence duties until she was transferred to the Irish Sea in 1918. The ship was paid off in 1919 and sold for scrap in 1920.Preston 1985, p. 17

Pathfinder was originally to have been named Fastnet but the name was changed before construction was started.Friedman 2009, p. 302 Leader of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine {{SMU|U-21|Germany|2}} in the approaches to the Firth of Forth on 5 August 1914 with the loss of 259 men,McBride 1994, pp. 274–275 giving her the distinction of being the first warship sunk by a submarine.Goldrick 2015, p. 142

{{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=Goldrick|first=James|title=Before Jutland: The Naval War in Northern European Waters, August 1914–February 1915|year=2015|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-59114-349-9}}
• {{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|Pathfinder class cruiser}}

• [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/light-cruiser/hms-Pathfinder.html Pathfinder class in World War I]
• [http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_pathfinder_class_cruisers.html History of the Pathfinder class]
• [http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/pathfinder_class.htm The Pathfinder class]

{{Pathfinder class cruiser}}

{{WWI British ships}}

Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy

Category:World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom