Minotaur class cruiser (1906)

For the Minotaur class of World War II, see Minotaur class cruiser (1943).

HMS Shannon
Class overview
Name:	Minotaur-class cruiser
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Duke of Edinburgh-class cruiser
Succeeded by:	Hawkins-class cruiser
Completed:	3
Lost:	1
Scrapped:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Armoured cruiser
Displacement:	14,600 long tons (14,800 t)
Length:	490 ft (149.4 m) between perpendiculars 519 ft (158.2 m) overall
Beam:	74.5 ft (22.7 m)
Draught:	26 ft (7.9 m)
Installed power:	27,000 ihp (20,000 kW)
Propulsion:	2 shafts, 24 Yarrow water-tube boilers 2 vertical triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range:	8,150 nmi (15,090 km; 9,380 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	802
Armament:	2 × 2 - BL 9.2-inch (234 mm) Mk XI guns 10 × 1 - BL 7.5-inch (191 mm) Mk V guns 16 × 1 - QF 12 pounder (76-mm) 18 cwt guns 5 × submerged 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Belt: 3–6 in (76–152 mm) Deck: 1.5–2 in (38–51 mm) Barbettes: 7 in (178 mm) Gun turrets: 4.5–8 in (114–203 mm) Conning tower: 10 in (254 mm)

The Minotaur class was a three-ship class of armoured cruiser built around 1906 for the Royal Navy. They served during World War I, with all three being present at the Battle of Jutland, where HMS Defence was sunk. The surviving ships were scrapped postwar.

History

Right elevation and deck plan as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1912

The Minotaur class was the last of the first class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy. The Minotaurs carried fewer 9.2-inch guns than the earlier Warrior class, but the guns were mounted in twin centreline turrets, allowing the same four-gun broadside as the Warriors. The 7.5-inch armament was much heavier, with five single turrets mounted on each side.

Armour was reduced compared to the Warriors. Main deck armour was reduced from one inch to .75 inch. The upper belt, considered superfluous after the elimination of the main deck casemates, was eliminated. Janes fighting ships 1919 stated that they were not as popular in service as the preceding class, being considered to be over-gunned and under-armoured.

The Minotaurs were succeeded by the Invincible-class battlecruisers.

Building Programme

The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Minotaur class. Whilst standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores, for some reason the cost quoted in The Naval Annual for this class includes armament.

Ship	Builder	Engine Maker	Date of			Cost according to
			Laid Down	Launch	Completion	(BNA 1914)
Minotaur	Devonport Dockyard	Hawthorn	2 Jan 1905	6 Jun 1906	1 Apr 1908	£1,438,065 *
Shannon	Chatham Dockyard	Humphreys	2 Jan 1905	20 Sep 1906	10 Mar 1908	£1,423,410 *
Defence	Pembroke Dockyard	Scotts S. & E. Co.	22 Feb 1905	24 Apr 1907	9 Feb 1909	£1,383,744 *

* = estimated cost, including guns

Bibliography

• Brown, David K. (2003). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922 (reprint of the 1999 ed.). London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-531-4. 
• Burt, R. A. (1987). "Minotaur: Before the Battlecruiser". Warship (London: Conway Maritime Press) 42: 83–95. ISSN 0142-6222. 
• Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4. 
• 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. 
• Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships (reprint of the 1957 ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4. 
• Hythe, Viscount (ed) The Naval Annual 1914

External links

• The Dreadnought Project Technical details of the ships.