View source for Imperieuse-class cruiser

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Hms-warspite-1884.jpg
|Ship caption={{HMS|Warspite|1884|6}}
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Imperieuse'' class
|Builders=
|Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}}
|Class before={{sclass|Nelson|cruiser|4}}
|Class after={{sclass|Orlando|cruiser|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=1881–1886
|In service range=   
|In commission range=1886–1905  
|Total ships completed=2
|Total ships scrapped=2
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship type=[[Armoured cruiser]]
|Ship displacement=8,400 tons
|Ship length={{convert|315|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|62|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{Convert|26|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power={{convert|8000|ihp|lk=in}}
|Ship propulsion=*Coal-fired steam, twelve boilers.
*Two shafts with three-cylinder inverted compound reciprocating engines.
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed={{convert|16|kn|km/h|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|6500|nmi|km|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=555
|Ship armament=
*4 × [[BL 9.2 inch gun Mk III - VII|BL {{convert|9.2|in|mm|adj=on|0}} Mk III guns]]
*6 × [[BL 6 inch gun Mk III IV VI|{{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns]]
*6 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (450mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=*[[Compound armour]]
*[[Belt armor|Waterline belt]]: {{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Bulkhead (partition)|Bulkhead]]s: {{convert|9|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Barbette]]s: {{convert|8|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]s: {{convert|2|-|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Gun shield]]s: {{convert|2|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Conning tower]]: {{convert|9|in|mm|abbr=on}} 
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''''Imperieuse''-class cruiser''' was a class of two [[armoured cruiser]]s launched between 1883 and 1884 for the [[Royal Navy]].

==Description==
[[File:Imperieuse Class Right Elevation and Deck Plan.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|Starboard elevation and deck plan, from Brassey's naval annual 1888-9}}]]
[[File:HMS Imperieuse 1896 IWM Q 21375.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|HMS ''Imperieuse'' in 1896 showing the later single central pole mast}}]]
In an 1886 magazine article,<ref>Sir Edward Reed, "The British Navy", ''Harper's Monthly Magazine (European edition)'', February 1886</ref> [[Edward James Reed|Sir Edward Reed]] complained that these ships did not deserve to be called "armoured", as they were not armoured at bow or stern, only along the middle {{convert|140|ft|m}} of each side. This armour belt was additionally only {{convert|8|ft|m}} wide, and as designed would have extended {{convert|3|ft|3|in|m}} above the waterline. As completed, the two ships were overweight, with the result that the belt was completely submerged, leaving them armoured in name only.

The layout of the main armament was unusual for the time, having one gun each forward and aft, and another gun mounted on either beam – in a lozenge arrangement similar to that employed by the French.  The original secondary battery comprised ten 6-inch (152mm) guns, but the overweight condition of these ships forced the elimination of four of these weapons.

Intended for prolonged deployments on distant foreign stations, the ships were sheathed with wood and copper to prevent marine growth on the hull, and were originally fitted with a [[brig]] sailing rig to economize on coal.  After trials showed them to be sluggish under sail, the masts and yards were removed and replaced by a single pole mast between the funnels.  This reduction in rig and the weight saved thereby allowed the reinstallation of two 6-inch guns, for a total of eight.
{{clear left}}

==Ships==

*{{HMS|Imperieuse|1883|2}} – launched in 1883, converted to a depot ship in 1905 and renamed ''Sapphire II'', later reverted to ''Imperieuse'' in 1909, and sold in 1913.
*{{HMS|Warspite|1884|2}} – launched in 1884, scrapped 1906.  One of ''Warspite''{{'}}s 9.2-inch breech-blocks is/was held at the [[Royal Military College of Science]] (RMCS) at [[Shrivenham]].

==Building Programme==

The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the ''Imperieuse'' class.  Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to '''exclude''' armament and stores.<ref>Note that the costs quoted in the 1895 edition and the 1903 edition are not the same.  There seems to have been a revision of the costs quoted for British warships in [[Brassey's Naval Annual|''The Naval Annual'']] between the 1902 and 1903 editions, and a further revision between the 1905 and 1906 editions.  (The 1906 edition costs cannot be quoted for the ''Imperieuse'' class because the class is not listed in the 1906 edition.)</ref>  In the table:
*''Machinery'' meant "propelling machinery".
*''Hull'' included "hydraulic machinery, gun mountings, etc."<ref>[[Brassey's Naval Annual|The Naval Annual 1895]] , p192-200</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-valign="top"
! width=120  rowspan=3 |Ship
! align = center  rowspan=3 | Builder
! align = center  rowspan=3 | Maker<br>of<br>Engines
! colspan = 3 |Date of
! colspan = 5 |Cost<small> according to</small>
|-valign="top"
! rowspan = 2 align = center  width = 74 | Laid Down
! rowspan = 2 align = center  width = 74 | Launch
! rowspan = 2 align = center  width = 74 | Completion
! align = center  colspan= 3| ([[Brassey's Naval Annual|BNA]] 1895)<ref>[[Brassey's Naval Annual|The Naval Annual 1895]], p192-200</ref>
! align = center  rowspan= 2| ([[Brassey's Naval Annual|BNA]] 1903)<ref>[[Brassey's Naval Annual|The Naval Annual 1903]], p236-243</ref>
! align = center  rowspan= 2| Parkes<ref>Parkes, Oscar, ''British Battleships'', p307-313.</ref>
|-valign="top"
!align="center"| Hull
!align="center"| Machinery
!align="center"| Total<br><small>excluding<br>armament</small>
|-valign="top"
|                {{HMS|Imperieuse|1883|2}}
|align= center|  Portsmouth Dockyard
|align= center|  Maudslay
|align=right  |   10 Aug 1881
|align=right  |   18 Dec 1883
|align=right  |  Sep 1886
|align= right | £417,437
|align= right | £113,377
|align= right | £530,814
|align= center| <small>Details of cost<br>incomplete</small>
|align= right | £543,758
|-valign="top"
|                {{HMS|Warspite|1884|2}}
|align= center|  Chatham Dockyard
|align= center|  Penn
|align=right  |   25 Oct 1881
|align=right  |   29 Jan 1884
|align=right  |   Jun 1888
|align= right | £415,546
|align= right | £113,786
|align= right | £529,332
|align= right | £653,072
|align= right | £538,797
|-
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [[Thomas Brassey, 2nd Earl Brassey|Brassey, T.A.]] (ed) [[Brassey's Naval Annual|The Naval Annual 1895]]
* [[Thomas Brassey, 2nd Earl Brassey|Brassey, T.A.]] (ed) [[Brassey's Naval Annual|The Naval Annual 1903]]
*{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|name-list-style=amp|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Cruisers of the Victorian Era|year=2012|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-068-9}}
*{{cite book|last1=Lyon|first1=David|last2=Winfield|first2=Rif|title=The Sail & Steam Navy List|year=2004|publisher=Chatham Publishing|location=London|isbn=1-86176-032-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Parkes|first=Oscar|title=British Battleships|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1990|edition=reprint of the 1957|isbn=1-55750-075-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Imperieuse class cruiser}}

{{Imperieuse class cruiser}}

[[Category:Cruiser classes]]
[[Category:Imperieuse-class cruisers| ]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]