Apollo Class Cruiser (1890)

The twenty one Second-Class Cruisers of the Apollo Class were quite old during World War I.

Overview of 21 vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Æolus	Devonport Royal Dockyard	1890	13 Nov, 1891	6 Jan, 1894	1914
Andromache	Chatham Royal Dockyard	Apr, 1889	14 Aug, 1890	1892	1920
Apollo	Chatham Royal Dockyard	Apr, 1889	10 Feb, 1891	1892	1920
Brilliant	Sheerness Royal Dockyard	1890	24 Jun, 1891	1893	Blockship 23 Apr, 1918
Indefatigable	London & Glasgow, Glasgow	1890	12 Mar, 1891	1892	Sold 1913
Intrepid	London & Glasgow, Glasgow	1890	20 Jun, 1891	1894	Blockship 23 Apr, 1918
Iphigenia	London & Glasgow, Glasgow	1890	19 Nov, 1891	1892	Blockship 23 Apr, 1918
Latona	Vickers	1889	22 May, 1890	1893	Sold 22 Dec, 1920
Melampus	Vickers, Barrow	1889	2 Aug, 1890		Sold 1910
Naiad	Vickers, Barrow	1889	29 Nov, 1890	1893	Sold 1922
Pique	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow	1889	13 Dec, 1890		Sold 1911
Rainbow	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow	1890	25 Mar, 1891	1892	Sold 1920
Retribution	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow	1890	6 Aug, 1891		Sold 1911
Sappho	Samuda Brothers, Poplar	1890	9 May, 1891	1893	Sold 1921
Scylla	Samuda Brothers, Poplar	1890	17 Oct, 1891	1892	Sold 1914
Sirius	Armstrong, Whitworth & Company, Elswick	Sep, 1889	27 Oct, 1890	1891	Blockship 23 Apr, 1918
Spartan	Armstrong, Whitworth & Company, Elswick	Dec, 1889	25 Feb, 1891	1892	Sold 26 Jun, 1931
Sybille	Robert Stephenson & Company, Newcastle	1889	27 Dec, 1890		Wrecked 16 Jan, 1901
Terpsichore	J. & G. Thomson, Glasgow	1889	30 Oct, 1890		Sold 1914
Thetis	J. & G. Thomson, Glasgow	1889	13 Dec, 1890	1892	Blockship 23 Apr, 1918
Tribune	J. & G. Thomson, Glasgow	1889	24 Feb, 1891		Sold 1911

Armament

Other Weapons

Prior to reductions in such provisions enacted in mid-1903, the ships had been allowed 84 cutlasses.

Torpedoes

Æolus in 1895 fired a Mark VIII R.L. torpedo from her stern A.W. torpedo tube while steaming 17.5 knots. The torpedo was lost because the tube was submerged at time of firing and this was found to collapse the torpedoes' buoyancy chamber with some regularity. Astræa had also lost a torpedo. It was found that these ships would generally have this issue at speeds above 12 knots. Fox, Iphigenia and Intrepid. It was considered that ships not yet complete should have their designs altered, but tests in Eclipse showed better firing from the tube while submerged.

See Also

• Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan.