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fighting ships of the world

ROYAL NAVY - UNITED KINGDOM

CRUISERS

HAWKINS heavy cruisers

Frobisher 1924

Effingham 1940

Frobisher 1942

Frobisher 1943

 

Displacement normal, t	9750
Displacement full, t	12110 - 12300
Length, m	184.4
Breadth, m	19.8
Draught, m	5.9
No of shafts	4
Machinery	Hawkins: Parsons geared steam turbines, 12 Yarrow boilers Raleigh: Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines, 12 Yarrow boilers Effingham, Frobisher: Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines, 10 Yarrow boilers
Power, h. p.	Hawkins: 60000 Raleigh: 70000 Effingham, Frobisher: 65000
Max speed, kn	Hawkins: 30 Raleigh: 31 Effingham, Frobisher: 30.5
Fuel, t	Hawkins, Raleigh: oil 1480 + coal 860 Frobisher, Effingham: oil 2150
Armour, mm	belt: 76 - 38, deck: 38 - 25, bulkheads: 25, gun houses: 51, magazines: 25, CT: 76
Armament	Hawkins: 7 x 1 - 190/45 BL Mk VI, 6 x 1 - 76/50 QF Mk I, 4 x 1 - 76/45 QF Mk I HA, 4 x 1 - 47/40 Hotchkiss, 2 x 1 - 40/39 pompom, 6 - 533 TT (beam) Raleigh: 7 x 1 - 190/45 BL Mk VI, 4 x 1 - 76/45 QF Mk I HA, 2 x 1 - 40/39 pompom, 6 - 533 TT (beam) Frobisher, Effingham: 7 x 1 - 190/45 BL Mk VI, 3 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V HA, 2 x 1 - 40/39 pompom, 6 - 533 TT (beam)
Complement	712

Ship project history: Hawkins class cruisers are designed in 1915 for protection of sea communications from German raiders. They have been armed by heavy 190mm guns specially for this purpose this calibre theoretically allowed to amaze the opponent earlier than he can answer from the 150mm guns. As the ships were intended for operations at ocean the main requirements to them were high seaworthiness and big endurance. Mixed coal-oil boilers (8 oil and 4 coal boilers) were provided for simplification of fuel supply. Absence of rigid limitations at designing has led to displacement growth to 10 000 t.

Building of class from 5 ships was conducted slowly enough, and before the First World War end only converted to aircraft carrier Vindictive was completed, remaining have been completed in 1919 — 1925.

The ships of this type became primogenitors of the Washington cruisers since at the moment of convocation of the same name conference they were largest in the world and consequently their parameters have been chosen as the boundary.

Last Frobisher and Effingham still before completion have converted under pure oil-firing. Hawkins was similarly rebuilt in 1929. According to decisions of the London conference of 1930 cruisers of this class had to been disarmed by 1936 as exceeding a limit to British heavy cruisers. In the mid-thirties Vindictive was converted to TS, and three remaining ships were laid up, having their 190mm guns demounted.

It has been solved to rearm them with 152mm guns to leave them at service. Effingham received 152mm guns in 1937-1939.  In 1939 it was planed to put Hawkins for  conversion. Hawkins and Frobisher received their old guns when the war begun and have entered to service in January, 1940 and March, 1942 respectively.

Protection: Underwater protection (bulges) was 1.5 m in deep. Main belt was 76-mm thick abreast machinery and extended up to upper deck. Its thickness decreased consistently to 64 - 51 - 38 mm fore and 64 - 57 mm aft. Upper 51-mm belt extended from "A" turret to forecastle cut and from main belt to forecastle deck. Flat main deck connected with upper edge of main belt and was 38-mm over machinery, 25-mm over steering gear and 13-mm above other parts. Magazines had additional separate protection with 13-mm sides and 25-mm crowns.

Modernizations: 1921, Hawkins: - 6 x 1 - 76/50

1924, Hawkins: - 4 x 1 - 76/45; + 2 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V HA

1928, Frobisher: + 1 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V HA, 1 catapult, 1 seaplane

11/1929, Hawkins: 4 boilers were removed, rest boilers converted to fuel oil only. Maximal fuel stowage was 2740t of oil, maximal engine power was 55 000hp and maximal speed was 29.5kts; + 2 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V HA

1932, Frobisher: converted to TS;  - 2 x 1 - 190/45 consequently, 4 - 533 TT (aw)

1936 - 1937, Hawkins, Effingham, Frobisher: all 190/45 guns and aw TT removed.

6/1938, Effingham: 2 boilers were removed, rest boilers trunked into one funnel, fuel stowage raised to 2620t, engine power decreased to 58 000hp, maximal speed was 29.5kts; - 4 x 1 - 47/40, 2 - 533 TT (sw); + 9 x 1 - 152/45 BL Mk XII, 1 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V HA, 3 x 4 - 12.7/62, 4 - 533 TT (aw)

early 1939, Effingham: - 4 x 1 - 102/45; + 4 x 2 - 102/45 QF Mk XVI HA, 2 x 8 - 40/39 pompom, 1 catapult, 1 seaplane; full displacement was 12514t.

1/1940, Hawkins: - 4 x 1 - 47/40; + 7 x 1 - 190/45 BL Mk VI, 2 x 1 - 40/39 pompom, 4 - 533 TT (aw)

3/1942, Frobisher: - 4 x 1 - 47/40, 2 x 1 - 40/39; + 5 x 1 - 190/45 BL Mk VI, 1 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V HA, 4 x 4 - 40/39 pompom, 7 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, 4 - 533 TT (aw), type 273, 281, 285 radars

5/1942, Hawkins: - 2 x 1 - 40/39; + 2 x 4 - 40/39 pompom, 7 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 273, 281, 285 radars.

12/1943, Hawkins, Frobisher: - 4 - 533 TT (aw)

5/1944, Frobisher: + 12 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 650 jammer

8/1944, Hawkins: - 2 x 4 - 40/39, 2 x 1 - 40/39; + 2 x 8 - 40/39 pompom, 3 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon; full displacement was 13160t.

10/1944, Frobisher: - 2 x 1 - 190/45, 4 x 1 - 102/45, 6 x 1 - 20/70

Naval service: Raleigh ran aground in thick fog near Labrador and later abandoned.  Effingham 18/5/1940 ran to an uncharted rock in West-fjord (Norway), her wreck has been blown up 3 days later. Frobisher was damaged by a torpedo 9/8/1944 and repaired 2 months.

Hawkins 1922

Frobisher 1944

 

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© Ivan Gogin, 2008-09