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HMS ''Essex'' was one of 10 armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Upon completion she was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet. She was placed in reserve in March 1906 and recommissioned in 1909 for service with the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station. In 1912 she returned home and was assigned to the Training Squadron of Home Fleet. After a refit the following year, she rejoined the 4th Cruiser Squadron in early 1914. After the beginning of World War I in August, she captured a German merchantman that same month. She remained in the Atlantic for the entire war, escorting convoys and searching for German commerce raiders. ''Essex'' was sold for scrap on 8 November 1921. ==Design and description== ''Essex'' was designed to displace . The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a deep draught of . She was powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, which produced a total of designed to give a maximum speed of . ''Essex'', however, was one of three of the ''Monmouth''s that failed to meet her designed speed. The engines were powered by 31 Belleville boilers.〔Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 70〕 She carried a maximum of of coal and her complement consisted of 678 officers and enlisted men.〔Friedman 2012, p. 336〕 Her main armament consisted of fourteen breech-loading (BL) 6-inch Mk VII guns.〔Friedman 2011, p. 81〕 Four of these guns were mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure and the others positioned in casemates amidships. Six of these were mounted on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather.〔Friedman 2012, pp. 251–52, 260–61〕 They had a maximum range of approximately with their shells.〔Friedman 2011, pp. 80–81〕 Ten quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 12 cwt guns were fitted for defence against torpedo boats.〔 ''Essex'' also carried three 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch torpedo tubes.〔 Beginning in 1915, the main deck six-inch guns of the ''Monmouth''-class ships were moved to the upper deck and given gun shields. Their casemates were plated over to improve seakeeping. The twelve-pounder guns displaced by the transfer were repositioned elsewhere. At some point in the war, a pair of three-pounder anti-aircraft guns were installed on the upper deck.〔Friedman 2012, pp. 280, 286〕 The ship's waterline armour belt had a maximum thickness of and was closed off by transverse bulkheads. The armour of the gun turrets and their barbettes was four inches thick while the casemate armour was five inches thick. The protective deck armour ranged in thickness from and the conning tower was protected by of armour.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Essex (1901)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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