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HMS ''Highflyer'' was the lead ship of the ''Highflyer''-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. She spent her early career as flagship for the East Indies and North America and West Indies Stations. She was reduced to reserve in 1908 before again becoming the flagship in the East Indies in 1911. She returned home two years later and became a training ship. When World War I began in August 1914, she was assigned to the 9th Cruiser Squadron in the Central Atlantic to intercept German commerce raiders and protect Allied shipping. Days after the war began, she intercepted a Dutch ship carrying German troops and gold. She then sank a German armed merchant cruiser off the coast of Spanish Sahara. ''Highflyer'' spent most of the rest of the war on convoy escort duties and was present in Halifax during the Halifax Explosion in late 1917. She became flagship of the East Indies Station after the war. The ship was sold for scrap in 1921. ==Design and description== ''Highflyer'' was designed to displace . The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a 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 . ''Highflyer'' reached a speed of from , during her sea trials. The engines were powered by 18 Belleville boilers.〔Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 79〕 She carried a maximum of of coal and her complement consisted of 470 officers and enlisted men.〔Friedman 2012, p. 336〕 Her main armament consisted of 11 quick-firing (QF) .〔Friedman 2011, p. 87〕 One gun was mounted on the forecastle and two others were positioned on the quarterdeck. The remaining eight guns were placed port and starboard amidships.〔Friedman 2012, p. 171〕 They had a maximum range of approximately with their shells.〔Friedman 2011, pp. 87–88〕 Eight quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 12 cwt guns were fitted for defence against torpedo boats. One additional 12-pounder 8 cwt gun could be dismounted for service ashore.〔 ''Hermes'' also carried six 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch torpedo tubes.〔 The ship's protective deck armour ranged in thickness from . The engine hatches were protected by of armour. The main guns were fitted with 3-inch gun shields and the conning tower had armour 6 inches thick.〔 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 Highflyer (1898)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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