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The ''Pathfinder''-class cruiser was a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Both ships participated in World War I; one ship was sunk shortly after the war began, but the other survived the war to scrapped shortly after its end. ==Background and design== In 1901–02, the Admiralty developed scout cruisers to work with destroyer flotillas, leading their torpedo attacks and backing them up when attacked by other destroyers. In May 1902, it requested tenders for a design that was capable of , a protective deck, a range of and an armament of six quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 18 cwt guns, eight QF 3-pounder (47 mm) guns and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. It accepted four of the submissions and ordered one ship from each builder in the 1902–03 Naval Programme and a repeat in the following year's programme.〔Friedman 2009, pp. 99–101〕 The two ships from Cammell Laird became the ''Pathfinder'' class. Four more 12-pounders were added to the specification in August. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of , a beam of and a draught of at deep load. They displaced at normal load and at deep load. Their crew consisted of 289 officers and other ranks.〔Friedman 2009, pp. 100, 294, 301〕 The ''Pathfinder''-class ships were powered by a pair of four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by a dozen Laird-Normand boilers that exhausted into three funnels. The engines were designed to produce a total of which was intended to give a maximum speed of 25 knots.〔Chesneau & Kolesnik, pp. 84–85〕 The scout cruisers soon proved too slow for this role as newer destroyers outpaced them. The ships carried a maximum of of coal.〔Friedman 2009, pp. 101, 294〕 The main armament of the ''Pathfinder'' class consisted of ten quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 18-cwt guns.〔Friedman 2011, p. 112〕 Three guns were mounted abreast on the forecastle and the quarterdeck, with the remaining four guns positioned port and starboard amidships. They also carried eight 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.〔 The ships' protective deck armour ranged in thickness from and the conning tower had armour inches thick. They had a waterline belt 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「Pathfinder-class cruiser」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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