HMS Achilles (1905)
HMS Achilles was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She served with the 2nd Cruiser Squadron for most of the First World War. The ship did not participate in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, but did sink the German raider Leopard in 1917. Achilles became a training ship in 1918 and was sold for scrap in 1921. General description Achilles displaced as built and fully loaded. The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She was powered by four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, driving two shafts, which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . The engines were powered by 19 Yarrow water-tube boilers and six cylindrical boilers. The ship carried a maximum of of coal and an additional of fuel oil that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, she could steam for at a speed of . Armament Her main armament consisted of six BL Mark X guns in single Mk V turrets distributed in two centerline turrets (one each fore and one aft) and four turrets disposed in the corners about the funnels. Her secondary armament of four BL Mark II or Mark V guns in single Mk II turrets was carried amidships, between the wing 9.2-inch guns. Twenty-six Vickers QF 3-pounders were fitted, ten on turret roofs and eight each on the forward and aft superstructures. The last four ships of the cruisers had a secondary armament of turreted 7.5-inch guns rather than the guns in open barbettes of the first two ships; these latter four were sometimes referred to as the Warrior class. Because of the extra topweight of the turrets in comparison to their half-sisters their stability was reduced which made them very good seaboats and steady gun platforms because they did not roll as much. The ship also mounted three submerged torpedo tubes, one of which was mounted in the stern. Wartime modifications A single Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder anti-aircraft gun on a high-angle Mark Ic mounting was mounted on the quarterdeck in 1915. It had a maximum depression of 8° and a maximum elevation of 60°. The gun fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of at a rate of fire of 20 rounds per minute. They had a maximum ceiling of , but an effective range of only . Achilless foremast was converted to a tripod mast to support the weight of a fire-control director after the Battle of Jutland in 1916, but when the director was actually fitted is not known. Construction and career Achilles was ordered as part of the 1903–04 naval construction programme as the third of four armoured cruisers. She was laid down on 22 February 1904 at Elswick by Armstrong Whitworth. The ship was launched on 17 June 1905 and completed on 22 April 1907 at the cost of £1,191,103. Like her sister ships, she joined the 5th Cruiser Squadron