Arethusa-class cruiser (1934)

HMS Galatea as completed, at Devonport, c. 1935
Class overview
NameArethusa class
Operators
Preceded byLeander class
Succeeded by
Built1933–1937
In commission1935–1949
Planned6
Completed4
Cancelled2
Lost2
General characteristics
TypeLight cruiser
Displacement
  • 5,220 (5,270 Penelope and Aurora) tons standard load;
  • 6,665 (6,715 Penelope and Aurora) tons full load
Length506 ft (154 m)
Beam51 ft (16 m)
Draught16.5 ft (5.0 m)
Propulsion
  • Four Parsons geared steam turbines
  • Four Admiralty 3-drum boilers
  • Four shafts
  • 64,000 shp (48,000 kW)
Speed32.25 knots (59.73 km/h; 37.11 mph)
Range
  • 5,300 nmi (9,800 km; 6,100 mi) at 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph)
  • 1,325 tons fuel oil
Complement500
Armament
Armour
Aircraft carried1 × Hawker Osprey, then Fairey Seafox, except Aurora; removed by end 1941.

The Arethusa class was a class of four light cruisers built for the Royal Navy between 1933 and 1937 and that served in World War II. It had been intended to construct six ships, but the last pair, Polyphemus and Minotaur, were ordered in 1934 as the 9,100-ton Town-class Southampton and Newcastle.