Astraea-class cruiser

HMS Forte
Class overview
Name	Astraea
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Apollo class
Succeeded by	Eclipse class
Built	1893–1896
In commission	1894–1923
Completed	8
Retired	8
General characteristics
Type	protected cruiser
Displacement	4,360 tons
Length	320 ft (97.5 m) (pp) 339 ft 6 in (103.48 m) (oa)
Beam	49 ft 6 in (15.09 m)
Draught	19 ft (5.8 m)
Propulsion	8 cylinder boilers 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines Two shafts 7,500 hp (5,600 kW) (natural draught) 9,500 hp (7,100 kW) (forced draught)
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) (natural draught) 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) (forced draught)
Range	7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) Carried 1000 tons of coal
Complement	318
Armament	2 × QF 6-inch (152.4 mm) guns 8 × QF 4.7 in (120 mm) guns 10 × QF 6-pounder 57 mm (2.2 in) guns 1 × QF 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) guns 4 × 18 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Conning tower: 3–6 in (76–152 mm) Deck: 2 in (51 mm) Gun shields: 4.5 in (110 mm) Engine hatch: 5 in (130 mm)

The Astraea class was an eight ship class of protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the 1890s. The ships served on a number of foreign stations during their careers, particularly in the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and around the Cape of Good Hope. Already obsolete by the outbreak of the First World War, most continued to see service in a variety of roles, though rarely in a front line capacity. By the end of the war the majority were being used as training or depot ships, and they were soon sold out of the service and scrapped. However, one ship, HMS Hermione, was bought by the Marine Society and used as a training ship until 1940.