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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Iris class |
| Builders | Pembroke Dockyard, Wales |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Succeeded by | Leander class |
| Built | 1875–1879 |
| In commission | 1877–1914 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Despatch ship (later protected cruiser) |
| Displacement | 3,730 long tons (3,790 t) |
| Length | 315 ft (96 m) or 331 ft 6 in (101 m) |
| Beam | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Draught | 20 ft 6 in (6.2 m) |
| Installed power | 12 boilers; 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × compound-expansion steam engines |
| Sail plan | Barque-rigged |
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Range | 4,400–4,950 nmi (8,150–9,170 km; 5,060–5,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 275 |
| Armament | 10 × 64 pdr rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns |
The Iris class consisted of two ships, HMS Iris and HMS Mercury, built for the Royal Navy in the 1870s. They were the first British all-steel warships.