The Blake class was a two-ship class of first-class protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

 built around 1890 for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

Service

The two ships were obsolete by the outbreak of the First World War, and served as depot ships. HMS Blenheim had the more active career, supporting the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force

Mediterranean Expeditionary Force

The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force was part of the British Army during World War I, that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. This included the initial naval operation to force the straits of the Dardanelles. Its headquarters was formed in March 1915...

 at the Battle of Gallipoli

Battle of Gallipoli

The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...

, and repatriating three dignitaries to their home countries after their deaths abroad. They were Prince Henry of Battenberg

Prince Henry of Battenberg

Colonel Prince Henry of Battenberg was a morganatic descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, later becoming a member of the British Royal Family, through his marriage to Princess Beatrice.-Early life:...

 and former Canadian Prime Ministers Sir John Thompson and Sir Charles Tupper

Charles Tupper

Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC was a Canadian father of Confederation: as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He later went on to serve as the sixth Prime Minister of Canada, sworn in to office on May 1, 1896, seven days after...

.

Building Programme

The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Blake class. Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores.

Ship	Builder	Maker of Engines	Date of			Cost according to
			Laid Down	Launch	Completion	( BNA Brassey's Naval Annual The Naval Annual was a book that sought to bring together a large amount of information on naval subjects, which had hitherto been obtainable only by consulting numerous publications and chiefly from foreign sources...  1895)
Blake HMS Blake (1889) HMS Blake, named in honour of Admiral Robert Blake, was the lead ship of the her class of protected cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1889-1922.She was launched on 23 November 1889 at Chatham Dockyard, but not completed until 2 February 1892....	Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...	Maudslay	July 1888	23 Nov 1889	2 Feb 1892	£440,471
Blenheim HMS Blenheim (1890) HMS Blenheim was a Blake class first class protected cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1890–1926.Launched 5 July 1890, she displaced 9,150 tons and her steel hull measured 375 feet and 65 feet with turning 2 propellers giving a top speed of...	Thames Ironworks Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf on the west side and at Canning Town on the east side...	Humphrys	October 1888	5 Jul 1890	26 May 1894	£425,591

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