The Blonde class cruisers were a two ship class of light scout cruiser

Scout cruiser

A scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th Century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers...

s of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 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...

. They were developments of the earlier Boadicea class

Boadicea class cruiser

The Boadicea class was a two ship class of scout cruisers of the Royal Navy, consisting of HMS Bellona and HMS Boadicea. They were the first class to be fitted with turbine machinery, propulsion which became standard for all future cruisers...

 class, though were slightly bigger with ten 4 inch guns as their main armament.

History

They were the first cruisers to mount the 21 inch torpedo

British 21 inch torpedo

There have been several British 21-inch diameter torpedoes used by the Royal Navy since their first development just before the First World War.They were the largest size of torpedo in common use in the RN...

. There was also a slight thickness in the protective deck although this was still limited to the machinery spaces only. Like the earlier ships the Blonde class cruisers were too slow to perform their original duties. By the time they were completed the majority of new destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s could reach at least 27 knots, making them two and a half knots quicker than the ships meant to lead them. Both HMS Blonde and HMS Blanche began their service careers with destroyer flotillas, Blonde as senior officers' ship for the 7th Flotilla and Blanche with the 1st Destroyer Flotilla. Both saw service in the First World War but were both converted to minelayer

Minelayer

Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...

s before its end and sold for scrapping after the end of hostilities.

Ships

• HMS Blonde
  HMS Blonde (1910)
  HMS Blonde was a Blonde class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in December 1909 in Pembroke Dockyard, launched on 22 July 1910 and completed in May 1911....
  
   - launched on 22 July 1910 and sold on 6 May 1920 for breaking up.
• HMS Blanche
  HMS Blanche (1909)
  HMS Blanche was a Blonde class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in December 1909 at Pembroke Dockyard, launched on 25 November 1909 and completed in November 1910.-Design:...
  
   - launched on 25 November 1911, she was present at the Battle of Jutland
  Battle of Jutland
  The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
  
  and was sold on 27 July 1921 for breaking up.