The Forward class was a two ship class of 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...

 serving with 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...

 in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, and consisting of the ships HMS Forward

HMS Forward (1904)

HMS Forward was one of two Forward-class scout cruiser which served with the Royal Navy. She was built in the yards of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan. She was laid down in October 1903, launched on 27 August 1904 and completed in September 1905...

 and HMS Foresight

HMS Foresight (1904)

HMS Foresight was one of two Forward class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy, built at the yards of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan. She was laid down in October 1903, launched on 8 October 1904 and completed in August 1905...

.

Design

They were one of four pairs of scouts ordered to a general specification with the exact design left up to the individual builders. The ships were built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the...

, Govan

Govan

Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....

 at a cost of £289,000 each. The class was originally designated as Nore but this was changed before their construction. Their main disadvantage in action proved to be a lack of range and endurance, having been designed at a time when destroyer operations were planned to take place relatively close to home bases, rather than on long patrols on the open sea. Fairfield's original design was criticised by the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 for lacking structural strength and being unrealistic regarding coal consumption. A complete redesign was undertaken but in practise the problem of their lack of range was never satisfactorily addressed. Not long after completion the two additional 12 pounder guns were added and the 3 pounder gun

3 pounder gun

3 pounder gun, 3 pounder, 3-pdr or QF 3-pdr is an abbreviation typically referring to a gun which fired a projectile weighing approximately 3 pounds...

s were replaced with six 6 pounders. In 1911-12 they were reamed with nine 4 inches (101.6 mm) guns.

They were protected with a 2 inches (50.8 mm) armour belt, with one inch plating on the decks, in an effort to reduce their weight and increase their speed. The 365 feet (111.3 m) long ships displaced 2850 tons and produced 15000 hp which gave them a best speed of 25 knots (49 km/h). Despite this, they were slower than the new destroyers they were planned to lead and increasingly were relegated to other roles. Both ships survived the First World War, but were scrapped shortly after its end.

Ships

• HMS Forward
  HMS Forward (1904)
  HMS Forward was one of two Forward-class scout cruiser which served with the Royal Navy. She was built in the yards of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan. She was laid down in October 1903, launched on 27 August 1904 and completed in September 1905...
  
   - launched on 27 August 1904 and sold for scrap on 27 July 1921.
• HMS Foresight
  HMS Foresight (1904)
  HMS Foresight was one of two Forward class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy, built at the yards of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan. She was laid down in October 1903, launched on 8 October 1904 and completed in August 1905...
  
  - launched on 8 October 1904 and sold for scrap on 3 March 1920.