HMS Birkenhead was one of two Town class

Town class cruiser (1910)

The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...

 light cruisers originally ordered for the Greek Navy in 1914. She was to be named Antinavarchos Kountouriotis after Vice Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis

Pavlos Kountouriotis

Pavlos Kountouriotis was a Greek admiral and naval hero during the Balkan Wars and the first and third President of the Second Hellenic Republic.-Family Background:The Kountouriotes was a prominent Arvanite family from the island of Hydra...

. The order was placed with Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...

 and production continued for the Greek account after the outbreak of 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...

 in August 1914. In 1915, however, the two cruisers were purchased by 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...

 government, and entered service 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...

.

Design

The two Greek ships differed from standard British practice in several ways: the main armament consisted of the new 5.5 inch (140mm) Coventry Ordnance Works

Coventry Ordnance Works

Coventry Ordnance Works was a British manufacturer of heavy guns, particularly naval artillery. The firm was based in the English city of Coventry.-History:...

 gun. This weapon was significantly lighter than the standard 6 inch gun and fired an 85 lb shell rather than the 100 lb shell of the 6 inch weapon. It therefore had a higher rate of fire with little loss in hitting power.

Service

Like her sister, HMS Chester

HMS Chester (1915)

HMS Chester was a Town class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, and one of two ships forming the Birkenhead subtype. Along with her sister ship, HMS Birkenhead, she was originally ordered for the Greek Navy in 1914 and was to be named Lambros Katsonis...

, Birkenhead was assigned to the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. On 31 May to 1 June 1916, they both took part in 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...

. She survived the battle, and the war and was sold for scrapping on 26 October 1921 to Cashmore, of Newport.