The Edgar class were nine first-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy under the Naval Defence Act of 1889. The class gave long service and all of the ships participated in the First World War. One, HMS Hawke, was lost during the war, with the other eight being scrapped in the 1920s.
HMS Gibraltar
Right elevation, deck plan and hull section as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1897
The bow of HMS Royal Arthur while drydocked in Sydney.
The stern of HMS Royal Arthur while drydocked in Sydney.
The Naval Defence Act 1889 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It received royal assent on 31 May 1889 and formally adopted the "two-power standard" and increased the United Kingdom's naval strength. The standard called for the Royal Navy to maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies in the world, which then were France and Russia. An extra £20 million over the following four years were provided for ten new battleships, thirty-eight new cruisers, eighteen new torpedo boats and four new fast gunboats. The two-power standard was maintained until disarmament began during the interwar period.
The battleship HMS Royal Sovereign
