Scout-class cruiser

	HMS Fearless, second and last of the class
Class overview
Name	Scout class
Builders	George Thomson & Co; Barrow Shipbuilding Company;
Operators	Royal Navy
Succeeded by	Archer-class cruiser
Built	1884–1887
In commission	1885–1905
Completed	2
Retired	2
General characteristics
Type	Torpedo cruiser
Displacement	1,580 tons
Length	220 feet (67 m) lbp; 225 feet (69 m) wl;
Beam	34.3 feet (10.44 m)
Draught	14.5 feet (4.42 m)
Installed power	3,200 ihp (2,400 kW)
Propulsion	4 boilers; 2-cylinder steam engines; 2 propellers;
Sail plan	3 masts with sails and a jib
Speed	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) (planned)
Complement	147
Armament	4 × 5 in (13 cm) Mk III guns (as built); 8 × 3 lb (1.4 kg) QF guns; 2 × 5-barrel 0.45 in (1.1 cm) Nordenfelt organ guns; 4 × Torpedo carriages; 3 × Torpedo tubes;
Armour	3⁄8 inch (0.95 cm) deck; 1 inch (2.5 cm) at torpedo ports; 3⁄8 inch (0.95 cm) gunshields;

The Scout class was a pair of torpedo cruisers operated by the Royal Navy between 1885 and 1905. The ships, Scout and Fearless, were the some of the first of their kind with the Navy and were ordered to counteract similar French ships. While the ships were intended to serve with a fleet, they were too slow to do so and instead operated independently for the next two decades. Both ships were sold off by 1905, although the design served as the basis for further British cruisers.