Town Class Cruiser (1910) - Operational Service

Operational Service

The class saw much service in World War I and many of the ships left their mark on history. Ships of the class saw action at the Battle of the Falkland Islands and the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914. That same year, Sydney attacked SMS Emden in an action that lasted over an hour and resulted in the German warship being beached by her captain to avoid his ship sinking. Also that year, Birmingham became the first ship to sink a submarine when she rammed U-15.

In 1915, HMS Glasgow found SMS Dresden which had escaped from the engagement at the Falkland Islands the previous year, in which Glasgow had helped in sinking SMS Leipzig. Dresden was eventually scuttled by her own crew after a short engagement. Ships of the class also took part in the Battle of Dogger Bank (1915).

In 1916, ships of the class also saw action at the Battle of Jutland, the largest surface engagement of World War I. In 1917, a Sopwith Pup from HMS Yarmouth became the first aircraft from a cruiser to shoot down an aircraft, specifically the Zeppelin L23. The ships of the class saw more service than mentioned above, including action against German merchant ships. During the course of the war, two ships of the class were sunk, these were HMS Falmouth and HMS Nottingham, both torpedoed by German submarines.

After the end of World War I, the surviving ships performed a variety of duties, including service on foreign stations. All ships, except Adelaide, were scrapped by the 1930s. Adelaide saw an extensive refit between 1938-1939. However, Adelaide was obsolete when World War II began, and she saw limited service, performing patrol and escort duties in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. She was decommissioned in 1945, but recommissioned to become a tender at Sydney. She was broken up in 1949.