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Minotaur-class cruiser (1906)
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<p>The <i>Minotaur</i> class was a three-ship <a href="/facts/Ship_class/mmmaWnbe">class</a> of <a href="/facts/Armoured_cruiser/Vkx9xuyF">armoured cruisers</a> built in the first decade of the twentieth century for the <a href="/facts/Royal_Navy/Xdy8YCH7">Royal Navy</a>. These were the last class of armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy, with that role being substantially replaced by the <a href="/facts/Invincible-class_battlecruiser/gk1MQzD3">first battlecruisers</a>. These initially served with the <a href="/facts/Home_Fleet/yeX0fq8c">Home Fleet</a>, generally as the <a href="/facts/Flagship/bkQIgekS">flagships</a> of <a href="/facts/Cruiser/wtAAm5nb">cruiser</a> <a href="/facts/Squadron_(naval)/9ERnHH3Q">squadrons</a>. <i>Minotaur</i> became flagship of the <a href="/facts/China_Station/HHKApAQY">China Station</a> in 1910 and <i>Defence</i> served as flagship of the <a href="/facts/1st_Cruiser_Squadron/cAnsV0Uh">1st Cruiser Squadron</a> in the Mediterranean from 1912; <i>Shannon</i> remained at home as flagship of several different squadrons. </p><p>When <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a> began in August 1914, <i>Defence</i> participated in the <a href="/facts/Pursuit_of_Goeben_and_Breslau/rjVhLot0">pursuit of the German ships</a> <a href="/facts/SMS_Goeben/QCFdruIE">SMS <i>Goeben</i></a> and <a href="/facts/SMS_Breslau/S61br7K7">SMS <i>Breslau</i></a> and <i>Minotaur</i> hunted for the German <a href="/facts/East_Asia_Squadron/x1l2AAL9">East Asia Squadron</a> and German <a href="/facts/Commerce_raider/hFB8Q4fD">commerce raiders</a> in the Pacific and <a href="/facts/Indian_Ocean/Kv0crwKG">Indian Oceans</a>. <i>Shannon</i> remained with the <a href="/facts/Grand_Fleet/dFajnjQA">Grand Fleet</a>, as the Home Fleet was renamed, for the entire war. All three were present at the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Jutland/TMpDt8xn">Battle of Jutland</a> in May 1916, where <i>Defence</i> was sunk with the loss of all men on board. The surviving pair spent most of the rest of the war assigned to the <a href="/facts/Northern_Patrol/AftSX0WS">Northern Patrol</a> unsuccessfully searching for German warships and commerce raiders. The pair were <a href="/facts/Ship_breaking/qh49CobX">scrapped</a> after the war. </p>