126 Book of Steamships 



battery of 6-in. guns. The early "Counties" 

 gave way to the newer " County " type, 

 of which the ill-fated Hampshire was a 

 good example. These came out in 1903, 

 and paved the way for the coming of the 

 battle-cruiser in 1907. The two first 

 vessels of the latter type were the 

 Indomitable and the Invincible. 



The writer remembers seeing the former 

 leaving Portsmouth with the present King 

 aboard on a trip to Canada. On the voy- 

 age back the vessel was opened all out 

 for a speed test, the King himself taking 

 a hand with a coal shovel, and she attained 

 the remarkable speed of 29 knots, thus 

 eclipsing the best speed record of the 

 fastest mercantile ships afloat. When we 

 consider the immense weight propelled 

 through the water, the heavy plating and 

 guns, I think we can realise how far our 

 designers had come along. This class was 

 much more powerful, quite apart from 

 its speed, than any pre-Dreadnought 

 class. 



