Cressy-class cruiser
The "Cressy"-class cruiser was a class of six armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy around 1900. Their design's incorporation of a pair of 9.2-inch guns and armoured sides served to address criticism directed against the previous — advances made possible by their 1,000 ton increase in displacement over their predecessors. The ships were notably stable, except for a susceptibility to pitching. Service. Until 1908, the ships served in Home waters, the Mediterranean and the Far East. On the outbreak of the First World War "Cressy", "Aboukir", "Hogue", "Bacchante" and "Euryalus" formed the Seventh Cruiser Squadron . Due to the obsolescence of the ships and because they were crewed by inexperienced reservists the squadron was known as the "Live Bait Squadron". This epithet proved prophetic when "Cressy", "Hogue" and "Aboukir" were sunk in a single action on 22 September 1914 by the German submarine "U-9" near the Dutch coast. After the first cruiser had been hit, the following cruisers both came to a dead halt to pick up survivors, making themselves easy targets for torpedoes. Building Programme. The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the "Cressy" class. Standard British practice  at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores. The compilers of The Naval Annual revised costs quoted for British ships between the 1905 and 1906 editions. Notes. 1. All three ships Cressy, Hogue and Aboukir were sunk under an hour by the German submarine SM U-9.