The Abdiel-class ships sat awkwardly in treaty categories: at roughly 2,650 tons and armed with six 4-inch guns, they counted as unusually small light cruisers rather than exempt little ships. Their light gun battery also meant they were not intended to trade fire with destroyers or conventional cruisers. Their purpose explains the design. High speed and useful range let them answer the tyranny of distance by racing to a port, passage, or sea line of communication, laying a blocking minefield, and escaping before stronger forces could intervene.
Notable Point · 5:45-7:50
Abdiel-class cruisers beat distance with speed and mines
The Abdiel class used 40-knot speed to reach distant passages, lay mines before heavy opposition arrived, and withdraw quickly.