The Royal Navy invited several yards to build pairs of scout cruisers, with the prospect of larger follow-on orders. This approach delivered several working interpretations at once instead of selecting one winner after a small trial. The service could compare them, absorb useful ideas, and build successors in its own dockyards. Fairfield supplied Forward and Foresight, armed mainly with 12-pounders and two torpedo tubes. The tender spread design experience while leaving the Navy free to develop its own follow-on ships.
Notable Point · 6:51-8:13
A competitive tender that spread naval ideas
Fairfield's pair of scout cruisers came from a Royal Navy tender that invited several yards to propose competing designs.