Laid down in October 1903, launched in August 1904, and commissioned in September 1905, HMS Forward spent much of her career with destroyer flotillas. Her main prewar assignments were the Fourth and Third Destroyer Flotillas, followed mainly by the Seventh and Ninth during the war. She was present when German warships bombarded Hartlepool and also served off Belgium, on the east coast of England, and in the Mediterranean and Aegean. This varied work used an ageing flotilla leader for command, patrol, and local protection wherever a small cruiser still had value. In 1915, Forward and other scouts formed the Sixth Light Cruiser Squadron to protect the east coast against Zeppelins. Without radar, finding and intercepting the airships was an exceptionally difficult assignment.
Chapter · 16:13-18:13
HMS Forward from flotilla service to wartime patrols
Forward served with destroyer flotillas and later performed coastal, Aegean, and anti-Zeppelin duties during the First World War.