Crew size and the surprisingly young ships Fisher scrapped

Did the ships' large crews explain why they were scrapped?

Their crews were about 480 and not unusually large for cruisers. The ships were also still relatively young when scrapped.

A complement of roughly 480 was not exceptional for cruisers, and many ships were reserve vessels by the end of their careers. Their first commissions began in 1888, with some later commissions extending into 1902, yet several were scrapped in 1905. The initial claim that the ships were less than fifteen years old is corrected to reportedly having spent less than fifteen years in commission. Most, and apparently all, were still under twenty years old when broken up. The distinction between age and time in commission matters when assessing the claim that Fisher was merely disposing of aged vessels.