The class offered a reported 7,000-nautical-mile range at ten knots, useful for service far from home waters. Thompson built Archer, Mohawk, Brisk, Porpoise, Cossack, and Tartar for about £87,500 apiece. Devonport built Serpent and Raccoon at the higher costs of about £90,000 and £91,500. Laid down in 1885 and completed in 1887-1888, most of the ships remained in service until 1905 during a period of rapid change in torpedoes and naval guns. Serpent broke the pattern of long service when she was wrecked in 1890. The names Mohawk, Cossack, and Tartar later returned on Tribal-class destroyers, providing another connection between the Archers and later flotilla warships.
Notable Point · 6:25-8:12
Range, cost, and service life of the Archer class
The Archers paired long economical range with a comparatively modest build cost, then served into the early twentieth century despite the rapid pace of change.