The light cruiser HMS Pathfinder had the unhappy distinction of being the first ship ever to be sunk by a torpedo fired by submarine. (The American Civil War ship USS Housatonic was sunk by a ramming action). She was the lead ship of the Pathfinder class , having a sister ship HMS Patrol .

She was built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, launched on July 16, 1904 and commissioned on July 18, 1905.

Pathfinder was sunk off St. Abbs Head Berwickshire in Scotland on Saturday September 5, 1914 by the German U-21 commanded by Leutnant zur See Otto Hersing . At the time, Pathfinder was the leader of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla based at the Rosyth, Scotland. The ship was struck in a magazine, which exploded causing the ship to sink within a few minutes with the loss of 259 men. There were 11 survivors.

See HMS Pathfinder for other ships of this name.

General Characteristics

• Displacement: 2,940 tons
• Length: 385 feet (117.3m) overall
• Beam: 38.4 feet (11.7m)
• Draft: average 13.8 feet (4.2m)
• Complement: 270
• Armament: 9 4-inch guns, 2 18 inch torpedo tubes
• Propulsion: Two 4 cylinder triple expansion oil fired steam engines driving twin screws
• Speed: max 25 knots
• Armour: 2 inch belt, 0.6-1.5 inch deck