Marathon-class cruiser

	Chromolithograph of HMS Magicienne by W. Fred Mitchell, 1892
Class overview
Name	Marathon class
Builders	Fairfields, Govan; Portsmouth Naval Dockyard; Chatham Naval Dockyard;
Operators	Royal Navy
Built	1887–1889
In commission	1889–1920
Completed	5
Retired	5
General characteristics
Type	2nd class cruiser
Displacement	2,800 long tons (2,845 t) (Medea & Medusa); 2,950 long tons (2,997 t) (Melpomene, Magicienne & Marathon);
Propulsion	Dürr boilers (Medusa)
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	218
Armament	6 × 6 in (152.4 mm) guns; 9 × 6-pounder quick firing guns; 1 × 3-pounder gun; 3 × machine guns; 2 × torpedo tubes;

The Marathon-class cruiser was a class of second class cruiser of the Royal Navy ordered under the naval programme of 1887. The class was a smaller version of the Mersey class.

Three of the ships, Melpomene, Magicienne and Marathon, were built for foreign (tropical) service, with a sheath of wood and copper - this added weight and made them slightly slower.

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