the "active"-class ships were the last class of turbine-powered scout cruisers ordered by the admiralty. these ships were intended to work with destroyer flotillas, leading their torpedo attacks and backing them up when attacked by other destroyers, although they quickly became less useful as destroyer speeds increased before the first world war. "active" had a length between perpendiculars of , a beam of and a draught of . she displaced at normal load and at deep load. her crew consisted of 289 officers and other ranks.