These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire.

[2] They were second class cruisers suitable for a variety of roles including both trade protection and fleet duties.

Twelve Yarrow three-drum boilers fed steam turbines rated at 22,000 shaft horsepower (16,000 kW), giving a speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).

[4] The experimental two-shaft layout of Bristol was successful, giving greater efficiency, especially at lower speeds.

[7] One problem with the armour of the Bristols which was shared with the other Town-class ships was the sizable gap between the bottom of the gun shields and the deck, which allowed shell splinters to pass through the gap, leading to large numbers of leg injuries in the ships' gun crews.

[10] This armament was considered rather too light for ships of this size,[11] while the waist guns were subject to immersion in a high sea, making them difficult to work.

This arrangement was unpopular, however, as it was preferred to keep officer's and other ranks accommodation separate for disciplinary reasons, while the Bristol class were very cramped, with only 12.5 square feet (1.16 m2) for each seaman to live, eat, and sleep.

[7][12][13] In the First World War, the class's anti-aircraft armament was increased with the fitting of a single QF 3 inch (76 mm) 20 cwt gun.

The arrangement of the armament was revised, with three guns (one on the centreline and two on the beam) on an enlarged forecastle that also provided accommodation for the ships' officers.

[14] In 1917, Yarmouth was the first light cruiser to be able to operate aircraft, being fitted with a ramp above the conning tower and forecastle gun to allow a Sopwith Pup to be launched from the ship, although the aircraft could not land back on it so the pilot would have to ditch into the sea if it was not possible to reach land.

Four of the ships (Dublin, Southampton, Melbourne and Sydney) were fitted for platforms for operating aircraft.

[18] The ships' machinery[d] was rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) giving a speed of 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph).

She was subject to further armament revisions during the Second World War, with more 6- and 4-inch guns removed to accommodate depth charge throwers, and radar being fitted.

[22] In 1915, as a response to German commerce raiding in the early months of the war, the British Admiralty decided to build a new class of large, fast and heavily armed cruisers for trade protection work.

[23][24] In early 1914, the Greek Navy, in response to Turkish naval expansion, placed an order with the Coventry Syndicate, a consortium of the shipbuilders Cammell Laird, Fairfields, John Brown and the armament company Coventry Ordnance Works, for two light cruisers and four destroyers.

[e] The light cruisers, which were both to be built by Cammell Laird, and to be named Antinavarchos Kountouriotis and Lambros Katsonis, were based on the design of the Chatham and Birmingham classes, but with a revised armament to be supplied by the Coventry Ordnance Works.

The first ship, later to become Birkenhead, had the same mixed oil-and coal-fired boilers, with the machinery rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) with a speed of 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph), but the second ship (later Chester) had all oil-fired boilers, which boosted power to 31,000 shaft horsepower (23,000 kW) and speed to 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph).

[27] The ships' main armament was ten QF 5.5 in (140 mm) Mark I guns (50 calibres long) to a new design by Coventry Ordnance Works.

[41] That same year, Sydney attacked SMS Emden in an action that lasted over an hour and resulted in the German warship being beached by her captain to avoid his ship sinking.

In 1916, ships of the class also saw action at the Battle of Jutland, the largest surface engagement of the First World War .

After the end of the First World War, the surviving ships performed a variety of duties, including service on foreign stations.

However, Adelaide was obsolete when the Second World War began, and she saw limited service, performing patrol and escort duties in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.