HMS Falmouth was a Town-class

Town class cruiser (1910)

The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...

 light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 launched on 20 September 1910 from the yards of William Beardmore and Company

William Beardmore and Company

William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...

. She was part of the Weymouth subgroup.

She saw action in a number of major naval engagements of the war. On the outbreak of the First World War, she was assigned to the 5th Cruiser Squadron operating in the Mid Atlantic, in August 1914 Falmouth sank four German merchant ships and later that month was reassigned to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. On 28 August 1914 she took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and on 24 January 1915 she took part in the Battle of Dogger Bank

Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)

The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet....

.

She was still part of the squadron when on 31 May to 1 June 1916 she was present at the Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...

. Her eventful career came to an end on 19 August 1916 when she was damaged by the German submarine U-66

SM U-66

SM U-66 was the lead ship of the Type U 66 submarines or U-boats for the German Imperial Navy during the First World War. The submarine had been laid down in November 1913 as U-7, the lead ship of the U-7 class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy but was sold to Germany, along with the others in her...

 and then sunk by the German submarine U-63

SM U-63

SM U-63 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I.U-63 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic....

 under the command of Otto Schultze

Otto Schultze

Otto Schultze was a Generaladmiral with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and a recipient of the Pour le Mérite during World War I. The Pour le Mérite was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I...

. She sits in 15m at 53°58.93′N 0°4.50′W.