give her a range of at . The main armament of the Hawkins-class ships consisted of seven Mk VI guns in single mounts protected by gun shields. They were arranged with five guns on the centreline, four of which were in superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure, the fifth gun was further aft on the quarterdeck, and the last two as wing guns abreast the aft funnel. Their anti-aircraft suite consisted of three Mk V guns and a pair of two-pounder () guns. Two of the Mk V guns were positioned at the base of the mainmast and the third gun was on the quarterdeck. The two-pounders were mounted on a platform between the funnels. The ships were also fitted with six 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, one submerged and two above water on each broadside. Frobishers guns were controlled by a mechanical Mark III Dreyer Fire-control Table. It used data provided by the coincidence rangefinder in the gunnery director positioned under the spotting top at the head of the tripod mast. The ship was also fitted with three rangefinders. The Hawkins class were protected by a full-length waterline armoured belt that covered most of the ships' sides. It was thickest over the boiler and engine rooms, ranging from thick. Their magazines were protected by an additional of armour. There was a 1-inch aft transverse bulkhead and the conning tower was protected by 3-inch armour plates. The ships' deck protection consisted of 1 to 1.5 inches of high-tensile steel. Construction and career Frobisher, named after Admiral Sir Martin Frobisher, one of the leaders of the fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1587, has been the only ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. The ship was ordered in December 1915, laid down by HM Dockyard, Devonport on 2 August 1916, launched on 20 March 1920 and completed on 20 September 1924. She was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet after working up. The ship's Royal Marines participated in an amphibious landing exercise in June 1926. Rear-Admiral William Boyle hoisted his flag in Frobisher when he took command of the squadron in September. The squadron was temporarily deployed to the China Station before Boyle relinquished command on 10 September 1928 to Rear-Admiral Henry Parker. The ship participated in a torpedo exercise on 24 August and then in a fleet exercise in