Ships Cover for the Diadem class first class protected cruisers HMS Amphitrite (1898), HMS Andromeda (1897), HMS Argonaut (1898), HMS Ariadne (1898), HMS Diadem (1896), HMS Europa (1897), HMS Niobe (1897) and HMS Spartiate (1898). The documentation comprises a detailed set of design proposals, culminating in both written and printed design statements for the Navy Estimates and internal DNC use, statements of dimensions and estimates of weights, details of the various proposed and final armaments with ammunition allowances, stability calculations, proposed types and arrangements of boilers, details of ships fittings and equipment, including boats, a copy of the engine specifications, general correspondence with contracting firms including a copy of the contracts for the supply of armour plates, coal endurance, trials reports, and schemes of complement. The papers commence in November 1893 at the beginning of the design phase and end in January 1916, by which time all were engaged in second-line duties. Ships Cover 149 is a continuation of this Cover, dealing specifically with the later four ships.