Light cruiser
Encyclopedia
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. Prior to this smaller cruisers had been of the protected cruiser
model, possessing armored decks only.
Royal Navy
with HMS Mercury
launched in 1878. Such second and third class protected cruisers evolved, gradually becoming faster, better armed and better protected. Germany took a lead in small cruiser design in the 1890s, building a class of fast cruisers copied by other nations. Such vessels were powered by coal-fired boilers and reciprocating steam engines
and relied in part on the arrangement of coal bunkers for their protection. The adoption of oil-fired water-tube boiler
s and steam turbine
engines meant that older small cruisers rapidly became obsolescent. Furthermore, new construction could not rely on the protection of coal bunkers and would therefore have to adopt some form of side armoring. The British Bristol group of Town-class
cruisers (1909) were a departure from previous designs; with turbine propulsion, mixed coal and oil firing and a 2 inch protective armoured belt as well as deck. Thus, by definition, they were armoured cruisers, despite displacing only 4,800 tons; the light armored cruiser had arrived. The first true modern light cruisers were the Arethusa class (1911) which had all oil-firing and used lightweight destroyer
-type machinery to make 29 knots (57 km/h).
, British light cruisers often had either two 6 inch (152 mm) and perhaps eight 4 inch (100 mm) guns, or a uniform armament of 6 inch (152 mm) guns on a ship of around 5,000 tons, while German cruisers progressed during the war from 4.1 inch (105 mm) to 5.9 inch (150 mm) guns.
The term light cruiser was given a definition by the London Naval Treaty
of 1930. Light cruisers were defined as cruisers having guns of 6.1 inch (155 mm) or smaller, with heavy cruiser
s defined as cruisers having guns of up to 8 inch (203 mm). In both cases, the ships could not be greater than 10,000 tons.
era, light cruisers had guns ranging from 5 inch (127 mm), as seen in the Atlanta-class anti-aircraft cruiser
, to 6.1 inch, though the most common size by far was 6 inch. Heavy cruisers usually had a battery of 8 inch (203 mm) guns. In the years leading up to World War II, with the London Naval Treaty
making it impossible to build a balanced heavy cruiser design within tonnage limits, this led to the construction of a great number of light cruisers of 10,000 ton with twelve to fifteen 6 inches (152 mm) guns that were otherwise identical to heavy cruisers.
Heavy cruiser
construction was phased out in Britain, France and Italy during the mid 1930s. However, the breakout of World War II allowed nations to skirt the London Treaty and exceed the 10,000 ton limit. By the end of the war, the US Navy's ships classed as "large cruisers" had displacements of nearly 30,000 tons (the Alaska-class cruiser
), while light cruisers stayed in the region of 10,000 tons (although sometimes reaching 12,000 or 13,000 tons). Most modern guided missile cruisers have a similar displacement (10,000 tons for Ticonderoga, 12,000 for Slava, 28,000 for Kirov).
Three light cruisers are still in existence as museum ship
s, and one is still used in active service by a navy - BAP Almirante Grau
of the Peruvian Navy
. The three ships preserved as museum ships are: HMS Belfast
(1938) in London
, HMS Caroline
(1914) in Belfast
, and USS Little Rock
in Buffalo, New York
. Similar ships include the protected cruisers Aurora
(St Petersburg) and USS Olympia
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
), and the bow of the Puglia (Italy).
, light cruisers have the hull classification symbol
CL. Both heavy cruiser
s and light cruisers were classified under a common CL/CA sequence after 1931, hence there are some missing hull numbers, see List of light cruisers of the United States. After the development of seaborne guided missiles in the 1950s, all remaining cruisers armed solely with guns, regardless of caliber were redesignated as "Gun Cruisers" (hull classification symbol CA), with guided missile cruisers (which generally carry some gun armament) gaining the new hull classification symbol CG. By the 1975 fleet realignment, all gun cruisers were out of the fleet.
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to this smaller cruisers had been of the protected cruiser
Protected cruiser
The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
model, possessing armored decks only.
History
The first small steam powered cruisers were built for the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
with HMS Mercury
HMS Mercury (1878)
HMS Mercury was an Iris class second class cruiser of the Royal Navy. The two ships of the class were the first all steel ships in the Royal Navy. She was distinguished from the Iris by her straight bow, which gave her a slightly shorter length of 315 feet...
launched in 1878. Such second and third class protected cruisers evolved, gradually becoming faster, better armed and better protected. Germany took a lead in small cruiser design in the 1890s, building a class of fast cruisers copied by other nations. Such vessels were powered by coal-fired boilers and reciprocating steam engines
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
and relied in part on the arrangement of coal bunkers for their protection. The adoption of oil-fired water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s and steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
engines meant that older small cruisers rapidly became obsolescent. Furthermore, new construction could not rely on the protection of coal bunkers and would therefore have to adopt some form of side armoring. The British Bristol group of 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...
cruisers (1909) were a departure from previous designs; with turbine propulsion, mixed coal and oil firing and a 2 inch protective armoured belt as well as deck. Thus, by definition, they were armoured cruisers, despite displacing only 4,800 tons; the light armored cruiser had arrived. The first true modern light cruisers were the Arethusa class (1911) which had all oil-firing and used lightweight destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
-type machinery to make 29 knots (57 km/h).
World War I
By World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, British light cruisers often had either two 6 inch (152 mm) and perhaps eight 4 inch (100 mm) guns, or a uniform armament of 6 inch (152 mm) guns on a ship of around 5,000 tons, while German cruisers progressed during the war from 4.1 inch (105 mm) to 5.9 inch (150 mm) guns.
The term light cruiser was given a definition by the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
of 1930. Light cruisers were defined as cruisers having guns of 6.1 inch (155 mm) or smaller, with heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s defined as cruisers having guns of up to 8 inch (203 mm). In both cases, the ships could not be greater than 10,000 tons.
World War II
In the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era, light cruisers had guns ranging from 5 inch (127 mm), as seen in the Atlanta-class anti-aircraft cruiser
Atlanta class cruiser
The Atlanta-class cruisers were United States Navy light cruisers originally designed as fast scout cruisers or flotilla leaders, but later proved to be effective anti-aircraft cruisers during World War II. They were also known as the Atlanta-Oakland class. The lead ship Atlanta was sunk in action...
, to 6.1 inch, though the most common size by far was 6 inch. Heavy cruisers usually had a battery of 8 inch (203 mm) guns. In the years leading up to World War II, with the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
making it impossible to build a balanced heavy cruiser design within tonnage limits, this led to the construction of a great number of light cruisers of 10,000 ton with twelve to fifteen 6 inches (152 mm) guns that were otherwise identical to heavy cruisers.
Heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
construction was phased out in Britain, France and Italy during the mid 1930s. However, the breakout of World War II allowed nations to skirt the London Treaty and exceed the 10,000 ton limit. By the end of the war, the US Navy's ships classed as "large cruisers" had displacements of nearly 30,000 tons (the Alaska-class cruiser
Alaska class cruiser
The Alaska-class cruisers were a class of six very large cruisers ordered prior to World War II for the United States Navy. Although often called battlecruisers, officially the Navy classed them as Large Cruisers . Their intermediate status is reflected in their names relative to typical U.S....
), while light cruisers stayed in the region of 10,000 tons (although sometimes reaching 12,000 or 13,000 tons). Most modern guided missile cruisers have a similar displacement (10,000 tons for Ticonderoga, 12,000 for Slava, 28,000 for Kirov).
Light cruisers today
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
s, and one is still used in active service by a navy - BAP Almirante Grau
BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81)
BAP Almirante Grau ' is a De Zeven Provinciën-class cruiser in service with the Peruvian Navy. Completed for the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1953 as HNLMS De Ruyter , it was acquired by Peru in 1973. Since then, it has served as the fleet flagship of the Peruvian Navy...
of the Peruvian Navy
Peruvian Navy
The Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral...
. The three ships preserved as museum ships are: HMS Belfast
HMS Belfast (C35)
HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum....
(1938) in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, HMS Caroline
HMS Caroline (1914)
HMS Caroline was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. Caroline was launched and commissioned in 1914. At the time of her decommissioning in 2011 she was the second-oldest ship in Royal Navy service, after HMS Victory...
(1914) in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, and USS Little Rock
USS Little Rock (CG-4)
USS Little Rock was one of 27 United States Navy light cruisers completed during or shortly after World War II, and one of six to be converted to guided missile cruisers. She was the first US Navy ship to be named for Little Rock, Arkansas. Commissioned in mid-1945, she was completed too late to...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Similar ships include the protected cruisers Aurora
Aurora (cruiser)
Aurora is a 1900 Russian protected cruiser, currently preserved as a museum ship in St. Petersburg. She battled the Japanese Navy in the Russo-Japanese War. One of the first incidents of the October Revolution in Russia took place on the cruiser Aurora.-Russo-Japanese War:Aurora was one of three...
(St Petersburg) and USS Olympia
USS Olympia (C-6)
USS Olympia is a protected cruiser which saw service in the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. This vessel became famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The ship was decommissioned after...
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
), and the bow of the Puglia (Italy).
United States Navy classification
In the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, light cruisers have the hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...
CL. Both heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s and light cruisers were classified under a common CL/CA sequence after 1931, hence there are some missing hull numbers, see List of light cruisers of the United States. After the development of seaborne guided missiles in the 1950s, all remaining cruisers armed solely with guns, regardless of caliber were redesignated as "Gun Cruisers" (hull classification symbol CA), with guided missile cruisers (which generally carry some gun armament) gaining the new hull classification symbol CG. By the 1975 fleet realignment, all gun cruisers were out of the fleet.
See also
- Protected cruiserProtected cruiserThe protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
- Armored cruiserArmored cruiserThe armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
- CruiserCruiserA cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
- Heavy cruiserHeavy cruiserThe heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
- BattlecruiserBattlecruiserBattlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...