Columbia class cruiser
Encyclopedia
The Columbia class cruisers were a group of two protected cruisers constructed in 1890 and 1891 and used by the United States Navy
.
Due to their design, this type of ship was criticized as being not much better than an armed merchant cruiser.
During the Spanish-American War
, for example, the Columbia was used primarily as a troop transport.
This type of large (but under-armed) specialized commerce raider was built by several other countries. The German cruiser SMS Kaiserin Augusta
also had a triple-screw design and was nearly as long as the American Columbia-class ships. The French copied the Columbia class concept with two large protected cruisers, the Guichen (1897) and Chateaurenault (1898) before switching to building only armored cruisers for the commerce-raiding role such as the of 1900. Later, Russia acquired a series of oversized protected cruisers such as the Aurora class, Askold
, Varyag and Bogatyr
class up until the Russo-Japanese War (1905) although these were given a relatively stronger armament for their size. The British were the most probable target of most of these ships, and invested in various cruiser designs as a counter to the perceived threat.
United 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...
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Class history
The Columbia class cruisers were designed for the purpose of commerce destruction. They were lightly armored and lightly gunned ships that were built for the speed needed to overtake and destroy the merchant vessels of the day as commerce raiders. However, the light armament and armor left these ships outclassed by ordinary similar sized protected cruisers that they may encounter. Also, the engines were expensive to operate and at full power the ships' range was greatly decreased.Due to their design, this type of ship was criticized as being not much better than an armed merchant cruiser.
During the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, for example, the Columbia was used primarily as a troop transport.
This type of large (but under-armed) specialized commerce raider was built by several other countries. The German cruiser SMS Kaiserin Augusta
SMS Kaiserin Augusta
SMS Kaiserin Augusta was a unique protected cruiser, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the early 1890s. She was laid down in 1890, launched in January 1892, and completed in November of that year. Owing to budgetary restrictions, Kaiserin Augusta was designed to fill both fleet scout and...
also had a triple-screw design and was nearly as long as the American Columbia-class ships. The French copied the Columbia class concept with two large protected cruisers, the Guichen (1897) and Chateaurenault (1898) before switching to building only armored cruisers for the commerce-raiding role such as the of 1900. Later, Russia acquired a series of oversized protected cruisers such as the Aurora class, Askold
Russian cruiser Askold (1900)
Askold was a protected cruiser built for the Imperial Russian Navy. She was named after the legendary Varangian Askold. Her thin, narrow hull and maximum speed of were considered impressive for the time....
, Varyag and Bogatyr
Bogatyr class cruiser
The Bogatyr-class were a group of protected cruisers built for the Imperial Russian Navy. Unusually for the Russian navy, two ships of the class were built for the Baltic Fleet and two ships for the Black Sea Fleet.- Ships :...
class up until the Russo-Japanese War (1905) although these were given a relatively stronger armament for their size. The British were the most probable target of most of these ships, and invested in various cruiser designs as a counter to the perceived threat.