Columbia class cruiser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 USS Columbia (C-12) |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Columbia class cruiser |
| Operators: |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Olympia-class cruiser |
| Succeeded by: | St. Louis-class cruiser |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Retired: | 2 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Protected Cruiser (Heavy Cruiser) |
| Displacement: | 7,375 tons |
| Length: | 412 ft |
| Beam: | 58 ft 2.25 in |
| Draft: | 22 ft 6.5 in |
| Propulsion: | Vertical triple-expansion engines 3 Screws 18,509 Horsepower |
| Speed: | 22.8 knots |
| Complement: | 30 Officers 447 Enlisted |
| Armament: | One 8 inch breechloading gun Two 6 inch breechloading guns Eight 4 inch rapid Fire guns Twelve 6-pounder rapid fire guns Two one-pounder rapid fire guns Two Colt revolving guns One field piece (for landing parties) Four torpedo tubes |
| Armor: | Protective deck 4 inches (slopes) 2 1/2 inches (flats) |
The Columbia class cruisers were a group of two protected cruisers constructed in 1890 and 1891 and used by the United States Navy.
[edit] 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 with 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 criticised 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.
