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Schematic section of a typical armoured cruiser with an armoured upper and middle deck and side belt (red), lateral protective coal bunkers (grey) and a double-bottom of watertight compartments. The machinery was arranged in the protected internal void.

The armored or armoured cruiser (see spelling differences) is a type of cruiser; a naval warship. The armoured cruiser is protected by a belt of side armor, in addition to the armored deck and protective coal bunkers that define the protected cruiser.

Armored cruisers were the chief combatants in two naval battles: the Battle off Ulsan in the Russo-Japanese War, and the Battle of Coronel in World War I, and played important supporting roles in other battles of the period.

The development of the explosive shell in the mid-1800s made the use of armored warships inevitable, despite the cost and weight. Armored cruisers began to appear in large Western navies around 1873 and the type continued to be built until 1908. Around this time they were rapidly being outclassed by the new "all big guns" dreadnought-type warships, notably battlecruisers which compared favourably in all aspects and thus succeeded armoured cruisers.

The Russian armored cruiser General-Admiral (1873)

The first large armored cruiser-type ships were the Russian General-Admiral (1873) and the British Shannon (1875), although the latter was initially known as an Ironclad Frigate.

The first true armored cruiser was the French Navy Dupuy de Lôme, launched in 1887.^[1] That same year, the Russian Ryurik entered service. The first ship in the form that came to be accepted as the pattern for the armored cruiser was the Clyde-built Chiyoda of the Imperial Japanese Navy^[2]. The advances made in the Chiyoda were centred around the adoption of the vertical triple-expansion reciprocating engine^[2]. Unlike the horizontal TE type, which occupied the width of the ship, the vertical TE engine could be kept close to the centreline of the ship and surrounded by a protective blanket of belt armor and coal bunkers to the sides and deck armor on top. This provided a large protected zone inside the ship in which the machinery was protected from exploding shell and which maintained watertight integrity^[2]. Chiyoda is too small to be thought of as a true armored cruiser, but she set a mold that would be closely followed by subsequent ships.

Armored cruiser Dupuy de Lôme, launched in 1887.

The 1890 Japanese cruiser Chiyoda set the trend for armored cruiser design.

The last armored cruisers were built around 1910 . Around this time they were rapidly being outclassed by new technological developments such as the 'all big gun' dreadnought battleship powered by steam turbine engines and the adoption of oil firing meant that new construction could no longer rely on the protection afforded by coal bunkers. Armored cruisers were directly replaced in battle fleets by the larger, faster and better-armed battlecruisers. The large armoured cruiser was therefore rendered obsolete and only light cruisers were built from that point on. Remaining armoured cruisers were used in patrolling and minor roles until the end of World War II.

It should be noted that the British Royal Navy classified both armoured cruisers and protected cruisers of equivalent size and armament as "first class cruisers". Thus, the first class cruisers built between the Orlando class (1886) and the Cressy class (1897) were - strictly speaking - protected cruisers, as they lacked an armored belt.

German Blücher (1908)

British HMS Good Hope (1901)

Early armored cruisers generally displaced 6,000–12,000 tons with a speed of 18–20 knots (33–37 km/h). The type reached its zenith in 1906–1908 with displacements of 14,000–16,000 tons and speeds of 22–23 knots (41–43 km/h). Typical armament was 2 or 4 large-calibre guns at the ends of the ship, usually between 7.5–10 inches (190 to 254 mm), and some dozen guns of 6 in (152 mm) calibre or similar along the sides.

For example, the first Russian Rurik (1892) had four 8 in (203 mm) guns, sixteen 6 in (152 mm) guns and six 4.7 in (120 mm) guns and the French Victor Hugo (1904) had four 9.4 in (194 mm) guns and sixteen 7.5 in (164 mm) guns. The numerous British Monmouth class (1901) was an exception, the design of these ships giving emphasis to the class's trade protection role over fleet duties, with a uniform armament of fourteen 6 in (152 mm) guns. Later armored cruisers had increased armaments, for example the British HMS Warrior (1905) - six 9.2 in (234 mm) guns and four 7.5 in (190 mm) guns; the German SMS Blücher (1909) - twelve 210 mm (8.2 in) guns and six 150 mm (5.9 in) guns; and the second Russian Rurik (1906, built by Vickers) had four 10 in (254 mm) guns, eight 8 in (203 mm) guns, and twenty 4.7 in (120 mm) guns.

Armored cruiser Brooklyn (1898)

The first armored cruiser of the United States Navy was the USS Maine, whose explosion in 1898 triggered the Spanish-American War. Launched in 1889 , she had 7 to 12 inches (178 to 305 mm) of armor around the sides ("belt armor"), and 1 to 4 inches (25 to 102 mm) on the decks. She was redesignated as a "second class battleship" in 1894 , an awkward compromise reflecting slowness compared to other cruisers, and weakness versus the first-line battleships of the time.

New York, launched in 1895 , was less well protected than Maine, with 3 inches (76 mm) of belt armor, and 3 to 6 inches (76 to 152 mm) of deck armor. The Brooklyn was an improved version of the New York and Olympia designs.

Shortly after the Spanish-American War, the Navy built six Pennsylvania class armored cruisers, almost immediately followed by four of the Tennessee class. Collectively these ten ships were referred to as the 'big ten'.

Armoured cruisers were used with success in the line of battle by the Japanese at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. Of the battle damage received by the Japanese, the armoured cruiser Nisshin received the second-most hits after the battleship Mikasa. Nisshin was hit 13 times, including six 12-inch and one 9-inch hits. Nisshin managed to stay in line throughout the battle, validating the hopes of the designer; a cruiser able to stand in the line of battle. The performance of the Japanese armored cruisers during the Battle of Tsushima, and that of Nisshin in particular, likely led to a boom in the construction of armored cruisers in the world's navies.

The Chilean armored cruiser O'Higgins (1896), flag ship until 1931.

Armoured cruisers were already considered obsolete by 1907, when the Royal Navy introduced the Invincible class battlecruisers. The previous year, the British had launched the revolutionary "all big gun" HMS Dreadnought. The Invincibles also had a main battery of all uniform large calibre guns and higher speed at the cost of reduced armour, nonetheless they compared favourably in firepower, speed, and protection to armoured cruisers.

The last armoured cruiser built was the SMS Blücher, though it was perhaps the best of that type of ship, it still fell short in part because the British had mislead the Germans on the Invincibles' specifications.

Consequently, when armoured cruisers met modern capital ships in World War I, the deficiencies of the type were cruelly exposed; SMS Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were sunk by the battlecruisers HMS Invincible and Inflexible at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. Vice-Admiral Maximilian von Spee had already considered RAN flagship HMAS Australia superior to his force of armoured and light cruisers. At the Falkland Islands, while the German gunnery was mostly accurate, they failed to inflict serious damage on the British battlecruisers who turned the tide of battle once they started hitting von Spee's ships.

The Battle of Coronel, which had occurred shortly before the Falkland incident, was one of the last battles involving armoured cruisers as the chief adversaries; all subsequent engagements were dominated by dreadnought-era battleships and battlecruisers.

During the Battle of Dogger Bank, the SMS Blücher's slow speed proved a liability to Admiral Hipper's otherwise all-battlecruiser squadron; Hipper made the decision to sacrifice the armoured cruiser (which was sunk with great loss of life) and let his more modern and valuable ships escape.

HMS Warrior, Defence and Black Prince were lost at the Battle of Jutland when they engaged the German Navy's battle line, which included several battlecruisers and dreadnought battleships.

On 17 July 1920, when the standard naval hull numbering nomenclature was adopted, all existing US armored cruisers were merged with protected cruisers in a single class "cruiser" with hull classification symbol "CA", bringing to an end the use of the term in the US.

The London Naval Treaty of 1930 essentially abolished the term 'armored cruiser', and adopted the terms heavy cruiser and light cruiser. After this, the symbol "CA" was used to designate 'heavy cruiser'.

One, late-design, armored cruiser still exists: Georgios Averof, constructed in 1909-1911, is preserved as a museum in Greece.

• Protected cruiser
• Light cruiser
• Cruiser
• Heavy cruiser
• Battlecruiser

• British and German Armored Cruisers of the First World War