Cincinnati-class cruiser

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USS Cincinnati
Class overview
NameCincinnati class
Builders
  • New York Navy Yard
  • Norfolk Navy Yard
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byUSS Olympia (C-6)
Succeeded byMontgomery class
Cost$1,100,000 each
Built1889–1894
In service1894–1920
In commission1894–1919
Planned2
Completed2
Scrapped2
General characteristics
TypeProtected cruiser
Displacement
  • 3,183 long tons (3,234 t) (standard)
  • 3,339 long tons (3,393 t) (full load)
Length305 ft 9 in (93.19 m)
Beam42 ft (13 m)
Draft18 ft (5.5 m)
Installed power
  • 6 ×
    steam boilers
  • 2 × vertical
    triple expansion engines
  • 10,000 
    kW
    )
Propulsion2 × screws
Speed19 knots (35 km/h)
Range8,652 nmi (16,024 km; 9,957 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement312
Armament
Armor
General characteristics (1903)
Installed power
Propulsion2 × screws
Speed18 knots (33 km/h)
Armament

The Cincinnati-class cruisers were two small protected cruisers built for the United States Navy in the early 1890s.[1][2] They were smaller and more lightly armed and protected than most previous US cruisers, and were intended for commerce raiding.[3] They may also be referred to as Raleigh-class cruisers, as Raleigh was launched and commissioned prior to Cincinnati.[4]

The Cincinnati-class cruisers were authorized by an Act of Congress approved on 7 September 1888, in the same bill with New York, Olympia and the Montgomery class.[2][5]

Design and construction

As the U.S. Navy began to rebuild its fleet with steel-hulled vessels to keep pace with the advance of naval technology in the 1880s, it explored a wide range of design concepts. Among the approaches to the protected cruiser design was that of a small and fast

commerce raider. Thus, in the 1888 naval appropriations bill, Congress set aside money to build five such vessels, two Cincinnati class of 3,000 tons and three Montgomery class of 2,000 tons.[1][3][5]

In May 1889, the

Norfolk Navy Yard.[2][3]

Armament

The as-built main armament of the ships was one

18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.[3][8]
Along with Olympia and the Montgomery class, these were among the first US Navy ships to carry 5-inch guns.

Armor

The protective deck was 2 in (51 mm) to 2.5 in (64 mm) on the sloped sides and 1 in (25 mm) in the flat middle. 4 in (102 mm) of armor was provided for the gun sponsons on the sides, and the conning tower was 2 in (51 mm) thick.[8]

Engineering

The as-built engineering plant included six coal-fired cylindrical boilers, which produced steam for two vertical

kW) on trials; Raleigh reached 21.12 knots (39.11 km/h; 24.30 mph) but the horsepower is unknown.[3] Some references state the class carried fore-and-aft sails as built, other references state they were never carried.[3][8] The ships normally carried 556 tons of coal for a designed range of 8,652 nmi (16,024 km; 9,957 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph); this could be increased to 700 tons.[3] The as-built propulsion plant proved to have a high coal consumption and could not maintain 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) for long; the boilers and engines were replaced in refits circa 1901.[4]

Refits

Cincinnati was refitted in 1899-1901; Raleigh followed in 1899-1903.

kW) for a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[4] Two 5-inch guns, for a total of nine remaining, were removed by 1918.[8]

Service

Both ships were engaged in the Spanish–American War, Cincinnati off Cuba and Raleigh in the Philippines. Raleigh is credited with firing the first shot of the Battle of Manila Bay from a 5-inch/40 caliber gun in 1898.[7] Raleigh also engaged in the early part of the Philippine–American War, while Cincinnati protected American citizens and interests during political unrest in the Caribbean. Both served in East Asia 1903–1907, after which both were decommissioned until 1911. Cincinnati then spent six years in East Asia, followed by patrol duty in the Gulf of Mexico during World War I. Raleigh operated in Mexico and Central America 1913–1916, followed by a yard period. After the US entered World War I in 1917, Raleigh operated from Brazil, and in mid-1918 joined Cincinnati in the Gulf of Mexico. In mid-1919 both ships were decommissioned, and both were scrapped in 1921.[11][12]

Ships in class

The two ships of the Cincinnati class were:[4]

Ship Shipyard Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
USS Cincinnati (C-7)
Brooklyn, New York
 29 January 1890 10 November 1892 16 June 1894 20 April 1919 Sold for scrap 5 August 1921
USS Raleigh (C-8)
Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia
 19 December 1889 31 March 1892 17 April 1894 21 April 1919 Sold for scrap 5 August 1921

Note: It appears that the hull numbers PG-25 and PG-26 (patrol gunboat) were reserved for these ships as part of a fleet-wide redesignation in 1920, but the ships were ordered sold before the redesignation took effect on 17 July 1920.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Burr, p. 16
  2. ^ a b c "C-7 Cincinnati". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Friedman, pp. 27-33, 461-462
  4. ^ a b c d e Bauer and Roberts, p. 144
  5. ^ a b The Statutes at Large of the United States. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1889. p. 472. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  6. ^ DiGiulian, Tony, 6"/30, 6"/35, and 6"/40 US Navy guns at NavWeaps.com
  7. ^ a b DiGiulian, Tony, 5"/40 US Navy guns at NavWeaps.com
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Gardiner and Chesneau, p. 153
  9. ^ DiGiulian, Tony, 6-pdr (57 mm) US Navy guns at NavWeaps.com
  10. ^ DiGiulian, Tony, 1-pdr (37 mm) US Navy guns at NavWeaps.com
  11. ^ "Cincinnati II (C-7)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Raleigh (C-8) ii". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.

Bibliography

External links

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