Protected Cruisers

Protected cruisers were a type of cruiser developed in the mid-to-late 1800s as the evolution of the ironclad changed the face of warship design. Unlike armoured cruisers, protected cruisers featured a simple armoured deck with no or limited belt armour. Some protected cruisers were better armoured than others, but generally featured weaker protection than armoured cruisers. The type persisted for longer than armoured cruisers, which were replaced by battlecruisers in 1908 with the entry of the Invincible-class battlecruisers into British service.

However, in the early 1910s, developments in naval warfare technology, especially armour plating design led to new types of protected cruisers that were more akin to early “light cruisers” of the 1920s. Indeed, the type was phased out in favour of these new cruiser designs with the end of the First World War and the Washington Naval Treaty redefining the traditional designs and roles of warships for the foreseeable future. Most protected cruisers that survived World War One were scrapped or sold during the 1920s and 1930s, although a couple survived and became museum ships after the war, such as the Russian Aurora and American USS Olympia.