Scout Cruisers

Scout cruisers were a niche type of cruiser designed in the early 1900s. Smaller, faster, and more lightly armed and armoured than contemporary protected cruisers or early light cruisers, they were larger than destroyers and better equipped for fleet scouting duties or flotilla leader roles. Scout cruisers had a very short career as a general concept, the majority of designs being from the 1900s and 1910s, with some limited designs in the 1920s. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the later London Naval Treaty of 1930 changed the definitions of cruiser design and consequently, the niche of scout cruisers largely disappeared in favour of more modern light cruiser types.

However, some 1930s designs called for new “fast scouts” and ships such as the Capitani Romani-class, as well as the German Spähkreuzer designs tried to carve a new niche within the roles of large destroyers and very light cruisers. However, most of these ships were classified or reclassified as destroyers, destroyer leaders, flotilla leaders or just “light cruisers”, depending on the source. In general, the era of the scout cruiser was very short and lasted only until the 1920s and the great naval reforms made after the pivotal Washington Naval Treaty.