Light cruiser
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A light cruiser is a warship, in particular a cruiser. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armoured cruiser" meaning a smaller ship that carried armour in the same way as an armoured cruiser. Up until then smaller cruisers had been of the protected cruiser style. The "light cruiser" was a fairly loose description until the 1920s when the definition was settled by reference to the size of armament, 6 inch guns or less compared to heavy cruisers that carried guns greater than 6 inch.
History
The first light cruisers were built for the Royal Navy by Britain with HMS Mercury launched in 1879. They evolved, gradually becoming faster and more powerful, with greater numbers of uniform size main guns. Germany took the lead in light cruisers in the 1890s, building a class of fast cruisers copied by other nations.
By World War I, British light cruisers often had either two 6 inch (152 mm) and perhaps eight 4 inch (100 mm) guns, or a uniform armament of 6 inch (152 mm) guns on a ship of around 5,000 tons, while German cruisers progressed during the war from 4.1 inch (105 mm) to 5.9 inch (150 mm) guns.
In the London Naval Treaty of 1930, light cruisers were defined as cruisers having guns of 6.1 inch (155 mm) or smaller, with heavy cruisers defined as cruisers having guns of up to 8 inch (203 mm). In both cases, the ships could not be greater than 10,000 tons
In the World War II era, light cruisers had guns ranging from 5 inch (127 mm) to 6.1 inch (155 mm), the most common size being 6 inch (152 mm), while heavy cruisers usually had a battery of 8 inch (203 mm) guns. This was a significant difference in destructive power, since 8 inch (203 mm) shells were over twice the weight of 6 inch (152 mm) shells. Light cruisers were nevertheless useful scouts, fire-support ships, fleet escorts, and destroyer leaders, and were heavily used.
Four light cruisers are still in existence: HMS Belfast (1938) in London, HMS Caroline in Belfast, USS Little Rock (Buffalo, NY), and Colbert (Bordeaux). Similar ships include the protected cruisers Aurora (St Petersburg), and parts of Puglia (Italy) and Olympia.
United States Navy classification
In the United States Navy, light cruisers have the hull classification symbol CL. Both heavy cruisers and light cruisers were classified under CL after 1931, hence there are some missing hull numbers, see List of light cruisers of the United States. After the development of seaborne guided missiles in the 1950s, all remaining gun-equipped cruisers regardless of calibre were redesignated as "Gun Cruisers" (hull classification symbol CA), with guided missile cruisers gaining the new hull classification symbol CG.
See also
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