Light cruiser
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A light cruiser is a warship that is not so large and powerful as a regular (or heavy) cruiser, but still larger than ships like destroyers. They were first built in Britain with Mercury in 1879, and gradually became 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 2-6in and perhaps 8-4in guns, or a uniform armament of 6in guns, while German cruisers progressed during the war from 4.1in to 5.9in guns.
In the World War II era, light cruisers had guns ranging from 5.25in to 6.1in, the most common size being 6in (152mm), while heavy cruisers usually had a battery of 8in (203mm) guns. This was a significant difference in destructive power, since 8in shells were over twice the weight of 6in shells. Light cruisers were nevertheless useful for fire-support and as fleet escorts, and heavily used.
In the Washington Naval Arms Limitation Treaty of 1920, light cruisers were defined as cruisers having guns of 6.1in or smaller, with heavy cruisers defined as cruisers having guns of up to 8in.
In the United States Navy, light cruisers have the hull classification symbol of CL1.
Four light cruisers are still in existance: HMS Belfast (1938) in London, HMS Caroline in Belfast External site (scroll down) External site Little Rock (Buffalo), and Colbert (Bordeaux). Similar ships include the protected cruisers Aurora (St Petersburg), part of Puglia (Italy) and Olympia.
| United States Navy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hull Number1 | Class | Years in service |
| CL-1 to CL-3 | Chester | 1908 - 1930 |
| Cl-4 to CL-13 | Omaha | 1923 - 1949 |
| CL-14 | Not Assigned, intended for USS Chicago | |
| CL-15 | USS Olympia | 1895 - 1957 |
| CL-16 to CL-21 | Denver | 1903 - 1933 |
| CL-22 | USS New Orleans | 1898 - 1930 |
| CL-23 | USS Albany | 1900 - 1930 |
| CL-40 to CL-43, CL-46 to CL-48 |
Brooklyn | 1937 - 1992 |
| CL-49 and CL-50 | St. Louis | 1930 - 1951 |
| CL-51 to CL-54 | Atlanta | 1941 - 1959 |
| CL-55 to CL-67, CL-76 to CL-94, CL-99 to CL-105 |
Cleveland2 | 1942 - 1971 |
| CL-95 to CL-98 | Oakland | 1943 - 1966 |
| CL-106 to CL-118 | Fargo | 1945 - 1970 |
| CL-119 to CL-121 | Juneau | 1946 - 1966 |
| CL-144 to CL-147 | Worcester | 1948 - 1970 |
| CL-154 to CL-159 | abortive 1945 antiaircraft cruiser project | none built |
| CLGN-160 (to CGN-160 and then to CGN-9) | USS Long Beach | 1961-1995 |
| 1 Heavy cruisers and Light cruisers were classified under CL after 1931, hence there are some missing hull numbers |
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| 2Nine Cleveland-class cruisers were converted to Independence-class aircraft carriers |
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(mention light cruisers of other countries)
de:Leichter Kreuzer
