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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
U.S. NAVY SHIPS -- Listed by Hull Number
"C" -- Protected Cruisers
Among the antecedents of the U.S. Navy's 1920 hull number system
was a number series for protected (and a few "unprotected")
cruisers, of which more than two-dozen were built or acquired
between the mid-1880s and the early 1900s. Twenty-two of these
warships received "cruiser numbers", which have informally
been abbreviated "C-1" through "C-22". This
shortened form was, however, a matter of unofficial convenience
and not a part of the Navy's formal hull number system. In 1920-21
the surviving members of the group received new designations and
numbers in the Armored Cruiser (CA), Light Cruiser (CL) and Gunboat
(PG) series. The old cruiser ("C-") numbers then became
extinct.
In addition to the 22 ships numbered in the "cruiser"
series, another five protected cruisers did not originally receive
numbers, either because they were built earlier or because they
were purchased abroad and were not constructed as part of the
Navy's shipbuilding program. For the sake of completeness, these
five warships are listed below in their proper chronological sequence.
This page provides the numbers of U.S. Navy protected cruisers,
and lists in chronological sequence those protected cruisers that
did not have numbers.
See the list below to locate photographs of individual protected
cruisers numbered in the pre-1920 "cruiser" series.
If the cruiser you want does not have
an active link on this page, contact the Photographic
Section concerning other research options.
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Protected cruisers numbered in the pre-1920 "cruiser"
series:
- Atlanta (1886-1912)
- Boston (1887-1946),
later IX-2. Renamed Despatch in 1940
- Chicago (1889-1936),
later CA-14 & IX-5. Renamed Alton in 1928
- Cruiser # 1: Newark
(1891-1926)
- Cruiser # 2: Charleston
(1889-1899)
- Cruiser # 3: Baltimore
(1890-1942), later CM-1
- Cruiser # 4: Philadelphia
(1890-1927), later IX-24
- Cruiser # 5: San
Francisco (1890-1939), later CM-2. Renamed Yosemite
in 1931
- Cruiser # 6: Olympia
(1895-1957), later CA-15, CL-15 and IX-40
- Cruiser # 7: Cincinnati
(1894-1921)
- Cruiser # 8: Raleigh
(1894-1921)
- Cruiser # 9: Montgomery
(1894-1919). Renamed Anniston in 1918
- Cruiser # 10: Detroit
(1893-1910)
- Cruiser # 11: Marblehead
(1894-1921), later PG-27
- Cruiser # 12: Columbia
(1894-1922), later CA-16. Renamed Old Columbia in
1921
- Cruiser # 13: Minneapolis
(1894-1921), later CA-17
- New Orleans (1894-1930),
later PG-34 & CL-22
- Albany (1900-1930), later PG-36 & CL-23
- Cruiser # 14: Denver (1904-1933), later PG-28
& CL-16
- Cruiser # 15: Des Moines (1904-1930), later
PG-29 & CL-17
- Cruiser # 16: Chattanooga (1904-1930), later
PG-30 & CL-18
- Cruiser # 17: Galveston (1905-1933), later PG-31 & CL-19
- Cruiser # 18: Tacoma (1904-1924), later PG-32
& CL-20
- Cruiser # 19: Cleveland (1903-1930), later PG-33 & CL-21
- Cruiser # 20: Saint
Louis (1906-1930), later CA-18
- Cruiser # 21: Milwaukee (1906-1917)
- Cruiser # 22: Charleston (1905-1930), later
CA-19
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NOTES:
To the best of our knowledge, the Online Library's pictures
are all in the Public Domain, and can therefore be freely downloaded
and used for any purpose.
Some images linked from this page may bear obsolete credit lines
citing the organization name: "Naval Historical Center".
Effective 1 December 2008 the name should be cited as: "Naval
History and Heritage Command".
Return to Naval History and Heritage Command home page.
Page made 21 August 2002
Coding updated 23 April 2009