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{{short description|Type of small to medium-sized warship}}
[[File:London November 2013-14a.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[HMS Belfast|HMS ''Belfast'']], one of the last surviving light cruisers. She carries 12 [[BL 6-inch Mk XXIII naval gun|6-inch guns]] and displaces 11,553 tons – "light" in World War II referred to gun size, not displacement.]]

A '''light cruiser''' is a type of small or medium-sized [[warship]]. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light [[armored cruiser]]", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to this smaller cruisers had been of the [[protected cruiser]] model, possessing armored decks only. While lighter and smaller than other contemporary ships they were still true cruisers, retaining the extended radius of action and self-sufficiency to act independently around the world.  Cruisers mounting larger guns and heavier armor relative to most light cruisers would come to be known as [[heavy cruisers]], though the designation of 'light' versus 'heavy' cruisers would vary somewhat between navies. Through their history light cruisers served in a variety of roles, primarily as convoy escorts and destroyer command ships, but also as scouts and fleet support vessels for battle fleets.

==Origins and development==
[[File:HMS Mercury (1878).jpg|thumb|right|[[HMS Mercury|HMS ''Mercury'']]]]

The first small steam-powered cruisers were built for the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Navy]] with [[HMS Mercury (1878)|HMS ''Mercury'']] launched in 1878.<ref>{{cite book
  | first = John
  | last = Beeler
  | title = Birth of the Battleship: British Capital Ship Design 1870–1881
  | publisher = Naval Institute Press
  | year = 2001
  | pages = 40
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BxZ61ZF4Ea8C&pg=PA40| isbn = 1-55750-213-7}}</ref> Such second and third class protected cruisers evolved, gradually becoming faster, better armed and better protected. Germany took a lead in small cruiser design in the 1890s, building a class of fast cruisers—the {{sclass|Gazelle|cruiser|4}}—copied by other nations. Such vessels were powered by coal-fired boilers and [[steam engine|reciprocating steam engines]] and relied in part on the arrangement of coal bunkers for their protection. The adoption of oil-fired [[water-tube boiler]]s and [[steam turbine]] engines meant that older small cruisers rapidly became obsolete. Furthermore, new construction could not rely on the protection of coal bunkers and would therefore have to adopt some form of side armoring. The British ''Chatham'' group of {{sclass2|Town|cruiser (1910)|0}} cruisers were a departure from previous designs; with turbine propulsion, mixed coal and oil firing and a 2-inch protective armored belt as well as deck. Thus, by definition, they were armored cruisers, despite displacing only 4,800&nbsp;tons; the light armored cruiser had arrived. The first true modern light cruisers were the {{sclass|Arethusa|cruiser (1913)|4}} which had all oil-firing and used lightweight [[destroyer]]-type machinery to make {{convert|29|kn|km/h|0}}.

==History==
===World War I===
[[File:HMS Gloucester at anchor at Brindisi, Italy, 1917 - IWM SP 459.jpg|thumb|[[HMS Gloucester|HMS ''Gloucester'']], one of the Town class, in 1917]]

By [[World War I]], [[British Empire|British]] light cruisers often had either two {{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on|0}} and perhaps eight {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} [[naval gun|guns]], or a uniform armament of 6-inch guns on a ship of around 5,000 tons, while German light cruisers progressed during the war from {{convert|4.1|in|mm|adj=on|0}} to {{convert|5.9|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns. Cruiser construction in Britain continued uninterrupted until Admiral [[John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher|"Jacky" Fisher]]'s appointment as [[First Sea Lord]] in 1904. Due in part to the desire to curtail excess expenditures in light of the increasing cost of keeping up with German naval production and in part because he felt the type to be outdated, Fisher authorized few new cruisers and scrapped 70 older ones. Fisher's belief that [[battlecruiser]]s would take the place of light cruisers to protect [[cargo ship|commercial shipping]] soon proved impractical, as their high construction cost precluded their availability in sufficient numbers to do so, and destroyers were too small for scouting duties. The group of 21 {{sclass2|Town|cruiser (1910)|0}} cruisers begun in 1910 proved excellent in scouting in all types of weather and could carry enough fuel and ammunition to guard the [[shipping lane]]s. The {{sclass|Arethusa|cruiser (1913)|4}}, launched three years later, was also successful. British designers continued enlarging and refining subsequent cruiser designs throughout the war.<ref>Conroy's, p. 2.</ref> The [[C-class cruiser|C class]] ships were started in 1913, and of these, [[HMS Caroline (1914)|HMS Caroline]] remains - the only extant survivor of the [[Battle of Jutland]].

[[File:SMS Bremen 1907.jpg|thumb|left|[[SMS Bremen|SMS ''Bremen'']]]]
The [[German Empire|Germans]] built a number of light cruisers in the belief that they were good multi-purpose vessels. Unlike the British, who built both long-range cruisers like the Town class for commerce protection and short-range "scout" cruisers for fleet support, the Germans built a single series of light cruisers for both functions. Compared to the British "scout" type the German ships were bigger, slower and less manoeuvrable but, through a successive series of classes, improved consistently in seagoing qualities. However, the Germans were very late in adapting 5.9-inch guns (not doing so until the {{sclass|Pillau|cruiser|4}} of 1913); [[Grand Admiral]] [[Alfred von Tirpitz]]'s recalcitrance over the issue overrode the desires of others in the [[Imperial German Navy|German Navy]]. For about a three-year period after the British ''Weymouth'' class of the Town series, completed with a uniform armament of 6-inch guns, and before the German ''Pillau'' class, German light cruisers (such as the {{sclass|Magdeburg|cruiser|5}} and {{sclass|Karlsruhe|cruiser|1}}s) were faster but maintained a lighter 104&nbsp;mm main armament compared to their British Town-class counterparts. With the ''Pillau'' and {{sclass|Wiesbaden|cruiser|0}} cruisers the Germans followed the British example of heavier guns.

Earlier German light cruisers were in competition with a series of British [[scout cruiser]]s which had a higher speed of 25 knots, but smaller 3-inch [[12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|12 pounder guns]] or 4-inch guns. The Germans completed the last two of their {{sclass|Bremen|cruiser|0}} cruisers in 1906 and 1907 and followed them up with four {{sclass|Königsberg|cruiser (1905)|0}} and two {{sclass|Dresden|cruiser|1}}s between 1905 and 1908. These last two classes, larger and faster than the ''Bremen''s, were armed the same (ten 4.1-inch guns) and carried less deck armor. Other major powers concentrated on [[battleship]] construction and built few cruisers.<ref>Conway's, pp. 152–53; Osborne, p. 73-75.</ref> The [[United States]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]], and [[Austria-Hungary]] each built only a handful of scout cruisers while [[Imperial Japan|Japan]] and [[Spain]] added a few examples based on British designs; [[French Third Republic|France]] built none at all.

During World War I, the Germans [[Königsberg-class cruiser (1915)|continued building larger cruisers]] with 150&nbsp;mm guns while the British ''Arethusa'' class and early {{sclass2|C|cruiser|1}}s reverted to an emphasis on superior speed with a more lightly-armed design for fleet support.

===Between the wars===
[[File:USS Raleigh (CL-7) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 6 July 1942 (19-N-30916).jpg|thumb|left|{{USS|Raleigh|CL-7|6}}, an ''Omaha''-class cruiser, in 1942. Note casemates at bow.]]
[[File:ARA General Belgrano underway.jpg|thumb|Argentine cruiser {{ship|ARA|General Belgrano}} (ex-{{USS|Phoenix|CL-46|6}})]]
The United States resumed building light cruisers in 1918, largely because the ships it then had in service had become obsolete. The first of these, the ten {{sclass|Omaha|cruiser|0}} ships, displaced 7,050 tons and were armed with twelve {{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns. Eight of these guns were mounted in double-story [[casemate]]s at the bow and stern, a reflection of the US prewar preference for heavy end-on fire. Fast and maneuverable, they were well-liked as seaboats despite being very wet in rough weather.<ref>Conway's, pp. 119–20.</ref>

The term light cruiser was given a new definition by the [[London Naval Treaty]] of 1930. Light cruisers were defined as cruisers having guns of 6.1-inch (155&nbsp;mm) or smaller, with [[heavy cruiser]]s defined as cruisers having guns of up to 8-inch (203&nbsp;mm). In both cases, the ships could not be greater than 10,000 tons.

[[File:USS Brooklyn (CL-40) in the Hudson River, in 1939 (80-G-1023215).jpg|thumb|{{USS|Brooklyn|CL-40|6}},  [[lead ship]] of her [[Brooklyn-class cruiser|class]]]]

After 1930, most naval powers concentrated on building light cruisers since they had already built up to the maximum limitations for heavy cruisers allowed under the Washington treaty. Japan laid down its four {{sclass|Mogami|cruiser|1}}s between 1931 and 1934.<ref>Osborne, pp. 112–13.</ref> The political climate from 1936 to 1939 gave the renewed building of light cruisers an added urgency. The British built 11 during this period, which culminated in the two {{sclass2|Town|cruiser (1936)|0}} ships, armed with 12 {{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns. The new ships were larger and better armored than other British treaty cruisers, with a {{convert|4.5|in|mm|adj=on|0}} belt in the Towns and were capable of 32.5 knots, but for the most part tried to stay within past treaty limitations. The US also attempted to follow treaty limitations as it completed seven of its nine {{sclass|Brooklyn|cruiser|1}}s between 1938 and September 1939. These ships were an answer to Japan's ''Mogami''s and were an indication of rising tensions in the Pacific theater. Japan, now considering itself under no restrictions, began rearming its ''Mogami''s with 10 {{convert|8|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns.<ref>Osborne, pp. 116–17.</ref> They were thus converted into heavy cruisers.

===World War II===
{{See also| List of cruisers of the Second World War}}

[[File:USS Atlanta (CL-51).jpg|thumb|left|{{USS|Atlanta|CL-51|6}}]]
In [[World War II]] light cruisers had guns ranging from the 5&nbsp;inch (127&nbsp;mm) of the US {{sclass|Atlanta|cruiser|0}} and 5.25&nbsp;inch of the British {{sclass|Dido|cruiser|0}} anti-aircraft cruisers, up to 6.1&nbsp;inch, though the most common size was 6&nbsp;inch, the maximum size allowed by the London Naval Treaty for a ship to be considered a light cruiser. Most Japanese light cruisers had 5.5-inch guns and could hardly be considered to be in the same class as a U.S. Navy light cruiser twice the size and carrying more than two times as much firepower. The ''Atlanta''s and ''Dido''s were born out of the tactical need for vessels to protect aircraft carriers, battleships and convoys from air attack.<ref>Osborne, p. 117.</ref>

The United States would move into full wartime production of the light cruisers of the [[Cleveland-class cruiser|''Cleveland''-class]] of which 27 would be produced. Unwilling to allow changes to slow production, the United States allowed ships of the class to be built seriously overweight. They provided AA screening for the fast carriers, shore bombardment, and anti-destroyer screening for the US fleet. They traded a main gun turret for additional AA, fire control, and radar installations, over the ''Brooklyn'' class.<ref>US Cruisers: An Illustrated History Friedman, Norman pg 259–265</ref>

==Light cruisers today==
Four are preserved as [[museum ship]]s: [[HMS Belfast|HMS ''Belfast'']] in [[London]], {{HMS|Caroline|1914|6}} in [[Belfast]], {{USS|Little Rock|CL-92|6}} in [[Buffalo, New York]], and ''[[Soviet cruiser Mikhail Kutuzov|Mikhail Kutuzov]]'' at [[Novorossiysk]]. Similar ships include the protected cruisers {{ship|Russian cruiser|Aurora||2}} ([[St. Petersburg]]) and {{USS|Olympia|C-6|6}} ([[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]), and the bow of ''[[Italian cruiser Puglia|Puglia]]'' ([[Gardone Riviera]]).

==United States Navy classification==
{{see also|List of United States Navy cruisers#Heavy and light cruisers (CA, CL)}}
In the [[United States Navy]], light cruisers have the [[hull classification symbol]] '''CL'''. Both [[heavy cruiser]]s and light cruisers were classified under a common CL/CA sequence after 1931. 

After World War II, US Navy created several light cruiser sub-variants: the [[List of cruisers of the United States Navy#Hunter-Killer cruisers (CLK)|Hunter-Killer cruiser (CLK)]], the [[List of cruisers of the United States Navy#Antiaircraft cruisers (CLAA)|Antiaircraft cruiser (CLAA)]], the [[List of cruisers of the United States Navy#Command cruisers (CLC, CC)|light Command cruiser (CLC)]], and the [[List of cruisers of the United States Navy#Guided missile cruisers (CAG, CLG, CG)|light Guided missile cruiser (CLG)]]. All such ships have been retired.

==See also==
* [[Armored cruiser]]
* [[Battlecruiser]]
* [[Heavy cruiser]]
* [[List of cruisers of World War I]]
* [[List of cruisers of World War II]]
* [[Protected cruiser]]
* [[Unprotected cruiser]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
* Osborne, Eric W., ''Cruisers and Battle Cruisers: An Illustrated History of Their Impact'' (ABC-CLIO, 2004). {{ISBN|1-85109-369-9}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Light cruisers}}
*[http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/lightcru.htm British Light Cruisers of the First World War]
*[http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/clger.htm German Light Cruisers of the First World War]
*[http://www.world-war.co.uk/ World War 2 Cruisers]

{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries}}

[[Category:Light cruisers| ]]