St. Louis-class cruiser (1905)

USS St. Louis
Class overview
Name:	St. Louis class
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Denver class
Succeeded by:	Omaha class
Built:	1902-1906
In commission:	1905-1923
Completed:	3
Lost:	1
Scrapped:	2
General characteristics (as built)
Type:	Protected cruiser (officially "semi-armored cruiser")
Displacement:	9,700 long tons (9,900 t) (normal) 10,839 long tons (11,013 t) (full load)
Length:	426.6 ft (130.0 m)
Beam:	66 ft (20 m)
Draft:	24.10 ft (7.35 m)
Installed power:	16 × straight-tube Babcock & Wilcox boilers 2 × vertical triple-expansion engines 21,000 indicated horsepower (16,000 kW) (design)
Propulsion:	2 × screws
Speed:	22 kn (41 km/h; 25 mph) (design)
Complement:	673 officers and enlisted
Armament:	14 × 6 in (152 mm)/50 caliber Mark 6 guns (Mark 8 in Milwaukee) 18 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal rapid fire (RF) guns 12 × 3-pounder (47 mm (1.9 in)) RF guns 4 × 1-pounder (37 mm (1.5 in)) automatic guns 8 × 1-pounder (37 mm) RF guns 2 × .30 cal. (7.62 mm) machine guns
Armor:	Belt: 4 in (102 mm) with 4 in upper belt at casemates Deck: 3 in (76 mm) slope, 2 in (51 mm) flat Conning tower: 5 in (127 mm)

The St. Louis-class cruisers were a class of three cruisers that served in the United States Navy at the beginning of the 20th century. Authorized in fiscal year 1901 by an Act of Congress of 7 June 1900 as part of the naval buildup touched off by the Spanish-American War, the St. Louis-class cruiser initially began as an improved Olympia. However, during the design phase, decisions were made that increased the size of the vessel from 6,000 long tons (6,100 t) to 9,700 long tons (9,900 t), including adding protection that resulted in the designation "semi-armored cruiser". This led to a larger power plant, and other decisions were made to try to increase speed and range, such as using smaller 6-inch (152 mm) guns instead of 8-inch (203 mm) guns, and adding coal capacity. The completed ship at 9,700 long tons was the same displacement as a full armored cruiser (such as the Royal Navy's Monmouth class, launched four years prior to the St. Louis class) without the same armor. One reference describes the class as "among the earliest well-documented examples of creeping growth in warship design".

Milwaukee grounded near Eureka, California and was lost in January 1917. The other ships of the class patrolled for German commerce raiders and escorted convoys in World War I, were decommissioned in the early 1920s, and were sold for scrap in 1930 in compliance with the London Naval Treaty.

Because of their relatively thin belt, this class was officially described as "semi-armored cruisers", bridging the gap between protected cruisers and armored cruisers. The Register of Ships of the US Navy lists them with the protected cruisers. However, some other references list them as armored cruisers. They were originally designated "cruisers" and not "armored cruisers", in the same series as protected cruisers. The issue is confused by the Navy's official Ships' Data Book for 1911, which lists the St. Louis class as "First Class Cruisers" along with the earlier armored cruisers Saratoga (ex-New York) and Brooklyn.

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