The three ''Chester''-class cruisers were the first
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
vessels to be designed and designated as fast "
scout cruiser
A scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers. Intended for fleet scouting duties a ...
s" for fleet reconnaissance. They had high speed but little armor or armament.
[Friedman, pp. 67-71, 468-469] They were authorized in January 1904, ordered in
fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
1905, and completed in 1908. In 1920 all scout cruisers were redesignated as "
light cruiser
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 th ...
s" (CL).
[Bauer and Roberts, p. 155]
''Birmingham'' was the first ship in the world to launch an airplane, in 1910 with pilot
Eugene Ely
Eugene Burton Ely (October 21, 1886 – October 19, 1911) was an American aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing.
Background
Ely was born in Williamsburg, Iowa, and raised in Davenport, Iowa. Having c ...
, who also performed the first landing on a ship the following year, on .
The class patrolled the Caribbean prior to World War I, sometimes supporting military interventions, with ''Chester'' playing a key role at the start of the
United States occupation of Veracruz
The United States occupation of Veracruz (April 21 to November 23, 1914) began with the Battle of Veracruz and lasted for seven months. The incident came in the midst of poor diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States, and was r ...
in 1914. The ships escorted
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
s in World War I. The class was decommissioned 1921-1923 and sold for scrap to comply with the limits of the
London Naval Treaty in 1930.
[
]
Design and construction
Ship type
The three ''Chester''s were the US Navy's only ships to be commissioned with the "scout cruiser" (hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...
non-standard at the time, CS or SCR are sometimes used) designation, and were characterized by high speed and little armor or armament. They were also the last cruisers of any type built for the US Navy until the first cruisers were laid down in 1917 (the Navy concentrated on building dreadnought battleship
The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...
s and destroyers in the interim). The first three ''Omaha''-class ships were also designated "scout cruisers" (CS or SCR) when ordered, but before any were launched the Navy revised its classification system and they and the ''Chester''s became "light cruisers" (CL).[
]
Armament
The as-built armament included two /50 caliber Mark 6 guns, six /50 caliber rapid fire (RF) guns, and two 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s.[ The original design featured a uniform gun armament of twelve 3-inch guns, which was supported by the Navy's ]General Board
The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, somewhat akin to a naval general staff and somewhat not. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by Secretary ...
as simplifying fire control
Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control i ...
and echoing the uniform main and secondary armaments of dreadnought battleship
The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...
s. However, two 5-inch guns were substituted for six of the 3-inch guns, apparently to enable the scout cruisers to fight foreign light cruisers.[ Notably, for the first time in US cruiser design smaller caliber weapons ( 6-pounder and smaller) were not fitted.
]
Armor
The armor of these ships was very light. A belt extended above the waterline in the engine and generator room area, above the waterline in the boiler room area, and below the waterline for its entire length.[ There was no protective deck, only a deck above the steering gear.][
]
Engineering
The three ships had different propulsion plants so they could be compared: ''Chester'' was the first major combatant in the USN to receive steam turbine propulsion of the Parsons
Parsons may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Parsons, Kansas, a city
* Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Parsons, Tennessee, a city
* Parsons, West Virginia, a town
* Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...
type, ''Salem'' received Curtis turbines, and ''Birmingham'' traditional triple-expansion engine
A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.
A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...
s. The design speed was for the triple-expansion ship and up to for the turbine ships.[
''Chester'' had twelve coal-fired ]Normand boiler
Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...
s and Parsons direct-drive
A direct-drive mechanism is a mechanism design where the force or torque from a prime mover is transmitted directly to the effector device (such as the drive wheels of a vehicle) without involving any intermediate couplings such as a gear train o ...
steam turbines totaling on four shafts.[ She made on trials at an estimated .][
''Birmingham'' had twelve coal-fired Fore River boilers supplying steam to two four-cylinder vertical ]triple-expansion engine
A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.
A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...
s totaling (design) on two shafts. She made on trials at .[
''Salem'' had twelve coal-fired Fore River boilers and Curtis direct-drive steam turbines totaling (design) on two shafts.][ She made on trials at .][
Normal coal capacity was 475 tons, which could be increased to 1,400 tons.][
]
Refits
All three ships were refitted in 1917 to prepare for service in World War I. ''Salem'' had her main engines replaced with a General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
gear
A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic ...
ed steam turbine installation due to high coal consumption. All three received an armament upgrade, with four new /51 caliber guns replacing the 5-inch/50 caliber guns as well as two of the 3-inch/50 caliber , two 3-inch/50 caliber single-purpose guns (four being removed), and two 3-inch/50 caliber anti-aircraft guns added.DiGiulian, Tony, later 3"/50 USN guns at NavWeaps.com
/ref> The submerged torpedo tubes were retained.
Ships in class
The three ships of the ''Chester'' class were:[
On 17 July 1920 these ships were reclassified with the new hull numbers CL-1 through CL-3 (light cruisers). On 10 July 1928 ''Chester'' was renamed ''York'' to free the name for .][
]
See also
* List of cruisers of the United States Navy
This list of cruisers of the United States Navy includes all ships that were ever called "cruiser", either publicly or in internal documentation.
The Navy has 17 cruisers in active service, as of 29 September 2022, with the last tentatively s ...
References
*
Bibliography
*
*
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External links
Cruiser Photo Gallery Index at NavSource Naval History
{{WWI US ships
Cruiser classes