Editing Protected cruiser (section)

{{short description|Type of naval warship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{refimprove|date = July 2015}}
[[File:Russian Cruiser Oleg LOC 16924u.jpg|thumb|right|320px|The Russian protected cruiser {{ship|Russian cruiser|Oleg||2}} was a {{sclass|Bogatyr|cruiser|0}} protected cruiser]]

'''Protected cruisers''', a type of [[cruiser]] of the late 19th century, took their name from the [[vehicle armour|armored]] [[deck (ship) |deck]], which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive [[Shell (projectile)|shells]]. Protected cruisers notably lacked [[Belt armor|a belt of armour]] along the sides, in contrast to [[armored cruisers]] which carried both deck and belt armour.

Outside of a handful of very large designs in the major navies (which preceded the revival of armored cruisers), the majority of protected cruisers were of 'second-' or 'third-class' types, lighter in [[ship displacement|displacement]] and mounting fewer and/or lighter guns than armored cruisers.

By the early 20th-century, with the advent of increasingly lighter yet stronger armour, even smaller vessels could afford some level of both belt and deck armour. In the place of protected cruisers, these new '[[light cruiser|light armored cruisers]]' would evolve into [[Light_cruiser#Between_the_wars|light cruisers]] and [[heavy cruisers]], the former especially taking on many of the roles originally envisioned for protected cruisers.