Editing Protected cruiser (section)

==Service areas==
===Austria-Hungary===
{{seealso|List of cruisers of Austria-Hungary#Protected cruisers}}
The [[Austro-Hungarian Navy]] built and operated three classes of protected cruisers. These were two small ships of the {{sclass|Panther|cruiser|4}}, two ships of the {{sclass|Kaiser Franz Joseph I|cruiser|4}} and three of the {{sclass|Zenta|cruiser|4}}.

===Britain===
{{seealso|List of cruiser classes of the Royal Navy#Protected cruisers}}
The Royal Navy rated cruisers as first, second and third class between the late 1880s and 1905, and built large numbers of them for trade protection requirements. For most of this time these cruisers were built with a "protected", rather than armoured, scheme of protection for their hulls. First-class protected cruisers were as large and as well-armed as armoured cruisers, and were built as an alternative to the large first-class armoured cruiser from the late 1880s till 1898. Second-class protected cruisers were smaller, displacing {{convert|3000|–|5,500|LT|t}} and were of value both in trade protection duties and scouting for the fleet. Third-class cruisers were smaller, lacked a [[Compartment (ship)#Watertight subdivision|watertight]] [[double bottom]], and were intended primarily for trade protection duties, though a few small cruisers were built for fleet scout roles or as "torpedo" cruisers during the "protected" era.

The introduction of [[Krupp armour]] in six-inch thickness rendered the "armoured" protection scheme more effective for the largest first class cruisers, and no large first class protected cruisers were built after 1898. The smaller cruisers unable to bear the weight of heavy armoured belts retained the "protected" scheme up to 1905, when the last units of the {{sclass|Challenger|cruiser|5}} and {{sclass|Highflyer|cruiser|4}}es were completed. There was a general hiatus in British cruiser production after this time, apart from a few classes of small, fast scout cruisers for fleet duties. When the Royal Navy began building larger cruisers (less than {{convert|4000|LT|disp=comma}}) again around 1910, they used a mix of armoured decks and/or armoured belts for protection, depending on class. These modern, turbine-powered cruisers are properly classified as [[light cruiser]]s.

===France===
{{main|List of protected cruisers of France}}
The French Navy built and operated a large variety of protected cruisers classes starting with ''Sfax'' in 1882. The last ship built to this design was {{Ship|French cruiser|Jurien de la Gravière||2}} in 1897.

===Germany===
[[File:SMS Hertha 1 1909.jpg|thumb|{{SMS|Hertha|1897|2}} on a visit to the United States in 1909]]
{{main|List of protected cruisers of Germany}}
The German [[Imperial German Navy|Imperial Navy]] (''Kaiserliche Marine'') built a series of protected cruisers in the 1880s and 1890s, starting with the two ships of the {{sclass|Irene|cruiser|4}} in the 1880s. The Navy completed only two additional classes of protected cruisers, comprising six more ships: the unique {{SMS|Kaiserin Augusta||2}}, and the five {{sclass|Victoria Louise|cruiser|0}} ships. The type then was superseded by the armored cruiser at the turn of the century, the first of which being {{SMS|Fürst Bismarck|1897|2}}. All of these ships tended to incorporate design elements from their foreign contemporaries, though the ''Victoria Louise'' class more closely resembled German battleships of the period, which carried lighter main guns and a greater number of secondary guns.<ref>Gardiner, pp. 249–254</ref>

These ships were employed as fleet scouts and colonial cruisers.<ref name=Groner/> Several of the ships served with the German [[East Asia Squadron]], and {{SMS|Hertha|1897|2}}, {{SMS|Irene||2}}, and {{SMS|Hansa|1898|2}} took part in the [[Battle of Taku Forts (1900)|Battle of Taku Forts]] in 1900 during the [[Boxer Rebellion]].<ref>Perry, p. 29</ref> During a deployment to American waters in 1902, {{SMS|Vineta|1897|2}} participated in the [[Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903]], where she [[Bombardment of Fort San Carlos|bombarded Fort San Carlos]].<ref name=NYT23011903>{{cite news |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=23 January 1903 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F7081FF93B5412738DDDAD0A94D9405B838CF1D3 |title=German Commander Blames Venezuelans; Commodore Scheder Says That Fort San Carlos Fired First}}</ref> Long since obsolete by the outbreak of World War I, the five ''Victoria Louise''-class vessels briefly served as training ships in the Baltic but were withdrawn by the end of 1914 for secondary duties. ''Kaiserin Augusta'' and the two ''Irene''-class cruisers similarly served in reduced capacities for the duration of the war. All eight ships were [[Ship breaking|broken up]] for scrap following Germany's defeat.<ref name=Groner>Gröner, pp. 47–53, 95</ref>

===Italy===
{{main|List of protected cruisers of Italy}}

The Italian ''[[Regia Marina]]'' (Royal Navy) ordered twenty protected cruisers between the 1880s and 1910s. The first five ships, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Giovanni Bausan||2}} and the {{sclass|Etna|cruiser|4}}, were built as "battleship destroyers", armed with a pair of large caliber guns. Subsequent cruisers were more traditional designs, and were instead intended for reconnaissance and colonial duties. Some of the ships, like {{ship|Italian cruiser|Calabria||2}} and the {{sclass|Campania|cruiser|4}}, were designed specifically for service in Italy's colonial empire, while others, like {{ship|Italian cruiser|Quarto||2}} and the {{sclass|Nino Bixio|cruiser|4}}, were designed as high speed fleet scouts.

Most of these ships saw action during the [[Italo-Turkish War]] of 1911–1912, where several of them supported Italian troops fighting in Libya, and another group operated in the [[Red Sea]]. There, the cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Piemonte||2}} and two [[destroyer]]s sank or destroyed seven Ottoman [[gunboat]]s in the [[Battle of Kunfuda Bay]] in January 1912. Most of the earlier cruisers were obsolescent by the outbreak of World War I, and so had either been sold for scrap or reduced to subsidiary roles. The most modern vessels, including ''Quarto'' and the ''Nino Bixio'' class, saw limited action in the Adriatic Sea after Italy entered the war in 1915. The surviving vessels continued on in service through the 1920s, with some—''Quarto'', {{ship|Italian cruiser|Campania||2}}, and {{ship|Italian cruiser|Libia||2}}, remaining on active duty into the late 1930s.

===Netherlands===
[[File:HNLMS Noord-Brabant (1900).jpg|thumb|Dutch protected cruiser [[HNLMS Noordbrabant (1899)|''Noord-Brabant'']] as an accommodation ship]]
The [[Royal Netherlands Navy]] built several protected cruisers between 1880 and 1900.<ref name="GO2WAR2 NL">{{cite web |url=https://www.tracesofwar.nl/articles/2625/Nederlandse-pantser--en-pantserdekschepen.htm?page=3 |first=Peter |last=Kimenai |title=Nederlandse pantser – en pantserdekschepen |date=5 August 2012 |pages=3}}</ref> The first protected cruiser was launched in 1890 and called {{HNLMS|Sumatra|1890|6}}. It was a small cruiser with a heavy main gun; four years later a larger and more heavily armed protected cruiser was commissioned, which was called {{HNLMS|Koningin Wilhelmina der Nederlanden}}. In addition to these two cruisers, the Dutch also built six protected cruisers of the {{sclass|Holland|cruiser|4}}. The ''Holland''-class cruisers were commissioned between 1898 and 1901, and featured, besides other armaments, two [[15 cm SK L/40 naval gun|15 cm SK L/40]] single naval guns.

The Dutch protected cruisers have played a role in several international events. For example, during the Boxer Rebellion, two protected cruisers ({{HNLMS|Holland|1896|2}} and ({{HNLMS|Koningin Wilhelmina der Nederlanden||2}}) were sent to Shanghai to protect European citizens and defend Dutch interests.<ref name="Diplomatiek1901"> Ministerie van Buitenlandsche Zaken. Diplomatieke bescheiden – behoorende bij de Staatsbegroting voor het dienstjaar 1901, p. 11.</ref><ref>{{cite book| editor-last = Nordholt| editor-first = J. W. Schulte| editor-last2 = van Arkel| editor-first2 = D.| title = Acta historiae Neerlandica: Historical studies in the Netherlands| publisher = [[Brill Publishers]]| volume = IV| date = 1970| pages = 160–161, 163–164| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cNcUAAAAIAAJ}}</ref>

===Russia===
{{seealso|List of cruisers of the Russian Navy#Cruisers of the Russian Imperial Navy (1873–1917)}}
The Imperial Russian Navy operated a series of protected cruiser classes ({{langx|ru|link=no|Бронепалубный крейсер}}, ''Armored deck cruiser''). The last ships built to this design where the {{sclass|Izumrud|cruiser|4}} in 1901.

===Spain===
{{seealso|List of cruisers of Spain#Protected cruisers}}
The [[Spanish Navy]] operated a series of protected cruisers classes starting with {{sclass|Reina Regente|cruiser|4}}. The last ship built to this design was {{ship|Spanish cruiser|Reina Regente|1906|2}} in 1899.

===United States===
{{see also|List of cruisers of the United States Navy#Protected and Peace cruisers (C, PG)}}
[[File:Atlanta (protected). Port bow, 1891 - NARA - 512894.jpg|thumb|300px|USS ''Atlanta'' in 1891]]
The first protected cruiser of the [[United States Navy]]'s "New Navy" was {{USS|Atlanta|1884|6}},<ref name="NHC1"/> [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] in October 1884, soon followed by {{USS|Boston|1884|6}} in December, and {{USS|Chicago|1885|6}} a year later. A numbered series of cruisers began with [[USS Newark (C-1)|''Newark'' (Cruiser No. 1)]], although [[USS Charleston (C-2)|''Charleston'' (Cruiser No. 2)]] was the first to be launched, in July 1888, and ending with another ''Charleston'', [[USS Charleston (C-22)|Cruiser No. 22]], launched in 1904. The last survivor of this series is {{USS|Olympia|C-6|6}}, preserved as a [[museum ship]] in [[Philadelphia]].

The reclassification of 17 July 1920 put an end to the U.S. usage of the term "protected cruiser", the existing ships were classified as light or heavy cruisers with new numbers, depending on their level of armor.<ref name="NHC1">[http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/spanam/crus-pge.htm Early American cruisers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707160854/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/spanam/crus-pge.htm |date=7 July 2010 }} from the Naval Historical Center. Excluding the larger armored cruiser type, these warships were "protected cruisers", with a steel armored deck covering machinery and ammunition magazines.</ref>