Olympia-class cruiser
{{Short description|Class of US Navy ships}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2024}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image =USS Olympia 2.jpg | Ship caption = USS Olympia (C-6) }} {{Infobox ship class overview | Name = Olympia-class cruiser | Builders = | Operators = {{navy|United States|1890}} | Class before = {{sclass|Chicago|cruiser|2}} | Class after = {{sclass|Columbia|cruiser|2}} | Subclasses = | Built range = | In commission range = | Total ships building = | Total ships planned = | Total ships completed = 1 | Total ships cancelled = | Total ships active = | Total ships laid up = | Total ships lost = | Total ships retired = 1 | Total ships preserved = 1 }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship type = *Protected Cruiser | Ship displacement = 5,870 tons |Ship length = {{convert|344|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = 53 ft | Ship draught = | Ship draft = 21 ft 6 in | Ship propulsion = *Triple-expansion
| Ship speed = 22 knots | Ship range = | Ship complement = *33 officers
| Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = *4 - 8-inch guns
| Ship armour = | Ship armor = *Turrets 3.5 in | Ship aircraft = | Ship aircraft facilities = | Ship notes = }} |
The Olympia class was a class of protected cruiser operated by the United States Navy.
History
The Olympia class was built in a transitional period for warship design and for the US Navy. The Navy was expanding its fleet to move beyond coastal defence onto the world stage. The Olympia was larger and faster than the previous generation of Navy ships, built with a new type of vertical triple expansion steam engine. Yet she retained a vestigial suit of sails for emergency propulsion. She was one of the first navy ships to have electricity, hydraulic powered steering gear and refrigeration. The Olympia class was also designed and constructed entirely inside the United States as per a stipulation by Congress. This was to force advances in United States industrial technology. This led to the rise of steel shipbuilding inside the United States.
The Olympia has the distinction of being the third oldest preserved United States Navy ship, after the USS Constitution and the USS Constellation{{who|date=March 2015}} and the only surviving ship of the Spanish–American War.
List of ships
- {{USS|Olympia|C-6}}
Citations
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{Cite book|last=Burr|first=Lawrence|title=US Cruisers 1883–1904: The Birth of the Steel Navy|date=2008| location=New York |publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84603-267-7|oclc= 437097869}}
External links
- Friends of the Cruiser Olympia [http://cruiserolympia.org/index.html]
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ca-15.htm Global Security.org - Olympia class cruiser]
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ca-15-specs.htm Global Security.org - Olympia class cruiser specifications]
{{WWI US ships}}