New Orleans-class cruiser (1896)

Class overview
Name:	New Orleans-class
Builders:	Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Operators:	United States Navy
Built:	1895–1899
In commission:	1898–1922
Completed:	2
Scrapped:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Protected cruiser
Displacement:	3,769 long tons (3,829 t)
Length:	354 ft 5 in (108.03 m)
Beam:	43 ft 9 in (13.34 m)
Draft:	18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion:	4 × double-ended coal-fired Scotch marine boilers 2 × Inverted vertical triple expansion engines (by Humphreys & Tennant in New Orleans, Hawthorn Leslie in Albany) 7,500 hp (5,593 kW) twin screws 822 tons of coal
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Complement:	366
Armament:	6 × 6 in (150 mm)/50 guns 4 × 4.7 in (120 mm)/50 guns 10 × 57 mm (2.2 in) 6-pdr Hotchkiss guns 8 × 1-pounder guns 4 × .30-cal. Maxim machine guns 3 × 18 in (460 mm) Whitehead torpedo tubes
Armor:	Harvey armor 4 in (100 mm) shields 6 in (150 mm) conning tower 4 in (100 mm) & deck

The New Orleans-class of protected cruisers of the United States Navy comprised only two ships which were fitting out or building for the Brazilian Navy at Elswick, near Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, by Armstrong Whitworth. The Brazilian Navy had ordered three Elswick cruisers, but already sold the first ship during building to Chile. One ship was delivered to Brazil named Almirante Barroso. The third ship was fitting out as Amazonas and another was on order as Almirante Abreu.

On 16 March 1898 the United States Navy purchased the un-delivered ships to prevent them from being acquired by the Spanish Navy shortly before the Spanish–American War.

Ships

The Amazonas served as USS New Orleans (CL-22) in the Spanish–American War, World War I and the Russian civil war in Siberia.

The Almirante Abreu became USS Albany (CL-23) and was too late to see service in the Spanish–American War. She served first in the Philippine–American War and then in World War I and the Russian civil war in Siberia.

In 1920 they were classified as gunboats, but in 1921 were reclassified as light cruisers. Both cruisers were decommissioned in 1922 and were sold for scrapping in 1930.

Armament

These ships were originally armed with six 6"/50 caliber (152 mm) guns and four 4.7"/50 caliber (120 mm) guns. These were British-made export-model guns built by Elswick Ordnance Company, a subsidiary of Armstrong. These guns were unique in the US Navy, and they were designated as "6"/50 caliber Mark 5 Armstrong guns" and "4.7"/50 caliber Mark 3 Armstrong guns". To reduce supply difficulties, during refits at the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines in 1903, both ships had their 4.7-inch guns replaced with standard 5"/50 caliber (127 mm) Mark 5 guns; the 6-inch guns were replaced with 5-inch guns in 1907. Their torpedo tubes were also removed in the 1903 refits. At least some of the guns from these ships were emplaced in the Grande Island/Subic Bay area 1907-1910 and operated by the United States Marine Corps until the Coast Artillery Corps' modern defenses centered on Fort Wint were completed. During World War I the 5-inch guns were reduced from ten to eight and a 3"/50 caliber (76 mm) anti-aircraft gun was added. Two 4.7-inch guns (one from each ship of the class) are preserved at the Kane County, Illinois Soldier and Sailor Monument at the former courthouse in Geneva, Illinois.

See also

• New Orleans class cruiser unrelated New Orleans-class cruisers in commission 1930s–1950s.

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons