armored cruiser
English
Alternative forms
A cross-section of a generic armored cruiser, showing the armored sides and decks (in red).
Noun
armored cruiser (plural armored cruisers)
- (military) A type of cruiser (the warship) common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, carrying moderately-heavy main guns and with armor protecting the sides and upper and lower decks, but lighter and with thinner armor and less powerful guns than a battleship. A mainstay of battle fleets around the turn of the 20th century, but displaced from this role by the more powerful battle-cruiser after ca. 1908, becoming obsolescent by the time of WWI.
Coordinate terms
- battle-cruiser
- protected cruiser
- unprotected cruiser
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