Chester-class cruiser

USS Chester
Class overview
NameChester class
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded bySt. Louis class
Succeeded byOmaha class
Built1905–1908
In commission1908–1923
Planned3
Completed3
Scrapped3
Preserved0
General characteristics (as built)[1]
TypeScout cruiser
Displacement
  • 3,750 long tons (3,810 t) normal
  • 4,687 long tons (4,762 t) normal
Length423.1 ft (129.0 m)
Beam47.1 ft (14.4 m)
Draft16.8 ft (5.1 m)
Installed power
  • 12 × boilers
  • Engines and horsepower varied by ship
Propulsion
  • 4 × screws (Chester)
  • 2 × screws
Speed24 kn (44.4 km/h; 27.6 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried
2 × lifeboats
Complement359
Armament
Armor
  • Belt: 2 in (51 mm)
  • Deck: 1 in (25 mm) over steering gear

The three Chester-class cruisers were the first United States Navy vessels to be designed and designated as fast "scout cruisers" for fleet reconnaissance. They had high speed but little armor or armament.[2] They were authorized in January 1904, ordered in fiscal year 1905, and completed in 1908. In 1920 all scout cruisers were redesignated as "light cruisers" (CL).[3]

Birmingham was the first ship in the world to launch an airplane, in 1910 with pilot Eugene Ely, who also performed the first landing on a ship the following year, on USS Pennsylvania.[4] The class patrolled the Caribbean prior to World War I, sometimes supporting military interventions, with Chester playing a key role at the start of the United States occupation of Veracruz in 1914. The ships escorted convoys in World War I. The class was decommissioned 1921-1923 and sold for scrap to comply with the limits of the London Naval Treaty in 1930.[3]

  1. ^ Gardiner and Chesneau, p. 155
  2. ^ Friedman, pp. 67-71, 468-469
  3. ^ a b Bauer and Roberts, p. 155
  4. ^ "Birmingham I (Scout Cruiser No. 2)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2016.