Armoured cruisers

Cruisers were considered by the Naval Staff to be the major threat to British trade, and also the means by which a guerre de course could be conducted against Japan. The Germans sprang a surprise in the early 1930s when they began to replace their pre-dreadnoughts with so-called pocket battleships. These armoured ships were nominally within the... 

The armed cruiser Triompkante, built for the French Navy in 1877, illustrates the gradual transition from the wooden battleships of Nelson s time to the modern all-steel vessels. She was built of wood with an armour belt nearly six inches thick whilst her batteries were protected with iron armour nearly 5 inches thick. She played an important part in the operations in the Min River during the China War of 1884. 

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