The ''Olympia'' class was a class of

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...

operated by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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 Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down * Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ...

. 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 USS ''Constitution'', also known as ''Old Ironsides'', is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the world's oldest ship still afloat. She was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized ...

and the

USS Constellation USS ''Constellation'' may refer to: *, was a 38-gun frigate launched in 1797 and scrapped in 1853 *, is a sloop-of-war launched in 1854 and decommissioned in 1933, and preserved as a National Historic Landmark in Baltimore, Maryland *, was a b ...

and the only surviving ship of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

List of ships

External links

*Friends of the Cruiser Olympi
Global Security.org - Olympia class cruiser
{{WWI US ships Cruiser classes Cruisers of the United States Navy