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USS Olympia (C-6)
Class overview
Name	Olympia-class cruiser
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Chicago-class cruiser
Succeeded by	Columbia-class cruiser
Completed	1
Retired	1
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Type	Protected Cruiser (Heavy Cruiser)
Displacement	5,870 tons
Length	344 ft 8 in (105.05 m)
Beam	53 ft
Draft	21 ft 6 in
Propulsion	Triple-expansion 2 Screws 18,000 Horsepower
Speed	22 knots
Complement	33 officers 396 enlisted men OR 17 officers 282 men
Armament	4 - 8-inch guns 10 - 5-inch guns 14 - 6 pounder guns 4 - gatlings
Armor	Turrets 3.5 in Barbettes 4.5 in Protective deck - flat 2 in slope 4.75 in

The Olympia class was a class of protected cruiser operated by the United States Navy.

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. 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 and the USS Constellation and the only surviving ship of the Spanish–American War.

List of ships

• USS Olympia (C-6)

Citations

Bibliography

• Burr, Lawrence (2008). US Cruisers 1883–1904: The Birth of the Steel Navy. New York: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-267-7. OCLC 437097869.

External links

• Friends of the Cruiser Olympia
• Global Security.org - Olympia class cruiser
• Global Security.org - Olympia class cruiser specifications

• Cruiser classes
• Cruisers of the United States Navy