The Denver-class cruisers were a group of six protected cruisers in service with the United States Navy from 1903 through 1929. Authorized by Congress in 1899 as part of the naval buildup touched off by the Spanish–American War, they were designed with peacetime duties on foreign stations and tropical service in mind, specifically patrolling Latin America and the Caribbean. However, they had insufficient armament, armor, and speed for combat with most other cruisers. Thus, they were also called "peace cruisers" and were effectively gunboats.[1] They were intended to augment the in these roles.[2]
The as-built main armament was ten 50NaN0/50 caliber Mark 5 rapid firing (RF) guns,[3] arranged one each fore and aft and the remainder in casemates along the sides; the hull was cut away to allow ahead and astern fire from the end casemates.[4] Secondary armament was six 6-pounder (57mm) RF guns, two 1-pounder (37mm) RF guns, and four .30 caliber (7.62 mm) machine guns, possibly the M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun.[1] [4]
Armor protection was very light. The protective deck was NaN0NaN0 on the slopes, NaN0NaN0 in the flat middle, and 10NaN0 at the ends. The 5-inch gun casemates had NaN0NaN0 armor.[1] [4]
The engineering plant included six coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers supplying 275psi steam to two vertical triple-expansion engines, totaling 4700lk=onNaNlk=on for 16.5kn as designed. On trials Galveston achieved 16.41kn at 5073lk=onNaNlk=on.[1] The low design speed relegated these ships to the gunboat role or commerce raiding against slower merchant ships. The ships normally carried 467 tons of coal for a service range of 2200nmi at 10kn; this could be increased to 675 tons.[1] [4]
By 1918 the forwardmost casemated pair of 5-inch guns had been removed for a total of eight.[5] By 1921 a 3"/50 caliber (76 mm) anti-aircraft gun was added. The 6-pounders remained at this time; the 1-pounders and the machine guns had probably been removed.[5] [6]
Most of the class served in Latin America and the Caribbean on missions ranging from protection of American citizens and interests, disaster relief, and diplomatic negotiations to military intervention. Galveston and Chattanooga served primarily on the Asiatic Station based in the Philippines until World War I, when they were convoy escorts. Shortly after the war Galveston and Des Moines served in the North Russia Intervention, and Galveston patrolled the Caribbean 1924–30.
In January 1924 Tacoma grounded and was lost at Blanquilla Reef near Veracruz, Mexico.
Two of the class were decommissioned in 1921, with the rest decommissioned by early 1931. All were scrapped by late 1933 to comply with the limits of the Washington and London Naval Treaties.
Chattanoogas bell was at a now-closed American Legion post in Shelbyville, Tennessee from the 1930s until the 2010s. In late 2015 was at the National Medal of Honor Museum in the Northgate Mall, and soon will be incorporated into a memorial to the victims of the attack on the recruiting station at Chattanooga, Tennessee.[7]
The original ship's bell from the USS Tacoma (C-18), is currently on display at the War Memorial Park in Tacoma, WA.
The six ships of the Denver class were:[5]
| Ship | Shipyard | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neafie & Levy, Philadelphia | 28 June 1900 | 21 June 1902 | 17 May 1904 | 14 February 1931 | Sold for scrap 13 September 1933 | |
| Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts | 28 August 1900 | 20 September 1902 | 5 March 1904 | 9 April 1921 | Sold for scrap 11 March 1930 | |
| Crescent Shipyard, Elizabeth, New Jersey | 29 March 1900 | 7 March 1903 | 11 October 1904 | 19 July 1921 | Sold for scrap 8 March 1930 | |
| William R. Trigg Company, Richmond, Virginia | 19 January 1901 | 23 July 1903 | 15 February 1905 | 2 September 1930 | Sold for scrap 13 September 1933 | |
| Union Iron Works, San Francisco | 27 September 1900 | 2 June 1903 | 30 January 1904 | Grounded near Veracruz, Mexico and lost 16 January 1924 | ||
| Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine | 1 June 1900 | 28 September 1901 | 2 November 1903 | 1 November 1929 | Sold for scrap 7 March 1930 | |
Construction of Chattanooga was halted on 18 June 1903 when Crescent went out of business; she was completed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Galveston's construction was similarly halted on 24 December 1902 with the closure of Trigg; she was completed at the Norfolk Navy Yard.[5]
The Denver-class ships were reclassified with new hull numbers in 1920 as gunboats (PG). They were further reclassified in 1921 as light cruisers (CL) as follows:[5] [8]
| Ship name | Original hull number | Reclassified 7 July 1920 | Reclassified 8 August 1921 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C-14 | PG-28 | CL-16 | |
| C-15 | PG-29 | CL-17 | |
| C-16 | PG-30 | CL-18 | |
| C-17 | PG-31 | CL-19 | |
| C-18 | PG-32 | CL-20 | |
| C-19 | PG-33 | CL-21 | |