In the Navalism sim (www.navalism.org/index.php), Gran Colombia occupies (among other things) historical Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, Cuba, Jamaica, and a few of the Windward Islands.
The task of the Armada's armored cruisers is primarily to screen fleet units and protect trade against Gran Colombia's rivals, particularly those in the Caribbean. Prior to the completion of a transcontinental canal in 1905, a transfer of capital ships between Caribbean and Pacific coasts required a months-long trip around South America. With reinforcements from the other coast so far away, the armored cruisers were also expected to serve as second-class battleships in a line of battle if called upon.
The Armada's first armored cruisers, the Guerrero class, were equipped with French-built 194mm guns; they would ultimately end up owned by a belligerent in the 1908/09 Second Pacific War, and would be sunk in action against a pre-dreadnought "supercruiser" equipped with 2x2 305mm.
The Sentinela class were laid down in 1894-5, and featured a larger 240mm main battery and a significant secondary/tertiary battery. They were, at the time, as large as the Audaz class pre-dreadnoughts:
Sentinela, Guardia
10,344 t standard
2x2 240mm, 12x1 140mm, 8x100 mm
200mm belt
19.70 knots
In 1898, the lead unit of the Campeon class was laid down at Cartagena. The major change, compared with the Sentinelas, was the reduction of the secondary battery in favor of a third main battery turret, located in the "Q" position. The ship was, otherwise, only slightly larger, and no faster, than the Sentinelas:
Campeon, Paladin
10,426 t
3x2 240mm, 8x1 140mm, 8x100 mm
200 mm belt
19.69 knots
The Armada intended to lay down another pair of armored cruisers in 1904-5, and design studies went a fair ways toward completion. As ACs of 22 and 23 knots began to proliferate elsewhere, it became apparent that the new ships would have to be significantly faster than the Campeons if they were to remain useful for very long. Consequently, the decision was made to design the ships around turbines, a first for the Armada.
Of less technical importance, but to the pleasure (relief?) of warship observers everywhere, shake-ups in the Armada's design bureau also led to some consideration being paid to the design's appearance.
In the end, the class was never built, due to an extended and costly land war that took place between 1903 and 1905:
Libertador (?), Domintador (?)
~12,900 t
3x2 240mm, 12x1 140mm, 8x1 100mm
200mm belt
~25.5 knots
By the time that Gran Colombia had concluded the War in the Jungle, the viability of the so-called Libertador class was in doubt. Foreign powers were starting to build 12" armed ships with designed top speeds in excess of twenty-four knots; such a vessel would have no trouble at all swatting aside something like Libertador or the 23 knot armored cruisers that had caused such consternation just a few years earlier.
Still, though Gran Colombia was at peace, there remained much rebuilding of the Armada to be done, and it would not be until mid-1909 that a response was laid down:
Luchador
~22,000 t
4x2 305mm, 17x1 140mm, 2x1 100mm
300mm belt
24.03 knots
The Armada had no little amount of difficulty getting the ship authorized. Bureaucrats in the Ministry of Finance, for example, were quite perplexed by the ship's designation as a cruiser, given that she was as large as the Triunfante class dreadnoughts under construction. There was some argument that the ship was really a fast battleship, and that would be a problem as the Armada wasn't authorized to build another one at the time. Admiral de Irujo eventually gave the bureaucrats a history lesson, pointing to other examples of armored cruisers that were of similar size to battleships of their era. He further argued that the missions were largely the same as historical armored cruiser roles: trade protection (now also an issue between the Gran Colombian heartland and its recently acquired Pacific colonies), battleline scouting (as at least one potential rival had battlecruisers in service), and emergency battleships (hence the emphasis on protection that some other powers were not addressing). Eventually, Finance allocated funding for the ship.
In 1911, Luchador replaced the two old Sentinela class armored cruisers in service, demonstrating that the increasing size of armored cruisers would come at a cost in the number of such ships the Armada could field. With other old-style armored cruisers still requiring replacement, the Armada tinkered with the Luchador design, using newer, lighter machinery, centralized fire control equipment, and improved horizontal protection (75mm, versus 50mm in Luchador). Since the lead unit was to be built in, and manned by crew from, the English-speaking state of Jamaica, her name was in English. The second unit of the class, being built in Cartagena, retained a Spanish name. A third unit, originally also planned for construction in Jamaica, was cancelled when construction began on the Furioso class dreadnoughts.
Warrior, Matador
~23,700 t
4x2 305mm, 16x1 140mm, 2x1 65mm
300mm belt
27.00 knots
The next step in the evolution of the armored cruiser is unclear. At least one foreign power has upscaled to 35 cm and 38 cm main batteries in their fast
but lightly-armored classes, and it may be that the next Colombian armored cruiser follows suit. Alternately, the twelve inch battery might be retained, with
the preference remaining on speed and protection. Either way, it won't be until 1914 or later that a keel is laid, giving the Armada almost two years to
review its options.
Any suggestions?
