protected cruiser

Short definition from Wiktionary

Noun

1. 1
   A type of cruiser (the warship) carrying moderately-heavy main guns (although considerably lighter than those of a battleship) in armored turrets or other enclosures and having the machinery and magazine spaces protected by an armored lower deck, but leaving the sides of the ship unarmored (relying on the ship's coal bunkers to absorb hits to the sides of the hull) to save weight and allow for a h