Page "Protected cruiser" Paragraph 4

Shannon was the first warship to incorporate an armoured deck ; hers stretched forward from the armoured citadel to the bows.

However, Shannon principally relied on her vertical citadel armour for protection.

By the end of the 1870s ships could be found with full-length armoured decks and little or no side armour.

The Italian Italia class of very fast battleships had armoured decks and guns but no side armour.

The British used a full-length armoured deck in their Comus class of corvettes started in 1878 ; however the Comus class were designed for colonial service and were only capable of 13 knots speed, not fast enough for commerce protection or fleet duties.