Battlecruisers are a new class of capital warship which was developed by the Royal Navy in parallel with its introduction of dreadnought battleships. A direct evolutionary development of pre-dreadnought armored cruisers, they are designed to fulfill the same strategic role: a fast, powerful medium warship which can outrun a battleship and outgun all lesser warships. However, battlecruisers differ from their armored cruiser predecessors in being comparable in size and tonnage to contemporary battleships.
Dreadnought Era
Lexington Class (1916)
The Lexington-class are the U.S. Navy's only class of battlecruisers. Congress authorized six battlecruisers in 1916, but construction was placed on hold due to World War I and subsequently canceled in accordance with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. Three were subsequently completed as aircraft carriers.
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USS Lexington (CC-1)
CV Conversion -
USS Constellation (CC-2)
CV Conversion -
USS Saratoga (CC-3)
CV Conversion -
USS Ranger (CC-4)
Cancelled -
USS Constitution (CC-5)
Cancelled -
USS United States (CC-6)
Cancelled