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Subject:
RE:HMS Hood Battleship?
gf0012-aust
11/28/2003 5:00:20 PM
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| Jacques, do you understand the functional tasking differences between a cruiser, battle cruiser, pocket battleship and a battleship? The definitions are as follows:
destroyer: a small fast lightly armored but heavily armed warship
cruiser: a large warship capable of engaging multiple targets simultaneously
armored cruiser: a cruiser protected by armor on the sides as well as the decks and gun positions. This class was used from the end of the 19th century until the World War I.
protected cruiser: a type of naval cruiser that was armored, not so heavily as armored cruisers, most of the armor being used on the decks and around the guns. The armor tended to range from 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) in thickness. (eg USS Atlanta 1894)
battlecruiser: is a large gunship, larger than a cruiser and of comparable size to a battleship. It has the size and guns of a battleship but substantially thinner armor, the weight saving allowing more powerful engines to be fitted to give it greater speed than a battleship. The idea was that the big guns would allow it to take out destroyers, cruisers, and other smaller ships before the battlecruiser ever got into the range of their smaller guns or torpedoes, while its speed would enable it to escape enemy battleships. The idea was mainly conceived by Admiral Jackie Fisher. Typically the armour was up to half the thickness of a battleship. The first german battlecruiser was SMS Von der Tann
Battleships were the most heavily armed and armored gunships afloat.
pocket battleship: a small battleship built to conform with the Washington treaty limitations on tonnage and armament (from 1925 to 1930) eg Graf Spee, Scheer and Deutschland. Thus the term ?pocket battleship? refers more to a class of very heavy cruiser rather than to a specific type of ship. Only three ships have ever been referred to as pocket battleships (see above).
These are temporal definitions. ie Destroyers and Frigates in current navies would rate as light cruisers if sent back in time to WW2.
Current Russian and Indian destroyers in real terms would be rated as WW2 cruisers because of the absolute firepower they can bring to bear.
Western definitions tend to take a line from the size of the main gun armament or from vessel mass. Ticonderogas by definition would be a cruiser. In WW2 terms an Arleigh Burke destroyer would be considered a light cruiser because of its firepower throw.
The Japanese had heavy destroyers which in western navies were as lethal as light cruisers.
Its not the definition that counts. Its capability.
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