Cruisers took part in a series of surface battles at the beginning of World War II and escorted groups of aircraft carriers and battleships throughout the war. In the later phase of the war, Allied cruisers mainly provided anti-aircraft escorts (AA) for aircraft carrier groups and carried out ground bombings. Japanese cruisers also escorted groups of aircraft carriers and battleships in the later phase of the war, especially during the disastrous Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In 1937-41, after withdrawing from all naval treaties, the Japanese upgraded the Mogami and Tone classes to heavy cruisers or supplemented them by replacing their 6.1-inch (155 mm) triple turrets with twin 8-inch (203 mm) turrets. [30] Torpedo conversions were also performed on most heavy cruisers, resulting in up to sixteen 610 mm (24-inch) tubes per ship, as well as a set of reloads. In 1941, the light cruisers Ōi and Kitakami of the 1920s were converted into torpedo cruisers with four 5.5-inch (140 mm) guns and forty 24-inch (610 mm) torpedo tubes. In 1944, Kitakami was rebuilt to carry up to eight Kaiten human torpedoes instead of ordinary torpedoes. [32] Before World War II, cruisers were mainly divided into three types: heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and auxiliary cruisers. The tonnage of heavy cruisers reached 20-30,000 tons, the speed of 32-34 knots, the endurance of more than 10,000 nautical miles, the thickness of the armor of 127-203 mm. The heavy cruisers were equipped with eight or nine 8-inch (203 mm) guns with a range of more than 20 nautical miles. They were mainly used to attack enemy surface ships and land targets. In addition, there were 10 to 16 secondary guns with a caliber of less than 130 mm (5.1 inches). In addition, dozens of automatic anti-aircraft guns were installed to fight aircraft and small ships such as torpedo boats.
For example, during World War II, American Alaska-class cruisers weighed more than 30,000 tons, equipped with nine 12-inch (305 mm) guns. Some cruisers could also carry three or four seaplanes to correct the accuracy of the shots and carry out reconnaissance. Along with battleships, these heavy cruisers formed powerful naval forces that ruled the world`s oceans for more than a century. After the signing of the Washington Arms Limitation Treaty in 1922, the tonnage and quantity of battleships, aircraft carriers and cruisers were severely restricted. In order not to violate the treaty, countries began to develop light cruisers. The light cruisers of the 1920s had displacements of less than 10,000 tons and a speed of up to 35 knots. They were equipped with 6 to 12 main guns with a caliber of 127 to 133 mm (5 to 5.5 inches). In addition, they were equipped with 8 to 12 secondary guns of less than 127 mm (5 inches) and dozens of small caliber guns, as well as torpedoes and mines. Some ships also carried 2 to 4 seaplanes, mainly for reconnaissance. In 1930, the London Naval Treaty allowed the construction of large light cruisers of the same tonnage as heavy cruisers and armed with up to fifteen 155 mm (6.1 inch) guns. The Japanese Mogami class was built to the limits of this treaty, the Americans and the British also built similar ships.
In 1939, however, the Mogamis were converted to heavy cruisers with ten 203 mm (8.0 inch) guns. You will board this boat, go down the stream into the sea and try to find the cruiser. In addition, a number of Oliver Hazard Perry-class patrol frigates, originally called PFG, were renamed the FFG Line. The realignment of the cruiser-destroyer frigate and the elimination of the Ocean Escort type aligned U.S. Navy ship designations with those of the rest of the world, eliminating confusion with foreign navies. In 1980, the Navy`s DDG-47 class destroyers built at the time were renamed Cruisers (Ticonderoga Guided Missile Cruisers) to emphasize the additional capabilities of the ships` Aegis combat systems and their flag facilities suitable for an admiral and his staff. [Citation needed] By the end of the war, the United States had built cruisers in large numbers, particularly 14 Baltimore-class heavy cruisers and 27 Cleveland-class light cruisers, as well as eight Atlanta-class anti-aircraft cruisers. The Cleveland class was the largest class of cruisers ever built, with nine additional Clevelands completed as light aircraft carriers. The large number of cruisers built was likely due to the significant cruiser losses of 1942 in the Pacific theater of war (seven Americans and five other Allies) and the perceived need for several cruisers to escort each of the many Essex-class aircraft carriers built.
[51] The Japanese, who lost four heavy cruisers and two small light cruisers in 1942, built only five light cruisers during the war; These were small ships, each with six 6.1-inch (155 mm) guns. [71] The British lost 20 cruisers, thirteen light cruisers (Fiji class and Minotaur class) and sixteen anti-aircraft cruisers (Dido class) during the war in 1940/42. [72] Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Battle of Guadalcanal took place in two phases from November 12 to 15, 1942. A night surface action from 12 to 13 November was the first phase. Japanese forces consisted of two Kongō-class battleships with highly explosive shells to bombard Henderson Field, a small light cruiser and 11 destroyers. Their plan was for the bombing to neutralize the Allied Air Force and allow a force of 11 transport ships and 12 destroyers to reinforce Guadalcanal with a Japanese division the next day. [60] However, American reconnaissance aircraft spotted the Japanese approaching on the 12th, and the Americans made all the preparations they could. The American forces consisted of two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser, two anti-aircraft cruisers,[61] and eight destroyers.
The Americans were defeated that night by the Japanese, and a lack of orders from the American commander before the battle led to confusion. The destroyer USS Laffey completed with the battleship Hiei, fired all the torpedoes (although apparently none hit or exploded) and raked the battleship`s deck with rifle fire, wounding the Japanese admiral and killing his chief of staff. The Americans first lost four destroyers, including the Laffey, damaging both heavy cruisers, most of the remaining destroyers and the two anti-aircraft cruisers. The Japanese had initially damaged a battleship and four destroyers, but by this time they withdrew, perhaps unaware that American forces were unable to resist them further. [60] At dawn, U.S. aircraft from Henderson Field, USS Enterprise, and Espiritu Santo found the damaged battleship and two destroyers in the area. The battleship (Hiei) was sunk (or possibly sunk) by aircraft, one destroyer was sunk by the damaged USS Portland and the other destroyer was attacked by aircraft but was able to retreat. [60] The two damaged U.S. anti-aircraft cruisers were lost on November 13, one (Juneau) torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, and the other sank en route for repair.
The loss of Juneau was particularly tragic; The presence of the submarine prevented an immediate rescue, more than 100 survivors of a crew of nearly 700 people drifted for eight days, and all but ten died. Among the dead were the five Sullivan brothers. [62] The increasing size and power of the armored cruiser led to the battlecruiser with armament and size similar to the revolutionary new battleship Dreadnought; the idea of British Admiral Jackie Fisher. He believed that a fleet of large, fast and powerfully armed ships would be able to hunt down and annihilate enemy cruisers and armored cruisers with overwhelming fire superiority to ensure the dominance of the British Navy in its colonial possessions abroad. They were equipped with the same types of guns as battleships, although usually with fewer guns, and were also intended to attack enemy ships in the capital. This type of ship became known as a battlecruiser, and the first were incorporated into the Royal Navy in 1907. British battlecruisers sacrificed protection for speed, as they were intended to « choose their range » (to the enemy) with a higher speed and attack the enemy only from great distances. When deployed at medium distances, the lack of protection combined with dangerous ammunition handling practices became tragic when three of them were lost in the Battle of Jutland. Germany and eventually Japan followed suit to build these ships and replace armored cruisers in most frontline roles. German battlecruisers were generally better protected, but slower than British battlecruisers. Battlecruisers were in many cases larger and more expensive than contemporary battleships due to their much larger propulsion systems.
Outside of the U.S. and Soviet navies, new cruisers were rare after World War II. Most navies use guided missile destroyers for fleet air defense and destroyers and frigates for cruise missiles. The need to operate in task forces has led most navies to switch to fleets built around ships dedicated to a single role, usually anti-submarine or anti-aircraft ships, and the large « generalist » ship has disappeared from most armed forces. The U.S. Navy and Russian Navy are the only remaining navies to operate cruisers. Italy used Vittorio Veneto until 2003; Until May 2010, the France operated a single cruiser helicopter, Joan of Arc, for training purposes only. While the Chinese Navy`s Type 055 is classified as a cruiser by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Chinese consider it a guided missile destroyer. [93] The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser designed for the long range, high speed, and armament of naval guns of approximately 203 mm (8 in.) caliber.
The first heavy cruisers were built in 1915, although they did not become a widely used classification until after the London Naval Treaty in 1930. The immediate precursors of the heavy cruiser were the light cruiser constructions of the 1910s and 1920s; The lightly armored 8-inch « conventional cruisers » of the 1920s (built under the Washington Naval Treaty) were initially classified as light cruisers until the Treaty of London required them to be renamed. [19] Since 2019, several disused cruisers have been saved from demolition and exist worldwide as museum ships.
