![]() Most of the 1930s little consideration was given to the threats to cruisers from submarines and aircraft. A secondary role was to fall back around the fleet and screen the capital ships from attacks by enemy cruisers and destroyers. The role of cruisers was seen to be primarily as high speed scouts that would operate independently similar to army cavalry units, ranging ahead of the battleįleet to locate the enemy. Another requirement was that new US cruisers should be superior to similar ships in foreign navies. Officer quarters, torpedo launchers, depth charge racks, minesweeping gear and anti-aircraft guns added to the overall tonnage, reducing the number of ships thatĬould be built. Additional requirements, such as scouting aircraft, flag This led to a broad range of American design proposals, from lightly armored 5000 ton shipsĬarrying 12 inch guns to heavily armored 10000 ton ships carrying 6 inch guns.Įach "Treaty Cruiser" design was a trade off between guns, armor, cruising range, and treaty limits. To four 10000 ton heavy cruisers or ten 4500 ton light cruisers. This caused navies to compare the value of one 45000 ton battleship The maximum size was limited to 10000 tons, and a limit was placed on the total fleet tonnage. Realizing what was happening, and desiring to prevent a resurgence of the arms race, a new treaty was signed in 1930 that extended the tonnage limit to cruisers. Cruiser designs quickly advanced from the wartime 3500 ton ships to 8000 ton light and 12000 ton heavy cruiser designs.īritain and Japan were obliged to plan larger ships of their own to match the capabilities of the new American designs, so a cruiser arms race was underway. Ships with larger than 6 inch guns were called heavy cruisers, again, Ships having guns 6 inch or smaller were called light cruisers regardless of displacement. The new categories "light" and "heavy" cruisers appeared. ![]() Greater fuel capacities and larger power plants was the ability to carry heavier armor and larger guns. A consequence of the larger hull designs to accommodate The United States lead this effort because it wanted ships with the longĬruising range and high cruising speeds necessary to operate across the Pacific Ocean far from home waters. Immediately began planning larger cruisers to partially fill the role of battleships. However, there was no limit on smaller ships, including cruisers. It reduced fleet sizes and allowed new ships to be built only to replace older ships. The Washington Naval Arms Treaty of 1921 limited construction of battleships, battle cruisers and aircraft carriers, the expensive "capital" ships. Greatīritain was especially favorable to the idea since it had suffered greatly from the war and its economy was still weak. The governments realized the cost of a naval arms race and began discussing ways to avoid it. On paper huge and extremely expensive navies were designed. Those nations perceived a large American navy as a threat to their interests. American naval planners began drawing up plansįor a two ocean navy sufficient to match the combined strength of Britain and Japan. Their combined fleets were viewed as a threat to American interests throughout the world. Further, the English and Japanese were joined in an allianceįormed during the war. After World War One Great Britain, Japan and the United States had the largest navies on Earth.
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