The battlecruiser was thought of as the ship that could do everything. Scout, do battle with cruisers and destroyers, protect shipping lanes and lines of communication and join the battle line and slug it out with enemy battlecruisers and battleships. Great Brittan and Germany adopted this theory, the United States Navy long debated it, but eventually gave in only to see them scraped or converted into aircraft carriers. But did the US Navy actually have a battlecruiser and not acknowledge it? Two classes of heavy cruisers come close to fulfilling the roles of the battlecruiser. This would include the USS Alaska class and the USS Des Moines class.
One of the most hotly debated ship types in the United States Navy was the battlecruiser. Other navies had them in service or under construction - should the United States follow suit? As early as the summer of 1903 at the US Naval College's Summer Conference, it was suggested that the navy develop a "fast Battleship" mounting four 12" guns replacing armored cruisers and supplementing the battle line. In May of 1904 the British developed plans that would lead to the development of the all big gun battleship and the idea was presented for a big 9.2-inch gun fast cruiser later changed to 12-inch guns.
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