How period terminology classified large cruisers

An official naval magazine used the spaced term "battle cruiser" for Alaska. The spaced phrase could describe a very large cruiser, while the later one-word category identified a capital ship. The Invincible class complicates that distinction because early descriptions used the spaced phrase even though the ships themselves were capital ships. HMS Tiger and the Lions supply examples of the capital-ship meaning. That changing vocabulary helps explain why descriptions of Alaska can sound contradictory. Most new capital ships of the late 1930s were expected to carry guns of at least 14 inches, whereas Alaska mounted 12-inch weapons. Her subdivision and internal organization also followed a cruiser philosophy, placing the class on the cruiser side of the divide in this interpretation.