If the cruiser becomes a standard carrier escort before 1945, later fleets may retain the pairing as a force-structure habit. The carrier supplies long-range aviation, while the large cruiser provides a second heavy combat and command platform. The unfinished Hawaii illustrates the conversion proposals considered for Alaska hulls. Removing gun armament could release space for the large missile systems of the late 1940s through the 1960s. Whether wartime experience would make the carrier and large escort a durable postwar formation remains open.
Notable Point · 1:20:30-1:23:05
A postwar carrier and cruiser pairing
An early carrier-large-cruiser partnership might survive into the missile era, with Alaska hulls providing space for the large missile systems of the late 1940s through the 1960s.