Victory Star Destroyers as historical cruiser analogues

What historical naval analogue best explains the Victory I and Victory II-class Star Destroyers?

A Victory is compared with a first- or second-class protected cruiser, while the larger Imperial-class ship is closer to an armoured cruiser.

The answer is explicitly an analogy between a fictional fleet and historical cruiser types. A Victory I is treated as a specialized missile-heavy design, while the Victory II is judged better suited to routine imperial policing. In scale and mission, an Imperial-class ship is compared with an armoured cruiser and a Victory with a first- or second-class protected cruiser. The comparison uses relative force presence rather than pretending Star Wars technology maps directly onto naval history.