How battle outcomes distort warship reputations

Which warship class would have the most different reputation if famous battle outcomes were reversed?

Battlecruisers and Yorktown-class carriers are strong candidates, but the larger lesson is that losses often reflect missions and exposure more than design quality.

A victory by Hood and Prince of Wales over Bismarck is suggested as an outcome that would improve battlecruisers' popular reputation. Losing all three Yorktown-class carriers early could produce the opposite judgment of American carrier design. The comparison with armoured Illustrious-class carriers also separates flight-deck protection from resistance to torpedo damage, while the lighter Ark Royal is discussed in terms of design compromises and a needed refit. Tribal-class destroyers show how repeated assignment to dangerous missions can make a capable design look weak through its losses. Histories that omit missions, exposure and causes of loss allow battle outcomes to substitute for design analysis.