There is no single hard boundary between battleship and battlecruiser. Nelson and Rodney sit toward the slower, heavily protected end, while fast battleships and battlecruisers accept different compromises for speed and mission. Battlecruisers built to defeat opposing capital-ship scouts also differ from Fisher's earlier cruiser hunters, which were intended to police trade routes and catch commerce raiders. The Japanese treatment of the rebuilt Kongos illustrates how official classification and operational employment can diverge from a ship's original label.
Chapter · 28:18-30:57
From coastal battleship to fast battlecruiser
Nelson, fast battleships, Hood, and the Kongos are placed on a spectrum defined by how each design traded speed, armor, and firepower for its intended role.