What makes a cruiser a cruiser

Lord Hill-Norton's definition identifies long-range patrol as the cruiser's principal task and endurance as its defining attribute. A cruiser must remain effective in bad weather, scout and shadow, pursue enemies, and overpower appropriate opponents without joining the battle line against heavily armed ships. For a maritime power, the same ship type must both protect merchant traffic and deny the sea to an enemy's commerce. This functional test explains why presence, reconnaissance, and trade warfare recur throughout the Town class story.