The Royal Navy expected Britain to retain worldwide commitments, so it anticipated needing cruisers able to appear in many regions. Presence missions rewarded mobility, reach, and sufficient combat power without the exceptional cost of a battleship. Battlecruisers made the great interwar world tours, while cruisers provided the more routine overseas presence. The battleship's role in that form of naval diplomacy had already faded before its postwar procurement rationale disappeared.
Notable Point · 14:12-14:43
Cruisers sustained global naval presence
A navy expected to appear around the world still needed cruisers because they performed presence and deployment duties more naturally than battleships.