Destroyer leaders became cruisers on paper

Warship labels can reflect politics, doctrine, and comparisons with foreign fleets as much as hull construction. The older meaning of frigate changed in the ironclad era, when ships such as HMS Warrior helped turn the frigate into a battleship type and left cruiser to develop from a role into a hull category. The US Navy's later frigate and destroyer-leader vocabulary had its own historical logic, but it compared awkwardly with Soviet guided-missile cruisers. Political pressure to close the apparent cruiser gap helped turn frigates and destroyer leaders into cruisers during the 1975 realignment without rebuilding their hulls. The distinction between cruiser duties and cruiser construction frames the rest of the video.