Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 4:09:06-4:11:40

An 8-inch AGS turns escorts into cruisers

Fitting an 8-inch advanced gun system would require larger Spruance and Ticonderoga hulls and push them toward the independent surface-action role intended for a true general-purpose cruiser.

8-inch Advanced Gun SystemCruiser DesignIowa Class BattleshipsSpruance Class DestroyersTiconderoga Class Cruisers
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Question

How would fitting 8-inch AGS to the Spruance and Ticonderoga classes affect later design, and did Iowa reactivation kill the program?

Short answer

The ships would become much larger cruiser-like combatants, while Iowa reactivation weakened but did not alone end the AGS concept.

Notes

Fitting the proposed 8-inch gun would require longer, broader Spruance and Ticonderoga hulls. The intended general-purpose cruiser could lead a surface action group, conduct shore bombardment, and serve as a station flagship without depending on an escort role. The gun system still had unresolved technical problems, while political arguments questioned the need for large gun-armed cruisers. Iowa reactivation supplied a competing answer to the prestige and bombardment requirements. In this assessment, the battleships fulfilled the prestige role better but performed the surface-action-group leader role worse.