American use of frigate for destroyer leaders already complicates the postwar terminology. One counterfactual asks whether Congress would have built battlecruisers more readily if Britain had called them frigates. The suggested motive is the lasting prestige of the original six American frigates. A familiar name could therefore have helped sell a very different ship, although this speculation cannot establish what Congress would actually have approved.
Notable Point · 24:28-25:32
Would calling battlecruisers frigates have persuaded Congress?
A counterfactual naming question explores whether the prestige of America's original frigates could have helped win support for battlecruisers.