After 1945, a new battleship lacked an expected opponent even though existing ships could still fight. The remaining battleships largely belonged to the same side, while the Soviet, French, and Italian inventories offered little reason for Britain or the United States to start new construction. For lesser surface raiders such as the Deutschland class, the Royal Navy's wartime model was usually a cruiser group, sometimes aided by a carrier. Aircraft could conduct the wide-area search and initial attack before cruisers closed, reserving battleships for the rarer problem of an enemy capital ship.
Notable Point · 5:06-7:08
Postwar fleets lacked a battleship threat to answer
With few opposing battleships left after 1945, cruisers and carriers could address most surface-raider problems more economically.