Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:54:12-2:54:58

Would flight-deck cruisers or battlecarriers be built?

Battlecarrier hybrids remain unlikely, but the US Navy might answer British light fleets with its own flight-deck cruiser concept.

Aircraft CarriersCruisersFlight Deck CruisersUS NavyWarship Design
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Question

Would navies build flight-deck cruisers or battlecarrier hybrids in this timeline?

Short answer

Battlecarriers are unlikely, but a US flight-deck cruiser could emerge as an alternative response to British light carriers.

Notes

The more extreme battlecarrier is an unlikely result of this design environment. A flight-deck cruiser is more plausible because the United States had already studied the concept in the Philippines. American reluctance to build British-style light carriers could make a hybrid cruiser-carrier an institutional alternative. Its prospects would also reflect the US Navy's expected destroyer shortage and the pressure to combine functions in a limited number of hulls.