The Second Cruiser Act of 1929 authorized fifteen light cruisers and one aircraft carrier across a multi-year programme. The cruisers became the Northampton, Portland, New Orleans, and related ships after the London treaty reclassified 8-inch-gunned designs as heavy cruisers. Alternating ships and much of their machinery, armour, and armament were assigned to government facilities, preserving part of the national industrial base. The act also allowed construction to be suspended under a later arms-limitation agreement. Cruisers and a carrier met real reconnaissance, presence, and aviation needs. Even so, Congress authorized no destroyer or destroyer leader after eight years without a new American destroyer entering service.
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The Second Cruiser Act enlarged the fleet and left the destroyer gap
The 1929 act authorized fifteen cruisers and an aircraft carrier, feeding the heavy-cruiser programme while granting no destroyer or destroyer-leader construction after an eight-year pause.