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The aircraft cruiser (also known as aviation cruiser or cruiser-carrier) is a warship that combines the features of the aircraft carrier and a surface warship such as a cruiser or battleship.
The first aircraft cruiser was originally a 1930s experimental concept of creating an all-around warship. The early aircraft cruisers were usually armed with relatively heavy artillery, mines and a number of aircraft fitted with floats (making the ship a kind of seaplane tender/fighter catapult ship). The early aircraft cruiser turned out to be an unsuccessful design. The rapid development of naval aircraft in the 1930s quickly rendered the vessels obsolete, and they were rebuilt e.g. as anti-aircraft cruisers.
A United States design for a flight deck cruiser from 1930, [1] was described as "a Brooklyn-class light cruiser forwards [and] one half of a Wasp-class aircraft carrier aft". [2] Although not built, similar ships were created during and after World War II as reconstructions and later from the keel up.
The Japanese built a pair of aircraft cruisers in 1937, the Tone-class cruisers. These ships had their main armament of 4x twin 8" gun turrets placed forward of the superstructure, and an aircraft handling deck was built aft of the funnel. The ships could carry a maximum of 8 float planes, launched by catapult, though the normal complement was 6. During World War II, in part to offset the loss of carriers at the Battle of Midway, Japan rebuilt its Ise-class battleships as hybrid carriers, placing the flight deck and hangar aft to replace the rear turrets, while retaining their main guns forward and amidships. The cruiser Mogami also had its rear gun turrets (which had been damaged at Midway) replaced by aircraft handling facilities. The German Kriegsmarine also studied several "Flugdeckkreuzer" (flight deck cruiser) designs in 1942 which included 20.3 cm (8 inch) or 28 cm (11 inch) gun turrets forward of the flight deck.
A newer variation of the aircraft carrier is the helicopter carrier, which is capable of operating at least 4 or more helicopters, including medium and heavy lift models. This is in contrast to surface warships such as cruisers, destroyers, and frigates which have basic aviation facilities, including a hangar and landing pad, that are sufficient only for 1–2 light/medium helicopters.
Post-war the United Kingdom reconstructed the Tiger-class cruisers HMS Blake and HMS Tiger into helicopter cruisers, retaining their guns forward but having their aft guns removed for the installation of a hangar and helicopter platform for the operation of four Sea King helicopters.
The Italian Andrea Doria-class cruisers and Vittorio Veneto, French Jeanne d'Arc and Soviet Moskva-class helicopter cruisers were built from the keel up as guided missile cruisers forward and helicopter carriers aft.
USS Hayler and her unnamed sister ship (which was never funded) were originally planned as modified Spruance-class destroyers, to be built as helicopter destroyers (DDH), provided they would not cost more than a standard Spruance class. Litton-Ingalls completed sketch design work for Hayler, which moved the helicopter deck aft, stretching the length of the hangar and displacing the Sea Sparrow launcher to the top of the hangar. The design would have accommodated two SH-3 Sea Kings or four smaller SH-60 Seahawk or SH-2 Seasprite helicopters. While the prospective Hayler probably would not have cost much more to build than a standard Spruance class, the detail design and engineering work required before the ship could be built would have been substantial (similar work for the Kidd class cost $110.8 million). This raised the cost of the DDH substantially above a standard Spruance-class destroyer. While this additional cost might have been justified if the DDH was going to enter series production, it was difficult to justify for a single ship. Accordingly, the Navy built Hayler to the same design as the rest of the Spruance class.
In 1980, there was a proposed “Interdiction Assault Ship” (IAS) conversion for the Iowa-class battleships that would have removed the aft main gun turret. This would free up space for a V-shaped ramped flight deck (the base of the V would have been on the ship's stern, while each leg of the V would extend forward, so that planes taking off would fly past the ship's exhaust stacks and conning tower), while a new hangar would be added with 2 elevators, which would support up to 12 Boeing AV-8B Harrier II jump-jets. These aviation facilities could also support helicopters, SEAL teams and up to 500 Marines for an air assault. In the empty space between the V flight deck would be up to 320 missile silos accommodating a mixture of Tomahawk land attack missiles, ASROC anti-submarine rockets and Standard surface-to-air missiles. The existing 5-inch gun turrets would be replaced with 155-millimeter howitzers for naval gunfire support. These modifications would have required significant time and funding to achieve so it was never carried out, furthermore the Department of Defense and the Navy wanted the Iowa battleships reactivated as quickly as possible. [3]
In the Russian Navy, "aviation cruiser" is a designation for the Kiev and Kuznetsov-class ships. They are a cross between a cruiser and an aircraft carrier. Aviation cruisers have close-in weapon systems, both gun and missile, for self-defense against missiles or rockets. Unlike aircraft carriers who rely solely upon their aircraft and helicopter complement for offensive power, aviation cruisers are also equipped with cruiser weaponry to engage the full gamut of surface, submarines and aircraft adversaries.
The Kiev class of aviation cruisers is capable of carrying VTOL aircraft and helicopters. The ships have only a single angled flight deck for aviation. The forward deck is used to carry cruiser weapons, including P-500 Bazalt cruise missiles that are the main armament of the Slava-class cruiser.
The Kuznetsov class is classified as heavy aviation cruisers, reflecting their greater weight as well as the larger number of aircraft they can operate. In addition to helicopters, they are also capable of operating conventional fixed-wing aircraft like the Sukhoi Su-33 and the Mikoyan MiG-29K. The ships have an angled flight deck as well as an axial flight deck for takeoff. Since there is no catapult, a bow ski jump is used to assist takeoff. Kuznetsov also carries the P-700 Granit cruise missiles that form the main armament of the Kirov-class battlecruiser.
All Soviet aircraft carriers were built at the Nikolayev Shipyard in the Ukrainian SSR. Their classification as aircraft cruisers is very important for the purposes of international law, as it allows them to transit the Turkish Straits on their way into the Mediterranean Sea. Under the Montreux Convention, aircraft carriers heavier than 15,000 tons may not pass through the Straits. However, there is no tonnage limit on capital ships operated by Black Sea Powers. [4] Turkey has always allowed Soviet and Russian aviation cruisers to transit the Straits, and no other signatory to the Montreux Convention has challenged the ships' classification. [5]
Some aircraft-carrying ships have been officially designated as cruisers, despite being for all intents and purposes light aircraft carriers. The Royal Navy's Invincible-class aircraft carriers were originally termed "through-deck cruisers" for political reasons (the CVA-01 project had recently been cancelled). In addition, they were expected to serve in some cruiser-like roles – taking on those roles from the RN's Tiger-class cruiser conversions – and were constructed in a similar fashion to cruisers. Later in their life they were however known as aircraft carriers.
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not landed on a carrier. By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centerpiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet. One of its great advantages is that, by sailing in international waters, it does not interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus obviates the need for overflight authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit distances of aircraft and therefore significantly increases the time of availability on the combat zone.
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea denial.
The Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrying cruiser, Soviet designation Project 1143.5, is a class of STOBAR aircraft carriers operated by the Russian and Chinese navies. Originally designed for the Soviet Navy, the Kuznetsov-class ships use a ski-jump to launch high-performance jet aircraft and arrestor gears for landing. The design represented a major advance in Soviet fleet aviation over the Kiev-class carriers, which do not have full-length flight deck and could only launch VSTOL aircraft. The Soviet Union's classification for the class was as a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, which permits the ships to transit the Turkish Straits without violating the Montreux Convention. However, the Chinese variants are classified as aircraft carriers.
USS Hawaii (CB-3) was intended to be the third member of the Alaska-class large cruisers. It was the first United States Navy ship to be named after the then-Territory of Hawaii. Because Hawaii's construction was delayed by higher-priority ships like aircraft carriers, her keel was not laid until December 1943, about two years after her sister ship Guam.
A warship or combatant ship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a nation. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are typically faster and more maneuverable than merchant ships. Unlike a merchant ship, which carries cargo, a warship typically carries only weapons, ammunition and supplies for its crew. Warships usually belong to a navy, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations.
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the flight deck. The official U.S. Navy term for these vessels is "air-capable ships".
The Spruance-class destroyer was developed by the United States to replace the many World War II–built Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class destroyers, and was the primary destroyer built for the United States Navy during the 1970s and 1980s. It was named in honor of U.S. Navy Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, who successfully led major naval battles in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II such as the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
The Tiger class were a class of three British warships of the 20th century and the last all-gun cruisers of the Royal Navy. Construction of three Minotaur-class cruisers began during World War II but, due to post-war austerity, the Korean War and focus on the Royal Air Force over the surface fleet, the hulls remained unfinished. Against a background of changing priorities and financial constraints, approval to complete them to a modified design was given in November 1954 and the three ships – Tiger, Lion and Blake – entered service from March 1959.
The County class was a class of heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the years between the First and Second World Wars. They were the first post-war cruisers constructed for the Royal Navy and were designed within the limits of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Such ships, with a limit of 10,000 tons standard displacement and 8-inch calibre main guns may be referred to as "treaty cruisers".
The Baltimore-class heavy cruisers were a large class of heavy cruisers in the United States Navy commissioned during and shortly after World War II. Fourteen Baltimores were completed, more than any other class of heavy cruiser, along with three ships of the Oregon City sub-class. The Baltimores also were the first cruisers in the US Navy to be designed without the limitations of the London Naval Treaty.
The Virginia class were four nuclear-powered, guided-missile cruisers that served in the United States Navy until the mid-to-late 1990s. The double-ended cruisers were commissioned between 1976 and 1980. They were the final class of nuclear-powered cruisers completed and the last ships ordered as Destroyer Leaders under the pre-1975 classification system.
USS Hayler (DD-997) was a Spruance-class destroyer that served in the United States Navy from 1983 to 2003. Named for Vice Admiral Robert W. Hayler (1891–1980), she was the last ship of her class.
The Ise-class battleships were a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War I. Both ships carried supplies for the survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923. They were modernized in 1934–1937 with improvements to their armour and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style. Afterwards they played a minor role in the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Seydlitz was a heavy cruiser of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, fourth in the Admiral Hipper class, but was never completed. The ship was laid down in December 1936 and launched in January 1939, but the outbreak of World War II slowed her construction and fitting-out work was finally stopped in the summer of 1940 when she was approximately 95 percent complete. The unfinished ship remained pier-side in the shipyard until March 1942, when the Kriegsmarine decided to pursue aircraft carriers over surface combatants. Seydlitz was among the vessels chosen for conversion into auxiliary aircraft carriers.
Destroyer leader (DL) was the United States Navy designation for large destroyers from 9 February 1951 through the early years of the Cold War. United States ships with hull classification symbol DL were officially frigates from 1 January 1955 until 1975. The smaller destroyer leaders were reclassified as destroyers and the larger as cruisers by the United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification so destroyer escorts could be reclassified as frigates (FF) in conformance with international usage of the term.
The Hyūga-class helicopter destroyer is a class of helicopter carrier built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Two - Hyūga and Ise - were built; upon completion the class were the largest ships built for the Japanese navy since the Second World War. Hyūga was described in a PBS documentary as the "first Japanese aircraft carrier built since WWII".
JDS Mirai (DDH-182) is a fictional helicopter defense destroyer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), created for the Japanese manga and anime series Zipang. The central point of the plot of the anime is that the modern warship Mirai is transported back sixty years through time to 1942 on the eve of the Battle of Midway. The ship's weapons alone are enough to change the course of World War II, but equally potent are the advanced technology and knowledge of future events on board. The name of the ship is a homophone for the Japanese word meaning "future" and is often the basis of double entendres in the anime. The phrase "Mirai no nipponjin" (みらいの日本人), often repeated in the anime, for example, can mean "Japanese people of the ship Mirai" or "Japanese people of the future."
The two Tone-class cruisers were the last heavy cruisers completed for the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Tone-class cruisers were originally envisaged as the 5th and 6th vessels in the Mogami class. However, by the time construction began, serious weaknesses in the Mogami-class hull design had become clear following the Fourth Fleet incident in 1935. As Japan no longer was obligated to abide by the limitations of the London Naval Treaty, a new design was created and new means of construction were utilized. Although the external dimensions were close to the Mogami class, the design was quite different, with all the main battery of guns placed forward of the bridge, reserving the entire stern area as a large seaplane operations deck. Unlike the U.S. Navy, the Japanese did not have a dual role attack/scout aircraft, nor did they assign any of their carrier aircraft to a reconnaissance role. Little emphasis was placed on this aspect of carrier warfare. Instead the Japanese reserved all of their carrier aircraft for attack roles. Reconnaissance then was relegated to the float planes carried by cruisers. The Tone and the Chikuma were intended to provide the long range reconnaissance needed for Japan's carrier Air Fleets.
The flight-deck cruiser was a proposed type of aircraft cruiser,, designed by the United States Navy during the Interwar period. Several designs were proposed for the type, but none was approved for construction. The final design was developed just before World War II, and the entry of the United States into the war saw the project come to an end.
The Interdiction Assault Ship (IAS) was an aircraft cruiser conversion project in 1980 for the Iowa-class battleships that would have removed the aft main gun turret. This would free up space for a V-shaped ramped flight deck, while a new hangar would be added with two elevators, which would support up to twelve McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II jump-jets. These aviation facilities could also support helicopters, SEAL teams and up to 500 Marines for an air assault. In the empty space between the V flight deck would be up to 320 missile silos accommodating a mixture of Tomahawk land attack missiles, ASROC anti-submarine rockets and Standard surface-to-air missiles. The existing five-inch gun turrets would be replaced with 155-millimeter howitzers for naval gunfire support. These modifications would have required significant time and funding to achieve so it was never carried out, furthermore the Department of Defense and the Navy wanted the Iowa battleships reactivated as quickly as possible.