501:
424:
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148:
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36:
133:
470:, planned specifically to counter the heavy cruisers being built by their naval rivals, have been described as "super cruisers", "large cruisers" or even "unrestricted cruisers", with some advocating that they even be considered battlecruisers; however, they were never classified as capital ships.
500:
657:
Despite their significance to modern fleets, the U.S. Navy has never named aircraft carriers after U.S. states. Today, U.S. aircraft carriers are usually named after politicians and other individuals notable in US naval history such as
648:(e.g. Alaska-class cruisers just before and during World War II) or U.S. cities. Prior to and during World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy also followed the practice of naming battleships after provinces (e.g.
487:
large missile cruiser had a displacement great enough to rival World War II-era battleships and battlecruisers, perhaps defining a new capital ship for that era. In regard to technical design, however, the
451:, albeit slower but with considerably heavier guns, they were regarded by some as capital ships (hence the British label "Pocket battleship") since they were one of the few heavy surface units of the
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Fourth rate: 46 to 60 guns. By 1756, these ships were acknowledged to be too weak to stand in the line of battle and were relegated to ancillary duties, although they also served in the shallow
197:
are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a
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to be universally considered capital ships. Only full-size fleet carriers (whether purpose built, or converted from battleship/battlecruiser hulls) were regarded as capital ships, while
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209:
There is usually no formal criterion for the classification, but it is a useful concept in naval strategy; for example, it permits comparisons between relative naval strengths in a
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In the 21st century, the aircraft carrier is the last remaining capital ship, with capability defined in decks available and aircraft per deck rather than in guns and
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had to decide the allocation of its battleships and battlecruisers between the
Atlantic and Pacific theatres. The Mahanian doctrine was also applied by the
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revolution; dreadnought battleships (also known first as dreadnoughts and later as battleships) and battlecruisers. The term is defined in the 1936
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force and do not share the sea control mission of traditional capital ships. Nevertheless, many navies, including the Royal Navy and the
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420:. All of the above ships were close to 20,000 tons displacement or heavier, with large caliber guns and heavy armor protection.
644:(the first U.S. battleship), U.S. capital ships were traditionally named after U.S. states. Cruisers are typically named after
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The term "capital ship" was coined in 1909 and formally defined in the limitation treaties of the 1920s and 1930s, in the 1922
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Cruisers, despite being important ships, were not considered capital ships. An exception to the above in World War II was the
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Some navies reserve specific names for their capital ships. Names reserved for capital ships include chiefs of state (e.g.
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524:(often using merchant ship hulls) were not. The U.S. Navy was forced to rely primarily on its aircraft carriers after the
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was primarily a land war; consequently, Germany's surface fleet was small, and the escort ships used in the
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686:), state names have been applied to U.S. nuclear submarines. Previous ballistic missile submarines (e.g.
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and into the late 19th century, some larger and more powerful frigates were classified as fourth rates.
324:. Four-deckers suffered in rough seas, and the lowest deck could seldom fire except in calm conditions .
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Third rate: 64 to 80 guns (although 64-gun third-raters were small and not very numerous in any era).
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became the main form of capital ship after sailing vessels fell out of use, and remained so up to
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701:). Earlier attack submarines had usually been named for marine animals or, commencing with the
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694:-class ballistic missile submarine, state names were also applied to attack submarines (e.g.
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missile-equipped submarines) had not been named for states. After the completion of the last
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Before the advent of the all-steel navy in the late 19th century, a capital ship during the
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Chesneau, p. 388; Garzke & Dulin, p. 86; Friedman 1984, p. 288; McLaughlin 2006, p. 104
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In the 20th century, especially in World Wars I and II, typical capital ships would be
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mostly deploying its battleships and aircraft carriers in the
Pacific. The war in
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without the need for considering specific details of tonnage or gun diameters.
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each capable of carrying and launching nearly 100 tactical aircraft, and nine
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First rate: 100 or more guns, typically carried on three or four
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853:"Welcome to the website of the Force Z Survivors Association"
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launching from the flight deck of a modern aircraft carrier
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were the capital ships of the era of sail. Pictured is the
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was generally understood as a ship that conformed to the
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sank or damaged eight of its
Pacific-fleet battleships.
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Only one US battleship ever carried a non-state name:
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planning of the defence of
Singapore in World War II
634:). However, there are some exceptions to the rule.
436:, the lead ship of the largest class of battleships
60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
820:
401:. This applied mainly to ships resulting from the
679:-equipped ballistic missile submarines (i.e. the
447:. Though this class was technically similar to a
986:"Gen Amos' speech to Surface Navy Association."
881:. 148/3. US Naval Institute Proceedings: 1,429.
139:form the main capital ships of most modern-era
341:where larger ships of the line could not sail.
8:
923:"ww2pacific.com Pacific Fleet not at Pearl"
855:. Forcez-survivors.org.uk. Archived from
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
948:"ww2pacific.com Pacific Fleet at Pearl"
805:
779:
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620:), historical events or objects (e.g.
877:Brooks, RADM Thomas A. (March 2022).
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563:American ballistic missile submarine
185:, a very large example with 112 guns.
7:
551:carriers operated by other nations.
58:adding citations to reliable sources
248:, more commonly referred to as the
675:Beginning with the first class of
25:
768:List of sunken nuclear submarines
216:A notable example of this is the
763:List of sunken aircraft carriers
520:(often using cruiser hulls) and
34:
972:Solarnavigator.net Pearl Harbor
627:), and traditional names (e.g.
45:needs additional citations for
1:
758:List of sunken battlecruisers
547:" configuration to the light
543:which are equivalent in the "
356:comprised small frigates and
246:Pacific Theater of Operations
174:Ships of the line (of battle)
27:Leading ship of a naval fleet
827:. New York: Viking. p.
512:It took until late 1942 for
240:and the battleships of the
220:, which was applied in the
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753:List of sunken battleships
399:Second London Naval Treaty
368:Battleship / battlecruiser
244:. The naval nature of the
991:January 17, 2011, at the
464:Design 1047 battlecruiser
360:. Towards the end of the
541:amphibious assault ships
327:Second rate: 90–98 guns.
391:Washington Naval Treaty
894:Cite journal requires
823:The Price of Admiralty
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526:attack on Pearl Harbor
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262:Battle of the Atlantic
230:Imperial Japanese Navy
205:Strategic implications
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211:theatre of operations
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708:, cities and towns.
54:improve this article
468:Design B-65 cruiser
407:Montreux Convention
395:London Naval Treaty
252:, necessitated the
238:attack Pearl Harbor
582:United States Navy
574:Nuclear submarines
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555:Nuclear submarines
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348:were ships of the
254:United States Navy
242:U.S. Pacific Fleet
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748:Nuclear submarine
664:Chester W. Nimitz
578:nuclear deterrent
567:George Washington
514:aircraft carriers
466:and the Japanese
270:destroyer escorts
232:, leading to its
218:Mahanian doctrine
141:blue-water navies
137:Aircraft carriers
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954:on 2017-06-01
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65:Find sources:
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43:This article
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32:
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19:
18:Capital ships
978:
967:
956:. Retrieved
952:the original
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931:. Retrieved
927:the original
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887:cite journal
872:
861:. Retrieved
857:the original
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817:Keegan, John
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624:Constitution
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453:Kriegsmarine
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264:were mostly
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156:World War II
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83:
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64:
52:Please help
47:verification
44:
728:Dreadnought
704:Los Angeles
586:Dreadnought
473:During the
443:Deutschland
430:battleship
414:battleships
403:dreadnought
397:, and 1936
354:sixth rates
286:Age of Sail
280:Age of Sail
250:Pacific War
199:naval fleet
152:Battleships
110:August 2022
1011:Ship types
958:2010-11-10
933:2010-11-10
863:2011-07-12
800:References
733:Battleship
669:Enterprise
350:fifth rate
290:Royal Navy
266:destroyers
226:Royal Navy
80:newspapers
790:Kearsarge
788:USS
639:USS
631:Ark Royal
629:HMS
622:USS
617:De Ruyter
565:USS
409:as well.
381:HMS
358:corvettes
339:littorals
335:North Sea
182:Santa Ana
162:Helgoland
160:SMS
1005:Category
989:Archived
819:(1989).
723:Flagship
712:See also
697:Virginia
688:Poseidon
611:Bismarck
594:Oklahoma
590:Vanguard
533:calibers
475:Cold War
462:, Dutch
428:Japanese
376:British
346:Frigates
276:threat.
677:Trident
666:except
393:, 1930
383:Repulse
316:rates:
178:Spanish
94:scholar
835:
651:Yamato
604:Naming
485:-class
479:Soviet
458:Alaska
433:Yamato
314:fourth
306:second
274:U-boat
258:Europe
96:
89:
82:
75:
67:
774:Notes
706:class
699:class
684:class
641:Texas
549:VSTOL
490:Kirov
483:Kirov
322:decks
310:third
302:first
296:of a
193:of a
101:JSTOR
87:books
900:help
833:ISBN
692:Ohio
682:Ohio
662:and
598:Iowa
596:and
588:and
477:, a
416:and
268:and
195:navy
189:The
73:news
829:276
654:).
504:An
312:or
292:'s
236:to
56:by
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889:}}
885:{{
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