World War II Database

Contributor: David Stubblebine

This article refers to the entire Alaska-class; it is not about an individual vessel.

ww2dbaseThe Alaska-class large cruisers were a class of six very large cruisers ordered prior to World War II for the US Navy. They were designed to fit between heavy cruisers and battleships in both size and function, sharing many features with each.

ww2dbaseOther navies had intermediate sized vessels classified as pocket battleships or battlecruisers. Alaska-class large cruisers are often referred to as battlecruisers, which reflects the size and scope of the vessels well but is not technically correct.

ww2dbaseUS Navy cruisers were named for large US cities and battleships were named for US states. The Large Cruisers were intermediate with their names as well, named for US territories (remember, Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states). Two Alaska-class large cruisers were completed (Alaska and Guam), one was laid down but not completed (Hawaii), and three were planned but never laid down (Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Samoa).

Alaska-class Large Cruiser Interactive Map

Alaska-class Large Cruiser Operational Timeline