During the first half of the 20th century, many navies constructed or planned to build battlecruisers: large capital ships with greater speed but less armor than dreadnought battleships. The first battlecruisers, the , were championed by the British First Sea Lord John Fisher and appeared in 1908, two years after the revolutionary battleship .Roberts, pp. 19–25 In the same year, Germany responded with its own battlecruiser, .Herwig, p. 60 Over the next decade, Britain and Germany built an additional twelve and six battlecruisers, respectively.Gardiner & Gray, pp. 24–41, 151–155 Other nations joined them: entered service for the Royal Australian Navy in 1913, Japan constructed four ships of the from 1911 through 1915, and in late 1912 Russia laid down the four s, though they were never completed.McLaughlin 2003, pp. 332–337 Two countries considered acquiring battlecruisers in this time, but chose not to: France looked at several battlecruiser design studies in 1913 and 1914,Gardiner & Gray, p. 200 and the United States ordered six s in 1916 that were never built.
The British and German battlecruisers were used extensively during World War I between 1914 and 1918, including in the Battles of Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank, and most famously in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916, where one German and three British battlecruisers were sunk.Staff, pp. 8–37 The Japanese battlecruisers did not see action during the war, as the German naval presence in the Pacific was destroyed by the British in the early months of the war. Britain and Germany attempted to build additional battlecruisers during the war—the for the former, and the and es for the latter—but changing priorities in favor of smaller warships prevented their completion.Gardiner & Gray, pp. 41, 155–156 At the end of the war, the German High Seas Fleet was interned and subsequently scuttled in Scapa Flow.Herwig, p. 256
In the immediate aftermath of World War I, Britain, Japan, and the United States all considered new battlecruiser construction, including the British G3 class, the Japanese , and a revised version of the American Lexingtons. In the interest of avoiding another crippling naval arms race, the three countries, along with France and Italy, signed the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, which included a moratorium on new capital ship construction. A clause in the treaty, however, gave the British, Japanese, and Americans a chance to convert several of their battlecruisers into aircraft carriers.Hone, pp. 11–14Burt (1993), pp. 314–315 Only a handful of battlecruisers survived the arms limitation regime. In the 1930s, several navies considered new "cruiser killer" battlecruisers, including Germany's , the Dutch Design 1047, and the Soviet . The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 put a halt to all these plans.Sturton, p. 49
During the war, the surviving battlecruisers saw extensive action, and many were sunk. The four Japanese Kongō-class ships had been rebuilt as fast battleships in the 1930s, but all were sunk during the conflict.Gardiner & Gray, p. 234 Of the three British battlecruisers still in service, and were sunk, but survived the war.Burt (1993), pp. 308–313Burt (1986), pp. 301–302 The only other battlecruiser in existence at the end of the Second World War was the ex-German , which had been transferred to Turkey during the First World War and served as Yavuz Sultan Selim.Gardiner & Gray, p. 391
Several new wartime classes were proposed, including the Japanese Design B-65 class, and the American , two of which were built before the end of the war.Gardiner & Chesneau, pp. 122, 178 The Alaskas were officially classified as "large cruisers", but many naval historians refer to them as battlecruisers. In the postwar drawdown of forces, Renown and the two Alaskas were withdrawn from service and eventually scrapped;Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 122 Only Yavuz Sultan Selim, the last surviving battlecruiser in the world, lingered on until the early 1970s, when she too was sent to the shipbreakers. Only one country, the Soviet Union, considered building battlecruisers after the war. The three ships, championed by Joseph Stalin, were laid down in the early 1950s, but were cancelled after his death in 1953.McLaughlin (2006), pp. 116, 119–120 However, in the 1970s, the Soviet Union began the construction of a class of very large guided missile cruisers, much larger than any other surface combatantSurface combatants are naval warships which are designed for warfare on the surface of the water, with their own weapons. They include battleships, battlecruisers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and corvettes. Aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, and mine hunters are not considered surface combatants. Thus, it would be incorrect to say that Kirov battlecruisers are the largest class of naval warship built since the Second World War, since many aircraft carriers built after the war have been larger. built since the Second World War. This new type, the , although designated as a "heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser" by the Soviet Navy, was generally referred to in the West as a "battlecruiser".Gardiner, Chumbley & Budzbon, p. 328Krupnick, p. 44
Key
The list of battlecruiser classes includes all battlecruisers listed in chronological order by commission. Classes which did not enter service are listed by the date of cancellation or last work on the project.
Main guns The number and type of the main battery guns Armor The maximum thickness of the belt armor Displacement Ship displacement at full combat load Propulsion Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generated Service The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fate Laid down The date the keel began to be assembled Commissioned The date the ship was commissionedThe table for Russia gives the date of launching rather than commissioning, since none of its battlecruisers were commissioned. Similarly, the United States' table gives dates of launch and commissioning for those ships that did enter service.
Great Britain
Ship Main guns Armor Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 8 × 12-inch (305 mm)Roberts, p. 83 Roberts, p. 112 Roberts, p. 44 4 screws, steam turbines, Roberts, p. 76 2 April 1906Roberts, p. 41 20 March 1909 Exploded at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916Roberts, p. 122 5 February 1906 20 October 1908 Sold for scrap, 1 December 1921 1 March 1906 20 June 1908 8 × 12-inch 6 inches 4 screws, steam turbines, 23 February 1909 24 February 1911 Exploded at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916 20 June 1910 19 November 1912 Sold for scrap, 19 December 1922Roberts, p. 123 8 × 13.5-inch (343 mm) 4 screws, steam turbines, 29 November 1909 4 June 1912 Sold for scrap, 31 January 1924 2 May 1910 14 November 1912 Scrapped, beginning 13 August 1923 8 × 13.5-inch 9 inches Roberts, p. 45 4 screws, steam turbines, 6 March 1911 4 September 1913 Exploded at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916 8 × 13.5-inch 9 inches 4 screws, steam turbines, 6 June 1912 3 October 1914 Sold for scrap, February 1932 6 × 15-inch (381 mm) 6 inchesRoberts, p. 113 Roberts, p. 65 4 screws, steam turbines, 25 January 1915Roberts, p. 63 20 September 1916 Sold for scrap, August 1948 25 January 1915 14 November 1916 Sunk by Japanese air attack, 10 December 1941 4 × 15-inch 4 screws, steam turbines, 28 March 1915 28 October 1916 Sunk by , 17 September 1939 1 May 1915 14 October 1916 Sunk by the German battleships and , 8 June 1940 2 × 18-inch (457 mm) 8 June 1915 26 June 1917 Sold for scrap, 15 March 1948 8 × 15-inch 12 inches 4 screws, steam turbines, 1 September 1916 15 May 1920 Sunk by the , 24 May 1941 HMS Anson 9 November 1916Suspended, March 1917Raven and Roberts, p. 75Cancelled, 27 February 1919Roberts, p. 61 HMS Howe 16 October 1916 HMS Rodney 9 October 1916 G3 battlecruiser 9 × 16-inch (406 mm)Raven and Roberts, p. 101 4 screws, steam turbines, Ordered 26 October 1921Raven and Roberts, p. 98 — Cancelled, February 1922Raven and Roberts, p. 108
Germany
Ship Main guns Armor Displacement Propulsion Service Laid downCommissionedFate 8 × Gröner, p. 53 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 27.75 knots (51 km/h) 21 March 1908Staff, p. 5 1 September 1910 Scuttled at Scapa Flow, 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1930s and scrapped at Rosyth 10 × 28 cmGröner, p. 54 28 cm 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 7 December 1908Staff, p. 12 30 August 1911 Scuttled at Scapa Flow, 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1927 and scrapped at RosythGröner, p. 55 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 28 August 1909 2 July 1912 Transferred to the Ottoman Empire on 16 August 1914, scrapped, 1973 10 × 28 cmGröner, p. 56 30.5 cm 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 28.1 knots (51 km/h) 4 February 1911Staff, p. 21 22 May 1913 Scuttled at Scapa Flow, 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1928 and scrapped at Rosyth 8 × Gröner, p. 57 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 30 March 1912Staff, p. 35 1 September 1914 Scuttled in Scapa Flow, 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1939, broken up after 1946 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, May 1912 8 August 1915 Scuttled after severe damage at the Battle of Jutland, 1 June 1916 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 1 October 1913 10 May 1917 Scuttled in Scapa Flow, 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1930, scrapped 1930–1932 SMS Mackensen 8 × Gröner, p. 58 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 1914 — Struck, 17 November 1919, broken up, 1922 SMS Graf Spee 1915 Struck, 17 November 1919, broken up, 1921–22 SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich Broken up, 1921 SMS Fürst Bismarck Struck, 17 November 1919, broken up, 1922 Ersatz Yorck 8 × Gröner, p. 59 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 1916 — Scrapped 26 months before completion Ersatz Gneisenau1916 Ersatz Scharnhorst Scrapped 26 months before completion_O 6 × Gröner, p. 68 Figures here are reversed intentionally; following the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, the use of long tons to calculate ship displacement was standardized. 3 screws, 8 × 24 cylinder diesel engines, 1 steam turbine, — Canceled after the outbreak of World War II P Q
Japan
Ship Main guns Armor Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 8 × Jackson, p. 48 McCurtie, p. 185 4 screws, steam turbines, (later )Stille, p. 15 17 January 1911 16 August 1913 Torpedoed in Formosa Strait, 21 November 1944Wheeler, p. 183 4 November 1911 4 August 1914 Scuttled following Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942Schom, p. 417 17 March 1912 19 April 1915 Sank following Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 15 November 1942Stille, p. 20 16 March 1912 19 April 1915 Sunk by air attack, Kure Naval Base, 28 July 1945 10 × Gardiner & Gray, p. 235 4 screws, steam turbines, 16 December 1920 — Reordered as aircraft carrier; damaged in earthquake; canceled and scrapped 6 December 1920 December 1923 Reordered and completed as aircraft carrier Scuttled at Midway Atago 22 November 1921 — Canceled and scrapped Takao 19 December 1921 Yard number 795 (not named) 9 × Garzke & Dulin (1985), p. 86 4 screws, geared turbines, eight boilers, — 1945 (projected) Not ordered due to war Yard number 796 (not named) — 1946 (projected)
Russia/Soviet Union