
The Alaska-class battlecruisers, conceived by the U.S. Navy in the 1930s to counter foreign naval developments, became a case of strategic misalignment by the time they were completed in the late 1940s. Summary: The Alaska-class battlecruisers, conceived by the U.S. Navy in the 1930s to counter foreign naval developments, became a case of strategic misalignment by the time they were completed in the late 1940s. -Originally intended to be fast and powerful “cruiser-killers” with modern 12-inch guns and a top speed of 33 knots, these ships were designed to challenge...