So, was reading about Destroyers and Cruisers online, and it seems that most jobs that Cruisers used to do are now done by highly capable modern Destroyers. Back in the old days, a Cruiser was the smallest warship capable of sailing off by itself and looking for trouble (ie: The heavier frigates during the Napoleanic Wars, such as the USS Constitution) while a Destroyer was a smaller warship capable of harassing larger enemies and screening it’s own big brothers from smaller enemy raiders (torpedo boats, submarines, other destroyers, etc.)
As far as I can tell, a modern day Destroyer is basically a cruiser with a new name, right? Or is there some other under-the-skin difference that somehow makes a missle-equiped multi-role Destroyer different from something like an Aegis cruiser?
I was a sub guy, not a surface weenie, so take this with a grain of salt.
Destroyers evolved from so-called “torpedo boat destroyers.” Torpedo boats were small, cheap warships armed with one or two large torpedoes (and little else) that hoped to score a hit on a large, capital ship such as a battleship. The destroyer was created to counter this threat by providing a screen between the torpedo boats and the capital ship.
During WWII, destroyers took on the task of screening capital ships (and merchants) from submarines. Subs evolved from the torpedo boats, in that they were stealthy, had little weaponry besides their torpedoes, and hoped to score a lucky shot on a capital ship.
Following WWII, destroyers became more and more capable, eventually acquiring guided missiles, upgraded sensor suites, and ultimately, the ability to take on the anti-air role previously taken on by cruisers. Today, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are just about as capable as the larger, more expensive Ticonderoga-class cruisers. Both have the AEGIS combat system installed. Interestingly, the Ticonderoga-class cruisers were built using the hull and machinery design of the older Spruance-class destroyers, so you can see that that the distinction between the two classes has been narrowing for some time now. In fact, the Tico cruisers displace only about 10% more than the Arleigh Burkes.
Heck, to a modern sub, though, they’re all just targets.
I recently purchased a “Battleship” game to play with my grandson and noticed that the cruiser (3 holes) was now the destroyer, and the destroyer (2 holes) is now a PT boat. There is no more cruiser.
Back in the old days, when a ship’s weapons were cannons, size did indeed matter. The bigger a ship, the more and bigger the cannons it could hold.
Then missiles came along and threw out many of the old rules. If a missile hit a target, it didn’t matter what kind of ship it was launched from. So there was no longer a direct connection between a ship’s size and its offensive power.
To muddy the waters even futher (heh) the newest destroyer class, the DDX is to displace 14,000 tons… more than the USS Maine who’s sinking started the Spanish American war. The Maine was a battleship.
Actually, they graded into each other. The biggest “destroyer” was the DL or Destroyer Leader. The smallest Cruiser was the CS or “Cruiser, Scout”. The size and armament of these two would be quite similar (6" guns). Basically, destroyers are smaller than cruisers and are AFAIK never armored, whereas even the smallest cruisers had an inch or two of armor. (Note that the US Navy apparently didn’t use the term “Destroyer Leader” until after WWII, and AFAIK, USN didn’t have any Scout Cruisers during WWII either)
Later the US Navy dropped both CS & DL, and added Frigate, and that later morphed into CG (Guided Missle cruiser). That’s kinda confusing so here’s a link:
