Flight deck cruiser The flight - deck cruiser was a proposed type of aircraft cruiser , warship s combining features of aircraft carrier s and light cruiser s designed by the United States Navy during the period between World War I and World War II . Several designs were proposed for the type , but none were approved for construction . The final design was developed just before World War II , and the entry of the United States into the war saw the project come to an end . Background . In the 1920s , following the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty , the United States Navy converted two incomplete battlecruisers into aircraft carriers , and . These conversions proved to be extremely expensive , and designs were sought that would provide aircraft carrying capability for the fleet at a more reasonable cost . , America ' s first purpose - built aircraft carrier , was of a smaller , more economical design than the battlecruiser conversions , however the ship sacrificed the big - gun scouting capability of the earlier ships . In an attempt to develop a ship capable of both carrying aircraft and engaging the enemy in the scouting role , the " flight - deck cruiser " concept was developed , following a series of studies proposing the conversion of cruisers under construction into carriers , all of which were rejected . In addition to providing an economical method of providing additional aircraft for the fleet , the " flight - deck cruiser " was seen to have an additional advantage ; it would be considered a cruiser under the terms of the Washington Treaty , not an aircraft carrier , and thus the Navy would not be restricted in the number of ships of the type that could be built . Designs . Several designs were proposed for a ship carrying both aircraft and a gun armament equivalent to a light cruiser ' s . One design , from 1930 , was described as " a light cruiser forwards [ and ] one half of a aft " , and utilized an early version of the angled deck that would in the 1950s be adopted for use by fleet carriers . The vessel , in length , had a flight deck and hangar aft for twenty - four aircraft , while forwards three triple gun turrets were mounted , the standard armament for a light cruiser of the time . A secondary dual purpose armament of eight guns was also projected to be carried for defense against enemy torpedo - boat s and aircraft . In 1934 , another design for a flight - deck cruiser was proposed , featuring twelve guns , mounted forwards and aft with a flight deck in between ; while a 1939 revival of the concept proposed two triple turrets , fore and aft , again with an amidships flight deck . In December 1939 , a design for a much larger flight - deck cruiser , displacing 12 , 000 tons , was proposed , fitted with two catapults , a triple turret for guns , and a flight deck ; by January 1940 the design had been shrunk to a flight deck in length and two triple guns for main armament . Abandonment . Despite the continued designs and interest in the idea , no funding was ever appropriated for the construction of a flight - deck cruiser ; in addition , evaluation of the design by the Naval War College determined that even a 12 , 000 - ton ship was too small for the concept ' s intended characteristics to be effectively realized , and thus the ship would be ineffective in battle . In 1940 , the design was formally shelved , although provision was made for reconsideration of the concept at a future date . The entry of the United States into World War II following the bombing of Pearl Harbor , however , removed the primary justifications for the concept of a hybrid warship , as naval limitations treaties were now moot and adequate funding was now available for the construction of more conventional ships . As a result , the flight deck cruiser concept was never revisited . Similar ships . Although no flight - deck cruisers were ever built by the U . S . Navy , the Soviet Union ' s , developed in the 1970s , is remarkably similar to that of the original flight - deck cruiser design , featuring an angled flight deck aft with anti - ship missile launchers forwards . In addition , during the early 1980s , plans were proposed for the reactivation of the U . S . Navy ' s " Iowa " - class battleships that entailed the removal of each ship ' s aft turret and the installation of a flight deck for operating V / STOL aircraft ; in the end a much more modest conversion , lacking the flight deck , was carried out .