Cruiser

**Cruisers** are a large type of warship that are good for multiple different roles. They are most commonly seen used in air defense, anti-shipping and shore bombardment, as well as being used as escorts for larger vessels like battleships and aircraft carriers to protect them from air attack, though can operate independently. Cruisers were built for high speed and great cruising radius, capable of not only defending its own fleet and coastlines but also threatening those of the enemy.

Along with other types of warships, cruisers appear frequently all throughout the *Foxes: Foxes in Arms* series, as being used by a number of navies, with the most common version appearing is the guided-missile cruiser (CG).

## History

### Development

Historically, ships such as frigates that performed certain kinds of missions—independent scouting, commerce protection, or raiding, were called "cruising warships," serving as the earliest precursor to such warships. By the 1800s, cruisers became an independent designation for warships. Early cruisers were built for, as their name implies, cruising distant waters, for commerce raiding, and for scouting for the battle fleet. There were a number of different types and sizes of cruisers around this timeframe, with some even being as big as pre-dreadnought battleships. World War I developments saw these large ships being called "battlecruisers" due to having the large guns of battleships but with less armor and more speed.

Prior to World War II, and with the treaties put in place, cruisers once more developed into two distinct types. There are the light cruisers, typically armed with guns no larger than 6.1 inches (154.94 mm), and then the heavy cruisers that had larger guns, with the standard gun caliber being around 8 inches (203 mm), with some being a bit heavier than the limitations. After the war, battleships began being withdrawn from service, and that left cruisers as being the largest surface combatants within modern navies. The development of guided missiles led to cruisers, as well as destroyers, being able to strike targets hundreds of miles away, and replace the larger caliber guns as heavier armaments.

By the later half of the Cold War, the line between destroyers and cruisers was blurred, as their capabilities were more or less similar. Today, only a hand full of countries operate ships that are officially called cruisers, though there a number of vessels designated destroyers that have more cruiser-like capabilities, which lead to these vessels being designated cruisers by some countries.

### *Foxtrot: Foxes in Arms* Universe

The overall development of cruisers is similar to how it was historically. The United States Navy has a long history of operating cruisers, as does the likes of the Royal Navy and a number of other countries. For the Americans, a number of cruisers took part in various surface actions in a number of conflicts, and some have even grown to become well known or famous, becoming some of the most decorated ships within the US Navy. In the series, the US is seen operating the *Ticonderoga*-class guided-missile cruiser. Several "*Ticos*" have been seen operating prior to and during the Urocyan War. Battle Group Delta had a single cruiser operating with it, and when it was folded into Battle Group Foxtrot, two cruisers were seen to be operating with the fleet, among others.

Russia has long been an operator of cruisers, all throughout its history into the present day. Several cruiser classes were utilized by the old Soviet Navy, and the most modern of the ships being inherited by Russia, with one incomplete ship going to Ukraine. These current ships include several *Slava*-class cruisers and the much larger *Kirov*-class battlecruisers.

As stated above, America utilized cruisers during the Urocyan conflicts, but so does Urocyia. Most of their cruisers are former Soviet vessels while some come from other nations, and the Imperial Navy used them quite widely, as they're commonly seen escorting larger Urocyan ships, escorting allied convoys and raiding enemy ones, and leading their own surface action groups (SAGs). During the Urocyan military build up, a number of reactivated cruisers, including older so-called "gun cruisers," were being utilized as well. One such vessel is the UNS *Mors*, a modified Project 68bis, or *Sverdlov*-class, light cruiser built by the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. Since entering Urocyan service, the *Mors* has seen several naval engagements, both in the Urocyan Civil Wars and the empire's war with America.

## Named Vessels

### United States Navy

* USS *Leyte Gulf* (CG-55)
* USS *Princeton* (CG-59)
* USS *Cape St. George* (CG-71)

### Russian Navy

* *Moskva*
* *Varyag*
* *Marshal Ustinov*