This class of ship is possibly the most misunderstood. When looked at today there is little difference between a cruiser and a destroyer. They are approximately the same size and perform roughly the same mission.

So taking at look at the history behind a cruiser gets a little strange. A cruiser was not originally a class of ship but a mission for frigates to undertake. A cruise would operate independently from the fleet and conduct raids against merchant shipping or shore facilities. By the late 18th century ships were being built that were suitable for cruising and they slowly began to be called cruisers.

From the mid 19th century until around 1950 cruisers were used as force projection. Since larger ships were kept close to home the cruiser was the ship to carry the flag, so to speak. They would raid merchant shipping and do recon work for the battle fleet. In the same way the battleship evolved over time so did the cruiser. It changed in size, shape, and strength.

It was really during World War II when the cruiser came into its own. Germany took advantage of the class and produced some of the best cruisers before the start of the war. They were heavily armed, fast, armored, and had excellent range. The US had several different types of cruisers during World War II and for a while they were the largest capital ships available to the USN. As the war went on and airpower became more important the cruiser took on more of an anti-aircraft role.

After World War II the cruiser almost became a thing of the past. Since ship to ship combat was now shifted to anti-air cruisers had to make a switch as well. The US began to convert some old WWII cruisers into guided missile platforms. The cruiser had found its new place on the battlefield as an anti-air weapon. They still retain main guns, but the missile was their main weapon.

Once again the role of the cruiser is in question. As technology allows a single ship to perform the missions of many ships the class differences become blurred. Currently only the US, Russia, France, and Peru operate cruisers. Peru operates the only all gun cruiser left in operation. The USN would not have cruisers today if it were not for the Cold War pre-occupation of keeping up with the Soviets. At the time the US only had 6 ships called cruisers to the 19 in the Soviet navy. So the new class of DDG was changed to a CG, hence the CG47 Ticonderoga class Guided Missile Cruiser.