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A type of 20th century warship, generally characterized by the possession of similar or slightly lighter armament than a battleship but with the armor and speed of a cruiser. They originated in the Royal Navy as an evolution of earlier armored cruisers around the same time as the dreadnoughts.
The definition of battlecruiser can be somewhat murky as multiple different nations built/designed them under different design philosophies, requirements, and designations (such as the US designating some as "large cruisers"). Additionally, the distinction between a battlecruiser and a fast battleship is blurred, especially with later designs and remodels.
This page is about real life warship class. For spaceship appearing in Starcraft games, use Battlecruiser (Starcraft) instead.
As with warship, this tag should not be used for personifications of warships (such as those from Kantai Collection), it is instead for images featuring actual warships as built/designed in reality.
This tag implicates warship (learn more).