Straddling the line somewhere between a cruiser and a battleship, the Alaska-class occupied a weird middle ground. While technically a cruiser, the Alaska was clearly much bigger than other cruisers.

What You Need to Know: The Alaska-class battlecruisers were conceived by the U.S. Navy in the 1930s to counter Germany’s fast and powerful “pocket battleships” and Japan’s rumored “super cruisers.” ...