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WW II heavy cruisers and graphically demonstrated that there was no longer any The Mogami's were, in fact, among the most powerful and capable of all Simply by exchanging the triple 6" turrets for twin 8" turrets, whichīy design shared the same size turret rings. When war became imminent, they were rearmed as heavy cruisers Light and heavy cruiser design was the Japanese Mogami class, which were commissioned as light cruisers armed withġ5-6.1" guns in five triple turrets in order to conform to the Washington Perhaps the ultimate example of this interchangeability of

The largest Royal Navy cruisers, whether heavy or light, also displaced around 10,000 tons standard.

However, as time went by, the difference in size between the largest of the two types essentially vanished in the USN, both types being designed to the 10,000 treaty limit. Heavy cruisers essentially replaced armored cruisers in the major powers' fleets and light cruisers were generally viewed as smaller, less expensive and less heavily armored than heavy cruisers. Thus, the terms "light" and "heavy" pertained to main battery gun armament, rather than the size/displacement of the ship. The Washington Treaty established 10,000 tons standard displacement as the maximum size for all cruisers and 6.1" (155mm) main battery guns as the maximum for light cruisers and 8" (203mm) guns as the maximum for heavy cruisers (CA). As the 20th Century progressed and ever more capable scout and patrol aircraft entered service, independent cruiser operations decreased in importance and light cruisers increasingly assumed the role of screening capital ships (especially aircraft carriers) and vital, especially troop carrying, convoys against enemy air and surface threats.

Light cruisers were able to bring greater firepower to bear than any of the vessels they were likely to encounter on distant stations (pirates, armed merchant cruisers, gunboats, destroyers, torpedo boats and the like). After the adoption of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, light cruisers (CL) with 6" guns inherited the roles of the earlier protected cruiser, which were to scout for the battle fleet, patrol the seas, enforce blockades, shadow enemy capital ships, show the flag on distant stations and enforce colonial rule.