Battleships and Battlecruisers

The largest armoured gun ships of the twentieth century navies, built to fight enemy fleets in a line of battle, from the dreadnought era through the Second World War. Battlecruisers traded some armour for higher speed and were meant to run down cruisers and scout ahead of the main fleet. An entry belongs here when the cited article calls the ship, or its class, a battleship, a super-battleship or a battlecruiser, including a ship that was later reclassified or rebuilt. It excludes cruisers of lighter build, aircraft carriers and the modern missile destroyers that took over the fleet escort role. Entries are placed by what their own cited article says, so each one sits in the narrowest group its source supports, and the group page lists it beside the other members.