Cruiser Vs. Destroyer: What's The Difference Between These Fighting Ships?

Naval warships, including five of the deadliest warships in military history, are powerful vessels designed with specific roles that shape their size, speed, and ability. This is especially true of cruisers and destroyers, two ship types that often appear side by side in fleets, but serve very different purposes.

Cruisers are larger than destroyers and are mostly built for high-speed and battle situations. These massive ships serve a variety of purposes, from surface warfare to undersea warfare and often utilize Tomahawk cruise missiles that give them the ability to engage in long-range combat. Cruisers are capable of supporting aircraft carrier units and surface missions as well.

Destroyers are both offensive and defensive ships and are quick in their own right, but can also maneuver more easily than cruisers. Different classes of destroyers can carry out everything from anti-air operations to anti-surface, and even anti-submarine. Like cruisers, destroyers can work with other ships or operate solo, depending on the mission at hand.

Cruisers predate destroyers and were first introduced in the 1880's. The USS Atlanta, USS Boston, USS Chicago and the Dolphin gunboat, collectively known as the ABCD ships, were the first U.S. Navy warships made of steel instead of wood and operated by steam instead of sails. These ships marked a major milestone for naval warfare moving forward. While cruisers are still used today, the Navy's cruiser modernization program has faced its fair share of problems over the past couple of years.

The first naval destroyer was the Bainbridge, which shared the same name as the brig used during the Civil War, and was developed for the Spanish-American War in 1902. It was a smaller warship, a first for the Navy at the time, and was a solution to defending against the even smaller torpedo boats used by enemy forces. Among the most powerful Navy destroyers in the world are the Arleigh Burke-class used by the United States and the Horizon class, used by France and Italy.

When it comes to the fleet size of navies internationally, the United States takes the top spot over every country for the most cruisers and destroyers in operation. China comes in second for both ship types, with Japan taking the third spot in both categories.