In traditional terminology, a battle cruiser is any large armed cruiser (or warship) with battleship armament, that carries lighter armour than a battleship, in order to achieve a higher speed in a similar sized hull. This design was due to an early 20th century naval theory that "speed is armour". The intended purpose of the battle cruiser was for scouting in advance of the main battle line, as well as screening the battle line from cruisers or smaller vessels while the battleships engaged their opposites in the enemy fleet. In practice, battle cruisers tended to be used to strengthen the main battle line because of their armament. This led to many disasters as they were not durable enough to engage battleships.
In starship classification, the term battle cruiser is sometimes used synonymously with heavy cruiser. The Klingons once referred to the Federation Constitution-class USS Enterprise as a battle cruiser. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
According to the account of Duras, son of Toral, Jonathan Archer referred to his own Enterprise as a "battle cruiser" when Duras encountered the Earth Starfleet ship in 2152. (ENT: "Judgment")
- Duras most likely lied about Archer’s use of the term "battle cruiser" in an attempt to shed Archer in a negative light or to avoid embarassment at having his own warship defeated by a Human vessel built for exploration. However, if Archer did use the term, it may have been just for effect as he was trying to impress the Klingons.
The Klingon Empire and Romulan Star Empire utilized battle cruisers throughout the 23rd and 24th centuries.
Beginning in 2268, the Romulans acquired the D7 class battle cruiser from the Klingons as replacement of the Bird-of-Prey. (TOS: "The Enterprise Incident")
Some Klingon battle cruisers were equipped with cryonic technology, which allowed crews of the late 23rd century to be placed in cryogenic sleep for long voyages. (TNG: "The Emissary")
During the late 2370s, Klingon battle cruisers were not always the ship of choice for all missions, however, as more agile craft, like the Klingon Bird-of-Prey, were better suited for some tasks. (DS9: "Once More Unto the Breach")
Battle cruisers by race
- Andorian battle cruiser
- Cardassian battle cruiser
- Federation battle cruisers
- Jem'Hadar battle cruiser
- Klingon battle cruisers
- Vorok's battle cruiser
- D5 class
- D7 class
- Kohlar's battle cruiser
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- Kriosian battle cruiser
- Promellian battle cruiser
- Rekag battle cruiser
- Romulan battle cruisers
- Romulan battle cruiser (2364)
- D7 class
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- Son'a battle cruiser
- Vulcan combat cruiser