Actually B for carriers did stand for Battle.Originally posted by NobAkimoto
Midway was launched as a "Large" carrier.(The "B" is thought to have stood for "battle" but as the "Alaska class Large Cruiser" was a a CB designator, the assumption of "large" is probably more accurate.)
When the Midway was finally stricken she had become one of the smaller carriers in the USN.
Also the "A" in the CVA/CVAN stands for Attack, it's a political designation more or less given to carriers which had nuclear strike capability. It also meant it operated primarily nuclear attack craft rather than a multi-mission mix. This was abolished in the early 90's I believe after the end of the Cold War, and the multi-mission deployment of CAW's.
While sharing the "CA" designator heavy cruisers and armored cruisers are rather different beasts, with the latter being a post-Dreadnought era development which were larger more powerful scout/light cruisers, while armored cruisers are pre-Dreadnought era ships that were more battleship like in arrangement.
Suffix of adding an "A" for a CA is now technically obsolete, as "Attack" and "Auxillary" has taken over that area. Meanwhile "H" is used for Hospital or Helicopter.(Example being the DDH series helicopter equipped destroyers of the JMSDF)
Also designation changes were rather rare with the exception of the major rearrangement of designations in the mid-70's(I think it was anyway), when the US Navy decided to drop it's then current designation of Frigate(A large destroyer, DL/DLG) and reclassify the smaller ships as guided missile cruisers(CG) to fill the "cruiser gap" with the USSR.(I think FASA Trek used the pre-1975 definition of "Frigate")
In addition another example is the Ticonderoga class was reclassified a cruiser(CG) from it's DDG classification in 1980.
So the lack of battleships could simply be a part of "political correctifying" Starfleet.
The Attack designation was dropped be the U.S. Navy on 30 June 1975, the same day the other designation changes went into effect. From that date all carriers were designated as CV or CVN.
You are correct. The Ticonderoga Class was changed to close the "Cruiser Gap" which really didn't exist at all. The Soviets were building ships which they designated as cruisers but were actually smaller than some of theier own destroyers and the U.S. Navy had larger destroyers as well. So a "Cruiser Gap" existed on paper but not in real life.
Does anyone use the European/NATO ship designation system for Starfleet in their games (R for Aircraft Carrier, D for Destroyer, F for Frigate, etc.)?