Scharnhorst was a German battlecruiser (or battleship depending on classification) that served in WWII, the lead ship of her class. Designed to counter the French Dunkerque-class battleships, Scharnhorst was a significantly enlarged and improved development on the previous Deutschland-class pocket battleships (“panzerschiffe”). Scharnhorst operated with her sister ship Gneisenau during the early years of WWII, wreaking havoc on Allied shipping. However, she ultimately met her demise at the Battle of the North Cape, where she was sunk by a large British force led by the battleship HMS Duke of York.

The Brooklyn-class light cruisers, built in the early 1930s, were the first American cruisers built to the specifications of the London Naval Treaty. They were designed to counter the Japanese Mogami class and featured a similar armament of fifteen 6-inch guns. Helena was completed to an altered design featuring improved machinery protection and greatly improved anti-aircraft armaments. She was torpedoed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, repaired, and returned to service. She saw extensive action and managed to damage or sink several Japanese ships during the Battles of Guadalcanal, but was sunk during the Solomons campaign when she was torpedoed by Japanese destroyers.

USS New Orleans (CA-32) was the lead ship of her class of heavy cruisers built for the United States Navy. As the last class of 10-thousand ton cruisers built for the US Navy (abiding by the conditions of the Washington Naval Treaty), she was initially classified as a light cruiser and subsequently reclassified due to her 8-inch calibre main armament. New Orleans had an extensive service history, and travelled abroad prior to the Second World War. During the war, she served extensively in the Pacific Theatre, surviving a crippling torpedo hit that almost sank her. New Orleans was awarded 17 battle stars for her WWII service, making her one of the five most-decorated American vessels of WWII; her sister ships San Francisco and Minneapolis also made the list. She was decommissioned after the war, and scrapped in 1959.

HMS Tiger (C20) was the lead ship of the Tiger-class, a set of three light cruisers built for the Royal Navy following the end of the Second World War. Initially laid down as a Minotaur-class light cruiser (a smaller derivative of the Crown Colony and Town class cruisers), she was completely redesigned while being built and eventually launched as a completely new design. Featuring an advanced semi-automatic main battery and fully automatic anti-aircraft armament, she was the last “gun cruiser” built for the Royal Navy.

The Prinz Eugen was the third and final member of the completed Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers. Launched in August 1938, she saw extensive service during WWII, including in the sinking of HMS Hood alongside the Bismarck. Following the cessation of hostilities, she was transferred to the US, where she was used as a test target in the Baker nuclear test. Due to the damage received during the tests, she capsized and sank before repairs could be made.