High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! USS Alaska (CB–1)—the third ship to be named after the then-territory and present state—was the lead ship of a planned six Alaska class "large cruiser"s of the United States Navy. Unlike normal U.S. battleship and cruiser naming practices, all of the members of the class—including Alaska—were named after "territories or insular areas" of the U.S. to signify their role between battleships and normal heavy or light cruisers.