What was the best battleship of WWII?
Discussion
The Bismarck/Tirpitz, but by the end of WW2 large battleships were virtually obsolete.
Sink the Bismarck.....(Full film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cFOAG0wfBw&t=...
The Yamato was formidable too...
Sink the Bismarck.....(Full film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cFOAG0wfBw&t=...
The Yamato was formidable too...
Iowa class. Yamato might have had bigger guns but was 6 knots slower, plus the Iowa's 16" guns could fire just a bit further than the 18.1" on Yamato, so Iowa would control the fight. Iowa class ships also had twice the range of the Yamato class so it would be like fighting a taller boxer with a longer reach, with the speed of Usain Bolt and the stamina of Mo Farah.
I answered the wrong part.
But from the odd tome or three on various stuff, they seem to go on who could see who first then get the weight of shells on them and keep it up and comment on ship speed, the faster aggressor can control the engagement. All paraphrasing from memory. So a top trumps on speed and detection and range (inc firepower)? Passing interest not real knowledge.
Quick shifty says as above, Iowa.
But what were real life distances?
But from the odd tome or three on various stuff, they seem to go on who could see who first then get the weight of shells on them and keep it up and comment on ship speed, the faster aggressor can control the engagement. All paraphrasing from memory. So a top trumps on speed and detection and range (inc firepower)? Passing interest not real knowledge.
Quick shifty says as above, Iowa.
But what were real life distances?
While not directly a metric for "best", my favourites are the Iowa class, and if nothing else, they were still in service fifty years later, having outlasted every other battleship by something like 3 decades, and were technically still able to be put back in use up until the early 2000s.
300bhp/ton said:
HMS Vangaurd, although not commissioned until 30th Nov 1944. She was the last and probably best battleship, despite smaller guns.
The Jean Bart was technically the last battleship since she wasn't completed until 1955.
As for what was best I don't see how it could be anything but the USS Iowa class.
silverfoxcc said:
Hard to choose
Hood for sheer post WW! beauty
Bismark for looking just efficient
KGV for having 4 gun turrets and Pothole's Dad handling comms!!
The US groups, typical US Big, Brash, but something about them
Vanguard.. very late to the party shame she could not have been kept UK missed out on a lot of history
FTFY!!Hood for sheer post WW! beauty
Bismark for looking just efficient
KGV for having 4 gun turrets and Pothole's Dad handling comms!!
The US groups, typical US Big, Brash, but something about them
Vanguard.. very late to the party shame she could not have been kept UK missed out on a lot of history
Since the question is about one-on-one combat effectiveness, I'd go with the other posters who have said the Iowa-class. As FourWheelDrift says, the Japanese battlewagons' greater weight of shell and armour don't count for much when the American ships can technically out-range them, can definitely out-run them and boast superior fire control systems. Plus you might have to get into the operational aspects which aren't anything to do with the actual design and build of the ships but are crucial to how effective they are - for instance USN damage control was vastly superior to the IJN.
Had she entered service in the conflict, I think 'Vanguard' could definitely have been in contention, as would the French Richelieu-class, but they each bring different strengths and weaknesses. I still think the Iowas would be the best all-rounders.
I'm interested in the responses saying that the Bismarck-class are in contention as the best battleships of WW2, though. They were dangerous opponents by any means, and certainly worth the resources put into bottling them up and destroying them, but they were not 'the finest battleships in the world', as propaganda on both sides tended to portray them as suited their purposes. All designs are a compromise but the Bismarcks were especially so, due to their confused brief being intended to operate against British and French battle fleets in European waters and as commerce raiders in the Atlantic. Germany also lacked the ability to test and refine battleship designs in the inter-war period that the Allies did (often using captured WW1 German ships to do so). The Bismarcks were overweight for what they brought to the table in terms of either firepower or armour, had an armour scheme that was relatively inefficient and more akin to a WW1 design, were heavy on fuel and manpower for use as raiders and the size/displacement compromises led to the flawed three-shaft powerplant.
I'm not saying that they were bad or obsolete, or couldn't be deadly in individual circumstances (the facts speak for themselves) but they were only just in the top rank of battleship design at the start of the war and were optimised for very specific roles - which, importantly, they were never actually used for - and by the end of 1942 they were second-tier at best.
Speaking of obsolete; if we're talking favourite warships rather than objectively the best, I think everyone has at least a respect for 'Warspite' but I have always had a soft spot for the old RN R-Class; all were WW1 veterans and two served at Jutland. They were dispersed to secondary duties and (with the unfortunate exception of 'Royal Oak') acquitted themselves very well in their old age. Plus, following their last modernisations with the single funnels, torpedo bulges, more AA guns and big radars, and painted in disruptive camoflague, I think they look exactly how 'a battleship' should look.
Had she entered service in the conflict, I think 'Vanguard' could definitely have been in contention, as would the French Richelieu-class, but they each bring different strengths and weaknesses. I still think the Iowas would be the best all-rounders.
I'm interested in the responses saying that the Bismarck-class are in contention as the best battleships of WW2, though. They were dangerous opponents by any means, and certainly worth the resources put into bottling them up and destroying them, but they were not 'the finest battleships in the world', as propaganda on both sides tended to portray them as suited their purposes. All designs are a compromise but the Bismarcks were especially so, due to their confused brief being intended to operate against British and French battle fleets in European waters and as commerce raiders in the Atlantic. Germany also lacked the ability to test and refine battleship designs in the inter-war period that the Allies did (often using captured WW1 German ships to do so). The Bismarcks were overweight for what they brought to the table in terms of either firepower or armour, had an armour scheme that was relatively inefficient and more akin to a WW1 design, were heavy on fuel and manpower for use as raiders and the size/displacement compromises led to the flawed three-shaft powerplant.
I'm not saying that they were bad or obsolete, or couldn't be deadly in individual circumstances (the facts speak for themselves) but they were only just in the top rank of battleship design at the start of the war and were optimised for very specific roles - which, importantly, they were never actually used for - and by the end of 1942 they were second-tier at best.
Speaking of obsolete; if we're talking favourite warships rather than objectively the best, I think everyone has at least a respect for 'Warspite' but I have always had a soft spot for the old RN R-Class; all were WW1 veterans and two served at Jutland. They were dispersed to secondary duties and (with the unfortunate exception of 'Royal Oak') acquitted themselves very well in their old age. Plus, following their last modernisations with the single funnels, torpedo bulges, more AA guns and big radars, and painted in disruptive camoflague, I think they look exactly how 'a battleship' should look.
Leon R said:
The Jean Bart was technically the last battleship since she wasn't completed until 1955.
As for what was best I don't see how it could be anything but the USS Iowa class.
The Iowa is cool and looks fab. But I've read that it was essentially just a long South Dakota with no more protection and punch. But a lot heavier and lot more expensive, all for the gain of 5 knotts. So whether the trade offs are really worth it may be up for debate.As for what was best I don't see how it could be anything but the USS Iowa class.
I've also read the Vanguard had superior armour and the range both ships would need to be to inflict comparable damage is about the same, maybe with a slight adv to the Vanguard. Also in rough seas the Vanguard was reported to be able to maintain higher speeds than the Iowa. Despite being rated as the slower ship.
It's all relative though - depending on the year and the location as to which is best.
What I will say is that nothing we have today has the ability to make you feel like an excited 8 year old quite like a battleship - if you get the chance, go to the USA and see some. (Texas is still technically afloat, unless they sink it taking it to dry dock, and over 100 years old now)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1lmUA2TZi8
https://www.flickr.com/photos/toyokogyo/albums/721...
What I will say is that nothing we have today has the ability to make you feel like an excited 8 year old quite like a battleship - if you get the chance, go to the USA and see some. (Texas is still technically afloat, unless they sink it taking it to dry dock, and over 100 years old now)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1lmUA2TZi8
https://www.flickr.com/photos/toyokogyo/albums/721...
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