The battleship is a heavy warship with large-caliber turret artillery and strong armor protection that existed in the first half of the 20th century. It was intended to destroy ships of all types, incl. armored and actions against coastal fortresses. A distinction was made between squadron battleships (for combat on the high seas) and coastal defense battleships (for operations in coastal areas).
Of the numerous battleship fleets remaining after the First World War, only 7 countries used them in the Second World War. All of them were built before the outbreak of the First World War, and in the period between the wars many were modernized. And only the coastal defense battleships of Denmark, Thailand and Finland were built in 1923-1938.
Coastal defense battleships logical development monitors and gunboats. They were distinguished by their moderate displacement, shallow draft, and were armed with large-caliber artillery. They have received noticeable development in Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Russia and France.
A typical battleship of that time was a ship with a displacement of 11 to 17 thousand tons, capable of speeds of up to 18 knots. As a power plant, all battleships had steam engines triple expansion, operating on two (less often three) shafts. The main caliber of the guns is 280-330 mm (and even 343 mm, later replaced by 305 mm with a longer barrel), the armor belt is 229-450 mm, rarely more than 500 mm.
Estimated number of battleships and ironclads used in the war by country and type of ship
| Countries | Types of ships (total/dead) | Total | |
| Armadillos | Battleships | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Argentina | — | 2 | 2 |
| Brazil | — | 2 | 2 |
| Great Britain | — | 17/3 | 17/3 |
| Germany | 3/3 | 4/3 | 7/6 |
| Greece | 3/2 | — | 3/2 |
| Denmark | 2/1 | — | 2/1 |
| Italy | — | 7/2 | 7/2 |
| Norway | 4/2 | — | 4/2 |
| USSR | — | 3 | 3 |
| USA | — | 25/2 | 25/2 |
| Thailand | 2/1 | — | 2/1 |
| Finland | 2/1 | — | 2/1 |
| France | — | 7/5 | 7/5 |
| Chile | — | 1 | 1 |
| Sweden | 8/1 | — | 8/1 |
| Japan | — | 12/11 | 12/11 |
| TOTAL | 24/11 | 80/26 | 104/37 |
A battleship (battleship) is a class of the largest armored artillery warships with a displacement from 20 to 70 thousand tons, a length from 150 to 280 m, armed with main caliber guns from 280 to 460 mm, with a crew of 1500 - 2800 people. Battleships were used to destroy enemy ships as part of a combat formation and provide artillery support for ground operations. They were evolutionary development armadillos.
The bulk of the battleships that took part in World War II were built before the start of World War I. During 1936 - 1945, only 27 battleships of the latest generation were built: 10 in the USA, 5 in Great Britain, 4 in Germany, 3 each in France and Italy, 2 in Japan. And in none of the fleets did they live up to the hopes placed on them. Battleships have turned from a means of warfare at sea into a tool big politics and the continuation of their construction was no longer determined by tactical expediency, but by completely different motives. Having such ships for the prestige of the country in the first half of the twentieth century meant about the same as having nuclear weapons now.
Second World War became the decline of battleships, as a new weapon was established at sea, the range of which was an order of magnitude greater than the longest-range guns of battleships - aviation, deck and coastal. On final stage During the war, the functions of battleships were reduced to artillery bombardment of coasts and protection of aircraft carriers. The world's largest battleships, the Japanese Yamato and Musashi, were sunk by aircraft without ever meeting with similar enemy ships. In addition, it turned out that battleships are very vulnerable to attacks by submarines and aircraft.
Performance characteristics of the best examples of battleships
|
Vehicle performance characteristics/Country and type of ship |
England
George V |
Germ. Bismarck | Italy
Littorio |
USA | France
Richelieu |
Japan Yamato |
| Displacement standard, thousand tons. | 36,7 | 41,7 | 40,9 | 49,5 | 37,8 | 63.2 |
| Total displacement, thousand tons | 42,1 | 50,9 | 45,5 | 58,1 | 44,7 | 72.8 |
| Length, m. | 213-227 | 251 | 224 | 262 | 242 | 243-260 |
| Width, m. | 31 | 36 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 37 |
| Draft, m | 10 | 8,6 | 9,7 | 11 | 9,2 | 10,9 |
| Side reservation, mm. | 356 -381 | 320 | 70 + 280 | 330 | 330 | 410 |
| Deck armor, mm. | 127 -152 | 50 — 80 + 80 -95 | 45 + | 37 + 153-179 | 150-170 + 40 | 35-50 + 200-230 |
| Main caliber turret armor, mm. | 324 -149 | 360-130 | 350-280 | 496-242 | 430-195 | 650 |
| Reservation of the conning tower, mm. | 76 — 114 | 220-350 | 260 | 440 | 340 | 500 |
| Power of power plants, thousand hp | 110 | 138 | 128 | 212 | 150 | 150 |
| Maximum travel speed, knots. | 28,5 | 29 | 30 | 33 | 31 | 27,5 |
| Maximum range, thousand miles | 6 | 8,5 | 4,7 | 15 | 10 | 7,2 |
| Fuel reserve, thousand tons oil | 3,8 | 7,4 | 4,1 | 7,6 | 6,9 | 6,3 |
| Main caliber artillery | 2x4 and 1x2 356 mm | 4x2 - 380 mm | 3×3 381 mm | 3x3 - 406 mm | 2×4- 380 mm | 3×3 -460 mm |
| Auxiliary caliber artillery | 8x2 - 133 mm | 6x2 - 150 mm and 8x2 - 105 mm | 4x3 - 152 mm and 12x1 - 90 mm | 10×2 - 127 mm | 3×3-152 mm and 6×2 100 mm | 4×3 - 155 mm and 6×2 -127 mm |
| Flak | 4x8 - 40 mm | 8×2 – 37 mm and 12×1 - 20 mm |
8×2 and 4×1 – 37 mm and 8×2 – |
15x4 - 40 mm, 60x1 - 20 mm | 4x2 - 37 mm 4x2 and 2x2 – 13.2mm |
43×3 -25 mm and 2x2 – 13.2mm |
| Main battery firing range, km | 35,3 | 36,5 | 42,3 | 38,7 | 41,7 | 42 |
| Number of catapults, pcs. | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Number of seaplanes, pcs. | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Crew number, people. | 1420 | 2100 | 1950 | 1900 | 1550 | 2500 |
Iowa-class battleships are considered the most advanced ships in the history of shipbuilding. It was during their creation that designers and engineers managed to achieve maximum harmonious combination all basic combat characteristics: weapons, speed and protection. They put an end to the development of the evolution of battleships. They can be considered an ideal project.
The rate of fire of the battleship's guns was two rounds per minute, and independent fire was ensured for each gun in the turret. Among its contemporaries, only the Japanese superbattleships Yamato had more heavy weight main caliber salvo. Firing accuracy was ensured by the artillery fire control radar, which gave an advantage over Japanese ships without radar installations.
The battleship had an air target detection radar and two surface target detection radars. The altitude range when firing at aircraft reached 11 kilometers with a stated rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute, and control was carried out using radar. The ship was equipped with a set of automatic friend-foe identification equipment, as well as radio reconnaissance and radio countermeasures systems.
The performance characteristics of the main types of battleships and battleships by country are presented below.
By the time the Second World War ended, the class of high-speed battleships had reached the limit in its development, advantageously combining the destructive power and security of dreadnoughts with the high speed of battlecruisers; these examples of the sea performed many amazing feats under the flags of all the warring states.
It is not possible to compile any “rating” of battleships of those years - four favorites are vying for first place, and each of them has the most serious reasons for this. As for the rest of the places of the honorary podium, it is generally impossible to do any conscious choice. Only individual tastes and subjective preferences. Each battleship is distinguished by its unique design, chronicle of combat use and, often, a history of tragic death.
Each of them was created for its own specific tasks and conditions of service, for a specific enemy and in accordance with the chosen concept of using the fleet.
Different theaters of combat dictated different rules: inland seas or open ocean, proximity or, conversely, extreme remoteness of bases. Classic squadron battles with the same monsters or a bloody mess with repelling endless air attacks and shelling of fortifications on the enemy coast.
The ships cannot be considered in isolation from the geopolitical situation, the state of the scientific, industrial and financial spheres of states - all this left a significant imprint on their design.
A direct comparison between any Italian "Littorio" and the American "North Caroline" is completely excluded.
However, the contenders for the title of best battleship are visible to the naked eye. These are the Bismarck, Tirpitz, Iowa and Yamato - ships that even those who have never been interested in the fleet have heard of.
Living according to the teachings of Sun Tzu
...Her Majesty's battleships "Anson" and "Duke of York", aircraft carriers "Victory", "Furious", escort aircraft carriers "Seacher", "Empuere", "Pesuer", "Fancer", cruisers "Belfast", "Bellona" , “Royalist”, “Sheffield”, “Jamaica”, destroyers “Javelin”, “Virago”, “Meteor”, “Swift”, “Vigilant”, “Wakeful”, “Onslot”... - a total of about 20 units under the British , Canadian and Polish flags, as well as 2 naval tankers and 13 carrier-based aviation squadrons.
Only with this composition in April 1944 did the British dare to approach the Altafjord - where, under the gloomy arches of the Norwegian rocks, the pride of the Kriegsmarine, the super-battleship Tirpitz, rusted.
The results of Operation Wolfram are assessed as controversial - carrier-based aircraft managed to bomb a German base and cause serious damage to the battleship's superstructure. However, another Pearl Harbor did not work out - the British were unable to inflict mortal wounds on the Tirpitz.
The Germans lost 123 men killed, but the battleship still posed a threat to shipping in the North Atlantic. The main problems were caused not so much by numerous bomb hits and fires on the upper deck, but by newly discovered leaks in the underwater part of the hull - the result of a previous British attack using mini-submarines.
...In total, during its stay in Norwegian waters, the Tirpitz withstood dozens of air strikes - in total, during the war years, about 700 aircraft of British and Soviet aviation took part in raids on the battleship! In vain.
Hidden behind an anti-torpedo net, the ship was invulnerable to Allied torpedo weapons. At the same time, aerial bombs turned out to be ineffective against such a well-protected target; it was possible to destroy the armored citadel of the battleship for an infinitely long time, but the destruction of the superstructures could not critically affect the combat effectiveness of the Tirpitz.
Meanwhile, the Britons stubbornly rushed to the site of the Teutonic beast: mini-submarines and human torpedoes; raids by carrier-based and strategic aviation. Local informant agents, regular air surveillance of the base...
“Tirpitz” became a unique embodiment of the ideas of the ancient Chinese commander and thinker Sun Tzu (“The Art of War”) - without firing a single shot at enemy ships, it shackled all British actions in the North Atlantic for three years!
One of the most effective warships of the Second World War, the invincible Tirpitz turned into an ominous scarecrow for the British Admiralty: planning any operation began with the question “What to do if
"Tirpitz" will leave its anchorage and go to sea?
It was the Tirpitz that scared away the escort of convoy PQ-17. He was hunted by all the battleships and aircraft carriers of the metropolitan fleet in the Arctic latitudes. The K-21 boat shot at him. For his sake, Lancasters from the Royal Air Force settled at the Yagodny airfield near Arkhangelsk. But everything turned out to be useless. The British were able to destroy the super-battleship only towards the end of the war with the help of monstrous 5-ton Tallboy bombs.
Tallboy
"Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" on a military campaign
What a tough guy!
Hieroglyph "loyalty". Yamato-class battleships
There are three useless things in the world: the Cheops pyramid, the Great Wall of China and the battleship Yamato...Really?
This is what happened with the battleships Yamato and Musashi: they were undeservedly slandered. Around them there was a persistent image of “losers”, useless “Venderwaffles” who died shamefully at the first meeting with the enemy.
But based on the facts, we have the following:
The ships were designed and built on time, managed to fight and, finally, suffered a heroic death in the face of numerically superior enemy forces.
What else is required of them?
Bright victories? Alas, in the situation in which Japan was in the period 1944-45, even the sea king Poseidon himself could hardly have acted better than the battleships Musashi and Yamato.
Disadvantages of super battleships?
Yes, first of all, weak air defense - neither the monstrous Sansiki 3 fireworks (460 mm anti-aircraft shells), nor hundreds of small-caliber magazine-fed machine guns could replace modern anti-aircraft guns and control systems with fire adjustment based on radar data.
Weak PTZ?
I am begging you! "Musashi" and "Yamato" died after 10-11 torpedo hits - not a single battleship on the planet could withstand that many (for comparison, the probability of the death of the American "Iowa" from being hit by six torpedoes, according to the calculations of the Americans themselves, was estimated at 90%) .
Otherwise, the battleship Yamato corresponded to the phrase “the most, the most”
The largest battleship in history and, concurrently, the largest warship that took part in the Second World War.
70 thousand tons of total displacement.
The main caliber is 460 mm.
Armored belt – 40 centimeters of solid metal.
The walls of the conning tower are half a meter of armor.
The thickness of the front part of the main battery turret is even greater - 65 centimeters of steel protection.
A grandiose spectacle!
The main miscalculation of the Japanese was the veil of extreme secrecy that shrouded everything related to the Yamato-class battleships. To date, only a few photographs of these monsters exist - mostly taken from American aircraft.
Such ships were worth being proud of and seriously frightening the enemy with them - after all, until the last moment the Yankees were sure that they were dealing with ordinary battleships, with guns of 406 mm caliber.
With a competent PR policy, the very news of the existence of the battleships Yamato and Musashi could cause panic among the commanders of the US Navy and their allies - just as happened with the Tirpitz. The Yankees would rush to build similar ships with half-meter armor and 460 or even 508 mm guns - in general, it would be fun. The strategic effect of Japanese super-battleships could be much greater.
Yamato Museum in Kure. The Japanese carefully preserve the memory of their "Varyag"
How did the leviathans die?
The Musashi sailed all day in the Sibuyan Sea under heavy attacks from aircraft from five American aircraft carriers. He walked all day, and by the evening he died, receiving, according to various estimates, 11-19 torpedoes and 10-17 aircraft bombs...
Do you think the Japanese battleship had great security and combat stability? And which of his peers could repeat this?
"Yamato"...death from above was his destiny. Traces of torpedoes, the sky is black from planes...
To put it bluntly, Yamato committed honorable seppuku, sailing as part of a small squadron against eight aircraft carriers of the 58th Task Force. The result is predictable - two hundred aircraft tore apart the battleship and its small escort in two hours.
The era of high technology. Iowa-class battleships
What if?
What if, instead of the Yamato, a battleship identical to the American Iowa came out to meet Admiral Mitscher’s 58th task force? What if Japanese industry had been able to create air defense systems similar to those found on US Navy ships at the time?
How would the battle between the battleship and American aircraft carriers have ended if the Japanese sailors had systems similar to the Mk.37, Ford Mk.I Gunfire Control Computer, SK, SK-2, SP, SR, Mk.14, Mk.51, Mk.53 ... ?
Behind the dry indices are hidden masterpieces of technical progress - analog computers and automatic fire control systems, radars, radio altimeters and projectiles with a radar fuse - thanks to all these “chips,” the Iowa anti-aircraft fire was at least five times more accurate and effective than the shots of Japanese anti-aircraft gunners .
And if you take into account the terrifying rate of fire of the Mk.12 anti-aircraft guns, the extremely effective 40 mm Bofors and belt-fed Oerlikon assault rifles... There is a considerable chance that the American air attack could drown in blood, and the damaged neo-Yamato could limp to Okinawa and run aground, turning into an invincible artillery battery (according to the Ten-Ichi-Go operation plan).
Everything could have been... alas, the Yamato went to the seabed, and the impressive complex of anti-aircraft weapons became the prerogative of the American Iowas.
It is absolutely impossible to come to terms with the idea that the Americans have the best ship again. US haters will quickly find a dozen reasons why the Iowa cannot be considered the most advanced battleship.
The Iowas are harshly criticized for the lack of a medium caliber (150...155 mm) - unlike any German, Japanese, French or Italian battleships, American ships were forced to fend off attacks from enemy destroyers only with universal anti-aircraft guns (5 inches, 127 mm).
Also, among the disadvantages of the Iowas are the lack of reloading compartments in the main battery towers, worse seaworthiness and “wave surfing” (compared to the same British Vanguard), the relative weakness of their PTZ compared to the Japanese “long lances”, “fraud” with declared maximum speed (at a measured mile, the battleships barely accelerated to 31 knots - instead of the declared 33!).
But perhaps the most serious of all accusations is the weakness of the armor compared to any of their peers - the Iowa's beam bulkheads especially raise many questions.
Of course, defenders of American shipbuilding will now burst into flames, proving that all of the listed shortcomings of the Iowa are just an illusion; the ship was designed for specific situation and was ideally suited to the conditions of the Pacific theater of operations.
The lack of medium caliber became an advantage of American battleships: universal “five-inch” guns were enough to fight surface and air targets; there was no point in taking 150 mm guns on board as “ballast”. And the presence of “advanced” fire control systems completely eliminated the factor of the lack of “medium caliber”.
Accusations of poor seaworthiness are a purely subjective opinion: the Iowa has always been considered an extremely stable artillery platform. As for the strong “overwhelming” of the bow of a battleship in stormy weather, this myth was born in our time. More modern sailors were surprised by the habits of the armored monster: instead of calmly rocking on the waves, the heavy Iowa cut the waves like a knife.
The increased wear of the main battery barrels is explained by very heavy projectiles (which is not bad) - the Mk.8 armor-piercing projectile weighing 1225 kg was the heaviest ammunition of its caliber in the world.
The Iowa had no problems at all with the range of shells: the ship had a whole range of armor-piercing and high-explosive ammunition and charges of varying power; after the war, “cassette” Mk.144 and Mk.146 appeared, filled with explosive grenades in quantities of 400 and, accordingly, 666 pieces. A little later, the Mk.23 special ammunition with a 1 kt nuclear warhead was developed.
As for the “shortage” of the design speed at the measured mile, the tests of the Iowas were carried out with limited power of the power plant - just like that, without a good reason, to boost the vehicles to the design 254,000 hp. the thrifty Yankees refused.
The general impression of the Iowas can only be spoiled by their relatively low security... however, this disadvantage is more than compensated for by the many other advantages of the battleship.
The Iowas have more service than all other WWII battleships combined - World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Iraq... Battleships of this type outlived everyone - modernization in the mid-1980s made it possible to extend the service life of veterans until the beginning of the 21st century - the battleships lost parts artillery weapons, in return receiving 32 Tomahawk SLCMs, 16 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SeaSparrow air defense systems, modern radars and Phalanx close combat systems.
Off the coast of Iraq
Well, the favorites have been identified. Now is the time to mention a number of other armored monsters - after all, each of them is worthy of its own portion of surprise and admiration.
For example, Jean Bart is one of two Richelieu-class battleships built. An elegant French ship with a unique silhouette: two four-gun turrets in the bow, a stylish superstructure, a dashingly curved back chimney...
Richelieu-class battleships are considered one of the most advanced ships in their class: having a displacement of 5-10 thousand tons less than any Bismarck or Littorio, the “French” were practically not inferior to them in terms of armament power, and in terms of “ security" - the layout and thickness of the Richelieu armor was even better than many of its larger peers. And all this was successfully combined with a speed of more than 30 knots - the “French” was the fastest of the European battleships!
The unusual fate of these battleships: the flight of unfinished ships from the shipyard to avoid capture by the Germans, a naval battle with the British and American fleets in Casablanca and Dakar, repairs in the USA, and then a long happy service under the flag of France until the second half of the 1960s.
But here is a magnificent trio from the Apennine Peninsula - Italian battleships of the Littorio class.
These ships are usually the object of harsh criticism, but if you take an integrated approach to assessing them, it turns out that the Littorio battleships are not so bad compared to their British or German peers, as is commonly believed.
The project was based on the ingenious concept of the Italian fleet - to hell with greater autonomy and fuel reserves! – Italy is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, all bases are nearby.
The saved load reserve was spent on armor and weapons. As a result, the Littorio had 9 main caliber guns in three rotating turrets - more than any of their European counterparts.
"Roma"
Ingenious anti-torpedo protection based on calculations by Umberto Pugliese.
At a minimum, the staggered reservation scheme deserves attention. In general, when it comes to armor, Littorio-class battleships deserve the highest marks.
As for the rest...
As for the rest, the Italian battleships turned out to be bad - it is still a mystery why the Italians’ guns fired so crookedly - despite excellent armor penetration, the 15-inch Italian shells had surprisingly low accuracy and accuracy of fire. Rebooting gun barrels? The quality of the liners and shells? Or maybe the national characteristics of the Italian character had an effect?
Anyway, the main problem battleships of the Littorio class was in their inept use. The Italian sailors never managed to engage in a general battle with Her Majesty's fleet. Instead, the lead “Littorio” was sunk right at its anchorage during a British raid on the Taranto naval base (the cheerful slobs were too lazy to pull up the anti-torpedo net).
The Vittorio Veneto raid against British convoys in the Mediterranean ended no better - the battered ship was barely able to return to base.
In general, nothing good came out of the idea with the Italian battleships. The battleship Roma ended its combat journey brighter and more tragically than anyone else, disappearing in a deafening explosion of its own artillery magazines - the result of a well-aimed hit by a German guided air bomb "Fritz-X" (air bombs? That's an understatement. The 1,360-kilogram Fritz-X ammunition was little like regular bomb).
Epilogue.
There were different battleships. Some of them were formidable and effective. There were no less formidable ones, but ineffective ones. But every time, the fact that the enemy had such ships caused the opposite side a lot of trouble and anxiety.
Battleships always remain battleships. Powerful and destructive ships with the highest combat stability.
Based on materials:
http://wunderwaffe.narod.ru/
http://korabley.net/
http://www.navy.mil.nz/
http://navycollection.narod.ru/
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://navsource.org/
First, some facts to think about.
In 1982, during the Falkland Islands conflict, two of the Royal Navy's newest destroyers were sunk by Exocet anti-ship missiles, which did not even explode their warheads. Relatively weak explosions of the remains of unused fuel turned out to be quite enough to sink ships with a displacement of more than 4,500 tons, the basis of which were constructed from light aluminum-magnesium alloys.
In the Persian Gulf in the mid-1980s, the American Oliver X. Perry-class frigate Stark was also hit by an Exocet anti-ship missile fired from an Iraqi fighter. This time the warhead exploded, and the frigate received a huge hole in the side the size of a locomotive depot gate. Only absolute calm at sea and the fact that the missile hit the freeboard saved the frigate from destruction.
So, the most interesting thing is that the armored or armored cruisers the beginning of the 20th century, the displacement and dimensions of which are not much larger than those of the indicated ships, in all these cases they would have escaped with relatively small holes. And this makes us remember the ships whose time, it would seem, is irretrievably gone. It's about about battleships.
Some will say that aviation during the Second World War and the subsequent appearance of nuclear weapons pronounced a “sentence” on battleships. However, not everything is as simple as it seemed twenty years ago.
Firstly, tests of nuclear weapons showed that battleships turned out to be very resistant to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion and are guaranteed to be destroyed only when they are at a minimum distance from the epicenter. Despite the fact that there was no struggle for survivability on the “experimental” ships.
Secondly, during their service, even when dying, battleships demonstrated amazing resistance to combat damage.
Let's give just a few examples. In May 1941, in the Atlantic, an English squadron led by the battleships King George V and Rodney clashed with the German battleship Bismarck. The artillery battle resulted in a genuine beating of the Bismarck, since the latter’s fire control system was disabled with one of the very first salvos. Nevertheless, the British were able to achieve success only when the Germans ran out of ammunition of 381-mm shells and the Rodney began to shoot at the German battleship almost point-blank, and at the same time the Bismarck was hit by torpedoes from cruisers and destroyers. But the battleship went under water only after the Germans themselves opened the kingstons and detonated the demolition charges.
The Japanese battlecruiser Hiei in 1942 off the island of Guadalcanal, already abandoned by its crew, withstood several attacks by American carrier-based and base coastal aviation. Having received four hits from heavy bombs and four torpedoes, she remained afloat and was scuttled only by an emergency team that landed on her from Japanese destroyers.
In October 1944, the battleship Musashi was subjected to continuous attacks by many dozens of American carrier-based aircraft for several hours and sank, only receiving hits from 20 (!) torpedoes and 17 (!) aerial bombs weighing 454 and 908 kg.
And one more example. To sink the battleship Yamato, the Americans scrambled 226 (!) bomber planes and torpedo bombers. This is more than all aircraft of these types attacked all American battleships at Pearl Harbor!
Finally, thirdly, almost everything known facts destruction of battleships by aircraft refers either to cases of surprise attack (Pearl Harbor), or to a situation where the sunken battleship did not have sufficient air defense systems, and one of the sides had overwhelming air superiority.
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For example, the Japanese battleships Yamato, Musashi, Hiei had clearly unbalanced anti-aircraft artillery, since the relatively few 127 and 100 mm anti-aircraft guns were supplemented only by 25 mm machine guns, and there was no 37 or 40 mm artillery on these ships. There were also no naval anti-aircraft fire control systems associated with the radar.
The British battleship Prince of Wells and the battlecruiser Repulse, sunk in December 1941 in the South China Sea by Japanese base aircraft, also had unbalanced anti-aircraft weapons. On both ships, the universal installations of 102 and 133 mm caliber were not sufficiently supplemented by small-caliber automatic anti-aircraft artillery (only two or three eight-barreled 40-mm pom-pon machine guns on each). As a result, both Japanese battleships and British ships were unable to repel star-shaped raids by carrier-based or base coastal aviation.
In addition, the fate of the battleship Prince of Wells was influenced by a tragic combination of circumstances - the explosion of a not very powerful aircraft torpedo tore the propeller shaft from its mountings, which turned the side of the ship. The emergency diesel generators, which, due to a design error, were placed in one compartment in the aft part, were flooded. Therefore, the ship was left without water pumping equipment, and also left without the energy of the universal 133-mm caliber installation.
But if the battleship was properly armed, it could successfully fend for itself in single combat with enemy aircraft. The American battleship South Dakota demonstrated amazing results in the fall of 1942 in battles near the Santa Cruz Islands. The ship had ten 127 mm twin guns universal installations, sixteen quad installations of 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns (64 barrels in total) and forty-nine 20-mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. The ammunition of the 127 mm guns included shells with radio fuses. During the battle, the battleship was attacked by a total of more than 50 Japanese dive bombers and torpedo bombers. The ship shot down 26 enemy aircraft with anti-aircraft fire. At the same time, the enemy managed to drop only one (!) bomb on him. The South Dakota not only prevented itself from being seriously damaged, but moreover, it covered the aircraft carrier Enterprise, thanks to which it did not receive serious damage. But the aircraft carrier Hornet, next to which there was no battleship, was sunk.
In total, the Japanese lost 100 aircraft in this battle. And there were 233 Japanese aircraft and 171 American aircraft in the air. That is, one battleship "South Dakota" destroyed 26 percent of all aircraft lost by the Japanese in this battle!
Similarly, during the landing operations of 1944-1945, when the Americans faced numerous Japanese base aircraft, the massive anti-aircraft fire of their battleships thwarted all air attacks on these ships. None of the American ships received any serious damage, even if they found themselves without carrier-based aircraft cover. At the same time, hits by two or three aerial bombs or one or two kamikazes on aircraft carriers put these ships out of action for a long time.
The experience of the war clearly showed that if there was numerous anti-aircraft and universal artillery on board a battleship with fire control systems associated with radar, its sinking by aviation forces required the involvement of tens and hundreds, precisely tens and hundreds, of aircraft. And it became possible only under conditions of absolute air supremacy of one of the parties. Absolute air supremacy!
In fact, the era of battleships was considered over when jet aircraft appeared. During World War II, only the Soviet Tu-2 dive bomber was capable of lifting two or three 1,000 kg bombs at once. All other deck and coastal dive bombers could lift at most one such bomb.
Jet fighter-bombers immediately began to carry a load of as many large-caliber bombs as a World War II heavy bomber or even a flight of such aircraft carried. Four to six bombs up to 1,000 kg on the hardpoints of one aircraft became standard equipment for heavy jet attack aircraft and fighter-bombers. A flight of four jet aircraft of these classes could drop about 16-24 such bombs on a ship (for comparison, during the Second World War, the entire air group of a heavy aircraft carrier or a coastal aviation regiment could carry this number of bombs). Absence on battleships of that time automatic systems fire control did not allow for successful response to the speeds of jet aircraft. Information about air targets was taken visually from radar screens, then transmitted by voice via telephone or radio to the anti-aircraft artillery fire control post, manually entered into the anti-aircraft fire control devices, then transmitted via communication lines to the guns, and there the gunners manually worked out these settings on the anti-aircraft guns. guns. Naturally, the reaction time to the movement of air targets was enormous; the anti-aircraft artillery was late and did not have time to track the targets. At best, she conducted barrage fire.
The appearance of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) did not immediately solve the problem. The control systems of the first and second generation air defense systems made it possible to fire only one target from each launcher. At the same time, the battleship, even taking into account its size, could have had four to six air defense missile launchers, no more. The ship could be attacked not by one, not two, not three, but ten or more aircraft and missiles at the same time. Even quite numerous air defense systems of the first and second generations were unable to cope with such an attack. And everyone decided that the time of the armored giants had passed. Nevertheless, in the opinion of the author of these lines, there was clearly a rush to “write off” such ships, which we will talk about in more detail later.
Likewise, in my opinion, the idea that battleships are very vulnerable to attacks from under water is also untenable. Let's look again at examples from World War II. German submarines managed to sink two British battleships - Royal Oak and Barham, but five aircraft carriers were sunk by Nazi submarines, including two large British ones - Eagle and Coragers. The loss ratio speaks for itself.
It's a paradox, but modern realities saved the battleships from their most terrible enemies in the air - dive bombers and torpedo bombers. The main weapon of modern aviation - anti-ship missiles - has once again brought to the fore issues of ship security.
Let's look at the main components of the possible combat power of modern battleships: security, weapons, energy.
Modern advances in metallurgy in the field of high-alloy steels and titanium alloys will allow the battleship to have armor equivalent in degree of protection to 356 - 380 mm armor of previous times, but of less thickness and weight, which will make it possible to redistribute the released mass and volumes for armament. As a result, anti-ship missiles, deadly dangerous for ships made of light alloys, will no longer pose a deadly threat to a modern battleship, clad in a shell equivalent to 356 - 380 mm armor.
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One of the most common anti-ship missiles in the West is the American Harpoon. It carries a warhead weighing 225 kg. In addition, this warhead is high-explosive, not suitable for penetrating thick armor. Thus, this missile is not able to penetrate inside the armored citadel of the ship, where the ammunition cellars, below-deck missile launchers, boiler room and engine rooms are located, and, exploding there, cause irreparable damage to it. When approaching a target at a distance of about 100 km, this missile is equivalent in mass to a 305-mm high-explosive projectile, and its approach speed is half that of the same projectile at departure.
Most anti-ship missiles (ASMs) carry a combined inertial and active radar guidance system. The missile is guided by the reflected radio signal to the largest object or to the target captured first. Therefore, target selection based on the point of impact on the target is not carried out. Consequently, from the point of view of probability theory, the most likely point of impact for anti-ship missiles is the middle part of the hull and superstructures. Namely, this part of the structure is most protected in battleships.
In the case of using the “French” reservation system, when the armor belt extends from bow to stern, the thickness of the armor can vary from the equivalent of armor protection 102 – 127 mm at the ends to 356 – 380 mm in the “citadel” area. That is, the freeboard along its entire or greater length will provide sufficient reliable protection from PKR.
And even the use of an “all or nothing” reservation scheme, when the “citadel” is armored to the maximum, and the ends are covered with only minimal protection, provides a high degree of security in the case of anti-ship missiles. Since, let us recall, the most likely point of impact - the middle part of the ship - is protected as much as possible.
Moreover, even if the missile makes a “slide” before hitting the target and hits the ship on the deck, not everything is as tragic for a battleship as for other types of ships. The fact is that it has an armored deck or even several decks with a total thickness of 127–180 mm, which makes them practically impenetrable to high-explosive anti-ship missile warheads.
Thus, to reliably destroy a battleship, the urgent development of missiles with a flight speed of about 650-700 m/s or more, with an armor-piercing warhead weighing 750-800 kg will be required, which will entail (while maintaining a flight range of 120-180 km) a sharp an increase in the mass of anti-ship missiles (up to approximately 3-5 tons) and, accordingly, a decrease in the number of these missiles lifted by one carrier aircraft. Serious modifications to the carriers of such anti-ship missiles will also be required. And if now, in order to hit a large surface target, it is enough to bring one or two carrier aircraft with two to four missiles on each of them to the anti-ship missile launch line, then to attack a battleship, an entire aviation group will have to be lifted into the air, including heavy aircraft capable of carry 3 - 5 ton heavy missiles.
As for guided bombs or air-to-surface missiles with laser or television guidance, when it is possible to point a missile or bomb at a vulnerable spot, then in these cases the carrier aircraft themselves find themselves in the zone of destruction of the battleship’s air defense systems and can be neutralized.
As a result, we come to a situation where a modern battleship needs to be attacked directly by aircraft in order to hit the deck with an armor-piercing bomb from a dive or hit it with a torpedo.
However, there remains a risk of failure of fire control systems, weapon guidance and detection of surface and air targets as a result of damage to superstructures. This problem can be solved on a battleship due to its size: it is possible to duplicate and triple control and detection systems, and create both centralized and local decentralized fire and weapons control systems.
A modern battleship with a displacement of 55-57 thousand tons will be capable of carrying the entire range of weapons: strike, air defense and anti-aircraft defense (anti-aircraft and anti-submarine),
Based on domestic standards, the strike armament of modern battleships can be represented by main-caliber artillery (14-16 inches), universal caliber (130-mm installations), long- and medium-range anti-ship missile systems (LAR), cruise missiles long-range missiles (LRBM). For example:
Modern development of information technology ensures high automation of fire control of the main caliber artillery of a battleship. Similar modern development means of mechanization and automation allows for maximum automation of loading processes. Cooling the barrels with sea water will ensure a significantly higher rate of fire for main caliber guns compared to predecessors of previous years. The 356-406 mm caliber of artillery will allow the ammunition to be equipped with guided projectiles, which will provide a sharp increase in firing accuracy. Thus, it will be possible to achieve a significant reduction in ammunition consumption when performing fire missions to support landings on the coast occupied by the enemy.
As a result, a modern battleship will be able to perform the following tasks:
Air defense systems can be represented by the following elements:
A multifunctional automated anti-aircraft weapons control system based on high-performance computers will allow for airspace control, tracking and simultaneous destruction of a large number of targets - from ranges of hundreds of kilometers to the immediate vicinity of the ship. A big sizes The battleship will make it possible to have significant ammunition for air defense systems.
Thus, the battleship will be able to solve the following air defense tasks:
At the same time, the air defense is echeloned. Having broken through the kill zone of long-range air defense systems, attacking aircraft and weapons find themselves in the fire zone of 130-mm guns and MD air defense systems. Finally, the last frontier is the 30-mm ZAK and ZPRK. A breakthrough through such layered air defense will be associated with significant losses.
A modern battleship can be equipped with sufficient effective means ASW, primarily by helicopter, as well as anti-submarine guided missiles (PLUR) and torpedoes in universal missile-torpedo launchers (URTPU), rocket-propelled bomb launchers (RBU). This will allow you to hit submarines(submarines) of the enemy both at a great distance and if they are detected in close proximity to the ship. The presence of a significant ammunition load of anti-submarine missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes and jet depth charges will make it possible to fight enemy submarines actively, offensively, until the enemy is destroyed, and not be satisfied with only disrupting the attack of an enemy submarine.
The experience of operating nuclear surface and submarine ships clearly shows that the most promising for a modern battleship is a nuclear power plant. It will not only reduce the costs of supporting the daily activities of the ship, but also provide an unlimited range of action.
However, if the battleship is created for operations not so much in the ocean, but in coastal waters, which involves frequent calls to ports, then, of course, it would be more appropriate to use a conventional power plant.
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First of all, together with escort ships, the battleship forms a powerful naval strike group capable of solving a wide range of tasks. The battleship's high combat stability will force the use of large forces not only of ships and carrier-based aircraft, but also of shore-based aircraft to counter it. This will weaken the influence of the latter on other forces of the fleet, and this will provide greater freedom of action.
But even in ocean theaters, the presence of battleships can significantly increase the combat potential, especially of landing forces. Thus, during the first Iraqi war (early 1990s), there was a huge psychological impact at Iraqi soldiers with artillery fire from the 16-inch main battery guns of American battleships. The introduction of guided projectiles into the main caliber ammunition made it possible to achieve the highest shooting accuracy.
A battleship is like no other ship suitable for flag display functions. An aircraft carrier, for all its impressiveness, does not have the opportunity to anchor in view of the coast of a state where undesirable processes are taking place, since even one battery of six-inch howitzers, covertly placed for direct fire, can cause irreparable damage to the “master of the seas.” And not only six-inch howitzers - even a single tank with a 100-mm cannon, under a fortunate combination of circumstances, can deal a fatal blow to an aircraft carrier. Likewise, modern cruisers and destroyers close to shore are highly vulnerable to artillery fire.
The armored giant is capable of not only withstanding artillery fire with a caliber of up to 203.2 mm inclusive without much damage, but also almost instantly giving a crushing rebuff. And the impressive size of the ship and the caliber of its guns can make many hotheads cool down and not take matters to extremes.
Of course, an opponent can object to all these arguments, taking as an example the same USA, where they are abandoning their Iowa-class battleships.
However, the fact is that, firstly, these battleships were built during the Second World War and they were never adapted to modern systems weapons, primarily air defense systems. In addition, it was not possible to replace 127-mm twin artillery mounts with Mk38 guns with modern 127-mm ones without serious and expensive design modifications automatic installations with water-cooled barrel. Secondly, after the collapse of the USSR, the Americans adopted the concept of the so-called “non-contact war” as the basis of their strategy. This strategy is based on defeating the enemy with air force, carrier-based aircraft and cruise missiles in conditions of absolute superiority in forces and absolute air supremacy. Landing from the sea is expected only after the complete suppression of enemy defenses on the coast.
The examples of Iraq and Yugoslavia are precisely such cases; the war was waged against states exhausted by the blockade. To face an enemy more or less equal to the United States in last years I didn't have to. But if such a collision is simulated, it will immediately become clear that relying only on air and missile strikes is futile. It is no coincidence that the United States is in no hurry to go to war against Iran or North Korea, since it is not sure that it will not receive an adequate rebuff. As well as the fact that it will be possible to avoid the destruction of one’s ships by enemy weapons, primarily anti-ship missiles. That is, their ship groups may suffer so-called “unacceptable damage.”
In addition, it is worth taking a closer look at the “cost-effectiveness” criterion. Which option is more effective: to carry out two hundred to two hundred and fifty combat sorties of carrier-based aircraft or to fire 800-900 shells from 356-mm or 406-mm guns, including 200-300 guided ones, with the same effectiveness in hitting targets? The answer suggests itself.
In addition, exploratory R&D is underway in the United States to create so-called “weapon carrier ships.” These are ships of large displacement, with powerful protection, carrying a large number of various weapons - artillery and missiles. So far, due to the lack of urgent need, their creation has not been transferred to a practical level. However, in the event of threats, preliminary developments can be quickly transferred to the stage of immediate implementation.
Therefore, there is no need to rush to dismiss the idea of reviving the battleship class out of hand. It is quite possible that the renaissance of this class of ships is still ahead.
(A. Lobanov, “Soldier of Fortune”)
04/29/2015 21 223 0 Jadaha
Science and technology
It is believed that battleships as a class of warships appeared only in the 17th century, when new tactics of naval battles were formed.
The squadrons lined up against each other and began an artillery duel, the ending of which determined the outcome of the battle.
However, if by linear we mean large combat ships with powerful weapons, then the history of such ships goes back thousands of years.
In ancient times, the combat power of a ship depended on the number of warriors and oarsmen, as well as the throwing weapons that were placed on it. The name of the ships was determined by the number of rows of oars. The oars, in turn, could be designed for 1-3 people. The rowers were placed in several floors, one above the other or in a checkerboard pattern.
The most common type of large ships were quinqueremes (penteras) with five rows of oars. However, in 256 BC. e. in the battle with the Carthaginians at Ecnomus, the Roman squadron included two hexers (with six rows of oars). The Romans still felt insecure at sea and instead of traditional rams they started a boarding battle, installing so-called “crows” on the decks - devices that, having fallen on an enemy ship, tightly bound it with the attacking ship.
According to modern experts, the largest ship could have been a septireme (seven rows of oars) about 90 meters long. A ship of greater length would simply break in the waves. However, ancient sources contain references to octers, eners and decimrems (eight, nine and ten rows of oars, respectively). Most likely, these ships were too wide, and therefore slow-moving, and were used to defend their own harbors, as well as when capturing enemy coastal fortresses as mobile platforms for siege towers and heavy throwing devices.
Length - 45 meters
Width - 6 meters
Engines - sail, oars
Crew - about 250 people
Weapon - boarding raven
It is widely believed that ships protected by armor appeared in the second half of the 19th century. In fact, their birthplace was medieval Korea...
We are talking about kobukson, or “turtle ships,” believed to have been created by the famous Korean naval commander Yi Sunsin (1545-1598).
The first mention of these ships dates back to 1423, but the opportunity to test them in action appeared only in 1592, when the 130,000th Japanese army tried to conquer the Land of Morning Freshness.
Having lost a significant part of the fleet due to a surprise attack, the Koreans, having four times less forces, began to attack enemy ships. The battleships of the samurai fleet - sekibune - had a crew of no more than 200 people and a displacement of 150 tons. They found themselves defenseless in front of kobuksons twice as large in size and tightly protected by armor, since it was impossible to board such “turtles.” Korean crews sat in chest-like casemates made of wood and iron and methodically shot the enemy with cannons.
The kobuksons were propelled by 18-20 single-seater oars and even with a tailwind they could hardly reach a speed of more than 7 kilometers per hour. But their firepower turned out to be crushing, and their invulnerability drove the samurai to hysterics. It was these “turtles” that brought victory to the Koreans, and Lee Sunsin became a national hero.
Length - 30-36 meters
Width - 9-12 meters
Engines - sail, oars
Crew - 130 people
Number of guns - 24-40
The rulers of the Venetian Republic were perhaps the first to understand that dominance over sea communications allows them to control world trade, and with such a trump card in their hands, even a tiny state can become a strong European power.
The basis of the sea power of the Republic of St. Mark was the galleys. Ships of this type could move with both sails and oars, but were longer than their ancient Greek and Phoenician predecessors, which made it possible to increase their crews to one and a half hundred sailors, capable of acting both as oarsmen and as marines.
The depth of the galley's hold was no more than 3 meters, but this was enough to load the necessary supplies and even small quantities intended for the sale of goods.
The main element of the vessel were curved frames, which determined the shape and influenced the speed of the galley. First, a frame was assembled from them, and then sheathed with boards.
This technology was revolutionary for its time, allowing the construction of a long and narrow, but at the same time rigid structure that did not bend under the influence of waves.
The Venetian shipyards were a state-owned enterprise, surrounded by a 10-meter wall. More than 3,000 professional craftsmen, called arsenolotti, worked on them.
Unauthorized entry into the territory of the enterprise was punishable by imprisonment, which was supposed to ensure maximum secrecy.
Length - 40 meters
Width - 5 meters
Engine - sail, oars
Speed - b knots
Load capacity - 140 tons
Crew - 150 rowers
The largest sailing ship of the line of the 18th century, unofficially nicknamed El Ponderoso ("Heavyweight").
It was launched in Havana in 1769. It had three decks. The hull of the ship, up to 60 centimeters thick, was made of Cuban red wood, the mast and yards were made of Mexican pine.
In 1779, Spain and France declared war on England. The Santisima Trinidad set out for the English Channel, but enemy ships simply did not engage with it and escaped, taking advantage of their speed advantage. In 1795, the Heavyweight was converted into the world's first four-deck ship.
On April 14, 1797, at the Battle of Cape San Vincent, British ships under the command of Nelson cut the bow of the column led by the Santisima Trinidad and opened artillery fire from a convenient position, which decided the outcome of the battle. The winners captured four ships, but the pride of the Spanish fleet managed to avoid capture.
The British flagship Victoria, which Nelson was on, attacked the Santisima Trinidad along with seven other British ships, each with at least 72 guns.
Length - 63 meters
Displacement - 1900 tons
Engines - sail
Crew - 1200 people
Number of guns - 144
The most powerful sailing battleship of the Russian fleet was launched in 1841 at the Nikolaev shipyard.
It was built on the initiative of the commander of the Black Sea squadron, Mikhail Lazarev, taking into account the latest developments British shipbuilders. Thanks to careful wood processing and work in the boathouses, the vessel's service life exceeded the standard eight years. Interior decoration It was luxurious, so that some officers compared it with the decoration of imperial yachts. In 1849 and 1852, two more similar ships left the stocks - "Paris" and " Grand Duke Konstantin", but with simpler interior decoration.
The first commander of the ship was the future vice-admiral Vladimir Kornilov (1806-1854), who died during the defense of Sevastopol.
In 1853, the “Twelve Apostles” transported almost 1.5 thousand infantrymen to the Caucasus to participate in battles against the Turks. However, when the British and French came out against Russia, it became obvious that the time of sailing ships was a thing of the past.
A hospital was set up on the Twelve Apostles, and the guns removed from it were used to strengthen the coastal defense.
On the night of February 13-14, 1855, the ship was scuttled to strengthen the underwater barriers at the entrance to the bay, washed out by the current. When work began on clearing the fairway after the war, it was not possible to raise the Twelve Apostles and the ship was blown up.
Length - 64.4 meters
Width - 12.1 meters
Speed - up to 12 knots (22 km/h)
Engines - sail
Crew - 1200 people
Number of guns - 130
The first full-fledged battleship of the Russian fleet, built on Galerny Island in St. Petersburg according to the design of Rear Admiral Andrei Popov (1821-1898), originally bore the name “Cruiser” and was intended specifically for cruising operations. However, after it was renamed “Peter the Great” in 1872 and launched, the concept changed. The conversation began to be about a linear type vessel.
It was not possible to finish the machine part; in 1881, “Peter the Great” was transferred to Glasgow, where specialists from the Randolph and Elder company began its reconstruction. As a result, the ship began to be considered a leader among ships of its class, although it never had the opportunity to show off its power in real combat.
By the beginning of the 20th century, shipbuilding had gone far ahead, and the latest modernization could no longer save the matter. In 1903, the Peter the Great was converted into a training ship, and since 1917 it has been used as a floating base for submarines.
In February and April 1918, this veteran took part in two difficult ice crossings: first from Revel to Helsingfors, and then from Helsingfors to Kronstadt, avoiding capture by the Germans or White Finns.
In May 1921, the ex-battleship was disarmed and reorganized into a mine block (floating base) of the Kronstadt military port. Peter the Great was removed from the list of the fleet only in 1959.
Length - 103.5 meters
Width - 19.2 meters
Speed - 14.36 knots
Power - 8296 l. With.
Crew - 440 people
Armament - four 305 mm and six 87 mm cannons
The proper name of this ship became a household name for a whole generation of warships, which differed from the usual battleships in greater armor protection and the power of their guns - it was on them that the “all-big-gun” principle (“only big guns”) was implemented.
The initiative to create it belonged to the First Lord of the British Admiralty, John Fisher (1841 -1920). Launched on February 10, 1906, the ship was built in four months, using almost all shipbuilding enterprises in the kingdom. The power of his fire salvo was equal to the power of a salvo of an entire squadron of battleships that had recently ended Russo-Japanese War. However, it cost twice as much.
Thus, the great powers entered the next round of the naval arms race.
By the beginning of the First World War, the Dreadnought itself was already considered somewhat obsolete, and it was replaced by the so-called “super-dreadnoughts”.
This ship won its only victory on March 18, 1915, by sinking the German submarine U-29, commanded by the famous German submariner Lieutenant Commander Otto Weddingen, with a ramming attack.
In 1919, the Dreadnought was transferred to reserve, in 1921 it was sold for scrap, and in 1923 it was dismantled for metal.
Length - 160.74 meters
Width - 25.01 meters
Speed - 21.6 knots
Power - 23,000 l. With. (estimated) - 26350 (at full speed)
Crew - 692 people (1905), 810 people (1916)
Armament - ten 305 mm, twenty-seven 76 mm anti-mine guns
The largest (along with Tirpitz) German battleship and the third largest representative of this class of warships in the world (after battleships of the Yamato and Iowa type).
Launched in Hamburg on Valentine's Day - February 14, 1939 - in the presence of Prince Bismarck's granddaughter Dorothea von Löwenfeld.
On May 18, 1941, the battleship, together with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, left Gotenhafen (modern Gdynia) with the goal of disrupting British sea communications.
On the morning of May 24, after an eight-minute artillery duel, Bismarck sent the British battlecruiser Hood to the bottom. On the battleship, one of the generators failed and two fuel tanks were punctured.
The British staged a real raid on the Bismarck. The decisive hit (which led to the loss of control of the ship) was achieved by one of the fifteen torpedo bombers that rose from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal.
The Bismarck went to the bottom on May 27, confirming with its death that battleships must now give way to aircraft carriers. Its younger brother, the Tirpitz, was sunk on November 12, 1944, in the Norwegian fjords as a result of a series of British air raids.
Length - 251 meters
Here is the USS Iowa - the first of the largest and most powerful battleships ever to serve in the Navy U.S.A. Equipped with 406 mm guns capable of firing nuclear shells, this ship is the only one in American history, which has this capability.
Let me tell you more about this ship...
These nine guns firing simultaneously are a terrifying but fascinating sight. However, it should be recognized that in a real combat situation this method of attack is far from optimal. The shock waves of the projectiles are so strong that they begin to influence each other, disrupting the flight path. The military solved this problem by firing the guns in rapid succession - each individual gun being able to fire independently.
The USS Iowa served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, but soon after it became apparent that the battleship's time was over. Aircraft carriers with their bombers and fighters became the most powerful force at sea. The United States canceled construction of two of the six Iowa-class battleships before the end of the war. The States also planned to create new class battleships - 65,000-ton Montana-class ships with 12 406 mm guns, but their development was canceled in 1943.
On January 2, 1944, as the flagship ship of the 7th linear division, the battleship Iowa set sail for Pacific Ocean, where he received his baptism of fire during an operation in the Marshall Islands.
From April 8 to October 16, 1952, the battleship Iowa participated in Korean War in combat operations off the east coast of the country, providing support ground forces artillery strikes on Songjin, Hungnam and Koyo in North Korea.
However, after the war, the four Iowa-class battleships built—USS Iowa, USS New Jersey, USS Missouri, and USS Wisconsin—were an active part of the most powerful battleship the world had in existence for several decades. In the 1980s, 32 Tomahawk and 16 Harpoon missiles, as well as 4 Phalanx systems, were added to the impressive arsenal of these battleships.
Also, the Iowa class battleships were the only ships in the US Navy capable of firing nuclear missiles. Their shells were marked W23, and “with a yield of 15 to 20 kilotons of TNT, they made the 406 mm guns of the Iowa battleships the largest caliber nuclear artillery in the world.”
On February 24, 1958, the battleship Iowa was withdrawn from the US Navy and transferred to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. But in the early 80s he returned to service, completely updating the anti-aircraft artillery and receiving the latest electronics. The main caliber guns remained in place. The weight of the projectile of such a weapon is one ton. Firing range - 38 km. Six years ago, the US Congress rejected the Secretary of the Navy's proposal to decommission the Iowa, citing the undesirability of weakening the firepower of the American fleet.
It was finally decommissioned in 1990 and for a long time was parked in the reserve fleet in Sesun Bay (California). October 28, 2011 was towed to the Port of Richmond, California for recovery before transferring to permanent place based in the Port of Los Angeles. There it will be used as a museum
Battleships type "Iowa" are considered the most advanced in the history of shipbuilding. It was during their creation that the designers and engineers managed to achieve the maximum combination of all the main combat characteristics: weapons, speed and protection. Iowa-class battleships marked the end of the evolution of battleships. They can be considered an ideal project. Here are their names: “Iowa” (BB-61), “New Jersey” (BB-62), “Missouri” (BB-63) and “Wisconsin” (BB-64).
Information on weapons:
Overall, the Iowa was an undoubted triumph of American shipbuilding. It corrected most of the shortcomings of the first American squadron battleships, and it had excellent seaworthiness, high speed, excellent security and powerful weapons. Although American heavy guns were inferior in quality to modern heavy guns of the Old World, nevertheless, the 35-caliber 305-mm Iowa guns, mounted in balanced turrets, were significantly more effective than the formally more powerful Indian guns. An important argument in favor of the Iowa was also its powerful intermediate artillery and the first truly fast-firing American guns.
As a result, the Americans managed to create (with virtually no experience) a battleship that was only slightly inferior to its European contemporaries. But the Americans themselves were apparently unable to discern the strengths of the project, since the next two series of battleships borrowed almost nothing from the Iowa design (which was clearly not the most correct act).
