Bismarck, Yamato or Arizona

[Mush Martin]

Yamato and Musashi also while quite clearly tremendous ships
with exquisitely streamlined hulls. had short legs and flawed
protection as well as mounts that while elevating and depressing
handily turnded as slow as a WWI mount. also with the american
16 inch having twice the rate never mind the ships better range and protection
I dont think that yamato rates more than mention in the consideration.

its interesting to observe that if yamato had been caught alone on the open
sea by two Des Moines class cruisers they probably wouldve taken her
with there extreme ROF of 30000 lbs of metal per minute better speed and
better protection and damage control.

Dont get me wrong Yamato Musashi and Shinano Capture the imagination
but they didnt achieve there design potentials by any stretch I dont think
further in the case of the BBs it seems likely they could have done it
on 4000 tons less and may have been better advised to go with a
smaller Calibre main armament of twelve faster guns.
penetration difference for 18.1" vs US 16" ap is not that much and under
some circumstances the 16" comes out on top.

jmo
M

[Mush Martin]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

These three warships do summarize the fall of the battleship from grace well. All were victims of airpower. Maybe Bismarck to a lesser extent, but they still sealed her fate.

Indeed its the airplane not the torpedo boat or submarine
that killed the battleship
secondary batteries were largely flawed that way outside the US.

Roma, Conte d Cavour, Tirpitz, Prince of wales, Repulse ,Arizona,
Oklahoma, Yamato and Musahi can attest to the effectiveness of
aircraft in naval combat.

only Hiei, Fuso, and Scharnhorst support an anti surface secondary

shore bombardment by battleships while impressive psychologically
was better done by six and eight inch gun cruisers which were
cheaper too. the only effective wwII role for battleships really
was as superior AA escorts in the carrier groups and at least
in the case of the USN they knew no equal.

M

[Darkcyde]

I vote Iowa class.

[joea]

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

Yamato for me, Bismark and Arizona come an equal 2nd.

Has anyone seen that CG documentary from HBO on the fate of the Yamato. Brilliant how they did it I watched it on Stage6 awhile back. A must see.

Yamato was great, but I voted other. My fave has to be the Warspite....no other ship did so much and saw so much at least in the RN, the KGVs are a bit underestimated. I do think the USN's best were the Iowa...just for the AA battery.

BTW kiwi awesome sig mate.

[Mush Martin]

Warspite would be my contender for greatest single battleship

but if we were talking designs that went to production then I
would pick Iowa which is what my vote for other will stand to
mean.

[mrbeast]

Think Warspite wins for coolest name!

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by mrbeast

Think Warspite wins for coolest name!

Warspite had quite the illustrious career....not to mention fighting in two World Wars.

The last British battleship Vanguard probably would have been a good contender for best all-around battleship. Too bad she was late for the 'party'.

[NealT]

My choice is the Battleship Texas.

1. At the time, she was the best in the world.
2. She made it all the way through WW II, even participating in the D-Day events.
3. She is still around - moored near Houston, TX.
4. She is named after Neal Stevens' home state!

[did I mention she is named after my home state as well? ]

NealT

[Saldiray]

I think Yamato was far ahead of its time in both design and architecture. Yamato suffered enormous punishment from US aircraft and finally went down to her final grave, the ocean floor but Bismarck? It never gave me that gigantic look of a BB but thinking of her final battle, how she had been shelled at to death and still managing to stay afloat is a miracle. I was really shocked when the documentary "Expedition Bismarck" revealed that it was sunk not by British shells or torpedoes, but by her own crew's scuttling her. Yamato or Bismarck? Still can't decide, but i'm certain on one thing, Arizona is just like a joke when compared to the other two.

[JAKE]

Yamato..Just for being the biggest.LOL

[mrbeast]

Originally Posted by Saldiray

I think Yamato was far ahead of its time in both design and architecture. Yamato suffered enormous punishment from US aircraft and finally went down to her final grave, the ocean floor but Bismarck? It never gave me that gigantic look of a BB but thinking of her final battle, how she had been shelled at to death and still managing to stay afloat is a miracle. I was really shocked when the documentary "Expedition Bismarck" revealed that it was sunk not by British shells or torpedoes, but by her own crew's scuttling her. Yamato or Bismarck? Still can't decide, but i'm certain on one thing, Arizona is just like a joke when compared to the other two.

German BBs had a reputation of having to be beaten into submission, some of those at Jutland came very near to sinking but managed to hold on long enough to reach Wilhelmshaven and safety, after suffering terrible damage. Take Seydlitz in this picture here:



One of the reasons Bismarck lasted so long in her final firefight with Rodney and KGV was that the RN ships closed the range so much that their shots were hitting Bismarck at a flatter trajectory than normal. So hits tended to pass through the superstructure and sides of the hull rather than penetrating through the bottom of the ship or hitting vital areas. Some shots actually bounced off the surface of the water and up into the conning tower and funnel.

[TriskettheKid]

Iowa-class, of course.

USS New Jersey.

[NiclDoe]

Originally Posted by TriskettheKid

Iowa-class, of course.

USS New Jersey.

and i got a photo of her when i went there last year cause i live in NJ
<a href="http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?i...ict0001xr7.jpg" this baby can kick all other BBs buts becuase her 16 AP inch ammo has the same power as the yammys 18 HE in ammo.

[TriskettheKid]

Originally Posted by NiclDoe

and i got a photo of her when i went there last year cause i live in NJ
<a href="http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?i...ict0001xr7.jpg" this baby can kick all other BBs buts becuase her 16 AP inch ammo has the same power as the yammys 18 HE in ammo.

Despite going to college, and now living, in Boston, Philadelphia is my hometown. I've visited the Black Dragon quite a few times, the first being before it was even finished for it's role as a floating museum. I remember walking through one of the exhibits, which was of rough sea conditions, and it not being finished. Most notably, the seaman over the head, which was full of vomit, had not been finished being painted.

My grandfather laughed when he saw that. Said it reminded him of one storm his DD went through in the North Atlantic. The only two people who weren't ill at some point were him and the ship's captain.

[Rwolf]

Yamato ftw, in her resurrected version.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_B...ato_(spaceship)