Most important Ironclad/Battleship Engagements

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by bookworm_020

If you want an intresting gun battle, try this one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_..._cruiser_Stier

http://www.usmm.org/hopkins.html

Thanks, But that's not a Battleship engagement (Though it is funny )

I'll make sure to include the point on Battleships use as "Fleets in Being", I don't like the idea much but that's unfortunatly thats what they were used for, the Tirpitz is a really good example as her mere presence (however useless) in the North Atlantic forced the Royal Navy to use Battleships as convoy escorts

I think the main thing about BBs is not "Our Battleships makes them scared" but rather "Their Battleships makes us scared", on both sides...

I agree with CaptHawkeye that during WWII the Battleship did have it's place, But after that they just turned almost completely useless because of Guided Missiles and Air Power (Except as shore-bombardement platforms)

[Sailor Steve]

The funny thing about Hampton Roads was that it was neither the biggest nor the most decisive battle of the American Civil War, but it was the first conflict between ironclad ships, and the whole world was curious about the outcome.

I think your list is spot on, if you have to have only five.

As for your observation on the value of battleships; i.e. not losing them being more important that actually using them, I've said something similar myself. I like to liken destroyers to soldiers - the form groups and they fight. Cruisers are perfect for their primary mission - as scouts, and as mighty warriors if need be. But battleships? Battleships are like the ancient champions - Achilles and Hector, for example. They can intimidate all the soldiers and warriors in the world, but they really only exist to fight each other, and almost certainly one of them will die, ending in glory perhaps, but dying just the same; to be remembered forever, but still just as dead.

It just occured to me: does that make the airplane like a plague of wasps, sent by the gods to torment the mightiest warriors? Too much metaphor; I have to go to bed.

[PeriscopeDepth]

An excellent list Raptor. What level of school is this for, if you don't mind me asking?

PD

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by PeriscopeDepth

An excellent list Raptor. What level of school is this for, if you don't mind me asking?

PD

High School, I'm 15

I only have enough room for 5-6 Battles in the project because any more would make the thing too long (Ofcourse i'll have to fill in background on these battles, So i'll end up adding about Port Arthur, Yellow Sea, Dogger Bank...)

[PeriscopeDepth]

Originally Posted by Raptor1

High School, I'm 15

I only have enough room for 5-6 Battles in the project because any more would make the thing too long (Ofcourse i'll have to fill in background on these battles, So i'll end up adding about Port Arthur, Yellow Sea, Dogger Bank...)

I'm sure you'll end up doing well. Kinda sophisticated for high school, but good on ya.

PD

[kurtz]

Originally Posted by Raptor1

I'll make sure to include the point on Battleships use as "Fleets in Being", I don't like the idea much but that's unfortunatly thats what they were used for, the Tirpitz is a really good example as her mere presence (however useless) in the North Atlantic forced the Royal Navy to use Battleships as convoy escorts

Did you mean the Bismarck? I don't think the Tirpitz left the Baltic.

And from another post don't forget the Glorious? in the norway campaign, carriers can come off v. badly if BBs get the drop on them

[Tchocky]

Tirpitz spent the war hanging around the Nordkapp area. Forced the Allies to commit heavy cruisers and battleships to Arctic convoy defence, something they didn't do too much of in the Atlantic.

[CaptHawkeye]

Originally Posted by kurtz

Did you mean the Bismarck? I don't think the Tirpitz left the Baltic.

And from another post don't forget the Glorious? in the norway campaign, carriers can come off v. badly if BBs get the drop on them

A carrier is in a bad situation if any ship gets the drop on it. Your carrier is screwed if so much as a destroyer shows up.

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by kurtz

Did you mean the Bismarck? I don't think the Tirpitz left the Baltic.

And from another post don't forget the Glorious? in the norway campaign, carriers can come off v. badly if BBs get the drop on them

Yeah, I meant the Tirpitz and the Arctic Convoys, She didn't do anything important during her career except force the British to tie up a huge mass of Ships and Aircraft to defend the Arctic Convoys

As for the Glorious, It is pretty obvious that 2 Battleships...Battlecruisers...W/e (What were the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau anyway? ) armed with 9x 11" Guns can easily annihilate a carrier armed with 4.7" Guns and very little armor with only 2 destroyers escorting her...

[bookworm_020]

There was an Australian sereis called "The Battleships wich is an intresting thing to watch as it traces it's progress from the age of sail to the end of the 20th century

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/documentari...es/s573449.htm

I got the book of the series and I'm just about to start reading up on it.

As it points out in the final episode. At the end of WW2 the battleship had reached the point in it's development where it could fire on a target with accuarcy at long range and poor weather, it's just that by this time when it had overcome some of the biggest hurdles in it's development that it became superceeded.

[Jacky Fisher]

I think the Scharnhorsts were grouped as Battlecrusiers, but I'm not sure.

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by Jacky Fisher

I think the Scharnhorsts were grouped as Battlecrusiers, but I'm not sure.

They were classified by the Kriegsmarine as Schlachtschiffs (Battleships) and by the Royal Navy as Battlecruisers because of their relatively light armament (11" Guns as opposed to real Battleships fielding 15" and 16" Guns) and high speed, Even though they were still armored like Battleships

[TheSatyr]

You also have the two naval engagements during the Spanish-American War,but I'm not sure if any of the ships involved would be classified as battleships. Ah well,you could always look it up.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by TheSatyr

You also have the two naval engagements during the Spanish-American War,but I'm not sure if any of the ships involved would be classified as battleships. Ah well,you could always look it up.

Oh yeah, when the Great White Fleet attacked the Spanish fleet at Manila. Admiral Dewey?

Is there a big difference from Ironclad to Dreadnought? I thought the latter was just a even bigger ship? If they were so valuable, did they see much engagement at all?