In the fall of 1991, in a conversation with US Secretary of Defense R. Cheney, the Sultan of Oman expressed his readiness to pay the costs of maintaining two Iowa-class battleships to ensure their continuous combat patrols in the Persian Gulf for nine months a year.
“Of your entire fleet, only battleships look like real weapons,” added Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
In my opinion, the best compliment for floating fortresses, created from an alloy of steel and fire.
The actions of the battleships impressed the Eastern ruler more than all the missile cruisers and aircraft carriers put together. But wait laugh. Sultan Qaboos was not a backward savage who did not understand anything about modern weapons. He appreciated not the brilliance of polished cannons, but the combat stability of the Iowa. At the same time, the powerful missile and cannon armament of battleships was also important for the coastal states of the Persian region. In terms of the density of fire, the battleship's fire was equivalent to that of the air wings of two aircraft carriers.
Unlike the frigate "Stark" and similar cans, "Iowa" could withstand an attack using any means in service with Iraq and Iran. She was perfect for patrolling in an area of unpredictable danger, where no one knows who and it is not clear why could at any moment fire at a passing ship.
An unstoppable and indestructible battle platform, like a sword of Damocles, hanging over the turbulent waters of the bay, which could make the local lovers of saber rattling look around nervously.
The only thing that Sultan Qaboos did not take into account was the cost of maintaining unique warships. They turned out to be noticeably higher than that of the 155-meter royal yacht "Al-Said".
The effectiveness of the battleship "Iowa" in modern conditions
The only type of highly protected ships who were lucky enough to undergo modernization and serve until the mid-1990s.
At the same time, of all the projects of heavy cruisers and battleships of its era, “Iowa” was the least suitable for service in modern conditions. Such is the irony of fate.
Battleships of this type had an internal armor belt, which simplified the process of their design and construction. The armor plates inside did not need to repeat the smooth contours of the hull, so they looked like ordinary rough metal structures. In addition, the reduction in the width of the citadel saved thousands of tons of displacement, which were used to increase the speed qualities and strengthen the battleship's armament.
With regard to security, the internal location of the belt did not affect the results of hits with large-caliber armor-piercing shells. The incredibly thick plating by today's standards (from 16 to 37 mm) turned out to be too thin to “tear off” the Makarov armor-piercing tip even in 15-inch ammunition.
Decades have passed. The era has changed.
By the time of the last reactivation of battleships, high-explosive or semi-armor-piercing (high-explosive with deceleration fuse) missile warheads had become the main means of destruction at sea. In such conditions, the inner belt began to create unnecessary problems and increased the vulnerability of “Iowa”. Without a doubt, its 30-centimeter "shell" could protect all important compartments and combat posts from the explosion of anti-ship missiles. But before that, the rocket pierced into the side could “turn” the soft skin over an area of tens of square meters. meters.
A minor problem on the scale of a battleship that does not affect combat capabilities in any way. However, it is still unpleasant.
Again, nowhere is it said about the futility of protection. The Iowa's protection was phenomenal: the battleship could withstand any hits that would be fatal to modern ships. And yet, its layout and protection installation scheme did not meet the requirements of the time. Ideally, the armor elements should be located on the outside, in the form of the outer side plating.
“Iowa” was created for battles with the same floating fortresses, in which no one fired landmines. If someone remembers the lessons of Tsushima and the terrible shells with shimosa, then there, for a number of reasons, a tragic situation has developed. If the ship allows itself to be shot for long hours, then no amount of protection will help it.
As for the American battleships of the WWII era, all innovative approaches had quite obvious results. Having studied the advantages and disadvantages of the inner belt on the "Iowa" and "South Dakotas", the Americans, when creating the next generation of battleships ("Montana"), returned to the traditional scheme of installing belt armor.
The inner belt was not the only problem that reduced the combat stability of the “Iowa”. The unsuccessful placement of missile ammunition played a significant role. The designers did their best trying to place 32 Tomahawk cruise missiles among the artillery towers.
The missiles were installed on the upper deck in protected MK.143 installations, which had a mass of 26 tons (4 missiles in each) - the predecessors of the domestic Club-K complex (“Calibers” hidden in containers).
The word “protected” should not be misleading: the photograph shows that the thickness of the MK.143 armored covers did not exceed 20-30 mm. Anti-splinter protection.
As for the anti-ship "Harpoons" (4x4), they generally stood openly on the truss guides, dimly shining with their plastic hulls.
Ammunition - one of the most dangerous elements requiring maximum safety measures, suddenly appeared on the upper deck, without any protection. This is the price of the "moderate" modernization of the ship of the past era, which they tried to bring to conformity with modern conditions.
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Joint actions of ships belonging to different eras caused certain difficulties. The intake gas turbines could go out of the “cold” state to the maximum power mode in a quarter of an hour. Unlike modern warships, the Iowam took significantly more time to dilute the fumes.
When the battleship went out to sea, it was worth staying away from it. And this applied not only to opponents.
Unlike cruisers with guided missile weapons, the Iowa were created for furious artillery duels, in which speed and maneuver were everything. The command of the Navy was forced to issue instructions reminding sailors that the external impression was wrong. The thick-sided monster surpasses any modern ship in maneuverability. Back in World War II, it was noted that the Iowa's tactical circulation diameter (740 meters) was smaller than that of the Fletcher-class destroyer.
Iowa's speed performance has always been controversial. In an effort to extend the life of the mechanisms, the Yankees never brought the power plant to full capacity. The value achieved in practice (221 thousand hp - a solid result, 1.5 times more than that of the nuclear-powered Orlan) corresponded to 87% of the installed power of the battleship's power plant. In afterburner mode and with a quarter of a million "horses" on the propeller shafts, "Iowa", according to calculations, could develop up to 35 knots.
Theory in this case is not far from practice. The specific contours of the "bottle" shape and too large, even by the standards of battleships, the length of the hull (270 meters), caused by the installation of the second echelon of the power plant (while the compartments of the power plant themselves occupied 100 meters in length), these visual facts indicate that the statements about “fast battleship”is not an empty phrase.
In addition, the Iowa was the most dynamic of all ships in her class. According to the Navy, the time to climb from 15 to 27 knots for the formation of the battleships North Caroline and South Dakota was 19 minutes. “Iowa” due to its higher power density accelerated much faster than all its American, European and Japanese peers (from 15 to 27 knots - 7 minutes).
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Battleships were optimized for the requirements and tasks of their time and in modern conditions looked like a clear anachronism.
Like all American battleships, the Iowa were deprived of a hydroacoustic station and anti-submarine weapons (ASW missions were traditionally assigned to escort destroyers).
Despite the modernization, the air defense system remained at the level of the 1940s. All plans with the removal of one of the towers of the main caliber, with the installation in its place of fifty missile silos and radars of the Aegis system remained dreams. It was cheaper to build a new battleship.
The designers got along with half measures.
The presence of four "Phalanxes" and portable air defense systems "Stinger" did little to help in the fight against modern means of air attack. The battleship did not have the ability to intercept the carriers, or at least make it difficult for them to enter the attack. Air defense missions were entirely assigned to missile cruisers and escort destroyers.
However, the overall result was in favor of the battleships.
The combination of combat qualities (unattainable for modern ships, combat stability, missile and artillery weapons and the status of large ships of the 1st rank) made Iowa worthy of modernization and extension of its service life. At the same time, the services are not in the role of a block ship or a floating barracks. The brightest stars of the first magnitude, the battleships were chosen to be the flagships of the battle groups.
50 years in the forefront - what ship in history has shown such a result? At the same time, no one had any thoughts that this was a forced, “showy” decision, coming from the impossibility of replacing the veteran with a new ship.
Like half a century ago, battleships remained the center of the combat stability of the formations. The appearance of immortal warriors in this or that part of the world did not go unnoticed in diplomatic and military circles. Everyone understood that in the event of the outbreak of hostilities, significant resources would have to be diverted to counter such a ship.
"Place the Aegis cruiser in the wake of the battleship and you will go wherever you want."
(Commander-in-Chief of the US Navy, Admiral K. Thorst at the ceremony of reactivation of the battleship "Wisconsin", October 1988)
One of the main questions is related to the possibility of the next reactivation of battleships in the near future. The answer depends on two parameters:
a) the concept of using the IUD;
b) assessments of the current state of battleships, whose age is approaching 80 years.
Obvious advantages of artillery in solving a certain range of tasks (reaction and efficiency, cheap shots, immunity to air defense and electronic warfare), as well as regular complaints from the marines about the lack of decent fire support, various experiments with long-range shells, "Zamvolts", etc. give an understanding that the Navy has a need for large-caliber naval artillery.
As for the technical condition, the patients are in a deep coma, and it is impossible to find out any details.
The lead Iowa was put into reserve in 1990 in connection with an incident on board (an explosion in the main battery tower, the death of 47 people). Was not restored.
Marked with the longest service, "New Jersey" (21 years in the operating fleet) was withdrawn to the reserve in February 1991, due to the deterioration of mechanisms and changes in the world political arena.
The two most advanced battleships ("Missouri" and "Wisconsin") had to continue serving and even took part in Operation Desert Storm. However, the reduction in naval forces caused by the collapse of the USSR led to the abandonment of plans to continue the operation of battleships. The last combat strength to leave the "Missouri" in 1992.
The ships lay in storage for some time, turning into floating museums one by one. The record holder was “Wisconsin”, the only battleship in the world that remained in “cold reserve” until 2006.
It is known that not one of them was able to leave the parking lot of the reserve fleet on their own. On the other hand, the four Iowa-class battleships are in much better condition than other museum ships. For example, the battleship "Alabama" (of the "South Dakota" type), which is in the eternal parking lot, has no propellers at all.
Battleships are periodically docked and repaired. The good technical condition of the Missouri aircraft could be seen when it was docked in 2009, to the envy of many modern ships. Nevertheless, eyewitnesses claim that age and rust still make themselves felt: open leaks were noticeable in the underwater part of the hull.
In my opinion, the likelihood of the next (what in the account?) Reactivation of battleships is negligible. The Iowa era is a thing of the past; its design and weapons do not meet the challenges of modern times.
As for the “breathtaking beauty” and “majestic appearance” that modelers admire, the reality is that the battleship makes a disheartening impression. Like an iceberg, most of its hull is hidden underwater.
At the aft and heading corners, the structure looks completely wild - extreme beauty for the lover of "large forms". In the side projection - a low-slung squat scow of a nondescript color, without any architectural delights.
In comparison, any modern cruiser or missile destroyer seems to be a much larger and more solid ship. The battleship is simply lost against the background of their tall sides. And this, by the way, was one of the problems with the reactivation of battleships.
Due to its size, the seaworthiness of the “Iowa” was not bad: it was a stable artillery platform and could withstand any storm. But modern sailors were shocked and bewildered by the splashing and flooding of the bow end. The relict mastodon did not rise on the wave, as is customary with modern ships, but simply cut it, unleashing endless streams of water on its low deck.
The only battleship that was largely devoid of this drawback was the English "Vanguard". Its creators removed the absurd limitation on the height of the bow, associated with the provision of firing straight ahead at a low elevation angle of the trunks.
However, these are all details. The crux of the story with the exceptional durability of the Iowa-class battleships is the Navy's need for modern, highly protected ships.
