What do we end up with? Only that surpassing on average by a quarter in displacement their European counterparts, the American battleships "Iowa" did not have any significant advantages. This is how the author of the previous article on the four legendary battleships ended his thought. And we will continue this thought.
"King George V" (Great Britain) - cruising range 5400 miles at 18 knots.
Richelieu (France) - 9850 miles at 16 knots.
Bismarck (Third Reich) - 9280 miles at 16 knots.
Littorio (Italy) - 4580 miles at 18 knots.
Iowa (USA) - 15,000 miles at 15 knots
The American battleship was not created for operations in the Mediterranean "pool". Unlike the Italians, whose ships could return to base at any time to replenish fuel supplies, the Yankees waged war in the vast ocean. Hence - the high autonomy, increased ammunition and special requirements for the seaworthiness of ships. That's it.
However, first things first.
Direct comparison of battleships of the Second World War (number of guns / thickness of armor) is a disastrous business. Firstly, each steel monster was created for the conditions of a specific theater of operations.
Secondly, battleships varied widely in size. Who is stronger - 45 thousand. ton "Littorio" or 70 thous. ton "Yamato"?
Thirdly, speaking of such things as the construction of capital ships, it is necessary to make allowances for the state of the economy, science and the military-industrial complex of the countries in which these magnificent Bismarcks, Iowas and Yamato were built.
The last important factor is time. The world was changing at an unrecognizable pace. There was a technological gap between the Bismarck (commissioned in 1940) and the American Iowas (1943-44). And if the technology for making cemented Krupp armor remained unchanged, then such subtle matters as radar and fire control systems (FCS) made a grandiose breakthrough into the future.
Pictured is a 127 mm Mk.53 anti-aircraft projectile with a built-in mini-radar. Now, in the era of anti-aircraft missiles, you will not surprise anyone with this, but then, in 1942, the creation of radio tubes capable of withstanding an overload of 20,000 g was a real scientific sensation. During the war, the Yankees shot a million of these "blanks", having determined that the destruction of one Japanese aircraft requires five times less Mk.53 than when using conventional ammunition (~ 200 versus 1000). A portable radio fuse allowed the projectile to determine the distance to the target and to detonate the warhead at the most favorable moment, bombarding the target with a flurry of hot fragments.
Taking the effectiveness of each anti-aircraft gun with the usual shells "1", the German "Bismarck" scored sixteen points (16 SK. C / 33 105 mm guns). "Iowa" - a hundred! (20 five-inch guns firing Mk.53 b / p.) A funny and at the same time frightening conclusion: the effectiveness of long-range air defense of American battleships was at least six times higher than that of any of their European and Japanese peers.
This is without taking into account the capabilities of the OMS Mk.37, which centrally guided anti-aircraft guns according to the radar data. The calculation of the relative position of the ship and the target was continuously produced by an analog computer Mark-I. The MZA was controlled in a similar way: rapid-fire 40 mm Bofors, which had remote drives, received data from the Mk.51 sighting gyroscopic columns, one for each of the quad mounts. The batteries of the 20-mm Oerlikon assault rifles were guided according to the data of PUAZO Mk.14.
Quality was invariably matched by quantity. By the winter of 1944, the battleships were carrying 20 quad Bofors and up to 50 twin and single Oerlikons with belt feed.
Now it comes as no surprise why the South Dakota aircraft (the predecessor of the Iowa, which had a similar air defense system and has participated in battles since 1942) shot down 64 enemy aircraft during the war years. Even taking into account the inevitable additions, even 30 shot down "birds" - a grandiose military-technical record for the ship of those years.
The mine action myth
One of the controversial points in the design of American battleships was the rejection of the anti-mine caliber. Most battleships of other countries were necessarily equipped with a dozen 152-mm cannons and a battery of 12-16 large-caliber anti-aircraft guns (90 … 105 mm). The Yankees showed impudence in this matter: instead of a medium caliber, the Iowa bristled with 20 5 '' / 38 universal guns in ten twin installations. As noted above, five-inch guns turned out to be a worthy means of air defense, but would 127-mm shells have enough power to repel the attack of enemy destroyers?
Practice has shown that the decision was justified. The lighter weight and half the warhead were successfully compensated for by the high rate of fire of the station wagons (12-15 rds / min.) And the phenomenal accuracy of their fire (the same Mk.37 SLA for firing at air and surface targets).
The destroyer "Johnston" loaded 45 5-inch rounds into the heavy cruiser "Kumano", destroying the entire superstructure, along with radars, anti-aircraft guns and rangefinder posts, and then fed the battleship "Congo" with shells.
The destroyers Samuel B. Roberts and Heerman unleashed surgical precision fire on the cruiser Tikuma. For half an hour of the battle, "Samuel B. Roberts" shot at the enemy all its ammunition - 600 five-inch ammunition. As a result, three of the four main-caliber turrets on the Tikum were out of order, the flight bridge collapsed and the communication and fire control systems were out of order.
Episodes of the battle at about. Samar, 10/25/44, confrontation between the Imperial Navy squadron and the US Navy destroyers.
It is easy to imagine how crumbly a Japanese destroyer would have become if it ventured to attack Iowa!
The myth of lack of speed
While designing “Iowa”, the Yankees were suddenly carried away by such an unusual meaning for them as the pursuit of speed. According to the sailors' plans, the new fast battleship, intended to escort aircraft carrier groups, was supposed to have a speed of at least 33 knots (~ 60 km / h). To accelerate the whopper to the indicated values, it was necessary to install a second echelon of the power plant (power 200 … 250 thousand hp - almost twice as much as that of the "Bismarck" or "Richelieu"!). Excessive passion for speed affected the appearance of "Iowa" - the baby acquired a characteristic "bottle" silhouette, at the same time becoming the longest battleship in the world.
Despite all efforts, the Iowa became the object of merciless criticism: none of the four battleships ever reached the specified speed. “New Jersey” gave only 31, 9 knots on a measured mile. And that's it!
However, not everything. The speed value is 31.9 knots. was recorded at a power of 221 thousand hp. with a ship's displacement significantly exceeding the design one (the installation of additional systems and anti-aircraft artillery and the appearance of related loads was a typical situation for ships of those years). With a reduced fuel reserve and forcing the turbines to the 254 thousand hp envisaged by the project. design speed "Iowa" could reach 35 knots. In reality, no one dared to arrange races on battleships, "killing" unnecessarily the precious resource of their cars. As a result, the resource lasted for 50 years.
We have to admit that the unbridled pursuit of speed turned out to be an expensive and pointless undertaking. Another military-technical record that has not been applied in practice. The only positive point was the long, echeloned power plant, which radically increased the survivability of the ship.
Speed, radars, anti-aircraft guns … But how would a battleship look in a real naval battle? Where there is no place for subtle matters. Where big guns and a hefty array of armor decide everything.
Not a saint or a scoundrel. He knows his own worth. He is well acquainted with the secrets of naval combat and can offer the enemy a number of unexpected surprises. Among them are the world's heaviest ammunition of 406 mm caliber (armor-piercing "suitcases" Mk.8 weighing 1225 kg). Due to their anomalous mass and competent design, such projectiles were almost as powerful as the 457-mm projectiles of the legendary Yamato.
In a short skirmish near Casablanca, the battleship Massachusetts (type South Dakota) only needed four Mk.8s to disable the battleship Jean Bar (type Richelieu). At that time, the French were very lucky: the limitedly combat-ready "Jean Bar" did not have part of the ammunition, otherwise, its death was almost inevitable - one of the American shells exploded in the cellar of medium-caliber towers.
Reservation. It is from this direction that they like to inflict a blow on Iowa, tactfully turning a blind eye to other advantages of the American super-battleship. Surpassing any capital ship in all other respects, the Iowa did not have any noticeable advantages in the field of armor protection. Such a strong "middling" with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Not the thickest (307 mm), but a VERY high armor belt (in fact, there were two of them - the main and the lower, differentiated in thickness). A controversial decision with the placement of an armored belt inside the hull. Weak traverses on the first two battleships. Exceptionally powerful protection of the conning tower, steering engines, main battery towers and their barbets (as the results of real sea battles showed, these parameters were abandoned much more important than the thickness of the armor belt).
An anti-torpedo protection system adequate for the size of the battleship: without overly complicated and controversial solutions, such as the Italian Pugliese system ("Littorio"). Due to the cylindrical inserts and the absence of sharp contours in the underwater part of the hull (as in the Richelieu), the PTZ system of the American women had maximum efficiency over most of the length of their hull.
High speed, a powerful armament complex and high-quality control systems, reliable power plant, good stability of the battleship as an artillery platform, excellent maneuverability (the circulation diameter at full speed is less than that of a destroyer!), Adequate security (without any special frills, but also without critical flaws), high standards of habitability, thought-out design to the smallest detail (wide corridors, through "Broadway" connecting the main cellars) and, finally, autonomy and cruising range unattainable for European battleships.
It's a shame to admit that Iowa's all battleships are battleships. To soften the bitterness of the fact that the Yankees again have all the best, it is imperative to find in “Iowa” a couple of shortcomings.
- Lack of reloading compartments, part of the ammunition was stored inside the barbets of the main battery towers. Is it too bold a decision?
Of course, the ammunition storage areas were protected by a system of flameproof locks and doors, and the barbets themselves served as additional protection. And yet … However, the Yankees did not attach much importance to this: the detonation of the BC - even in the cellar, even inside the barbet - definitely gave the ship a pass to immortality.
By the way, the great Yamato also had no reloading compartments.
- Lack of aircraft hangar: Iowa reconnaissance seaplanes were stored directly on catapults.
RQ-2 Pioneer reconnaissance drone boarding Iowa, 1980s
- "Worse" emergency diesel generators (two 250 kW each). Obviously, the Yankees relied on the main power plant and 8 main turbine generators of the battleship.
- Lack of sonar station. The standard solution for all American battleships and cruisers of those years, dictated by the concept of their use: the ships operated as part of battle groups, where the PLO was provided by numerous destroyers (over 800 by the end of the war).
Epilogue
One of the largest, most powerful and expensive ships in history. 100 milliondollars in the prices of the 40s: each of the "Iowas" cost as much as 15 destroyers! With a full displacement of 52 thousand tons (at the end of the war), they approximately corresponded in size to the German Bismarck and were inferior to only one Yamato. The only limitation in their construction was the width of the Panama Canal, everything else knew no limitations. "Iowa" was built in the richest and most technically advanced country at that time in the world, which did not know the horrors of war and lack of any resources. It would be naive to believe that under such conditions the Yankees would have built an unusable ship.
The number of battleships built (4) should also not be misleading - America is the only country that built capital ships at the height of the war. Strictly speaking, “Iowa” is simply nothing to compare with. Smaller pre-war European battleships. a priori do not compare with the American monster. Even the best of their representatives ("Richelieu" and the British "Vanguard", which was somehow completed by 1946) could not compare with "Iowa" for a long time in the quality of radar equipment and fire control systems. "Yamato" takes brute force, but also absolutely loses to the "American" in terms of the balance of its design and the quality of high-tech filling.
Four sisters
