By the time the Second World class of fast battleships ended, it reached its limit in its development, advantageously combining the destructive power and protection of dreadnoughts with the high speed of battle cruisers, these samples of naval weapons performed many amazing feats under the flags of all the warring states.
It is not possible to make any "rating" of battleships of those years - four favorites claim the first place at once, and each of them has the most serious reasons for that. As for the rest of the places of honor, it is generally impossible to make any conscious choice here. 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 war dictated different rules: inland seas or the open ocean, proximity or, conversely, extreme remoteness of bases. Classic squadron battles with the same monsters or bloody mess with endless air attacks repelling and shelling of fortifications on the enemy coast.
Ships cannot be viewed in isolation from the geopolitical situation, the state of the scientific, industrial and financial spheres of states - all this left a considerable imprint on their design.
Direct comparison between any Italian "Littorio" and the American "North Caroline" is completely out of the question.
Nevertheless, the contenders for the title of the best battleship are visible to the naked eye. These are "Bismarck", "Tirpitz", "Iowa" and "Yamato" - ships of which even those who have never been interested in the fleet have heard.
Living according to the precepts of Sun Tzu
… Her Majesty's battleships "Anson" and "Duke of York", aircraft carriers "Victories", "Furies", escort aircraft carriers "Sicher", "Empuer", "Pesyuer", "Fanser", cruisers "Belfast", "Bellona", "Royalist", "Sheffield", "Jamaica", destroyers "Javelin", "Virago", "Meteor", "Swift", "Vigilent", "Wakeful", "Onslot" … - only about 20 units under the British, Canadian and Polish flags, as well as 2 naval tankers and 13 squadrons of carrier-based aircraft.
Only in this composition in April 1944 did the British dare to approach the Alta Fjord - where the pride of the Kriegsmarine rusted under the gloomy arches of the Norwegian cliffs, the super-battleship Tirpitz.
The results of Operation Wolfram are assessed as controversial - carrier-based aircraft managed to bomb the German base and cause serious damage to the battleship's superstructures. However, the next "Pearl Harbor" did not work out - the British could not inflict mortal wounds on the "Tirpitz".
The Germans lost 123 people killed, but the battleship continued to pose a threat to shipping in the North Atlantic. The main problems were caused not so much by the numerous hits of bombs and fires on the upper deck, as by the newly discovered leaks in the underwater part of the hull - the result of a previous British attack using mini-submarines.
… In total, during her 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.
Hiding behind an anti-torpedo net, the ship was invulnerable to allied torpedo weapons. At the same time, aerial bombs were ineffective against such a well-defended target; it was possible to smash the armored citadel of a battleship for an infinitely long time, but the destruction of 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; carrier-based and strategic aviation raids. Local informants, 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 the enemy ships, for three years he fettered all the actions of the British in the North Atlantic!
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
Will the Tirpitz leave its anchorage and go to sea?
It was the Tirpitz that scared the escort of the PQ-17 convoy. He was hunted by all battleships and aircraft carriers of the metropolitan fleet in the Arctic latitudes. The boat K-21 shot at him. For his sake, the "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 the monstrous 5-ton Tallboy bombs.
Tallboy
The impressive success of the battleship "Tirpitz" is a legacy left over from the legendary "Bismarck" - the same type of battleship, meeting with which forever instilled fear in the hearts of the British: a pillar of fire froze before their eyes, soaring over the British battle cruiser HMS Hood. During the battle in the Danish Strait, it took the gloomy Teutonic knight only five volleys to deal with the British "gentleman".
"Bismarck" and "Prince Eugen" in a military campaign
And then the hour of reckoning came. A squadron of 47 ships and 6 submarines of Her Majesty pursued the Bismarck. After the battle, the British calculated: in order to sink the beast, they had to fire 8 torpedoes and 2876 shells of the main, medium and universal caliber!
What a sturdy man!
Hieroglyph "fidelity". Battleships of the Yamato class
There are three useless things in the world: the Cheops pyramid, the Great Wall of China and the battleship Yamato … Really?
The following story happened to the battleships Yamato and Musashi: they were undeservedly slandered. Around them there was a stable image of "losers", useless "venderwaffle" shamefully killed at the very first meeting with the enemy.
But in fact, we have the following:
The ships were designed and built on time, managed to fight and, finally, took 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 would hardly have been able to act better than the battleships Musashi and Yamato.
Disadvantages of Super Battleships?
Yes, first of all, weak air defense - neither the monstrous Sansiki 3 fireworks (anti-aircraft shells of 460 mm caliber), nor hundreds of small-caliber machine guns with magazine power could replace modern anti-aircraft guns and control systems with fire adjustment according to radar data.
Weak PTZ?
I beg of you! "Musashi" and "Yamato" died after 10-11 torpedo hits - no battleship on the planet could withstand so much (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, most"
The largest battleship in history and, concurrently, the largest warship that took part in World War II.
70 thousand tons of full displacement.
The main caliber is 460 mm.
Armor belt - 40 centimeters of solid metal.
The conning tower walls - half a meter of armor.
The thickness of the frontal part of the main battery turret is even greater - 65 centimeters of steel protection.
A tremendous sight!
The main miscalculation of the Japanese was a veil of extreme secrecy that enveloped everything connected with the Yamato-class battleships. To date, there are only a few photographs of these monsters - mostly taken from aboard American aircraft.
But in vain!
It was worth being proud of such ships and seriously scaring the enemy with them - after all, the Yankees were sure until the last moment that they were dealing with ordinary battleships, with 406 mm guns.
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 - as happened with the Tirpitz. The Yankees would rush to build similar ships with half-meter armor and 460 or even 508 mm cannons - in general, it would be fun. The strategic effect of the Japanese super-battleships could have been much greater.
The Yamato Museum in Kure. The Japanese cherish the memory of their "Varyag"
How did the leviathans die?
The Musashi sailed all day in the Sibuyan Sea under heavy attacks from five American aircraft carriers. He walked all day, and by the evening he died, having received, according to various estimates, 11-19 torpedoes and 10-17 aerial bombs …
In your opinion, were the Japanese battleship's security and combat stability great? And which of his peers could do this?
"Yamato" … death from above was his destiny. Torpedo tracks, the sky is black from aircraft …
Quite frankly, the Yamato performed an honorable seppuku, leaving with a small squadron against eight aircraft carriers of the 58th Task Force. The result is predictable - two hundred planes tore apart the battleship and its few escorts 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 stepped out to meet Task Force 58 of Admiral Mitscher? What if the Japanese industry were able to create air defense systems similar to those of the US Navy at the time?
How would the battle between the battleship and the 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 dry indices are masterpieces of technical progress - analog computers and automatic fire control systems, radars, radio altimeters and shells 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 when you consider the terrifying rate of fire of the Mk.12 anti-aircraft guns, the extremely effective 40mm Bofors and the belt-fed Oerlikon assault rifles … There is a good chance that an American air attack could drown in blood, and a 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 be … alas, the Yamato went to the seabed, and the impressive complex of anti-aircraft weapons became the prerogative of the American Iowa.
It is absolutely impossible to come to terms with the idea that the best ship is again in the hands of the Americans. Haters of the United States will instantly find a dozen reasons why Iowa cannot be considered the most perfect battleship.
Iowa is 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 fight off attacks from enemy destroyers only with universal anti-aircraft guns (5 inches, 127 mm).
Also, among the shortcomings of "Iowa" is the lack of reloading compartments in the main turret towers, worse seaworthiness and "wave performance" (compared to the same British "Vanguard"), the relative weakness of their PTZ in front of the Japanese "Long Lance", "muhlezh" with the declared maximum speed (on a measured mile, battleships hardly accelerated to 31 knots - instead of the declared 33!).
But perhaps the most serious of all the accusations - the weakness of the booking in comparison with any of their peers - is especially a lot of questions raised by the Iowa's traverse bulkheads.
Of course, the defenders of the American shipbuilding will now go out in steam, proving that all the listed shortcomings of the Iowa are just an illusion, the ship was designed for a specific situation and ideally corresponded to the conditions of the Pacific theater of war.
The absence of a medium caliber became an advantage of the American battleships: universal "five-inch guns" were enough to combat surface and air targets - it made no sense to take on board 150 mm guns as "ballast". And the presence of "advanced" fire control systems finally leveled the factor of the absence of a "medium caliber".
Reproaches for poor seaworthiness are a purely subjective opinion: "Iowa" has always been considered an extremely stable artillery platform. As for the strong "overwhelming" of the bow of the battleship in stormy weather - this myth was born in our time. More modern sailors were surprised at the manners of an armored monster: instead of calmly swaying 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 shells (which is not bad) - the Mk.8 armor-piercing shell with a mass of 1225 kg was the world's heaviest ammunition of its caliber.
With an assortment of shells, the Iowa had no problems at all: the ship had a whole range of armor-piercing and high-explosive ammunition and charges of various power; after the war appeared the "cluster" Mk.144 and Mk.146, stuffed with explosive grenades in the amount of 400 and, respectively, 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 on the measured mile, the tests of the Iowa were carried out with a limited power plant - just like that, without a good reason, to force the machines to the design 254,000 hp. the thrifty Yankees refused.
The general impression of the Iowa can only be spoiled by their relatively low security … however, this drawback is more than compensated for by many other advantages of the battleship.
"Iowa" have more seniority than all other battleships of the WWII combined - World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Iraq … Battleships of this type survived everyone - the modernization of the mid-1980s made it possible to extend the service life of veterans until the beginning of the XXI century - battleships lost parts artillery weapons, in return having received 32 SLCM "Tomahawk", 16 anti-ship missiles "Harpoon", SAM "SeaSparrow", modern radars and melee systems "Falanx".
Off the coast of Iraq
However, the physical wear and tear of mechanisms and the end of the Cold War played an important role in the fate of the most famous American battleships - all four monsters left the US Navy ahead of schedule and turned into large naval museums.
Well, the favorites are determined. Now is the time to mention a number of other armored monsters - after all, each of them is worthy of its portion of surprise and admiration.
For example, "Jean Bart" - one of the two built battleships of the "Richelieu" class. An elegant French ship with a unique silhouette: two four-gun turrets in the bow, a stylish superstructure, a chimney dashingly bent back …
Battleships of the "Richelieu" class 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 scheme and thickness of Richelieu's armor was even better than that of many of its larger peers. And all this was successfully combined with a speed of over 30 knots - the "Frenchman" was the fastest of the European battleships!
The unusual fate of these battleships: the flight of unfinished ships from the shipyard, in order to avoid capture by the Germans, a sea battle with the British and American fleets in Casablanca and Dakar, repairs in the United States, and then a long happy service under the French flag until the second half of the 1960s.
And here is the magnificent trinity from the Apennine Peninsula - the Italian battleships of the "Littorio" class
These ships are usually the object of severe criticism, but if you apply an integrated approach to their assessment, it turns out that the battleships "Littorio" are not so bad against the background of their British or German peers, as is commonly believed.
The project was based on the ingenious concept of the Italian fleet - to hell with great autonomy and fuel supply! - Italy is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, all bases are close by.
The saved load reserve was spent on armor and weapons. As a result, the Littorio had 9 main guns in three rotating turrets - more than any of their European counterparts.
"Roma"
A noble silhouette, high-quality lines, good seaworthiness and high speed - in the best traditions of the Italian school of shipbuilding.
Cunning anti-torpedo protection based on the calculations of Umberto Pugliese.
At the very least, the spaced-out booking scheme deserves attention. In general, in everything related to booking, battleships of the Littorio class deserve the highest marks.
For the rest …
Otherwise, the Italian battleships turned out to be bad - it still remains a mystery why the Italians fired so crookedly guns - despite their excellent armor penetration, the 15-inch Italian shells had surprisingly low accuracy and accuracy of fire. Overdrive the barrels of the guns? Manufacturing quality of liners and shells? Or maybe the national peculiarities of the Italian character affected?
In any case, the main problem with the Littorio-class battleships was their inept use. The Italian sailors did not manage to enter into a general battle with the fleet of Her Majesty. Instead, the lead Littorio was sunk right at its anchorage during the British raid on the Taranto naval base (the cheerful slovens 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 of the venture with the Italian battleships. The battleship "Roma" completed its combat path brightest and most tragically of all, disappearing in a deafening explosion of its own artillery cellars - the result of a well-aimed hit by the German guided aerial bomb "Fritz-X" (aerial bomb? conventional bomb).
Epilogue
Battleships were different. Among them were formidable and effective. There were no less formidable, but ineffective. But every time, the fact that the enemy had such ships gave the opposite side a lot of trouble and anxiety.
Battleships are always battleships. Powerful and destructive ships with the highest combat resistance.
