The Rise and Fall of the Battleship (And Why They Won't Be Coming Back)

PopSci ^ | 1-3-2014 | Sam LaGrone

[Sir Napsalot]

USS Iowa firing all of its 16-inchers. A fantastic spectacle but anachronistic in 21st century warfare. (US Navy Photo)

Those who cover the militarized aspects of the ocean eventually will encounter a group of people who want the U.S. Navy to get back into the battleship business.

The argument goes like this: The four remaining World War II Iowa-class battleships are cheaper to operate, cheaper than building new ships, and provide powerful and much-needed weapons (giant 16-inch guns—that’s the diameter of the shell, not the length of the barrel) to the U.S. arsenal. (The 2012 summer movie spectacular Battleship may have reinvigorated some of the calls to reactivate the big ships following the glorious montage of the USS Missouri coming to life to fight maritime aliens).

Before killing the buzz of why bringing back the Iowa-class ships doesn’t make sense, let’s take a quick history tangent.

The modern armored ship entered popular American culture with the 1862 ironclad battle between the Union’s USS Monitor and the Confederacy’s CSS Virginia (often referred to by its Union moniker Merrimack).

[Sir Napsalot]

Some history, then the why it won't be brought back.

Don't think any other nation is thinking of reviving Battleships either.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

You've been....

Thunderstruck!

[2ndDivisionVet]

They require far too many crewmen for a modern warship, which is why they were retired again after the Bush I administration. It has nothing to do with their armament, which can reach many of the targets we want to hit. We’re not paying sailors $25 a month any more.

[dfwgator]

[Rummyfan]

Great for a gun platform for fire support. And for launching cruise missiles. I would got out on a limb and say there will never be another naval battle like Leyte Gulf, but who knows? The Chinese are hell bent on a blue water navy...

[meatloaf]

I wonder how a battleship’s armor would handle a modern ship killer missile. The destroyers back in the 70’s through the 90’s were aluminum from the main deck up. Not too good for stopping anything.

[Vermont Lt]

Yeah....I know all that.

But they are so cool. Can’t we have just a couple?

[Rodentking]

There were both rocket boosted and terminal guided shells.

[Anton.Rutter]

I’d keep one running. Sabot rounds, smart projectiles, accepting surrenders...

[diverteach]

I’ll always love them Iowa class battleships. Such a beautiful and awesome boat that oozed strength and power. I’ll never forget being on the receiving end of the Iowa as she practiced with her 16”ers and we towed the targets.

[PGR88]

The big battleship existed to deliver massive ordnance over long distances. The end began in WWII, and now are so many other ways to deliver massive ordnance now, that role of the battleship is finished. Plus - it is a huge, expensive target for supersonic anti-ship missiles that nearly every tinpot dictator possesses now.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Those wooden decks are so 19th century.

[Vermont Lt]

I like the idea of Battleships. But I also recall the Battles of the Falklands. Exocet missiles and their ilk love Battleships too.

[Last Dakotan]

I went aboard the USS Iowa with my Veteran father when the ship was dedicated at the Pacific Battleship Center. We had complete run of the ship and got into spaces that won't be open to the public for years (if ever).

What impressed me is the care the Navy took in mothballing the ship. If for instance a boiler has been drained, the drain plug is left wired to the boiler and written instructions for replacing it are attached.

Here is an Electrician's Mate explaining to his sons how to put a turbo-generator on line in correct phase.

Note the tags.

[Billthedrill]

They require far too many crewmen for a modern warship

Yep. The heavy cruiser I served aboard had a crew of about 1200. You just couldn't do that these days.

Sure, you could automate the heck out of the thing, but that would constitute a whole new ship design. 16-inch guns and the 600-lb steam propulsion plant were designed to be crewed by people. They'd have to be redesigned. By then you have a whole new ship anyway.

It's all about the mission. Ship-to-ship, it's too big and slow a target and payloads these days are better than any armor. Ship-to-shore, i.e. fire support, you can get better range and accuracy nowadays without the bulk.

But they were good. My late Dad told a story about calling in fire support on a hill in Korea. He was expecting 155's but got the 16-inchers instead. He said it was a little startling when the top of the hill just went away. There's something to be said for that.

[Paladin2]

Too much deck area to swab?

[central_va]

I think a naval engagement of the future will be at close ranges. Why? Radar counter detection invariable leads to EMCOM - emissions control being enforced. Targeting will be via satellite and final targeting visual, that’s right visual. The old saying is radiate and die. Radar is suicide, same with active sonar.

[gura]

[Lou L]

The battle of Leyte Gulf is famous for the "crossing of the T" in which US forces caught Japanese forces in single file, transiting the Surigao Straits. We were able to pluck many of those ships off, one by one. Our ships could fire abeam; the Japanese ships could only fire ahead, and their fire was limmited. But this tactic is ancient. Ships of sail did the same thing.

With modern guided missiles and air capabilities, crossing the T, as well as having big, heavy battleships to put shells on-target is not cost-effective.

[R W Reactionairy]

"They require far too many crewmen for a modern warship, which is why they were retired again after the Bush I administration. It has nothing to do with their armament, which can reach many of the targets we want to hit. We’re not paying sailors $25 a month any more.

Checked to see how many sailors man our carriers?

The combat radius for a 16" gun [full 16" not with a theoretical sabot] is only 22 to 24 miles.

That being said an Iowa makes for a relatively hard target, can carry a butt load of missiles and can I have been told can deliver as much ordinance via its 16" guns in 45 minutes as a carrier can deliver in 24 hours.

Big guns can be automated to a certain degree -- look up Des Moines class cruisers. Coming back? Probably not, in part because they have no sponsorship and partly because of the whole range limitation issue.