[PapaBear3625]

I just had to go look. Yes, the 16 inch guns DID have anti-aircraft capability. At the link is a table of ranges and altitudes for the guns.

A 16 inch shell bursting within a hundred yards of an aircraft would likely take it down.

[JimRed]

A 16 inch shell bursting within a hundred yards of an aircraft would likely take it down.

But the retargeting time to aim on any individual moving target makes it thoroughly impractical.

[DesertRhino]

That’s true. The Iowa guns did have an obscure capability for AAA, and the Yamato and Musashi did too. But that was not the primary purpose of the 2 kiloton 16 inch guns in stacked turrets on the flight deck.