[Gator101]

If only Halsey had left his fast battleships back to guard San Bernardino Strait in 1944 this "what if" may have been answered...the world wonders.

[bmwcyle]

What Spartacus has a Piper Cub?

[COEXERJ145]

It would have been interesting. That's for sure. I think the USN would have won the battle but it wouldn't have been an almost bloodless victory like the earlier battle of Surigao Strait.

Since it didn't happen, it meant that Surigao Strait was the last time in history when battleship faced battleship.

[Elsiejay]

Appealing to the naval surface warfare experts amng us:
Would their main battery 16-, 18- or 19-inch guns have been the primary weapon in a battleship-to-battleship slugfest, or would guns of lesser weight have been more useful? I assume the "big ones" were primarily intended for long-distance shore bombardment. N'est ce pas?

[Tallguy]

If only Halsey had left his fast battleships back to guard San Bernardino Strait in 1944 this "what if" may have been answered.

The major role of the fast battleships was to protect the CV's from a major surface combatant like the Yamato. The thinking was that it might be possible during adverse weather conditions, or in narrow waters, to catch a carrier unready. The fast battleship, because it could keep pace with the CV's, was ideal for that role. In addition you could put a lot of AAA guns on a battlewagon to help drive off enemy aircraft.

That said, Halsey left his slow battleships to cover San Bernadino Strait, and took his fast BB's with him as insurance. Had Halsey known that the Japanese CV's posed no threat (they didn't have any aircraft embarked), he might have reacted differently.