My dad got to see battleships firing for effect in WWII. He had landed in southern France with the 7th Army, and just off the beach a battleship was firing broadsides at some German gun emplacements. He told me that you could see the ship move when the guns fired.
The Germans guns were in Toulon harbor, and in fact had once been the armament of a French battleship. The French had scuttled their fleet but the Germans had managed to salvage the gun turrets and were using them as coast artillery. They fought a running duel with the US Navy for about a week before losing that battle.
Today (LBJ and forward), politicians run the wars.
Regardless, that must have been some sight that your Dad saw during WWII.
I wasn’t on a battle ship and we didn’t have 16 inch guns. ...only 8 inch, but we also didn’t have ear protection and I can’t hear a damn thing any more.