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Anonymous
Anonymous asked in Politics & GovernmentMilitary · 1 decade ago

Should the Remaining Iowa class battleships we reactivated-repost?

(I Accidently clicked something wrong on my last post so i reposted this topic.)

1. An Iowa class battleship has way to much armor to be pierced by Cruise missile or harpoon.

2. The modern guns of the Battleship can rip a modern destroyer/cruiser in half, and a CV would be dead in the water after one hit.

3. True battleships can be targeted by Subs but that is why you usually have battleships screened by a destroyer or with subs, just like with any carrier fleet today.

4. Modern advances in the battleships could be made today at the cost little since ramjet projectiles have already been successfully tested and fired at 100nm.

5. Arguing the Battleships reactivation cost is useless since reactivation and modernization together costs as much as a modern missile frigate.

6. Manpower is a joke since it takes 5000+ men to run a CV when a Iowa class Battleship takes 1,921 men at maximum capacity (minimum is 800+)

7. A battleship can make decisions easier when invading on a beach easier than a destroyer using tomahawk missiles.

8. Battleships have all weather status and are not affected by any kind of weather including hurricanes.

9. A Battleships will only take 1-2 million a year to maintain. At the same time an aircraft carrier cost's several Millions to replace missiles and aircraft.

10. Reactivation and Modernization will only take 1-2 years.

11. Reactivation costs are $500 million and modernization is $2 billion.

12. to further Technology of the Battleships would cost an additional million if not less for the projectiles to be but into production.

13. True no such personnel know or are trained to operate a battleship main gun but can easily be taught.

14. Some reports have indicated a battleship's main guns could be used as anti aircraft if the time detonation fuses could be computer operated with its target and shoot 10mm sabot shells plus shrapnel when shell explodes.

15. Some 5" guns on the battleships could be removed to put more Phalanx CIWS on the ship to improve its anti-aircraft/ anti missile capabilies.

16. No ship or missile in the world is designed to take out the battleship with one shot or with many massed attacks.

17. Battleship Survivability since they use STS (special treated steel) of belt armor reinforced by large Bulk heads and Barbettes.

18. True the turrent on the USS Iowa did explode but it only did so little damage to the ship that it can easily be repaired and which was considered in the GAO Reports I read so that turrent has already been included into the math.

19. True Air Superiority is necessary but when it comes down to shore bombardment, Planes can be intercepted, sometimes ineffective economically and physically, and usually avoided by the enemy until the marines come on up to the shore to attack.

20. Currently building new battleships would be.....truly expensive depending upon their armaments and capabilities.

21. Surface ships were built for Naval presence, if we did not want Naval presence we would have built the arsenal ship back then but it can down to the fact that the arsenal ship could be easily struck by one harpoon missile and probably blow up the whole ship because of it's weak armor and heavy armament beyond it's own defensive capabilities to protect exposed weapons whereas the battleship can protect it's magazine and it's missiles with several anti-air/missile weapons and thick enough armor to make sure they don't explode by the bullet.

22. Iowa class battleships today cannot be compared with the ships of yesterday due to the fact that technology back then against aircraft was completely ineffective in most cases whereas today trying to hit a destroyer with a single harpoon is almost impossible but massed attacks would sink a destroyer after 1-3 hits of harpoons.

Update:

23. In history the iowa's have been praised for thier ability to put "steel on target" something that no other ship in the world is able to comprehend due to modern destroyers only shooting weak 5" guns and cruiser of the same, and some frigates only shooting 3" shells!

6 Answers

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  • psyop6
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    I believe that the Iowa-class ships were deactivated primarily because they attracted the same manpower that the carrier community needed. As good as our other ships are, the 16" guns the Iowas pack are far superior to anything that the rest of the fleet has for fire support.

  • Absolutely they should and they should be regarded as asset not a consumable piece of gear they are unmatched and awsome makes me feel more secure about modern day probs in the seas especially all thats goin on in the asian islands they would be perfect for that problem if needbe

  • BDZot
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago

    Reposted question, reposted answer:

    We no longer need to control the seas as we did during the battleships heyday. Now it is important to control the skies...and if you can control the skies, you control the sea also.

    You mention that battleships can fire on targets within a 100 nautical mile radius...which is a quarter of the radius that an aircraft carrier can strike.

    It's sad to see a generation go but with the effectiveness of the carrier fleet, we need to let the dinosaurs die out.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I love sea power. I think there is nothing more indimidating to some petty dictator knowing that iron of that size is coming to get them. Their firepower is just staggering.

    I would think radar advances would make it much harder to sink a battleship. GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES NAVY!!!

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  • 1 decade ago

    NO. we have the best navel ships in the world why bring back a relic from ww2.. but i will say i would mine seeing a big gun battleship one more time..

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Waste of money. These are useless dinosaurs. Wars of the future won't need them.

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