Battleships are armored artillery warships that have a large displacement and good armament. USSR battleships were widely used in a variety of battles, as they easily cope with the destruction of the enemy in naval combat by delivering artillery strikes on objects located on the shore.
Peculiarities
Battleships are powerful artillery armored ships. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, there were a lot of them in the country's arsenal. The battleships of the USSR had high-quality weapons in the form of various guns, which were constantly modernized. Most often, the weapons consisted of large-caliber machine guns and torpedo tubes. These ships provided the defense of Leningrad, Sevastopol and other coastal cities.
Sevastopol class
Battleships of this class had a monitor-shaped hull, in which the freeboard area and icebreaker-shaped stem were minimized. With a short hull length, the ship's displacement was 23,000 tons, but in reality it reached about 26,000 tons. Coal was used as fuel, and if forced operation was required, then oil. These battleships of the USSR Navy were equipped with a power plant of 42,000 hp. With. at a speed of 23 knots and a cruising range of 4000 miles.
As weapons, the battleship was equipped with rifled guns, which were arranged linearly and had a technical rate of fire of 1.8 rounds per minute. As mine countermeasures, 16 120 mm guns were used, the rate of fire of which was 7 rounds per minute, with all guns located on the middle deck. This placement of artillery led to low firing efficiency, which, combined with the low seaworthiness of the battleship itself, made them more difficult to control.
These USSR battleships were modernized before the Second World War, which improved the silhouette of the ships: they had a tank superstructure that was tightly coupled to the hull and covered with a durable deck on top. The changes affected the nasal tip, power plants and improved living conditions for the team.
"Paris Commune"
This battleship was the latest to undergo modernization. As it was improved, its displacement became larger, the engine power became higher and amounted to 61,000 hp, and the ship reached a maximum speed of 23.5 knots. During modernization, much attention was paid to strengthening anti-aircraft weapons: 6 76 mm anti-aircraft guns, 16 artillery pieces and 14 machine guns appeared on the bow and stern. These World War II USSR battleships were used in the defense of Sevastopol. During the entire period of hostilities during the Great Patriotic War, the battleship took part in 15 military campaigns, carried out 10 artillery firings, repelled more than 20 enemy air raids and shot down three enemy aircraft.
During World War II, the ship defended Sevastopol and the Kerch Strait. The first hostilities took place on November 8, 1941, and only during the first period of fighting a large number of tanks, guns, and military vehicles transporting certain cargo were destroyed.
"Marat"
These USSR battleships defended the approaches to Leningrad, defending the city for 8 days. During one of the enemy attacks, the ship was hit by two bombs at once, which destroyed the bow of the ship and led to the detonation of the shell magazines. As a result of this tragic event, 326 crew members died. Six months later, partial buoyancy was restored to the ship; the stern part, which sank, surfaced. For a long time the Germans tried to destroy the damaged battleship, which was used by our military as a fort.
However, after some time, the battleship was repaired and partially restored, but even this allowed it to resist enemy artillery fire: after the ship was restored, aircraft, batteries and enemy personnel were destroyed. In 1943, this USSR battleship was renamed Petropavlovsk, and 7 years later it was completely removed from service and transferred to a training center.
"October Revolution"
This battleship was initially based in Tallinn, but with the outbreak of World War II it was relocated to Kronstadt as soon as the Germans began to approach the city. The "October Revolution" became a reliable artillery defense of the city, since all attempts by the German army to sink the battleship remained unsuccessful. During the war years, this largest battleship of the USSR proved itself to be a reliable adversary on the water.
From "Gangut" to "Revolution"
The original name of the battleship was Gangut. It was under this name that the ship took part in the First World War: under its cover, minefields were laid, on which more than one German cruiser was subsequently blown up. After giving the ship a new name, it performed during the Second World War, and all attempts by the Germans to cope with it were failures. The USSR battleships of the Second World War were generally distinguished by their reliability: for example, the “October Revolution” was subjected to numerous air and artillery attacks, and still survived. During the war years, the battleship itself fired about 1,500 shells, repelled numerous air raids, shot down 13 aircraft and damaged many more.
The main campaigns of "Gangut" ("October Revolution")
An interesting fact is that the formidable ships of our army never met enemy battleships in battle during the two world wars - the first and second. The only battle was fought by the Sevastopol back in the Civil War, when the ship covered the destroyer Azard and repelled the attack of as many as seven British destroyers.
In general, "Gangut" went on three military campaigns to the Baltic, where it provided mine laying, then in service with the Red Army it received a new name and was included in the Naval Forces of the Baltic Sea. The battleship also took part in the Soviet-Finnish war as fire support for ground forces. The most important task of the battleship was the defense of Leningrad.
In 1941, on September 27, the ship was hit by a bomb weighing 500 kg, which pierced the decks and tore apart the tower.
"Arkhangelsk"
Not all battleships of the USSR during the Second World War were initially in service with our country. Thus, the battleship "Arkhangelsk" was first part of the British Navy, then was transferred to the Soviet Union. It is noteworthy that this ship was converted in the USA and equipped with modern radar systems for all types of weapons. That is why Arkhangelsk is also known as HMS Royal Sovereign.
In the interwar years, the battleship was modernized several times, and seriously. And the changes concerned mainly additional equipment with guns. By World War II, this battleship was already outdated, but despite this, it was nevertheless included in the country's fleet. But its role was not as valiant as that of other battleships: the Arkhangelsk mostly stood off the coast of the Kola Bay, where it provided the fire offensive of the Soviet troops and disrupted the evacuation of the Germans. In January 1949, the ship was delivered to Great Britain.
USSR battleship projects
The battleships of the USSR, the projects of which were developed by a variety of engineers, have always been considered one of the most reliable in the whole world. Thus, engineer Bubnov proposed a super-dreadnought project, which attracted attention with its elaborate details, artillery power, high speed and sufficient level of armor. Design began back in 1914, and the main task of the engineers was to place three four-gun turrets on a small hull, which was not enough for such weapons. It turned out that in this situation the ship was left without reliable anti-torpedo protection. The main weapons on this ship were:
- main armor belt, which extended over 2/3 of the length of the ship;
- horizontal reservation on four levels;
- circular reservation of towers;
- 12 guns in turrets and 24 anti-mine caliber guns, which were located in casemates.
Experts said that this battleship was a powerful combat unit, which, compared to foreign analogues, was capable of reaching a speed of 25 knots. True, the armor was already insufficient at the time of the First World War, and there were no plans to modernize the ships...
Project by engineer Kostenko
The advanced battleships of Russia and the USSR more than once rescued Soviet troops. One of the developments was the Kostenko ship, which is considered the latest. Its distinctive features included balanced weapon characteristics, excellent speed and high-quality armor. The project was based on the Anglo-German experience of the Battle of Jutland, so the engineer in advance abandoned the maximum artillery equipment of the ships. And the emphasis was on balancing armor protection and mobility.
This ship was developed in four versions, with the first version being the fastest. As in the Bubnov version, the battleship had a main combat belt, which was complemented by a bulkhead of two plates. Horizontal armor affected several decks, which itself acted as armor flooring. The armor was carried out in the turret, the deckhouse, and around the ship; in addition, the engineer paid close attention to the anti-torpedo protection, which previously appeared on battleships in the form of a simple longitudinal bulkhead.
The engineer proposed using 406 mm main caliber guns and 130 mm guns as weapons. The first ones were located in towers, which provided a good firing range. The designs of this vessel, as already mentioned, were different, which also affected the number of guns.
Project by engineer Gavrilov
Gavrilov proposed building the most powerful, so-called ultimate battleships of the USSR. The photo shows that such models were small in size, but were more efficient in terms of technical and operational characteristics. According to the general concept, the battleship was the ultimate ship, the technical characteristics of which were on the verge of an achievable level. The project took into account only the most powerful weapon parameters:
- 16 main caliber 406 mm guns in four turrets;
- 24 152 mm anti-mine caliber guns in casemates.
Such weapons fully corresponded to the concept of Russian shipbuilding, when there was an amazing combination of the maximum possible artillery saturation with high speed while damaging the armor. By the way, it was not the most successful on most Soviet battleships. But the ship’s propulsion system was one of the most powerful, since its operation was based on transformer turbines.
Equipment features
The battleships of the USSR during the Second World War (the photo confirms their power), according to Gavrilov’s projects, were equipped with the most advanced systems at that time. Like previous engineers, he paid attention to the armor, and the thickness of the armor was somewhat greater. But experts noted that even with powerful artillery, high speed and enormous size, this battleship would be quite vulnerable when meeting the enemy.
Results
As experts note, the Second World War became a certain stage for checking the state of the battleships of the USSR for readiness. As it turned out, the battle fleet was not prepared for the destructive force and power of atomic bombs and precision guided weapons. That is why, towards the end of the war, battleships ceased to be considered a powerful combat force, and so much attention was no longer paid to the development of carrier-based aviation. Stalin ordered that battleships be excluded from military shipbuilding plans because they did not meet the requirements of the time.
As a result, ships such as the “October Revolution” and “Paris Commune” were withdrawn from the active fleet, and some models were put into reserve. Subsequently, Khrushchev left literally several heavy artillery ships in the country's arsenal, considering them effective in battle. And on October 29, 1955, the flagship of the Black Sea squadron, the last battleship of the USSR, Novorossiysk, sank in the Northern Bay of Sevastopol. After this event, our country said goodbye to the idea of having battleships in its fleet.
From the moment guns are installed on ships, the eternal rivalry between projectile and armor begins. After realizing the vulnerability of the majestic sailing fleet to gunfire, engineers and shipbuilders begin to install armor on warships. In the 19th century, the first battleships appeared, completing their development by the beginning of the 20th century and becoming the main striking and most powerful force of the fleet. They are being replaced by dreadnought battleships, even larger, more powerful and heavily armored. The development of battleships peaked during World War II, when the competition between shell and armor reached its climax, giving rise to the most powerful and magnificent ships ever created by man. They will be discussed in our article.
6. Battleships of the King George V class
Before World War II, the navies of the leading maritime powers were intensively armed with modern battleships. Great Britain was considered a trendsetter in the field of military shipbuilding and the most powerful naval power for several centuries, but after the First World War its leadership began to gradually fade away. As a result, the Lady of the Seas approached the war with the least powerful “main” battleship.
The British began designing battleships of the King George V type in the late 1920s to replace super-dreadnoughts. Over the course of several years, the original project underwent significant changes, and by 1935 the final version, about 230 meters long and with a displacement of about 35 thousand tons, was approved. The main caliber of the new battleship was to be ten 356-mm guns. The placement of the main caliber artillery was original. Instead of the classic four 2-gun turrets or three 3-gun turrets, they chose the option with two turrets with four guns each at the bow and stern and one turret with two guns at the bow. At the beginning of World War II, the caliber of 356 mm was considered insufficient and was the smallest among the other battleships of the leading powers. The King George armor-piercing projectile weighed a modest 721 kg. The initial speed was low - 757 m/s. The English guns did not shine with their rate of fire. The only advantages can be attributed to the traditionally high-quality gun barrels and armor-piercing shells, coupled with the reliability of the system as a whole.
The average caliber of the battleship was represented by sixteen 133-mm guns in two-gun turrets. These guns were supposed to become universal, conducting both anti-aircraft fire and performing the function of fighting enemy destroyers. While such guns coped well with the second task, they turned out to be ineffective against aviation due to their low rate of fire and imperfect guidance systems. Also, the King George battleships were equipped with two reconnaissance seaplanes with one catapult.
The armor of British ships was based on the classic “all or nothing” principle, when the main and most important components of the ship were covered with the thickest armor, and the ends of the hull and deck remained practically unarmored. The thickness of the main armor belt reached an impressive 381 mm. Overall, the booking was quite good and balanced. The quality of the English armor itself remained excellent. The only criticism was the frankly weak mine and torpedo protection.
The main power plant developed 110 thousand horsepower and allowed the battleship to accelerate to 28 knots. The estimated cruising range at an economical 10-knot speed reached 14 thousand miles, but in reality everything turned out to be much more modest.
In total, the British managed to build five ships of this type. The battleships were created to confront the German fleet in the Atlantic, but they had to serve in many parts of the world. The most belligerent of the British battleships were the King George V, which had long been the flagship of the English Royal Navy, and the Prince of Wales, which took the battle along with the ill-fated Hood against the legendary Bismarck. At the end of 1941, the Prince of Wales was sunk by Japanese aircraft, but the rest of her brothers survived the war and were safely scrapped in 1957.
Battleship Vanguard
In addition to ships of the King George V type, during the war the British managed to lay down the new Vanguard - a larger and more powerful battleship, devoid of many of the shortcomings of previous battleships. In terms of displacement and armament (50 thousand tons and eight 381-mm guns), it resembled the German Bismarck. But the British were able to complete the construction of this ship only in 1946.
5. Battleships of the Littorio / Vittorio Veneto type
After the First World War, Italy experienced difficult times. There was not enough money to build new battleships. Therefore, the release of new ships was postponed in every possible way for financial reasons. Italy began to develop a modern battleship only after the laying of powerful and fast battlecruisers of the Dunkirk class in France, its main rival in the Mediterranean, which completely devalued the old Italian battleships.
The main theater of military operations for the Italians was the Mediterranean Sea, which was historically considered “theirs.” This left its mark on the appearance of the new battleship. If for the British, autonomy and long cruising range were a key factor when developing their own battleships, then the Italian designers could sacrifice it for the sake of increased firepower and armor. The lead "Littorio" and "Vittorio Veneto" were larger than the "King George" - their total displacement was about 45 thousand tons with a length of about 240 meters. The battleships entered service in the spring of 1940.
The main battery consisted of nine powerful 15-inch (381 mm) guns in three 3-gun turrets. The Italians took the path of maximally boosting old guns of a similar caliber, increasing the barrel length from 40 to 50 calibers. As a result, Italian guns turned out to be record holders among 15-inch guns in Europe in terms of muzzle energy and projectile power, second in armor penetration only to the larger-caliber guns of the American Iowa and Japanese Yamato.
The weight of the armor-piercing projectile reached 885 kg with a high initial speed of 870 m/s. For this we had to pay for the extremely low accuracy and accuracy of fire, which is considered the main disadvantage of this type of battleship. Unlike the British, the Italians divided their medium artillery into mine and anti-aircraft artillery. Twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns in four 3-gun turrets were used to combat the attacking destroyers. For firing at aircraft there were twelve 90-mm guns, which were supplemented by 37-mm machine guns. The experience of the war showed the complete inadequacy of the anti-aircraft artillery of Italian battleships, as well as most similar ships of other countries.
The air group of the Littorio-class battleships consisted of three seaplanes and one catapult for launching them. The main armor belt was spaced apart and, although not very impressive in thickness, provided protection against 380 mm shells.
Battleship Vittorio Veneto
The main power plant produced 130 thousand horsepower and accelerated the Italian battleship to 30 knots. Such a high speed was a great advantage and made it possible to choose the optimal combat distance or even evade the fire of a stronger enemy. The cruising range was quite modest (4.5-5 thousand miles), but quite sufficient for the Mediterranean.
Battleship Roma
In total, the Italians managed to launch three battleships of this type; the fourth ship remained unfinished. Throughout World War II, the ships fought and were periodically damaged by British and American aircraft, after which they were repaired and put back into service. As a result, "Vittorio Veneto" and "Littorio" were transferred after the war to the UK and the USA, respectively, where they were cut up in the mid-1950s. The third battleship, Roma, suffered a sadder fate. After the surrender of Italy, the Germans sank it with Fritz-X guided bombs so that the ship would not fall to the Allies. Thus, the beautiful and graceful Italian battleships were never able to gain military glory.
4. Battleships of the Richelieu class
After the First World War, France found itself in a similar position to Italy regarding the state and further development of the navy.
After laying down the “pocket battleships” of the Scharnhorst class in Germany, the French were forced to urgently design ships to combat them. The resulting Dunkirk turned out to be so successful that it served as the basis for the creation of full-fledged battleships of the Richelieu class.
The full displacement of the Richelieu was almost 45 thousand tons, and the maximum length was about 250 meters. In order to fit the maximum possible weapons and heavy armor into a limited displacement, the French again used the original layout of the main caliber weapons, tested on the Dunkirk.
"Richelieu" carried eight 380-mm guns with a length of 45 calibers in two 4-gun turrets. The weight of the armor-piercing projectile was 890 kg with an initial speed of 830 m/s. This placement made it possible to save the total weight of each gun compared to 3- and especially 2-gun turrets. In addition, only two main-caliber turrets instead of three or four required a shorter length of the main armor belt to protect the guns and artillery magazines, and simplified the system for storing and supplying ammunition and fire control.
But such a bold scheme also had its drawbacks. Damage to any of the towers resulted in the failure of half of the ship's artillery, so the French separated each of the towers with an armored partition. Each pair of guns had independent guidance and ammunition supply. In practice, the 2-tower scheme turned out to be unreliable. French sailors used to say that the turret rotation system could fail at any minute. In addition, the aft sector of the ship was not protected by the main caliber guns, which was partly compensated by the large rotation angles of the front turrets.
Battleship Jean Bart
The pride of French shipbuilders was armor and protection in general. In terms of survivability, the Richelieu was superior to its competitors from England and Italy, was approximately equal to the larger Bismarck and Iowa, and was second only to the much heavier Yamato. The main armor belt had a thickness of 330 mm and an 18 mm lining. The belt, tilted at 18 degrees, resulted in almost half a meter of armor. The unfinished Jean Bart received about five heavy 406-mm American main-caliber shells. The ship survived this.
The Richelieu power plant produced 150 thousand horsepower, and the speed of more than 31 knots was one of the best in the class, formally second only to the Iowa. The maximum cruising range was about 10 thousand miles at an economical speed.
In total, the French planned to build three battleships of this type. Only two were put into operation - "Richelieu" and "Jean Bar", which survived the war not without incident. These ships have become one of the most balanced and successful ships of this class. Many experts give them the palm in battleship construction. They combined fairly powerful weapons, excellent armor and high speed. At the same time, they had average dimensions and displacement. However, many of the positive aspects were only good on paper. Like the Italian battleships, the French Richelieu and Jean Bart did not cover their history with immortal exploits. They managed to survive the war and even serve after it, having undergone modernization. As for the aesthetic side, the author of the article puts them in first place. The French battleships turned out to be truly beautiful and graceful.
3. Bismarck-class battleships
After World War I, Germany was one of the first to begin designing new modern battleships. As a country that lost the war, it was prohibited from building large warships. Therefore, the launch Scharnhorst and Gneisenau could only be called battleships with a stretch. Nevertheless, German engineers gained serious experience. And after the signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in 1935, which effectively abolished the Versailles restrictions, Germany began the development and construction of the largest and most powerful ships ever in service with the German fleet.
Bismarck-class battleships had a total displacement of about 50 thousand tons, a length of 250 meters and a width of 36 meters, surpassing their European counterparts in size. The main artillery, as on the Richelieu and Vittorio Veneto, was represented by 380-mm guns. The Bismarck carried eight guns in four 2-gun turrets, two each at the bow and stern. This was a step back from the 3- and 4-gun turrets of competitors.
Main caliber artillery was more durable, but required more space, armor and, accordingly, weight to accommodate it. The Bismarck guns did not stand out as anything special other than traditional German quality compared to the fifteen-inch guns of the French and Italians. Unless, unlike the latter, the pragmatic Germans relied on shooting accuracy at the expense of the power and weight of the projectile (800 kg). As time has shown, it was not in vain.
The Bismarck's armor can be called moderate and not entirely ordinary. Using a scheme with four main caliber turrets, the Germans had to armor up to 70% of the hull length. The thickness of the main armor belt reached 320 mm in its lower part and up to 170 mm in the upper part. Unlike many battleships of the period, the armor of the German battleships was not sharply differentiated, with outstanding maximum thicknesses, but the overall armor area was higher than that of any of the competitors. Perhaps it was precisely this armoring scheme that allowed the Bismarck to withstand numerous salvos from the British for a long time, remaining afloat.
The main power plant was the weak point of the project. It developed about 150 thousand “horses”, accelerating the “Tirpitz” and “Bismarck” to 30 knots, which was a very good result. At the same time, it was not reliable and especially economical. The actual cruising range was almost 20% lower than the stated 8.5-8.8 thousand miles.
German shipbuilders were unable to create a ship that was qualitatively superior to its competitors. The combat characteristics of the Bismarck were at the level of the Richelieu and Littorio, but the combat fate of the German battleships made them the most recognizable and famous ships of the Second World War.
In total, the Germans managed to commission two ships of this type. The Bismarck had to fight in 1941, which became the most famous naval battle of World War II. A German detachment from the battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen collided with the British ships. And although the British had the advantage of the battleship Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Hood, the salvoes of the Bismarck sent the beauty and pride of the Royal Navy to the bottom in a matter of minutes - the flagship cruiser Hood, along with its entire crew. As a result of the duel, German ships were also damaged. The shocked and enraged British sent an entire squadron to capture the Bismarck. The German battleship almost managed to escape pursuit, but the British planes damaged the ship's steering, and then for a long time they shot at the immobilized ship with all their guns. As a result, the Bismarck crew opened the seams and sank their ship.
Model of the battleship Tirpitz
After the loss of one of the two battleships, the Germans hid the remaining Tirpitz in the Norwegian fjords. Even inactive and hidden, this ship remained a constant headache for the British throughout the war, drawing enormous forces onto itself. In the end, the Tirpitz could only be sunk from the air with specially designed huge 5-ton bombs.
2. Iowa-class battleships
The United States approached World War II as a leader in economic and production potential. The owner of the most powerful navy was no longer Great Britain, but its partner overseas. By the end of the 1930s, the Americans managed to develop a battleship project within the framework of the Washington Agreement. At first these were ships of the South Dakota class, which were generally comparable to their European competitors. Then the time came for even larger and more powerful battleships of the Iowa type, called by many experts the best ships of this class.
The length of such battleships reached a record 270 meters, and the total displacement exceeded 55 thousand tons. "Iowa" was supposed to resist Japanese battleships of the "Yamato" type. Nevertheless, American shipbuilders retained the 16-inch (406 mm) main artillery caliber used on the South Dakota. But the main caliber guns were lengthened from 45 to 50 calibers, increasing the power of the gun and the weight of the armor-piercing projectile from 1016 to 1225 kg. In addition to the guns themselves, when assessing the firepower of the Iowa-class ships, one should note the most advanced artillery fire control system among battleships of that period. In addition to ballistic computers and optical rangefinders, it used radar, which significantly increased shooting accuracy, especially in poor weather conditions.
In addition, given the perfection of guidance systems and the quality of ammunition, American battleships were the absolute leaders in anti-aircraft weapons.
But booking was not Iowa’s strong point. The citadel in the central part of the ship was covered by a modest 307 mm main armor belt. In general, the battleship was armored at the level of the South Dakota and European battleships with a smaller displacement, and it was even inferior to the Richelieu. Not relying too much on their armor protection, the Americans took a different path.
Iowa-class battleships received the most powerful power plant among similar ships, producing 212 thousand horsepower. For comparison, on the predecessor the turbine power reached only 130 thousand “horses”. Iowa could theoretically accelerate to a record 33 knots, surpassing absolutely all World War II battleships in speed. Thus, American battleships had an advantage in maneuver, being able to choose the optimal distance and conditions for artillery combat, partially compensating for not the strongest armor.
In total, the Americans planned to build six ships of this type. But taking into account the already built four battleships of the South Dakota type and the increasingly increasing role of aircraft carriers, the United States limited itself to a series of four ships - Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri, and Wisconsin. All battleships took an active part in the war in the Pacific. On September 2, 1945, the Japanese Surrender Act was signed on board the Missouri.
The post-war fate of the Iowa-class battleships, unlike most ships of this class, was not entirely usual. The ships were not scrapped, but continued their service. The Americans actively used their battleships during the war in Korea and Vietnam. In the mid-1980s, the ships, which were already old by that time, underwent modernization, receiving modern electronic filling and guided cruise missiles. The last conflict in which battleships took part was the Gulf War.
The main caliber artillery was represented by nine 18-inch guns in three 3-gun turrets, classically arranged as on the Vittorio Veneto and Iowa. No battleship in the world had such artillery. The armor-piercing projectile weighed nearly one and a half tons. And in terms of the total weight of the Yamato salvo, it was almost twice as large as European battleships with 15-inch guns. The artillery fire control system was perfect for its time. And if the Yamato did not have such innovations as radars (they were installed on the Iowa), then optical rangefinders and ballistic computers were not inferior to their world counterparts. Simply put, it would have been better for any battleship of that time not to appear within the firing range of the Japanese monster’s guns of more than 40 kilometers.
Japanese anti-aircraft guns, while not inferior in quality to European ones, lagged behind American ones in terms of shooting accuracy and pointing speed. Small-caliber automatic anti-aircraft guns, the number of which during the war increased from eight built-in machine guns to fifty, were still qualitatively inferior to the Bofors and Oerlikons of the Americans.
The armor of the Yamato-class battleships, like the main artillery, was “top of the line.” Moreover, in an effort to install armor of maximum thickness on their ships, the Japanese tried to reduce the length of the citadel. As a result, the main armor belt covered only about half of the ship in the central part. But its thickness was impressive - 410 mm. It should be noted that Japanese armor was inferior in quality to the best at that time English and German due to the closure of access to Japan to the most modern technologies for the production of armor steel and the lack of supplies of a number of rare alloying elements. But still, Yamato remained the most heavily armored ship in the world.
Battleship Musashi
The main power plant of the Japanese super-battleship was quite modest and produced about 150 thousand horsepower, accelerating the huge ship to 27.5 knots. Yamato was the slowest of the World War II battleships. But the ship carried the largest air group of reconnaissance aircraft - as many as seven on two catapults.
The Japanese planned to commission three battleships of this type, but were able to complete only two - Yamato and Musashi. The third, Shinano, was converted into an aircraft carrier. The fate of the ships was sad. Japanese sailors joked that Yamato-class battleships were larger and more useless than even such huge and useless things as the Wall of China and the Egyptian pyramids.
Exactly seventy years ago, the Soviet Union began implementing a seven-year program of “large naval shipbuilding” - one of the most expensive and ambitious projects in the history of domestic, and not only domestic, military equipment.
The main leaders of the program were considered to be heavy artillery ships - battleships and cruisers, which were to become the largest and most powerful in the world. Although the super-battleships were never completed, there is still great interest in them, especially in light of the recent fashion for alternative history. So what were the projects of the “Stalinist giants” and what preceded their appearance?
Lords of the Seas
The fact that the main force of the fleet are battleships has been considered an axiom for almost three centuries. From the time of the Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th century until the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the outcome of the war at sea was decided by an artillery duel of two fleets lined up in wake lines (hence the origin of the term “ship of the line”, or battleship for short). Faith in the omnipotence of the battleship was not undermined by either the appearance of aviation or submarines. After World War I, most admirals and naval theorists continued to measure the strength of fleets by the number of heavy guns, the total weight of the broadside, and the thickness of the armor. But it was precisely this exceptional role of battleships, considered the undisputed rulers of the seas, that played a cruel joke on them...The evolution of battleships in the first decades of the twentieth century was truly rapid. If at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the largest representatives of this class, then called squadron battleships, had a displacement of about 15 thousand tons, then the famous “Dreadnought”, built in England two years later (this name became a household name for its many followers), had a full the displacement was already 20,730 tons. The Dreadnought seemed to its contemporaries a giant and the height of perfection. However, by 1912, compared to the latest super-dreadnoughts, it looked like a completely ordinary ship of the second line... And four years later, the British laid down the famous Hood with a displacement of 45 thousand tons! Incredibly, powerful and expensive ships, in the context of a rampant arms race, became obsolete in just three or four years, and their serial construction became extremely burdensome even for the richest countries.
Why did this happen? The fact is that every warship is a compromise of many factors, three of which are considered the main ones: weapons, protection and speed. Each of these components “ate up” a significant part of the ship’s displacement, since artillery, armor, and bulky power plants with numerous boilers, fuel, steam engines or turbines were very heavy. And designers, as a rule, had to sacrifice one of the fighting qualities in favor of another. Thus, the Italian shipbuilding school was characterized by fast and heavily armed, but poorly protected battleships. The Germans, on the contrary, prioritized survivability and built ships with very powerful armor, but moderate speed and light artillery. The desire to ensure a harmonious combination of all characteristics, taking into account the trend of constant increase in the main caliber, led to a monstrous increase in the size of the ship.
Paradoxical as it may seem, the appearance of the long-awaited “ideal” battleships - fast, heavily armed and protected by powerful armor - brought the very idea of such ships to complete absurdity. Of course: because of their high cost, floating monsters undermined the economies of their own countries more significantly than the invasions of enemy armies! At the same time, they almost never went to sea: the admirals did not want to risk such valuable combat units, since the loss of even one of them was practically equivalent to a national catastrophe. Battleships have transformed from a means of warfare at sea into an instrument of big politics. And the continuation of their construction was no longer determined by tactical expediency, but by completely different motives. Having such ships for the prestige of the country in the first half of the twentieth century meant about the same as having nuclear weapons now.
The governments of all countries were aware of the need to stop the spinning flywheel of the naval arms race, and in 1922, at an international conference convened in Washington, radical measures were taken. Delegations of the most influential states agreed to significantly reduce their naval forces and fix the total tonnage of their own fleets in a certain proportion over the next 15 years. During the same period, the construction of new battleships was stopped almost everywhere. The only exception was made for Great Britain - the country forced to scrap the largest number of completely new dreadnoughts. But those two battleships that the British could build would hardly have had an ideal combination of combat qualities, since their displacement should have been measured at 35 thousand tons.
The Washington Conference was the first real step in history to limit offensive weapons on a global scale. It gave the global economy some respite. But nothing more. Since the apotheosis of the “battleship race” was yet to come...
The dream of a "big fleet"
By 1914, the Russian Imperial Navy ranked first in the world in terms of growth rates. On the stocks of shipyards in St. Petersburg and Nikolaev, powerful dreadnoughts were laid one after another. Russia recovered quite quickly from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and again laid claim to the role of a leading maritime power.However, the revolution, civil war and general devastation left no trace of the former naval power of the empire. The Red Fleet inherited from the “tsarist regime” only three battleships - “Petropavlovsk”, “Gangut” and “Sevastopol”, renamed respectively “Marat”, “October Revolution” and “Paris Commune”. By the standards of the 1920s, these ships already looked hopelessly outdated. It is not surprising that Soviet Russia was not invited to the Washington Conference: its fleet was not taken seriously at that time.
At first, the Red Fleet really did not have any special prospects. The Bolshevik government had much more urgent tasks than restoring its former naval power. In addition, the first persons of the state, Lenin and Trotsky, looked at the navy as an expensive toy and a tool of world imperialism. Therefore, during the first decade and a half of the existence of the Soviet Union, the ship composition of the RKKF was replenished slowly and mainly only with boats and submarines. But in the mid-1930s, the naval doctrine of the USSR changed dramatically. By that time, the “Washington battleship vacation” was over and all the world powers began feverishly to catch up. Two international treaties signed in London tried to somehow restrain the size of future battleships, but everything turned out to be in vain: practically none of the countries participating in the agreements was going to honestly fulfill the signed conditions from the very beginning. France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the USA and Japan began creating a new generation of leviathan ships. Stalin, inspired by the success of industrialization, also did not want to stand aside. And the Soviet Union became another participant in a new round of the naval arms race.
In July 1936, the Council of Labor and Defense of the USSR, with the blessing of the Secretary General, approved a seven-year program of “large naval shipbuilding” for 1937-1943 (due to the cacophony of the official name in the literature, it is usually called the “Big Fleet” program). In accordance with it, it was planned to build 533 ships, including 24 battleships! For the Soviet economy of that time, the figures were absolutely unrealistic. Everyone understood this, but no one dared to object to Stalin.
In fact, Soviet designers began developing a project for a new battleship back in 1934. The matter progressed with difficulty: they completely lacked experience in creating large ships. We had to attract foreign specialists - first Italian, then American. In August 1936, after analyzing various options, the terms of reference for the design of battleships of type “A” (project 23) and “B” (project 25) were approved. The latter was soon abandoned in favor of the Project 69 heavy cruiser, but Type A gradually developed into an armored monster that left far behind all its foreign counterparts. Stalin, who had a weakness for giant ships, could be pleased.
First of all, we decided not to limit the displacement. The USSR was not bound by any international agreements, and therefore, already at the technical design stage, the standard displacement of the battleship reached 58,500 tons. The thickness of the armor belt was 375 millimeters, and in the area of the bow towers - 420! There were three armored decks: 25 mm upper, 155 mm main and 50 mm lower anti-fragmentation. The hull was equipped with solid anti-torpedo protection: in the central part of the Italian type, and in the extremities - of the American type.
The artillery armament of the Project 23 battleship included nine 406-mm B-37 guns with a barrel length of 50 calibers, developed by the Stalingrad Barrikady plant. The Soviet cannon could fire 1,105-kilogram shells to a range of 45.6 kilometers. In terms of its characteristics, it was superior to all foreign guns of this class - with the exception of the 18-inch guns of the Japanese super-battleship Yamato. However, the latter, having heavier shells, were inferior to the B-37 in terms of firing range and rate of fire. In addition, the Japanese kept their ships so secret that until 1945 no one knew anything about them. In particular, Europeans and Americans were confident that the caliber of Yamato artillery did not exceed 16 inches, that is, 406 millimeters.
The Japanese battleship Yamato is the largest warship of World War II. Laid down in 1937, entered service in 1941. Total displacement - 72,810 tons. Length - 263 m, width - 36.9 m, draft - 10.4 m. Armament: 9 - 460 mm and 12 - 155 -mm guns, 12 - 127 mm anti-aircraft guns, 24 - 25 mm machine guns, 7 seaplanes
The main power plant of the Soviet battleship is three turbo-gear units with a capacity of 67 thousand liters each. With. For the lead ship, the mechanisms were purchased from the Swiss branch of the English company Brown Boveri; for the rest, the power plant was to be manufactured under license by the Kharkov Turbine Plant. It was assumed that the speed of the battleship would be 28 knots and the cruising range at 14 knots would be over 5,500 miles.
Meanwhile, the “large maritime shipbuilding” program was revised. In the new “Great Shipbuilding Program,” approved by Stalin in February 1938, “small” battleships of type “B” no longer appeared, but the number of “large” Project 23 increased from 8 to 15 units. True, none of the experts doubted that this number, as well as the previous plan, belonged to the realm of pure fantasy. After all, even the “mistress of the seas” Great Britain and ambitious Nazi Germany expected to build only 6 to 9 new battleships. Realistically assessing the capabilities of the industry, the top leadership of our country had to limit themselves to four ships. And this turned out to be impossible: the construction of one of the ships was stopped almost immediately after laying.
The lead battleship (Soviet Union) was laid down at the Leningrad Baltic Shipyard on July 15, 1938. It was followed by “Soviet Ukraine” (Nikolaev), “Soviet Russia” and “Soviet Belarus” (Molotovsk, now Severodvinsk). Despite the mobilization of all forces, construction was behind schedule. By June 22, 1941, the first two ships had the highest degree of readiness, 21% and 17.5%, respectively. At the new plant in Molotovsk, things were much worse. Although in 1940 they decided to build one instead of two battleships, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War its readiness had reached only 5%.
The deadlines for the production of artillery and armor were also not met. Although in October 1940, tests of an experimental 406-mm gun were successfully completed and before the start of the war, the Barrikady plant managed to deliver 12 barrels of naval superguns, not a single turret was assembled. There were even more problems with the release of the armor. Due to the loss of experience in the manufacture of thick armor plates, up to 40% of them were scrapped. And negotiations on ordering armor from the Krupp company ended in nothing.
The attack of Nazi Germany crossed out the plans for the creation of the “Big Fleet”. By government decree of July 10, 1941, the construction of battleships was stopped. Later, the armor plates of the “Soviet Union” were used in the construction of pillboxes near Leningrad, and the experimental B-37 gun also fired at the enemy there. “Soviet Ukraine” was captured by the Germans, but they did not find any use for the gigantic corps. After the war, the issue of completing the battleships according to one of the improved designs was discussed, but in the end they were dismantled for metal, and a section of the hull of the parent "Soviet Union" was even launched in 1949 - it was planned to be used for full-scale testing of the torpedo protection system. At first they wanted to install the turbines received from Switzerland on one of the new light cruisers of the 68-bis project, but then they abandoned this: too many alterations were required.
Good cruisers or bad battleships?
Heavy cruisers of Project 69 appeared in the “Great Shipbuilding Program,” of which, like A-type battleships, it was planned to build 15 units. But these were not just heavy cruisers. Since the Soviet Union was not bound by any international treaties, the restrictions of the Washington and London conferences for ships of this class (standard displacement up to 10 thousand tons, artillery caliber no more than 203 millimeters) were immediately discarded by Soviet designers. Project 69 was conceived as a destroyer of any foreign cruisers, including the formidable German “pocket battleships” (displacing 12,100 tons). Therefore, at first its main armament was supposed to include nine 254 mm guns, but then the caliber was increased to 305 mm. At the same time, it was necessary to strengthen the armor protection, increase the power of the power plant... As a result, the total displacement of the ship exceeded 41 thousand tons, and the heavy cruiser turned into a typical battleship, even larger in size than the planned Project 25. Of course, the number of such ships had to be reduced. In reality, in 1939, only two “supercruisers” were laid down in Leningrad and Nikolaev - “Kronstadt” and “Sevastopol”.
The heavy cruiser Kronstadt was laid down in 1939, but was not completed. Total displacement 41,540 tons. Maximum length - 250.5 m, width - 31.6 m, draft - 9.5 m. Turbine power - 201,000 l. s., speed - 33 knots (61 km/h). The thickness of the side armor is up to 230 mm, the thickness of the turrets is up to 330 mm. Armament: 9 305 mm and 8 - 152 mm guns, 8 - 100 mm anti-aircraft guns, 28 - 37 mm machine guns, 2 seaplanes
There were many interesting innovations in the design of Project 69 ships, but in general, according to the “cost-effectiveness” criterion, they did not stand up to any criticism. Conceived as good cruisers, the Kronstadt and Sevastopol, in the process of “improving” the design, turned into bad battleships, too expensive and too difficult to build. In addition, the industry clearly did not have time to produce the main artillery for them. Out of desperation, the idea arose to arm the ships instead of nine 305 mm guns with six German 380 mm guns, similar to those installed on the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz. This gave an increase in displacement by another thousand-plus tons. However, the Germans were in no hurry to fulfill the order, of course, and by the beginning of the war not a single gun had arrived from Germany to the USSR.
The fate of “Kronstadt” and “Sevastopol” was similar to their counterparts such as “Soviet Union”. By June 22, 1941, their technical readiness was estimated at 12-13%. In September of the same year, the construction of the Kronstadt was stopped, and the Sevastopol located in Nikolaev was captured by the Germans even earlier. After the war, the hulls of both “supercruisers” were dismantled for metal.
The battleship Bismarck is the strongest ship of the Nazi fleet. Laid down in 1936, entered service in 1940. Total displacement - 50,900 tons. Length - 250.5 m, width - 36 m, draft - 10.6 m. Thickness of side armor - up to 320 mm, turrets - up to 360 mm. Armament: 8 - 380 mm and 12 - 150 mm guns, 16 - 105 mm anti-aircraft guns, 16 - 37 mm and 12 - 20 mm machine guns, 4 seaplanes
Last attempts
In total, 27 battleships of the latest generation were built in the world in 1936-1945: 10 in the USA, 5 in Great Britain, 4 in Germany, 3 each in France and Italy, 2 in Japan. And in none of the fleets did they live up to the hopes placed on them. The experience of World War II clearly showed that the time of battleships was over. Aircraft carriers became the new masters of the oceans: carrier-based aircraft, of course, were superior to naval artillery both in range and in the ability to hit targets in the most vulnerable places. So we can say with confidence that Stalin’s battleships, even if they had been built by June 1941, would not have played any noticeable role in the war.But here’s a paradox: the Soviet Union, which spent somewhat less money on unnecessary ships compared to other states, decided to make up for lost time and became the only country in the world that continued to design battleships after World War II! Contrary to common sense, designers worked tirelessly for several years on drawings of the floating fortresses of yesterday. The successor of the “Soviet Union” was the Project 24 battleship with a total displacement of 81,150 tons (!), the successor of the “Kronstadt” was the 42,000-ton heavy cruiser of Project 82. In addition, this pair was complemented by another so-called “medium” cruiser of Project 66 with 220- mm main caliber artillery. Note that although the latter was called medium, its displacement (30,750 tons) left all foreign heavy cruisers far behind and was approaching battleships.
Battleship "Soviet Union", project 23 (USSR, laid down in 1938). Standard displacement - 59,150 tons, full displacement - 65,150 tons. Maximum length - 269.4 m, width - 38.9 m, draft - 10.4 m. Turbine power - 201,000 l. s., speed - 28 knots (with boost, respectively, 231,000 hp and 29 knots). Armament: 9 - 406 mm and 12 - 152 mm guns, 12 - 100 mm anti-aircraft guns, 40 - 37 mm machine guns, 4 seaplanes
The reasons that domestic shipbuilding in the post-war years clearly went against the grain are mainly subjective. And in the first place here are the personal preferences of the “leader of the peoples.” Stalin was very impressed by large artillery ships, especially fast ones, and at the same time he clearly underestimated aircraft carriers. During a discussion of the Project 82 heavy cruiser in March 1950, the Secretary General demanded that the designers increase the ship’s speed to 35 knots, “so that it would panic the enemy’s light cruisers, disperse them and destroy them. This cruiser must fly like a swallow, be a pirate, a real bandit.” Alas, on the threshold of the nuclear missile era, the Soviet leader’s views on issues of naval tactics were one and a half to two decades behind their time.
If projects 24 and 66 remained on paper, then according to project 82 in 1951-1952, three “bandit cruisers” were laid down - “Stalingrad”, “Moskva” and a third, which remained unnamed. But they did not have to enter service: on April 18, 1953, a month after Stalin’s death, the construction of the ships was stopped due to their high cost and complete uncertainty of tactical use. A section of the hull of the lead "Stalingrad" was launched and for several years was used to test various types of naval weapons, including torpedoes and cruise missiles. It’s very symbolic: the world’s last heavy artillery ship turned out to be in demand only as a target for new weapons...
Heavy cruiser "Stalingrad". Laid out in 1951, but not completed. Total displacement - 42,300 tons. Maximum length - 273.6 m, width - 32 m, draft - 9.2 m. Turbine power - 280,000 l. s., speed - 35.2 knots (65 km/h). The thickness of the side armor is up to 180 mm, the thickness of the turrets is up to 240 mm. Armament: 9 - 305 mm and 12 - 130 mm guns, 24 - 45 mm and 40 - 25 mm machine guns
The "supership" obsession
In conclusion, it should be noted that the desire to create a “supership”, stronger than any potential opponent of its class, puzzled designers and shipbuilders of different countries at different times. And here there is a pattern: the weaker the economy and industry of the state, the more active this desire is; for developed countries, on the contrary, it is less typical. Thus, in the interwar period, the British Admiralty preferred to build ships that were very modest in combat capabilities, but in large quantities, which ultimately made it possible to have a well-balanced fleet. Japan, on the contrary, sought to create ships stronger than the British and American ones - in this way it hoped to compensate for the difference in economic development with its future rivals.In this regard, the shipbuilding policy of the then USSR occupies a special place. Here, after the decision of the party and government to build a “Big Fleet,” the obsession with “superships” was actually brought to the point of absurdity. On the one hand, Stalin, inspired by successes in the aviation industry and tank building, too hastily believed that all problems in the shipbuilding industries could be solved just as quickly. On the other hand, the atmosphere in society was such that the project of any ship proposed by industry and not superior in its capabilities to its foreign counterparts could easily be considered “sabotage” with all the ensuing consequences. Designers and shipbuilders simply had no choice: they were forced to design the “most powerful” and “fastest” ships, armed with the “world’s longest-range” artillery... In practice, this resulted in the following: ships with the size and armament of battleships began to be called heavy cruisers (but the strongest in the world!), heavy cruisers - light, and the latter - “destroyer leaders”. Such a substitution of one class for another would still make sense if domestic factories could build battleships in the quantities in which other countries built heavy cruisers. But since this was, to put it mildly, not at all true, the reports going to the top about the outstanding successes of the designers often looked like a banal fraud.
It is characteristic that almost all “superships” ever embodied in metal have not justified themselves. It is enough to cite the Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi as examples. They died under the bombs of American planes, without firing a single main-caliber salvo at their American “classmates.” But even if they had a chance to meet the US fleet in a linear battle, they could hardly count on success. After all, Japan was able to build only two battleships of the latest generation, and the United States - ten. With such a balance of forces, the individual superiority of “Yamato” over an individual “American” no longer plays any role.
World experience shows that several well-balanced ships are much better than one giant with exaggerated combat characteristics. And yet, in the USSR the idea of a “supership” did not die. A quarter of a century later, the Stalinist leviathans had distant relatives - nuclear-powered missile cruisers of the Kirov type, followers of the Kronstadt and Stalingrad. However, this is a completely different story...
For a certain time, they were significantly inferior in terms of technology and armament to slow-moving battleships. But already in the 20th century, countries wishing to strengthen their fleets began to create battleships that would have no equal in firepower. But not all states could afford to build such a ship. Superships had enormous costs. Let's take a look at the world's largest battleship, its features and other important details.
"Richelieu" and "Bismarck"
The French ship called Richelieu boasts a displacement of 47 thousand tons. The length of the vessel is about 247 meters. The main purpose of the ship was to contain the Italian fleet, but this battleship never saw active combat operations. The only exception is the Senegalese operation of 1940. In 1968, Richelieu, named after the French cardinal, was scrapped. One of the main weapons is installed in Brest as a monument.
"Bismarck" is one of the legendary ships of the German fleet. The length of the vessel is 251 meters, and the displacement is 51 thousand tons. The battleship was launched in 1938, with Adolf Hitler himself present. In 1941 the ship was sunk by forces resulting in the death of many people. But this is far from the world’s largest battleship, so let’s move on.
German "Tirpitz" and Japanese "Yamato"
Of course, the Tirpitz is not the largest battleship in the world, but during the war it had outstanding technical characteristics. However, after the destruction of the Bismarck, he never took an active part in the hostilities. It was launched in 1939, and already in 1944 it was destroyed by torpedo bombers.
But the Japanese "Yamato" is the world's largest battleship, which was sunk as a result of battles. The Japanese treated this ship very carefully, so it did not take part in hostilities until 1944, although such an opportunity arose more than once. It was launched in 1941. The length of the vessel is 263 meters. There were 2.5 thousand crew members on board at all times. In April 1945, as a result of an attack by the American fleet, it received 23 direct hits from torpedoes. As a result, the bow compartment exploded and the ship sank to the bottom. According to approximate data, more than 3,000 people died and only 268 managed to escape as a result of the shipwreck.
Another tragic story
Japanese battleships had bad luck on the battlefield during World War II. It is difficult to name the exact reason. Whether it was a technical issue or whether the command was to blame will remain a mystery. Nevertheless, after Yamato, another giant was built - Musashi. It was 263 meters long with a displacement of 72 thousand tons. First launched in 1942. But this ship also faced the tragic fate of its predecessor. The first one was, one might say, successful. After an attack by an American submarine, the Musashi received a serious hole in the bow, but safely left the battlefield. But after some time in the Sibuyan Sea, the ship was attacked by American aircraft. The main blow fell on this battleship.
As a result of 30 direct hits by bombs, the ship sank. More than 1,000 crew members and the ship's captain died then. In 2015, Musashi was discovered by an American millionaire at a depth of 1.5 kilometers.
Who had dominance in the ocean?
Here we can definitely say - America. The fact is that the largest battleship in the world was built there. Moreover, during the war the USA had more than 10 combat-ready superships, while Germany had only about 5. The USSR had none at all. Although today we know about a project called “Soviet Union”. It was developed during the war, and the ship was already 20% built, but nothing more.
The world's largest battleship of the war, which was decommissioned later than all others, was the USS Wisconsin. It went to port in Norfolk in 2006, where it remains today as a museum exhibit. This giant was 270 meters long with a displacement of 55 thousand tons. During the war, he actively took part in various special operations and accompanied aircraft carrier groups. It was last deployed during combat operations in the Persian Gulf.
Top 3 giants from America
"Iowa" is an American battleship 270 meters long with a displacement of 58 thousand tons. This is one of the most outstanding US ships, even if it is not the largest ship in the world. was first launched in 1943 and took part in many naval battles. It was actively used as an escort for aircraft carriers, and was also used to support ground forces. In 2012 it was sent to Los Angeles, where it is now located as a museum.
But almost every American knows about the “black dragon”. "New Jersey" was so nicknamed because it terrified with its mere presence on the battlefield. This is the world's largest battleship in history, which took part in the Vietnam War. It was launched in 1943 and was similar in type to the Iowa ship. The length of the vessel was 270.5 meters. This is a real veteran of naval battles, who in 1991 was sent to the port of Camden. It is still there and serves as a tourist attraction.
The world's largest battleship of World War II
The honorable first place is occupied by the ship "Missouri". She was not only the largest representative (271 meters in length), but was also the last American battleship. This ship is known mostly because it was on board that the Japanese surrender pact was signed. But at the same time, the Missouri took an active part in the hostilities. It was launched from the shipyard back in 1944 and was used to escort aircraft carrier groups and support various special operations. He fired his last shot in the Persian Gulf. In 1992, it was decommissioned from US reserves and went to storage at Pearl Harbor.
This is one of the most famous ships in America and the whole world. More than one documentary film has been made about him. By the way, millions of dollars are spent annually in the United States to maintain the working condition of already decommissioned battleships, because they are of historical value.
Hopes were not justified
Even the world's largest battleship of war did not live up to the expectations placed on it. A striking example of this is the Japanese giants, which were destroyed by American bombers without having time to respond with their main calibers. All this indicated low effectiveness against aviation.
Nevertheless, the firepower of the battleships was simply amazing. For example, the Yamato was equipped with 460 mm artillery guns weighing almost 3 tons each. In total there were about 9 such guns on board. True, the designers introduced a ban on simultaneous salvos, as this would inevitably lead to mechanical damage to the ship.
Protection was also an important aspect. Armor plates of varying thickness protected the most important components and assemblies of the ship and were supposed to provide it with buoyancy in any situation. The main gun had a 630 mm mantlet. Not a single gun in the world could penetrate it, even when fired almost point-blank. But still this did not save the battleship from destruction.
He was attacked by American attack aircraft almost the whole day. The total number of aircraft that took part in the special operation reached 150 aircraft. After the first breakdowns in the hull, the situation was not yet critical, when another 5 torpedoes hit, a list of 15 degrees appeared, it was reduced to 5 degrees with the help of anti-flooding. But already at this time there were huge losses of personnel. When the roll reached 60 degrees, a monstrous explosion occurred. These were the main caliber cellar reserves, approximately 500 tons of explosives. So the world's largest battleship, a photo of which you can see in this article, was sunk.
Let's sum it up
Today, any ship, even the world's largest battleship, is significantly behind from a technical point of view. The guns do not allow effective aimed fire due to insufficient vertical and horizontal aiming angles. The huge mass does not allow it to gain high speed. All this, along with their large dimensions, makes battleships easy prey for aviation, especially if there is no air support and destroyer cover.
By the time the Second World War ended, the class of high-speed battleships had reached the limit in its development, advantageously combining the destructive power and security of dreadnoughts with the high speed of battlecruisers; these examples of the sea performed many amazing feats under the flags of all the warring states.
It is not possible to compile any “rating” of battleships of those years - four favorites are vying for first place, and each of them has the most serious reasons for this. As for the remaining places on the podium, it is generally impossible to make any conscious choice here. Only individual tastes and subjective preferences. Each battleship is distinguished by its unique design, chronicle of combat use and, often, tragic death.
Each of them was created for its own specific tasks and conditions of service, for a specific enemy and in accordance with the chosen concept of application.
Different theaters of combat dictated different rules: inland seas or open ocean, proximity or, conversely, extreme remoteness of bases. Classic squadron battles with the same monsters or a bloody mess with repelling endless air attacks and shelling of fortifications on the enemy coast.
The ships cannot be considered in isolation from the geopolitical situation, the state of the scientific, industrial and financial spheres of states - all this left a significant imprint on their design.
A direct comparison between any Italian "Littorio" and the American "North Caroline" is completely excluded.
However, the contenders for the title of best battleship are visible to the naked eye. These are the Bismarck, Tirpitz, Iowa and Yamato - ships that even those who have never been interested in the fleet have heard of.
Living according to the teachings of Sun Tzu
...Her Majesty's battleships "Anson" and "Duke of York", aircraft carriers "Victory", "Furious", escort aircraft carriers "Seacher", "Empuere", "Pesuer", "Fancer", cruisers "Belfast", "Bellona" , “Royalist”, “Sheffield”, “Jamaica”, destroyers “Javelin”, “Virago”, “Meteor”, “Swift”, “Vigilant”, “Wakeful”, “Onslot”... - a total of about 20 units under the British , Canadian and Polish flags, as well as 2 naval tankers and 13 deck squadrons.
Only with this composition in April 1944 did the British dare to approach the Altafjord - where, under the gloomy arches of the Norwegian rocks, the pride of the Kriegsmarine, the super-battleship Tirpitz, rusted.
The results of Operation Wolfram are assessed as controversial - carrier-based aircraft managed to bomb a German base and cause serious damage to the battleship's superstructure. However, another Pearl Harbor did not work out - the British were unable to inflict mortal wounds on the Tirpitz.
The Germans lost 123 men killed, but the battleship still posed a threat to shipping in the North Atlantic. The main problems were caused not so much by numerous bomb hits and fires on the upper deck, but by newly discovered leaks in the underwater part of the hull - the result of a previous British attack using mini-submarines.
...In total, during its stay in Norwegian waters, the Tirpitz withstood dozens of air strikes - in total, during the war years, about 700 aircraft of British and Soviet aviation took part in raids on the battleship! In vain.
Hidden behind an anti-torpedo net, the ship was invulnerable to Allied torpedo weapons. At the same time, aerial bombs turned out to be ineffective against such a well-protected target; it was possible to destroy the armored citadel of the battleship for an infinitely long time, but the destruction of the superstructures could not critically affect the combat effectiveness of the Tirpitz.
Meanwhile, the Britons stubbornly rushed to the site of the Teutonic beast: mini-submarines and human torpedoes; raids by carrier-based and strategic aviation. Local informant agents, regular air surveillance of the base...
“Tirpitz” became a unique embodiment of the ideas of the ancient Chinese commander and thinker Sun Tzu (“The Art of War”) - without firing a single shot at enemy ships, it shackled all British actions in the North Atlantic for three years!
One of the most effective warships of the Second World War, the invincible Tirpitz turned into an ominous scarecrow for the British Admiralty: planning any operation began with the question “What to do if
"Tirpitz" will leave its anchorage and go to sea?
It was the Tirpitz that scared away the escort of convoy PQ-17. He was hunted by all the battleships and aircraft carriers of the metropolitan fleet in the Arctic latitudes. The K-21 boat shot at him. For his sake, Lancasters from the Royal Air Force settled at the Yagodny airfield near Arkhangelsk. But everything turned out to be useless. The British were able to destroy the super-battleship only towards the end of the war with the help of monstrous 5-ton Tallboy bombs.
Tallboy
The impressive success of the battleship Tirpitz is a legacy left from the legendary Bismarck, a sister battleship, the encounter with which forever instilled fear in the hearts of the British: a funeral pillar of flame soared above the British battlecruiser HMS Hood froze before our eyes. During the battle in the Denmark Strait, the gloomy Teutonic knight needed only five volleys to deal with the British “gentleman”.
"Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" on a military campaign
And then came the hour of reckoning. The Bismarck was chased by a squadron of 47 ships and 6 submarines of Her Majesty. After the battle, the British calculated: in order to sink the beast, they had to fire 8 torpedoes and 2876 shells of main, medium and universal caliber!
What a tough guy!
Hieroglyph "loyalty". Yamato-class battleships
There are three useless things in the world: the Cheops pyramid, the Great Wall of China and the battleship Yamato...Really?
This is what happened to the battleships Yamato and Musashi: they were undeservedly slandered. Around them there was a persistent image of “losers”, useless “Venderwaffles” who died shamefully at the first meeting with the enemy.
But based on the facts, we have the following:
The ships were designed and built on time, managed to fight and, finally, suffered a heroic death in the face of numerically superior enemy forces.
What else is required of them?
Bright victories? Alas, in the situation in which Japan was in the period 1944-45, even the sea king Poseidon himself could hardly have acted better than the battleships Musashi and Yamato.
Disadvantages of super battleships?
Yes, first of all, weak air defense - neither the monstrous Sansiki 3 fireworks (460 mm anti-aircraft shells), nor hundreds of small-caliber magazine-fed machine guns could replace modern anti-aircraft guns and control systems with fire adjustment based on radar data.
Weak PTZ?
I am begging you! "Musashi" and "Yamato" died after 10-11 torpedo hits - not a single battleship on the planet could withstand that many (for comparison, the probability of the death of the American "Iowa" from being hit by six torpedoes, according to the calculations of the Americans themselves, was estimated at 90%) .
Otherwise, the battleship Yamato corresponded to the phrase “the most, the most”
The largest battleship in history and, concurrently, the largest warship that took part in the Second World War.
70 thousand tons of total displacement.
The main caliber is 460 mm.
Armored belt – 40 centimeters of solid metal.
The walls of the conning tower are half a meter of armor.
The thickness of the front part of the main battery turret is even greater - 65 centimeters of steel protection.
A grandiose spectacle!
The main miscalculation of the Japanese was the veil of extreme secrecy that shrouded everything related to the Yamato-class battleships. To date, only a few photographs of these monsters exist - mostly taken from American aircraft.
Such ships were worth being proud of and seriously frightening the enemy with them - after all, until the last moment the Yankees were sure that they were dealing with ordinary battleships, with guns of 406 mm caliber.
With a competent PR policy, the very news of the existence of the battleships Yamato and Musashi could cause panic among the commanders of the US Navy and their allies - just as happened with the Tirpitz. The Yankees would rush to build similar ships with half-meter armor and 460 or even 508 mm guns - in general, it would be fun. The strategic effect of Japanese super-battleships could be much greater.
Yamato Museum in Kure. The Japanese carefully preserve the memory of their "Varyag"
How did the leviathans die?
The Musashi sailed all day in the Sibuyan Sea under heavy attacks from aircraft from five American aircraft carriers. He walked all day, and by the evening he died, receiving, according to various estimates, 11-19 torpedoes and 10-17 aircraft bombs...
Do you think the Japanese battleship had great security and combat stability? And which of his peers could repeat this?
"Yamato"...death from above was his destiny. Traces of torpedoes, the sky is black from planes...
To put it bluntly, Yamato committed honorable seppuku, sailing as part of a small squadron against eight aircraft carriers of the 58th Task Force. The result is predictable - two hundred aircraft tore apart the battleship and its small escort in two hours.
The era of high technology. Iowa-class battleships
What if?
What if, instead of the Yamato, a battleship identical to the American Iowa came out to meet Admiral Mitscher’s 58th task force? What if Japanese industry had been able to create air defense systems similar to those found on US Navy ships at the time?
How would the battle between the battleship and American aircraft carriers have ended if the Japanese sailors had systems similar to the Mk.37, Ford Mk.I Gunfire Control Computer, SK, SK-2, SP, SR, Mk.14, Mk.51, Mk.53 ... ?
Behind the dry indices are hidden masterpieces of technical progress - analog computers and automatic fire control systems, radars, radio altimeters and projectiles with a radar fuse - thanks to all these “chips,” the Iowa anti-aircraft fire was at least five times more accurate and effective than the shots of Japanese anti-aircraft gunners .
And if you take into account the terrifying rate of fire of the Mk.12 anti-aircraft guns, the extremely effective 40 mm Bofors and belt-fed Oerlikon assault rifles... There is a considerable chance that the American air attack could have drowned in blood, and the damaged neo-Yamato could have hobbled to Okinawa and run aground, turning into an invincible artillery battery (according to the Ten-Ichi-Go operation plan).
Everything could have been... alas, the Yamato went to the seabed, and the impressive complex of anti-aircraft weapons became the prerogative of the American Iowas.
It is absolutely impossible to come to terms with the idea that the Americans have the best ship again. US haters will quickly find a dozen reasons why the Iowa cannot be considered the most advanced battleship.
The Iowas are harshly criticized for the lack of a medium caliber (150...155 mm) - unlike any German, Japanese, French or Italian battleships, American ships were forced to fend off attacks from enemy destroyers only with universal anti-aircraft guns (5 inches, 127 mm).
Also, among the disadvantages of the Iowas are the lack of reloading compartments in the main battery towers, worse seaworthiness and “wave surfing” (compared to the same British Vanguard), the relative weakness of their PTZ compared to the Japanese “long lances”, “fraud” with declared maximum speed (at a measured mile, the battleships barely accelerated to 31 knots - instead of the declared 33!).
But perhaps the most serious of all accusations is the weakness of the armor compared to any of their peers - the Iowa's beam bulkheads especially raise many questions.
Of course, defenders of American shipbuilding will now go into overdrive, proving that all of the listed shortcomings of the Iowa are just an illusion; the ship was designed for a specific situation and ideally suited the conditions of the Pacific Theater of Operations.
The lack of medium caliber became an advantage of American battleships: universal “five-inch” guns were enough to fight surface and air targets; there was no point in taking 150 mm guns on board as “ballast”. And the presence of “advanced” fire control systems completely eliminated the factor of the lack of “medium caliber”.
Accusations of poor seaworthiness are a purely subjective opinion: the Iowa has always been considered an extremely stable artillery platform. As for the strong “overwhelming” of the bow of a battleship in stormy weather, this myth was born in our time. More modern sailors were surprised by the habits of the armored monster: instead of calmly rocking on the waves, the heavy Iowa cut the waves like a knife.
The increased wear of the main battery barrels is explained by very heavy projectiles (which is not bad) - the Mk.8 armor-piercing projectile weighing 1225 kg was the heaviest ammunition of its caliber in the world.
The Iowa had no problems at all with the range of shells: the ship had a whole range of armor-piercing and high-explosive ammunition and charges of varying power; after the war, “cassette” Mk.144 and Mk.146 appeared, filled with explosive grenades in quantities of 400 and, accordingly, 666 pieces. A little later, the Mk.23 special ammunition with a 1 kt nuclear warhead was developed.
As for the “shortage” of the design speed at the measured mile, the tests of the Iowas were carried out with limited power of the power plant - just like that, without a good reason, to boost the vehicles to the design 254,000 hp. the thrifty Yankees refused.
The general impression of the Iowas can only be spoiled by their relatively low security... however, this disadvantage is more than compensated for by the many other advantages of the battleship.
The Iowas have more service than all other WWII battleships combined - World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Iraq... Battleships of this type outlived everyone - modernization in the mid-1980s made it possible to extend the service life of veterans until the beginning of the 21st century - the battleships lost parts artillery weapons, in return receiving 32 Tomahawk SLCMs, 16 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SeaSparrow air defense systems, modern radars and Phalanx close combat systems.
Off the coast of Iraq
However, the physical wear and tear of the mechanisms and the end of the Cold War played an important role in the fate of the most famous American battleships - all four monsters left the US Navy ahead of schedule and turned into large naval museums.
Well, the favorites have been identified. Now is the time to mention a number of other armored monsters - after all, each of them is worthy of its own portion of surprise and admiration.
For example, Jean Bart is one of two Richelieu-class battleships built. An elegant French ship with a unique silhouette: two four-gun turrets in the bow, a stylish superstructure, a dashingly curved back chimney...
Richelieu-class battleships are considered one of the most advanced ships in their class: having a displacement of 5-10 thousand tons less than any Bismarck or Littorio, the “French” were practically not inferior to them in terms of armament power, and in terms of “ security" - the layout and thickness of the Richelieu armor was even better than many of its larger peers. And all this was successfully combined with a speed of more than 30 knots - the “French” was the fastest of the European battleships!
The unusual fate of these battleships: the flight of unfinished ships from the shipyard to avoid capture by the Germans, a naval battle with the British and American fleets in Casablanca and Dakar, repairs in the USA, and then a long happy service under the flag of France until the second half of the 1960s.
But here is a magnificent trio from the Apennine Peninsula - Italian battleships of the Littorio class.
These ships are usually the object of harsh criticism, but if you take an integrated approach to assessing them, it turns out that the Littorio battleships are not so bad compared to their British or German peers, as is commonly believed.
The project was based on the ingenious concept of the Italian fleet - to hell with greater autonomy and fuel reserves! – Italy is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, all bases are nearby.
The saved load reserve was spent on armor and weapons. As a result, the Littorio had 9 main caliber guns in three rotating turrets - more than any of their European counterparts.
"Roma"
A noble silhouette, high-quality lines, good seaworthiness and high speed are in the best traditions of the Italian school of shipbuilding.
Ingenious anti-torpedo protection based on calculations by Umberto Pugliese.
At a minimum, the staggered reservation scheme deserves attention. In general, when it comes to armor, Littorio-class battleships deserve the highest marks.
As for the rest...
As for the rest, the Italian battleships turned out to be bad - it is still a mystery why the Italians’ guns fired so crookedly - despite excellent armor penetration, the 15-inch Italian shells had surprisingly low accuracy and accuracy of fire. Rebooting gun barrels? The quality of the liners and shells? Or maybe the national characteristics of the Italian character had an impact?
In any case, the main problem of the Littorio-class battleships was their incompetent use. The Italian sailors never managed to engage in a general battle with Her Majesty's fleet. Instead, the lead “Littorio” was sunk right at its anchorage during a British raid on the Taranto naval base (the cheerful slobs were too lazy to pull up the anti-torpedo net).
The Vittorio Veneto raid against British convoys in the Mediterranean ended no better - the battered ship was barely able to return to base.
In general, nothing good came out of the idea with the Italian battleships. The battleship Roma ended its combat journey brighter and more tragically than anyone else, disappearing in a deafening explosion of its own artillery magazines - the result of a well-aimed hit by a German guided air bomb "Fritz-X" (air bombs? That's an understatement. The 1,360-kilogram Fritz-X ammunition was little like regular bomb).
Epilogue.
There were different battleships. Some of them were formidable and effective. There were no less formidable ones, but ineffective ones. But every time, the fact that the enemy had such ships caused the opposite side a lot of trouble and anxiety.
Battleships always remain battleships. Powerful and destructive ships with the highest combat stability.
Based on materials:
http://wunderwaffe.narod.ru/
http://korabley.net/
http://www.navy.mil.nz/
http://navycollection.narod.ru/
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://navsource.org/