The largest battleships are ships. Steel and fire

World War II was the golden age of battleships. In the pre-war years and the first few war years, the powers that lay claim to dominance at sea laid down on the stocks several dozen gigantic armored ships with powerful main-caliber guns. As the practice of the combat use of "steel monsters" has shown, battleships acted very effectively against formations of enemy warships, even being in a numerical minority, capable of terrifying convoys of cargo ships, but practically nothing can be opposed to aircraft, which with several torpedo hits and bombs can let multi-ton giants to the bottom. During World War II, the Germans and Japanese preferred not to risk battleships, keeping them away from the main naval battles, throwing them into battle at only critical moments, using them very ineffectively. In turn, the Americans mainly used battleships to cover carrier groups and landings in the Pacific Ocean. Meet the ten largest battleships of World War II.

10. Richelieu, France

The battleship "Richelieu" of the same class, has a weight of 47,500 tons and a length of 247 meters, eight main-caliber guns with a caliber of 380 mm, placed in two towers. Ships of this class were created by the French to counter the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean. The vessel was launched in 1939 and was adopted by the French naval forces a year later. Richelieu did not actually take part in the Second World War, except for a clash with a British aircraft carrier group in 1941, during the American operation against Vichy forces in Africa. In the post-war period, the battleship was involved in the war in Indochina, covering sea convoys and supporting French troops with fire during landing operations. The battleship was withdrawn from the fleet and decommissioned in 1967.

9. Jean Bar, France

The French battleship Jean Bar, Richelieu-class, was launched in 1940, but by the beginning of World War II, it was never commissioned. At the time of the German attack on France, the ship was 75% ready (only one main gun turret was installed), the battleship was able to get from Europe to the Moroccan port of Casablanca on its own. Despite the absence of some of the weapons, "Jean Bar" managed to take part in hostilities on the side of the Axis countries, repelling the attacks of the American-British forces during the Allied landing in Morocco. After several hits from the main battery of American battleships and aerial bombs, the ship went down on November 10, 1942. In 1944 "Jean Bar" was raised and sent to the shipyard for repair and additional equipment. The ship became part of the French Navy only in 1949, and never took part in any military operation. In 1961, the battleship was decommissioned and scrapped.

8. Tirpitz, Germany

The German battleship Tirpitz of the Bismarck class, launched in 1939, entered service in 1940, had a displacement of 40,153 tons and a length of 251 meters. Eight main guns with a caliber of 380 millimeters were placed in four turrets. Ships of this class were designed for raider operations against the enemy merchant fleet. During the Second World War, after the loss of the battleship Bismarck, the German command preferred not to use heavy ships in the naval theater of operations, in order to avoid their loss. "Tirpitz" stood for almost the entire war in the fortified Norwegian fjords, taking part in only three operations to intercept convoys and support the landing of troops on the islands. The battleship sank on November 14, 1944, during a British bombing raid, after being hit by three aerial bombs.

7. Bismarck, Germany

The battleship Bismarck, which entered service in 1940, is the only ship on this list to take part in a truly epic naval battle. For three days, the Bismarck, in the North Sea and Atlantic, confronted virtually the entire British fleet alone. The battleship was able to sink the pride of the British fleet, the cruiser Hood, in battle, and severely damaged several ships. After numerous hits from shells and torpedoes, the battleship went under water on May 27, 1941.

6. Wisconsin, USA

American battleship "Wisconsin", class "Iowa", with a displacement of 55,710 tons, has a length of 270 meters, on board which are three towers with nine 406 mm main guns. The ship was launched in 1943 and entered service in 1944. In 1991, the ship was withdrawn from the fleet, but remained in the US Navy reserve until 2006, becoming the last battleship standing in the US Navy reserve. During World War II, the ship was involved in escorting aircraft carrier groups, supporting amphibious operations and shelling the coastal fortifications of the Japanese army. In the post-war period he participated in the Persian Gulf War.

5. New Jersey, USA

The Iowa-class battleship New Jersey was launched in 1942 and entered service in 1943. The vessel underwent several major upgrades, and was eventually decommissioned from the fleet in 1991. During World War II, it was used to escort aircraft carrier groups, but did not really participate in a single serious naval battle. For the next 46 years she participated in the Korean, Vietnamese and Libyan wars as a support ship.

4. Missouri, USA

The Iowa-class battleship Missouri was launched in 1944, and in the same year became part of the Pacific Fleet. The ship was withdrawn from the fleet in 1992, and turned into a floating museum ship, which is now available for anyone to visit. During the Second World War, the battleship was used to escort aircraft carrier groups and support the landing of troops, and did not participate in any serious naval battle. It was on board the Missouri that the Japanese surrender pact was signed, which put an end to the Second World War. In the post-war period, the battleship participated in only one major military operation, namely the Gulf War, during which the Missouri provided fire support to the multinational forces from the sea.

3. Iowa, USA

The Iowa battleship, of the class of the same name, was launched in 1942 and entered service a year later, and fought on all oceanic fronts of the Second World War. Initially, he patrolled the northern latitudes of the Atlantic coast of the United States, after which he was transferred to the Pacific Ocean, where he covered aircraft carrier groups, provided support for the landing, struck enemy coastal fortifications and participated in several naval operations to intercept the strike groups of the Japanese fleet. During the Korean War, provided support with artillery fire for ground forces from the sea. In 1990, the Iowa was decommissioned and turned into a museum ship.

2. Yamato, Japan

The pride of the Japanese Imperial Navy, the battleship Yamato was 247 meters long, weighed 47,500 tons, and had three towers on board with 9 460 mm main guns. The ship was launched in 1939, but was ready to go to sea on a military campaign only in 1942. During the entire war, the battleship took part in only three real battles, of which only one was able to fire at enemy ships from main battery guns. Yamato was sunk on 7 April 1945 by enemy aircraft after being hit by 13 torpedoes and 13 bombs. Today, Yamato-class ships are considered the largest battleships in the world.

1. Musashi, Japan

"Musashi" is the younger brother of the battleship "Yamato", has similar technical characteristics and weapons. The ship was launched in 1940, was put into service in 1942, but was ready to go on a military campaign only in 1943. The battleship participated in only one serious naval battle, trying to prevent the Allies from landing in the Philippines. On October 24, 1944, after a 16-hour battle, Musashi sank in the Sibuyan Sea after being hit by several torpedoes and aerial bombs. Musashi, along with her brother Yamato, is considered the largest battleship in the world.

Battleships of World War II did not play an important role in the large-scale naval battles that shook the skies over the seas and oceans for exactly six years, from September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945. They did not fulfill their function, did not justify the great hopes placed on them. But huge money was spent on their construction, considerable funds were spent on their maintenance. The fate of these imaginary "masters of the sea", instruments of failed domination, is very instructive, and can serve as an example of incorrect calculation, incorrect forecasting of the future nature of strategy and tactics, and irrational spending of economic resources.

The state of naval tactical thought in the interwar period

Since then, as the Anglo-Dutch naval battles thundered on the seas, and until the middle of the 20th century, the idea of \u200b\u200ban ideal ship existed and practically did not change in the minds of the command of the fleets of the whole world. The main tactical technique was formed at the same time, in the 17th century, and it consisted in building up all forces in a wake column, and then opening fire from all barrels. Whoever sinks more enemy units wins. Some confusion in the minds of the naval commanders was introduced in 1916 by the Battle of Jutland, which took place according to a slightly different scenario. Performing vigorous maneuvering, the German squadron inflicted significant damage on the British forces, which possessed quantitative and qualitative superiority, suffering half the losses and "outplaying" (in sports terms) the enemy. However, the British also hastened to announce the victorious outcome of the battle, do not bother to analyze their, in general, unsuccessful actions. And he should have thought. Perhaps then the battleships of the Second World War would have turned out to be a more effective weapon in the fight against fascism, or at least there would have been fewer of them, which would have freed up resources for other, more important defense programs. However, the victors of Jutland, the Germans, did not draw the right conclusions either. They (at least Hitler and his immediate entourage) also considered power and size to be a priority factor in overcoming the enemy. And other countries, which faced heavy battles on the seas and oceans, adhered to similar views. They were all wrong.

What is a battleship?

The question is not superfluous, and to answer it one should return to history, to those times when the ships (then sailing, and later steam) of the opponents lined up in wake formation (that is, one after another), and the advantage of artillery weapons was a guarantee of victory. The formation was a straight line, this was dictated by the main principle of the battle, otherwise there would be interference in the line of fire, and the power of the cannons could not be fully used. The ships with the largest number of guns lined up on decks were designated "linear". The abbreviation "battleship", consisting of the roots of the two words "linear" and "ship", has taken root in the Russian fleet.

The sails gave way to steam engines and turbines, but the principle and purpose of the large artillery floating battery, protected by armor and fast, remained unchanged. It was possible to combine all the required combat qualities only on condition of large sizes. For this reason, battleships of the Second World War had a monstrous displacement.

Battleships and economics

Shipbuilders of the thirties, fulfilling orders from fleets and governments, tried to provide them with the most powerful and destructive weapons in the history of mankind. Not every country could afford to have at least one ship of this class; in addition to the defense function, it also played the role of a prestigious fetish. Owning battleships, the state asserted itself in its own power and demonstrated it to its neighbors. Today the owners of nuclear weapons or aircraft carriers constitute a kind of special club, access to which is allowed only to a few countries with an economic potential of the corresponding level. In the thirties, ships of the line served as a symbol of military power. Such an acquisition, not only was very expensive, but also required additional allocations for ongoing maintenance, maintenance and training of crews and infrastructure. The fleets included units that survived the previous global conflict, but new ones were also launched. Battleships of the Second World War, that is, built in the period from 1936 to 1945, were the focus of all the latest achievements of technical thought of their time. Their presence served as a kind of guarantee for a new worldwide massacre. It was possible to create such a powerful and expensive weapon only if it was to be used, and in the very near future. Otherwise, it makes no sense.

How many were there in total

For the entire period, called the pre-war (in fact, the war was already underway, in Spain and the Far East, for example), and all the years of the "hot phase" of the world conflict, the most developed countries striving to establish or restore their regional (or world) domination built twenty seven units of ships belonging to the class of linear.

Most of all were launched by the Americans, as many as ten. This testifies to the quite serious intentions of the United States to maintain the level of its influence in remote regions of the World Ocean, however, without the large-scale direct participation of ground forces, at that time quite modest.

The second place is taken by Britain with its five units. Good too.

Germany, which had just rejected the Versailles terms, launched four.

Italy, which during the reign of Duce Mussolini aspired to the role of the regional Mediterranean leader, was able to master three large-tonnage units. France managed to produce the same number of dreadnoughts.

Japanese battleships of the Second World War are represented by two units of the Yamato series. Relatively in comparison with other members of the "club", the imperial fleet was going to compensate for a small number of cyclopean ships.

The figures shown are actual figures. The plans were much broader.

Soviet battleships of the Second World War were laid down in Tsarist Russia. Before the World War, the Russian fleet developed rapidly, the modernization program launched then became the basis for growth for many years, after the revolution.

There were three battleships: "Paris Commune" ("Sevastopol"), "Marat" ("Petropavlovsk") and "October Revolution" ("Gangut"), all of one project. They survived the hard times, albeit with damage, and served for some time after 1945. Thirty years old for a warship is not considered old, and in 1941 they turned just that old. Thus, at the time of its entry into the war, after the German attack, the USSR possessed three fairly modern units of ships of the linear class inherited from the tsarist regime. But this does not mean that the USSR leadership had no plans to strengthen the Navy. They were, and not only plans, but also very specific actions. Stalin was preparing the most ambitious project in the entire history of Russian shipbuilding.

USSR plans

According to the government shipbuilding program, adopted in 1936, over the next seven years, Soviet shipyards were to launch no less than 533 naval units. Of these, there are 24 battleships. Maybe they were going to be built in accordance with the capabilities, smaller and more modest, so to speak, in the "economy version"? No, the planned displacement is 58.5 thousand tons. Reservation - from 375 mm (belt) to 420 (base of gun turrets). Project "A" (No. 23) was calculated with the help of American engineers invited to the USSR in 1936 with the corresponding wages. From the Italian specialists, with whom they tried to cooperate at first, they refused, and not because the fascists (this circumstance did not prevent the purchase of the "blue cruiser"), they simply "did not pull" the scale of the plan. The guns were ordered from the Barricades plant (Stalingrad). Nine giant cannons of the main caliber 406 mm were supposed to fire shells of 11 centners each. Three armored decks. Only the newest battleships of Japan during the Second World War could argue with such power, but no one knew about them then, they were deeply classified, and became an unpleasant surprise for the American Navy in December 1941.

Why didn't the plans come true?

The battleship "Soviet Union" of project "A" was laid down in Leningrad by plant number 15 in the summer of 1938, two units ("Soviet Belorussia", "Soviet Russia") began to be built in Molotovsk (today this city is called Severodvinsk), another one - in Nikolaev ("Soviet Ukraine"). So it is impossible to reproach JV Stalin for the projection and manilovism, the plans set by the party were unswervingly carried out. Another question is that there were objective difficulties, for which, quite possibly, some comrades who did not cope with the task subjectively answered before the law. At the time of the German attack, the ships under construction were in varying degrees of readiness, but no more than a fifth of the total volume of work. The most modern battleships of the USSR of World War II never entered combat formation, serving as donors for other important defense programs. They used their guns, armor plates, but they themselves did not go out to sea. There was not enough time and experience, technology development took too long.

And if you had time?

JV Stalin was often reproached (and continue to do so) for not preparing the country for repelling the German invasion. In some ways, these claims can be considered justified. However, given the situation that developed in the first months of Hitler's aggression, today we can conclude that even the most modern and large Soviet battleships of World War II could not have influenced the course of hostilities, which took place mainly on the land front. Already in the summer of 1941, the operational area of \u200b\u200bthe Baltic Sea, due to its geographical feature (closedness), was covered with minefields and blocked by the Kriegsmarine submarine forces. The battleships of the USSR that were in service during the Second World War were used as stationary batteries, similar to coastal ones. With their heavy main-caliber guns, they inflicted damage on the advancing enemy, but aviation and long-range artillery succeeded more in this. In addition, going out to sea for such a huge ship is fraught with great risk. He, like a magnet, attracts all the forces of the enemy, who calms down only by letting him go to the bottom. Many battleships of the Second World War, which became a steel grave for their crews, can serve as a mournful example.

Germans and their battleships

Not only Stalin suffered from gigantomania, but also his main opponent, the German Chancellor. He pinned great hopes on the German battleships of World War II, their construction was too expensive, but it was they who were supposed to crush the naval power of arrogant Britain. This, however, did not happen. After the loss of the Bismarck in 1941, shot by a superior enemy, the Führer treated the Tirpitz as an expensive and thoroughbred fighting dog, which is a pity to run into an ordinary dog \u200b\u200bdump, but you have to feed it anyway, and it is used as a deterrent. For a long time, the second battleship annoyed the British, until they dealt with it, bombing the beauty and pride of the Kriegsmarine in an unknown Norwegian fjord.

So the battleships of Germany rested at the bottom. In World War II, they were given the role of huge beasts, hunted down by a pack of smaller but more agile predators. A similar fate awaited many other ships of this class. Their loss entailed enormous human casualties; they often perished along with their full crews.

Japan

Who built the largest and most advanced battleships of World War II? Japan. "Yamato" and the second ship of the series, which became the last, "Musashi", had a titanic displacement (full) exceeding 70 thousand tons. These giants were also armed with the most powerful main-caliber guns of 460 mm. The armor also knew no equal - from 400 to 650 mm. To destroy such a monster required dozens of direct hits from torpedoes, aerial bombs or artillery shells. The Americans had all these deadly weapons in sufficient quantities, and the circumstances were such that they were able to use them. They were angry with the Japanese for Pearl Harbor and knew no pity.

USA

Battleships of the United States of the Second World War are represented by ships of various projects, including the latest ones, launched in the period from 1941 to 1943. These primarily include the Iowa class, represented, in addition to the head unit, by three more (New Jersey, Wisconsin and Missouri). On the deck of one of them, the Missouri, was the final stop in the six-year world war. The displacement of these giant ships is 57.5 thousand tons, they had excellent seaworthiness, but for modern naval combat, after the appearance of rocket weapons, they were practically unusable, which did not prevent the use of their artillery power for punitive purposes against countries that did not have the opportunity to effectively resist them. They served for a long time, and fought along different coasts:

- "New Jersey" - Vietnamese and Lebanese.

- "Missouri" and "Wisconsin" - at the Iraqi.

Today, all three of the last US battleships of World War II dock and receive tourist visitors.

There was a time when the strength of the navy was determined by the number of battleships. Those days are long gone, but the power and brutal beauty of these sea mastodons still excites the imagination and generates controversy. Was battleships needed? Were they helpful or were they a big goal? Let's take a look at five legends of the battleship era.

The battleship of the Third Reich "Bismarck" lived a short but bright life, which still provides material for literature and cinema. May 24, 1941 "Bismarck" paired with "Prince Eugen" met with two British "Hood" and "Prince of Wales". During the ensuing battle, the Hood was sunk, but the Bismarck was also seriously damaged. The three-day pursuit of the German battleship began.

On May 27, the Bismarck took an unequal battle and received a lot of damage, but remained afloat. Even after exhausting all the ammunition, the ship did not lower the flag. In the end, the ship's commander, Lutyens, ordered the Kingstones to be opened and abandoned. It should be noted that the Bismarck received critical damage from a torpedo launched from an aircraft. The death of the Bismarck was an important signal that the battleships were losing their leading role in the fleet.

The ancient Japanese called their country Yamato, which means "great harmony", "peace". There is some kind of mockery in the fact that this name was given to the largest warship in the world. Its gigantic 460mm cannons were capable of sending one and a half ton rounds at a distance of 25 nautical miles (46 km). The ship's side armor was 410 mm. Despite its enormous weight, the Yamato developed a speed of 27 knots, although it was inferior to the lighter American battleships with their speed of 33 knots.

wikipedia.org

Unlike the Bismarck, the main Japanese battleship remained idle for a long time, since the Japanese command was saving the battleships for the alleged general engagement of the Japanese and American fleets. During the time of inactivity and transitions between the islands, the Yamato, while standing in the port, received a hole from a torpedo from an American submarine. This battleship was also killed not from shells from American ships, but from bombs and torpedoes of the US naval aviation. It happened on April 7, 1945 off the coast of the island of Okinawa, where the Yamato, along with other ships, was sent to support the garrison of the island that was killed in unequal battles and suicidal attacks.

wikipedia.org

The first two battleships Iowa and New Jersey of the Iowa class proved their worth during the Pacific War. They have many battles and victories on their account. The Missouri belonging to this class did not have time to prove itself in battles, but went down in history as the ship on which General MacArthur accepted the surrender of Japan. This ship remained in service in the US Navy for a long time, although it was withdrawn from the main fleet. The Missouri fired its last live salvo in 1991 during the Gulf War.

"October Revolution" and "Marat"

Both battleships of the Baltic Fleet of the Sevastopol project were laid down and built before the start of the First World War and were already considered obsolete by the Great Patriotic War. They did not participate in naval battles, since the exit to the Baltic Sea was mined on both sides, so neither our ships could safely leave the Gulf of Finland, nor the Germans could enter there.

wikipedia.org

"October Revolution" and "Marat" took part in the defense of Leningrad, supporting the defenders of the city with fire from 305-mm and 120-mm guns. Both ships received serious damage (especially "Marat") during enemy air raids in September 1941, but remained afloat and after repairs continued to defend Leningrad. Anchors and anti-aircraft gun (Ivan Tombasov's gun) of the "October Revolution" after the ship was decommissioned in 1956 were installed on the Anchor Square of Kronstadt in memory of the heroic defense of besieged Leningrad.

"Paris Commune"

wikipedia.org

The British fleet dominated the Mediterranean Sea, and the passage through the Strait of Gibraltar was reliably protected, so German ships did not even dream of getting into the Black Sea. The only battleship of the Black Sea Fleet "Paris Commune" took part in the defense of Sevastopol, destroying the ground forces of the enemy besieging the city. In total, the battleship's main battery guns fired three thousand rounds. Anti-aircraft artillery successfully repelled 21 air attacks, thanks to which the ship did not receive any serious damage throughout the war.

World War II became the swan song of the big ships of the line. Operations in the Pacific made it clear that supremacy at sea had passed from battleships to aircraft carriers. Since then, the United States has relied on aircraft carrier groups, which have become the main instrument of global domination. But that's a completely different story.

Exactly seventy years ago, the Soviet Union embarked on a seven-year program of "large-scale marine 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 it was not possible to complete the superlinkers, interest in them is still great, especially in light of the recent fashion for an alternative history. So what were the projects of the "Stalinist giants" and what preceded their appearance?

Lords of the seas

The fact that battleships are the main force of the fleet was considered an axiom for almost three centuries. From the Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th century to the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the outcome of the war at sea was decided by an artillery duel between two fleets lined up in wake lines (hence the origin of the term "ship of the line", abbreviated as battleship). The belief in the omnipotence of the battleship was not undermined either by the emerging aviation or submarines. And after the First World War, most admirals and naval theorists still measured the strength of the fleets by the number of heavy guns, the total weight of the side salvo and the thickness of the armor. But it was this exceptional role of the ships of the line, considered the indisputable 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 by 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. "Dreadnought" seemed to contemporaries a giant and the height of perfection. However, by 1912, against the background of the newest superdreadnoughts, 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 conditions of an unrestrained arms race became obsolete in literally three or four years, and their serial construction became extremely burdensome even for the richest countries.

Why did this happen? The fact is that any warship is a compromise of many factors, the main of which are three: weapons, protection and speed. Each of these components “ate up” a significant part of the ship's displacement, since both artillery and armor, and bulky power plants with numerous boilers, fuel, steam engines or turbines were very heavy. And the designers, as a rule, had to sacrifice one of the fighting qualities in favor of the other. So, the Italian shipbuilding school was characterized by high-speed and heavily armed, but poorly protected battleships. The Germans, on the other hand, prioritized survivability and built ships with very powerful armor, but moderate speed and lightweight artillery. The desire to provide a harmonious combination of all characteristics, taking into account the tendency to constantly increase the main caliber, led to a monstrous increase in the size of the ship.

Paradoxically, the appearance of the long-awaited "ideal" battleships - fast, heavily armed and protected by powerful armor - brought the very idea of \u200b\u200bsuch ships to complete absurdity. Still: because of their high cost, floating monsters undermined the economy of their own countries more significantly than the invasions of enemy armies! At the same time, they almost did not go to sea: the admirals did not want to risk such valuable combat units, since the loss of even one of them was practically equated to a national disaster. From a means of waging war at sea, battleships turned into an instrument of big politics. And the continuation of their construction was no longer determined by tactical expediency, but by completely different motives. To have such ships for the country's prestige in the first half of the twentieth century meant about the same as now possessing nuclear weapons.

The governments of all countries were aware of the need to stop the untwisted flywheel of the naval arms race, and in 1922, at an international conference convened in Washington, radical measures were taken. The delegations of the most influential states agreed to significantly reduce their naval forces and consolidate the total tonnage of their own fleets in a certain proportion over the next 15 years. For the same period, the construction of new battleships was almost universally stopped. The only exception was made for Great Britain, a country forced to scrapped the largest number of brand new dreadnoughts. But those two battleships that the British could build would hardly have an ideal combination of combat qualities, since their displacement should have been measured at 35 thousand tons.

The Washington Conference was the first ever real step towards limiting offensive arms on a global scale. It gave the world economy some breathing space. But nothing more. Since the apotheosis of the "battleship race" was still ahead ...

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, one after another, mighty dreadnoughts were laid. Russia quickly recovered from defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and again claimed the role of the leading maritime power.

However, the revolution, Civil War and general devastation left no trace of the former sea power of the empire. The Red Navy inherited from the "tsarist regime" only three battleships - "Petropavlovsk", "Gangut" and "Sevastopol", respectively, renamed "Marata", "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 the time.

At first, the Red Navy did not really have any special prospects. The Bolshevik government had much more urgent tasks than the restoration of the former sea power. In addition, the first persons of the state, Lenin and Trotsky, looked at the navy as an expensive toy and instrument of world imperialism. Therefore, during the first one and a half decades of the existence of the Soviet Union, the shipyard of the RKKF was replenished slowly and mainly only by boats and submarines. But in the mid-1930s, the USSR's naval doctrine changed dramatically. By that time, the "Washington battleship vacation" was over and all the world powers began to feverishly make up for lost time. Two international treaties signed in London tried to somehow restrain the size of the future ships of the line, but everything turned out to be in vain: practically none of the countries participating in the agreements from the very beginning was going to honestly fulfill the signed conditions. France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the USA and Japan have begun to create 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 USSR Labor and Defense Council, with the blessing of the secretary general, approved a seven-year program of "large sea shipbuilding" for 1937-1943 (due to the dissonance of the official name in the literature, it is usually called the "Big Fleet" program). In accordance with it, it was supposed to build 533 ships, including 24 battleships! For the then Soviet economy, the numbers are absolutely unrealistic. Everyone understood this, but no one dared to object to Stalin.

In fact, Soviet designers began to develop a project for a new battleship back in 1934. The case was progressing with difficulty: they had no experience in creating large ships. I 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 turned 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, they decided not to limit the displacement. The USSR was not bound by any international agreements, and therefore already at the stage of the technical design, the battleship's standard displacement reached 58,500 tons. The thickness of the armor belt was 375 mm, and in the area of \u200b\u200bthe bow towers - 420! There were three armored decks: 25-mm upper, 155-mm main and 50-mm lower splinterproof. The hull was equipped with solid anti-torpedo protection: in the central part of the Italian type, and at the ends - 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 plant "Barrikady". The Soviet cannon could fire 1 105-kilogram shells at a range of 45.6 kilometers. In terms of its characteristics, it surpassed all foreign guns of this class - with the exception of the 18-inch Japanese super-battleship Yamato. However, the latter, having heavier shells, were inferior to the B-37 in firing range and rate of fire. In addition, the Japanese made their ships so classified that until 1945 no one knew anything about them. In particular, the Europeans and Americans were sure that the caliber of the Yamato artillery did not exceed 16 inches, that is, 406 millimeters.

The Japanese battleship Yamato is the largest warship of the Second World War. Laid down in 1937, entered service in 1941. Full 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 gun, 7 seaplanes

The main power plant of the Soviet battleship is three turbo-gear units with a capacity of 67 thousand liters each. from. For the lead ship, the mechanisms were bought from the Swiss branch of the British company "Brown Boveri", for the rest the power plant was to be manufactured under license by the Kharkov Turbine Works. It was assumed that the speed of the battleship will be 28 knots and the cruising range of the 14-knot course - over 5,500 miles.

In the meantime, the "large marine shipbuilding" program was revised. In the new "Big Shipbuilding Program", approved by Stalin in February 1938, "small" battleships of the "B" type were no longer listed, 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. Indeed, even the "mistress of the seas" Great Britain and ambitious Nazi Germany hoped 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 it turned out to be beyond the power: the construction of one of the ships was stopped almost immediately after the 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 Belorussia" (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, respectively 21% and 17.5%. Things were much worse at the new plant in Molotovsk. Although in 1940, instead of two battleships, it was decided to build one there, still by the beginning of World War II its readiness reached only 5%.

The deadlines for the manufacture of artillery and armor were also not kept. Although in October 1940, tests of an experienced 406-mm gun were successfully completed and before the start of the war, the Barricades plant managed to hand over 12 barrels of marine superguns, not a single tower could be assembled. There were even more problems with the release of the armor. Due to the loss of experience in the manufacture of armor plates of great thickness, up to 40% of them went to waste. And negotiations about ordering armor from Krupp's firm ended in nothing.

The attack of Nazi Germany canceled the plans to create a "Big Fleet". By a 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, where the B-37 experimental gun also fired at the enemy. "Soviet Ukraine" was captured by the Germans, but they did not find any use for the gigantic corps. After the war, the question of completing the battleships according to one of the improved projects was discussed, but in the end they were dismantled for metal, and the hull section of the head "Soviet Union" was even launched in 1949 - it was planned to use it for full-scale tests of the anti-torpedo protection system. The turbines received from Switzerland at first wanted to be installed on one of the new light cruisers of the 68-bis project, then they refused this: too many alterations were required.

Good cruisers or bad battleships?

Heavy cruisers of Project 69 appeared in the "Big Shipbuilding Program", which, like the battleships of the "A" type, were planned to be built 15 units. But these were not just heavy cruisers. Since the Soviet Union was not bound by any international treaties, the Soviet designers rejected 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). Project 69 was conceived as a fighter for any foreign cruisers, including the formidable German "pocket battleships" (12,100 tons displacement). 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 than the planned project 25. Of course, the number of such ships had to be reduced. In reality, in 1939 in Leningrad and Nikolaev, only two "supercruisers" were laid down - "Kronstadt" and "Sevastopol".

The heavy cruiser Kronstadt was laid down in 1939, but not completed. Total displacement 41,540 tons. Overall length - 250.5 m, width - 31.6 m, draft - 9.5 m. Turbine power - 201,000 hp. sec., speed - 33 knots (61 km / h). Side armor thickness - up to 230 mm, turrets - 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 the ships of Project 69, but in general they did not stand up to criticism in terms of the cost-effectiveness criterion. Conceived as good cruisers, "Kronstadt" and "Sevastopol" in the process of "improving" the project turned into bad battleships, too expensive and too complicated to build. Moreover, the industry clearly did not have time to produce the main artillery for them. Out of despair, the idea arose to equip 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 more than a thousand 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 from Germany had arrived in the USSR.

The fate of "Kronstadt" and "Sevastopol" developed similarly 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 "Kronstadt" was stopped, and the "Sevastopol" located in Nikolaev had been 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 in the Hitlerite fleet. Laid down in 1936, entered service in 1940. Full displacement - 50,900 tons. Length - 250.5 m, width - 36 m, draft - 10.6 m. Thickness of side armor - up to 320 mm, towers - 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, in the world in 1936-1945, 27 battleships of the latest generation were built: 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 the Second World War has clearly shown that the time of battleships is gone. Aircraft carriers became the new masters of the oceans: carrier-based aircraft undoubtedly surpassed naval artillery both in range and in the ability to hit targets in the most vulnerable places. So it is safe to say that Stalin's battleships, even if they were built by June 1941, would not have played any significant role in the war.

But here's the paradox: the Soviet Union, which spent a little 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 even after World War II! Contrary to common sense, the designers have been working tirelessly for several years on the drawings of yesterday's floating fortresses. The successor to the Soviet Union was the Project 24 battleship with a total displacement of 81,150 tons (!), The successor to the Kronstadt was the 42,000-ton heavy cruiser of Project 82. In addition, this pair was supplemented by another so-called “medium” cruiser of Project 66 with 220- mm artillery of the main caliber. Note that the latter, although it was called average, but in terms of displacement (30,750 tons) left far behind all foreign heavy cruisers and approached the battleships.

Battleship "Sovetsky Soyuz", project 23 (USSR, laid down in 1938). Standard displacement - 59,150 tons, total - 65,150 tons. Overall length - 269.4 m, width - 38.9 m, draft - 10.4 m. Turbine capacity - 201,000 hp. sec., speed - 28 knots (with forcing, 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 the domestic shipbuilding in the postwar years was clearly going against the tide are mostly subjective. And in the first place here are the personal predilections of the "leader of the peoples". Stalin was very impressed with large artillery ships, especially fast ones, and at the same time he clearly underestimated aircraft carriers. During the 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 he panicked the enemy's light cruisers, dispersed them and smashed them. This cruiser must fly like a swallow, be a pirate, a real bandit. " Alas, on the threshold of the nuclear-missile era, the views of the Soviet leader on naval tactics lagged behind their time by one and a half to two decades.

If projects 24 and 66 remained on paper, then according to project 82 in 1951-1952, three "bandit cruisers" were laid - "Stalingrad", "Moscow" and the 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 the complete lack of clarity of tactical use. The hull section of the lead "Stalingrad" was launched and used for several years to develop various types of naval weapons, including torpedoes and cruise missiles. It is quite 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 down in 1951, but not completed. Full displacement - 42,300 tons. Overall length - 273.6 m, width - 32 m, draft - 9.2 m. Turbine power - 280,000 hp. sec., speed - 35.2 knots (65 km / h). Side armor thickness - up to 180 mm, turrets - up to 240 mm. Armament: 9 - 305 mm and 12 - 130mm 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 "super-ship", stronger than any potential enemy of its class, at different times puzzled designers and shipbuilders of different countries. And here there is a pattern: the weaker the economy and industry of the state, the more active this striving; for developed countries, on the contrary, it is less typical. So, in the interwar period, the British Admiralty preferred to build ships of very modest combat capabilities, but in large numbers, which ultimately made it possible to have a well-balanced fleet. Japan, on the other hand, sought to create ships more powerful 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 respect, the shipbuilding policy of the then USSR occupies a special place. Here, after the decision of the party and the government to build the "Big Fleet", the obsession with "super ships" was actually pushed to the point of absurdity. On the one hand, Stalin, inspired by the successes in the aviation industry and tank building, too hastily thought that it would be possible to solve all problems in the shipbuilding industries just as quickly. On the other hand, the atmosphere in society was such that the project of any ship proposed by the industry and not superior in its capabilities to foreign counterparts could easily be considered "sabotage" with all the ensuing consequences. The designers and shipbuilders simply had no choice: they were forced to design the "most powerful" and "fastest" ships, armed with the "longest-range" artillery in the world ... In practice, this resulted in the following: ships with the dimensions and weapons of battleships began to be called heavy cruisers (but the most powerful in the world!), heavy cruisers - light, and the latter - "destroyer leaders". Such a substitution of some classes for others 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 the case, the reports that went upstairs about the outstanding successes of the designers often looked like banal eyewash.

It is characteristic that almost all "super ships" ever embodied in metal have not justified themselves. Suffice it to cite as an example the Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi. They died under the bombs of American planes without firing a single salvo with the main caliber at their American "classmates". But even if they had a chance to clash with the US Navy 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 the 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 hypertrophied combat characteristics. And yet, in the USSR, the idea of \u200b\u200ba "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 Kronstadt and Stalingrad. However, this is a completely different story ...

There is a myth according to which America began to build the fleet that helped the United States win the war in the morning of December 8, 1941, when she regained consciousness from the defeat of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on the eve. Myth. In fact, the American militarists began to build all ten fast battleships that brought victory to Washington on their decks at least ten months before the samurai attacked Pearl Harbor. The North Carolina-class battleships were laid down at two-week intervals in June 1940 and entered service in April and May 1941. In fact, three of the four South Dakota-class battleships were launched before December 7, 1941. Yes, the fleet that crushed Japan had not yet been built, but it could not have been built even more, rolling up its sleeves only on the morning of December 8. Thus. the strike by Japanese aviation on the main base of the US Pacific Fleet played absolutely no role in the fate of the high-speed battleships of the US Navy.

Fast battleships in and after World War II

The Washington Treaty of 1922 stopped the production of heavy ships for the US Navy put on stream. Due to the intrigues of politicians, it was necessary to stop or not start at all the construction of seven battleships and six battle cruisers. It got to the point that on February 8, 1922, it was decided to dismantle the battleship Washington (BB47), which was at 75% readiness stage - a flagrant act of vandalism! The Washington Treaty limited the number of battleships of the US and UK Navy to 18 and 20, respectively. Japan was allowed to have ten such ships, France and Italy - a few. In the ten years that have passed since the conclusion of the treaty, only two battleships, the British Nelson and Rodney, have entered service in the world. The construction of these ships began in 1922 and was specifically stipulated in the Washington Treaty, because the frankly low-powered Grand Fleet at that time had only extremely outdated battleships. The world "vacation" in battleship building ended in 1932 with the laying of the Dunkirk ship with a displacement of 26,500 tons in France.

The United States Navy received mixed feelings about the Washington Treaty. The admirals grieved over the missing battleships and cruisers, but those of them. who were considered realists, understood the complexity of the political and economic situation in the country and the world after the end of the First World War. Although for the United States, this situation was rather favorable. The United States entered the First World War as the third power in the world naval rating. And after the war, the US Navy became one of the two great fleets in the world, and most experts agreed that in a short time the US Navy would become the No. 1 fleet in the world. The grandeur of the Grand Fleet, unattainable before by anyone, went down in history. The war clearly demonstrated the strategic role of the fleet. Only the fleet was able to ensure the escort of convoys across the Atlantic. After the war, the US Navy was left with the de facto only serious enemy - the Japanese navy. Everything was fun and rosy for the American admirals, but then suddenly the Great Depression happened.

The world economic crisis contributed to the coming to power in a number of countries that did not firmly uphold the ideals of freedom and democracy, authoritarian regimes. In Italy, Duce Mussolini came to power, in Germany - the Fuhrer Hitler. Well, in the USA - Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt was at one time related to the affairs of the US Navy, served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In 1932, the ex-assistant became the president of the United States from the Democratic Party. Roosevelt considered the adoption and implementation of an ambitious shipbuilding program as one of the ways to bring the country out of the Great Depression. However, the first "naval" budget, adopted at the time of Roosevelt, provided for the construction of aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers; nothing was said about the construction of battleships. Japan's sudden declaration of refusal to comply with the terms of the Washington Treaty, made in 1934, changed the situation by 1936 in the most dramatic way. For the first time in ten years, American designers rolled up their sleeves, washed their hands, took a drawing board, a drawing board and a drawing pen, after which they began to draw the outline of the battleship of the future. The process has begun. It remains to deepen it.

The design of a battleship after 1922 was determined to a greater extent not by technology, but by politics. The British constantly insisted on limiting the size, displacement and armament of battleships due to the simple fact that they themselves had decrepit, small and weakly armed battleships. They wished the same to everyone. The British demanded not to arm the new battleships with artillery caliber above 14 inches, although the Washington Treaty set the limit for the main caliber of battleships at 16 inches. Surprisingly. but from the requirements of the British in terms of displacement and size, the Americans benefited primarily. The dimensions and displacement of all American ships were limited by the throughput of the Panama Canal - the requirement for ships to pass the channel from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic and back was mandatory in the design of any American ship or vessel. At the same time, American admirals began to swear in an American way, having heard about the limitation of the main caliber of the battleship to 14 inches. The restrictions imposed by the Panama Canal, combined with the restrictions on the main caliber, promised the US Navy a battleship weaker than the British Nelson or the Japanese Nagato. Japan withdrew from the treaty and put 16-inch guns on the battleship. The British demanded 14 inches from everyone except themselves, and armed the Nelson with 16-inch main artillery. In October 1935, US representatives began negotiations with British officials regarding the limitations of the Washington Treaty in the light of the treachery shown by the Japanese military. The parties came to an agreed opinion on April 1, 1937 ... after which the permitted main caliber of battleships automatically increased 16 inches.

On September 14, the North Carolina was hit by a torpedo fired by Japanese submarine 1-19. The submarine then fired six torpedoes in a salvo, three of them hit the aircraft carrier Wasp, one hit the destroyer O Brien and one hit the battleship. The explosion destroyed the armor belt of the battleship, the battleship tilted five degrees, but retained the ability to maneuver at high speed. On October 11, 1942, the battleship was put for repair in the Pearl Harbor dry dock.

The decision to increase the caliber gave rise to new problems. The design of battleships for the US Navy in 1937 was already in full swing, and now more powerful weapons needed to develop new, larger and heavier towers, then "fit" new towers into the design of the ship already being designed. At one time, Admiral Standley took a thoughtful position, having ordered the design of universal three-gun turrets of the main caliber, intended for mounting both 14-inch guns and 16-inch guns. The size and caliber of the battleships' guns even became a subject for discussion during the 1936 presidential election campaign.Republicans criticized Democrat Roosevelt for publicly speaking in favor of increasing the main caliber of the battleship artillery, pointing out that such statements contribute to the growth of the arms race and are a tangible blow to detente international tension. Ordinary Americans did not heed the arguments of the Republicans, electing Roosevelt as president for a second term and, thereby, confirming the obvious fact that America has always remained a preserve of rabid imperialism. Japan, on the other hand, initially did not react at all to the statements of the American Democrats. considering that an unclear international situation will delay the design of new battleships for the US Navy. It was only on March 27, 1937 that the Japanese government publicly opposed the new terms of the Washington Treaty. It was then in Japan that the decision was made to build Yamato-class battleships with a displacement of 64,000 tons, armed with 18-inch artillery.

In between firing the main battery, sailors stroll along the poop of the battleship Massachusetts. Two huge American flags are hoisted on the mast - a faint hope that the French will not shoot at their sincere American friends, with whom they fought shoulder to shoulder with the Boches during the First World War.

Even the Japanese refusal to comply with the 14-inch limit on the artillery caliber of battleships did not provoke harsh statements in the United States and Great Britain. Roosevelt became the first politician to advocate arming his own ships with guns of a caliber larger than 14 inches. In 1937, the British began building a new series of King George V-class battleships with 14-inch cannons, although a former naval minister, a certain Winston Churchill, strongly objected to this.

Roosevelt, nevertheless, reconsidered his decision regarding the main caliber of battleships - in favor of 14 inches. Specialists from the Naval Design Bureau felt offended and even outraged somewhere. Meanwhile - in vain: they should read the newspaper Pravda more often. After all, the whole world has long known the venality of bourgeois politicians, who weave any fairy tales in order to attract voters, and immediately after the elections they forget about both fairy tales and voters. In fact, the choice in favor of the larger caliber artillery of battleships is not so straightforward. as it may seem to amateurs. The 14-inch round weighs 680 kg. 16 inch round - 450 kg. Due to the more powerful powder charge, the 14-inch projectile flies farther than the 16-inch one, due to the greater mass it has a greater destructive ability, and the wear of an expensive gun barrel causes less wear. However, as the design bureau representatives pointed out in their excited message of May 17, 1937 to the President of the United States, the real difference lies in the "dead" zone of the guns. In this case, the dead zone is not the zone that is not shot through due to the insufficiently small angle of the cannons, but the zone in which the projectile is not even theoretically capable of penetrating armor of a certain thickness. That is, the "dead" zone does not adjoin the ship, but is far from it. Experts have made calculations based on the average armor thickness of battleships - 12 "main armor belt and 5-6" armored deck. It turned out that at short firing distances, the armor penetration of 14 and 16 inch projectiles is approximately the same. At long firing distances, at which a naval battle is actually being conducted, a 14-inch projectile is significantly inferior to a 16-inch one, about ten times!

Iowa

Roosevelt, in response to the message, promised to think or come up with something. The President kept his word. In early June 1937, he suggested that Ambassador Grew once again turn to the Japanese side with a proposal to agree to the limitation of the main caliber of battleships to 14 inches. While the court - yes, the case - Roosevelt puts forward a proposal, the Japanese discuss it, then prepare an answer - the design of battleships could not stand still. This time it didn't take long for an answer. The Japanese agreed with the proposal of the US President, with a slight amendment: subject to the limitation of the total number of battleships in the US Navy and the British Navy - ten American and ten British. Such an amendment was completely unacceptable for Roosevelt, so on July 10, 1937, the President gave the command to design battleships with 16-inch artillery.

The debate over the main caliber of battleships delayed the design of battleships by several months. But as soon as the decision was made, the design moved forward by leaps and bounds. The budget for the 1938 fiscal year allocated financial flows for the construction of two battleships "North Carolina" and "Washington", with the tabbed October 27, 1937 and June 14, 1938, respectively. According to the budget for the 1939 financial year, July 5, 1939 was laid South Dakota, in 15 days - Massachusetts. November 20, 1939 Indiana and February 1, 1940 Alabama. The budget for fiscal 1941 included the laying of the Missouri on January 6, 1941 and the Wisconsin on January 25, 1941.

The 1940 Congressional Act on the Navy of the Two Oceans called for the construction of seven more battleships - two more Iowas (Illinois and Kentucky) and five Montana-class monsters, armed with four towers with three 16-inch tools in each and on each. Due to their width, the Montanas could no longer pass the Panama Canal. The last two Iowas were laid down, the first two Montanas were ordered, but their construction was abandoned in 1943. The Kentucky were no longer considered a modern ship, which is why discussions were held on what to do with the hull of the unfinished battleship for a very long time. The hull was wasted on the slipway for five long years. Ultimately, the unfinished ship was launched in 1950. but they did not finish building, and in 1958 they sold it for scrap.

There is a myth according to which America began to build the fleet that helped the United States win the war in the morning of December 8, 1941, when she regained consciousness from the defeat of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on the eve. Myth. in fact, the American militarists began to build all ten high-speed battleships that brought victory to Washington on their decks at least ten months before the samurai attacked Pearl Harbor. The North Carolina-class battleships were laid down at two-week intervals in June 1940 and entered service in April and May 1941. In fact, three of the four South Dakota-class battleships were launched before December 7, 1941. Yes, the fleet that crushed Japan had not yet been built, but it could not have been built even more, rolling up its sleeves only on the morning of December 8. Thus. the strike by Japanese aviation on the main base of the US Pacific Fleet played absolutely no role in the fate of the high-speed battleships of the US Navy.

The U-bots of the Kriegsmarine began to pose a mortal threat to England. It was the presence of such a threat that forced the command to shift priorities in the development plans of the US Navy. In 1941, the American fleet was drawn into escorting Atlantic convoys on an ever larger scale. First of all, it was not the Pacific, but the Atlantic fleet that was strengthened. In the US Navy. as well as in the White House, the yellow danger was clearly underestimated. The calculation was based on that. that the power of the Pacific Fleet will be enough to defend the Philippines from a possible Japanese attack while Hitler is dealt with in Europe. The North Carolines and the aircraft carrier Hornet were sent to the Atlantic for operations off the US East Coast. But after Pearl Harbor, both battleships were transferred to the Pacific Ocean.

While not yet fully commissioned, Washington became the first high-speed American battleship to take part in hostilities. The battleship was transferred from the base in Casco Bay to the Scapa Flow base of the British fleet, from where he, together with Her Majesty's ship Wasp, set off on a campaign in March 1942. the purpose of which was to support the landing of New Zealand troops in Madagascar. In early May, Washington took part in escorting PQ-15 and QP-11 convoys to and from Murmansk. Together with the British battleship King George V, the American ship patrolled the waters between Norway and Iceland in the event of the appearance of Kriegsmarine ships. The naval battle did not happen then, but adventures did happen. The British battleship collided with the British destroyer. The Washington left Scapa Flow once more. On June 28, 1942, together with the battleship Duke of York, he sailed to escort the unfortunate convoy PQ-17. To defeat the convoy, the Germans initiated the operation "Rosselsprung". Four large Kriegsmarine surface ships appeared in the Altafjord. including Tirpitz. Well, "Tirpitz", he alone was able to smash to smithereens the entire united Anglo-American fleet. And here - as many as four large ships of the German fleet. The order of the British Admiralty to abandon convoys to warships to their fate looks quite understandable in such conditions. In fact, the German ships never left Norwegian waters, which did not save the convoy. Participation, or rather non-participation, in the protection of the PQ-17 convoy was the last combat (such as combat) operation of the battleship "Washington" in the Atlantic. With a short stop on the West Coast, the battleship was transferred to the Pacific Ocean.

The beginning of the campaign in the Pacific Ocean turned out to be heavy losses for the Americans in aircraft carriers. By mid-May 1942, the Lexington was sunk, the Saratoga was torpedoed, and the Yorktown was badly damaged. The fleet was in urgent need of replenishment. The aircraft carrier Wasp rushed to the rescue, escorted by the battleship North Carolina. By the time the Panama ships passed, the peak of the crisis in the campaign in the Pacific had passed safely for the Americans, but Yorktown was lost in the battle of Midway and a new aircraft carrier for the Pacific Fleet became even more urgently needed. Wasp, North Carolina and four cruisers made up TF-18. The compound arrived in San Diego on June 15, 1942, and then headed to the South Pacific. Along the way, North Carolina was removed from TF-18 and became part of the TG-61 group. 2, guarding the aircraft carrier Enterprise. The Enterprise's aircraft were involved in Operation Watchtower, the landing on Guadalcanal, which began on August 7, 1942. As part of the TG-61. 2 North Carolina took part in a two-day battle off the Eastern Solomon Islands. 23-24 August 1942 At one of the moments of the battle, the battleship's anti-aircraft guns became so dense that the North Carolina disappeared into clouds of smoke. The Enterprise received a request - what's wrong with the ship, do you need help? In eight minutes, the battleship's anti-aircraft gunners shot down 18 Japanese aircraft and damaged seven (or seventy - it was not possible to establish for sure). Thanks to the art of anti-aircraft gunners "North Carolina" the American fleet then had no losses.

Despite the clear success in the first battle, "North Carolina" failed to protect the aircraft carrier "Wasp" in the next. Perhaps that fight was the most successful example of the use of torpedo weapons in history. On September 14, 1942, a Japanese submarine 1-19 fired six torpedoes in a salvo at the aircraft carrier from a distance of approximately 1400 m. One traveled ten miles, passing the keels of two destroyers on the way. then stuck in the left side of the North Carolina's nose below the armor belt. As a result of the explosion of the torpedo, a hole with an area of \u200b\u200b32 sq. foot through which the ship received 1000 tons of water. Two torpedoes passed in front of the aircraft carrier, one of them hit the destroyer O "Brien" (also in the left forward part of the hull, the torpedo traveled 11 miles). The other three torpedoes hit the starboard side of the aircraft carrier. sank, but its repair did not make sense. "O" Brian "lost his nose and sank after three days. "North Carolina" acquired a negative pitch angle of 5 degrees, the bow cellar of the battleship's ammunition was flooded. Attempts to tow the battleship were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the battleship continued to be guarded by the aircraft carrier Enterprise under its own vehicles. sometimes developing a stroke of 25 knots. There was no danger of flooding; the damage to the battleship was great. The ship was sent to Pearl Harbor for repairs, and the Enterprise left with the battleship. The battleship was under repair until January 1943.

The American fleet in the South Pacific remained without high-speed battleships for only three weeks - the Washington arrived from the Atlantic to Noumea on October 9, 1942. A week later, South Dakota and the Enterprise (reorganized) left Pearl Harbor for the South Pacific. TF-6I connection). "Washington" became part of the TF-64 formation. along with three cruisers and six destroyers. This unit was intended to escort convoys between Noumea and Gaudalcanal. The formation was commanded by Rear Admiral Wills A. "Ching" Lee. formerly the Chief of Staff to the Pacific Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral William F. "Bill" Halsey. Lee will spend most of the war as commander of TF-64. The admiral was at the right time and in the right place. Subsequent events culminated in the confrontation between the American and Japanese battleships in the Pacific Ocean. The month of the battleship war has come.

The month began with an attempt by Japanese aircraft carriers to make another raid into the Solomon Islands region. Once again, the aircraft carriers of the United States Navy rushed to intercept them, and again the fast battleships provided escort for carrier-based aircraft carriers. "South Dakota" was still in the escort of "Enterprise", keeping the aircraft carrier in the tough case at Santa Cruz, which took place on October 26, 1942, then the battleship anti-aircraft gunners shot down at least 26 Japanese airplanes. The next day, battleship Washington was nearly hit by a torpedo fired by submarine I-15. On the same day, South Dakota was targeted by a Japanese submarine. While dodging the torpedo, South Dakota collided with the destroyer Mahan. Fortunately, none of the ships were seriously damaged.

Admiral Lee's battleships returned to action two weeks later. On November 11, 1942, TF-64 was reorganized to include the battleships South Dakota and Washington, and the destroyers Winham and Welk. The compound was intended to give additional protection to the TF-16 grouping, the core of the crust was the aircraft carrier Enterprise. Two days later, after the dramatic first naval battle at Guadalcanal, TF-64 was reinforced with destroyers Priston and Gwynne. The unit was ordered to go to Guadalcanal in case of a possible second coming of the Japanese admiral Kondo. On November 14, Lee approached the strait, and from the other end Kondo sailed here with his battleship Kirishima, the heavy cruisers Rakao and Atagi, the light cruisers Nagara and Sendai, and eight destroyers.

The forces of the opponents, who were inexorably going towards each other, were theoretically approximately equal. The Japanese had more ships, and Lee had larger caliber artillery. In addition, Admiral Lee had the opportunity to use radar, which the Japanese were completely deprived of. But the Japanese had excellent training for naval combat in the dark and were far superior to the Americans in the art of using torpedo weapons. Kondo led his forces in four separate columns. Lee lined up his squadron with the destroyers in his head, followed by Washington and South Dakota.

The Japanese discovered the American fleet at 10:15 pm on November 14, 1942, identifying enemy forces as four destroyers and two heavy cruisers. At 10.45 pm Lee changed course to the south. At 2300 the battleship Washington's radar spotted the Japanese ships. Visual contact was made minutes later. At 23.17 the battleship Washington opened fire with its main caliber at the Japanese destroyers. The destroyers retreated without being damaged. The return fire of Japanese heavy ships and the main group of destroyers led to dire consequences for American destroyers. Two lines of enemy ships diverged on opposite courses. The Japanese deployed all their artillery and all their torpedo tubes. The destroyer Priston came under concentrated fire from the cruiser Nagara and the destroyers. The destroyer exploded at 23.27 and disappeared from the surface nine minutes later. Destroyer Welk was the next to hit the gunners "Nagara". He was hit by a torpedo at 23.32. The ship sank 11 minutes later.

However, the battle was not at all a one-sided game. As soon as the American battleships took over, events quickly took a completely different turn. The lead Japanese destroyer Ayanami received three main-caliber gifts from South Dakota at 23.32, after which it was engulfed in flames.

Eight minutes later, the fire reached the ammunition cellars, and seven minutes later, "Annami" went down in history. The battle, however, was only a fraction of the end. The next American destroyer in the line - "Gwyn" - received a portion-inch shells from the "Nagara" at 23.37, after which he was forced to withdraw from the battle. Benham, the last US destroyer, received a torpedo in the nose a minute later. Its speed immediately dropped to 5 knots, but the ship still remained afloat, although it was no longer able to continue the battle.

Suddenly, silence hung over the gray waves of the greatest ocean on planet Earth. Relative silence: the noise of ships' cars after the roar of artillery reminded sailors of the chirping of grasshoppers among the fields of Arizona and the fields of Fuji. The guns fell silent for at 23.43 the column of the Japanese samurai Nagara went beyond the firing range of American ships. The two battleships of the US Navy still held out to the west. The lull was just an episode on the way to the climax. The main forces of the Japanese appeared on the scene - Kondo's column consisting of the battleship Kirishima, two heavy cruisers and two destroyers. And here at Lee's. at the most critical moment, an unfortunate incident occurred: the main fire control radar on the battleship South Dakota failed. " Another problem faced by the American naval commander. was the violation of order by battleships. The ships went in wake to each other for a very short time. In order to avoid collision with sinking and damaged destroyers, South Dakota took to the north, as a result of which it was a good few hundred meters closer to the Japanese than Washington. Suddenly, at 11:50 pm, the South Dakota was illuminated by the searchlight of the Japanese battleship Kirishima. At the same time, all five Japanese ships rained fire on the battleship of the US Navy. In a short period of time, 27 rounds of 5 inches or more hit the South Dakota. South Dakota was unable to return fire to fire. The third tower of the main caliber was temporarily out of order, a fire spread through the superstructure, 58 people among the team were killed and 60 were wounded. South Dakota turned south.

Nevertheless, the situation with "South Dakota" had some positive side. Behind the flaming Dakota, the Japanese did not see the Washington, whose radar was in good working order. At about midnight, the Washington opened fire with its main battery from a distance of 8000 m. The battleship put nine 16-inch rounds and more than 40 5-inch rounds into the Kirishima in the shortest possible time. On "Kirishim" the steering gear, which was not well protected by armor, failed, after which the Japanese battleship began to describe a wide circulation. There was only one thing left for Kondo - to give the order to withdraw, so as not to make ends meet. "Washington" tried to chase the enemy for several miles, but then the Yankees decided: "Game over". The "Kirishima", unable to stay on course, was sunk by the Japanese themselves at 3:20 November 15, 1942.

For the first and last time in the entire war, American high-speed battleships met face to face in open combat with their Japanese opponent, the ships of the United States Navy won the battle. It is worth noting that the battle conditions were not entirely equal. "Kirishima" at a venerable age, which was approaching 30 years, was two generations older than the American battleships, that is, fit for their grandfather. The Kirishima began its life as a battle cruiser designed by the British during the First World War, and then, by successive steps, was turned into a high-speed battleship. The Kirishima's reservations were half that of Washington's or South Dakota's. Was that armor? The sister ship of the Kirishima, the battleship Hiei, two days earlier, also in a night battle, the Americans withdrew from the battle with a single hit of an 8-inch projectile in the steering gear. The second naval battle of Guadalcanal was crowned with the victory of the American fleet, but the price, as in many other cases that took place in the waters of the Solomon Islands, was high. Three American destroyers sank (Benham sank towards the end of the day), and another destroyer and battleship South Dakota were heavily damaged. It took seven months to repair the battleship.

Meanwhile, other ships of the South Dakota type completed combat training and were ready to take part in hostilities. Massachusetts received its baptism of fire on November 8, 1942. Off the coast of North Africa, where the battleship was escorting assault transports that took part in Operation Torch. The American battleship also took part in the "neutralization" of the French battleship Jean Bar. Massachusetts hit Jean Bart with five 16-inch rounds and knocked out the French ship's only active main-caliber turret. By the evening of November 8, the invasion fleet was threatened by several destroyers from the Vichy government. One Massachusetts 16-inch round and several 8-inch rounds fired through the barrels of the Tuscaloosa guns led to the sinking of the destroyer Fogue. In this battle, Massachusetts was nearly hit by a torpedo fired by a French submarine. The torpedo missed the battleship's hull 15 feet away. By nightfall, a 16-inch shell from an American battleship's gun pierced the bow of the French destroyer Milan, after which the latter withdrew from the battle. At about 11 pm Massachusetts was hit by a 5-inch cannon shell from the French destroyer Boulogne, which soon disappeared in a flurry of concentrated artillery fire from battleship Massachusetts and light cruiser Brooklyn. The battle ended with a direct hit by a 16-inch shell from the battleship Massachusetts on the French flagship, the light cruiser Primaku. The French fought bravely, but their light forces stood no chance against the newest fast battleship of the US Navy. The commander of the French squadron gave the order to return to port.

"Indiana" at the end of November 1942 was in the waters of about. Tonga, where she, along with Washington and the repaired North Carolina, provided cover for the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Saratoga during operations at Guadalcanal. There was not much work for the battleships here, since both the Japanese and the Americans had not yet recovered from the fierce naval battles near the Solomon Islands. During the first almost six months of 1943, there were almost no major naval battles in the South Pacific. Teams of high-speed American battleships spent most of this period at Noumea. where they periodically hunted the wild animals of New Caledonia, took them for food, washed down the meat with excellent Australian champagne. Time worked for America. When the US Navy resumed offensive operations in the Pacific in mid-1943, the command had a much stronger fleet at its disposal.

The activity of the American fleet in 1943 resumed in June both in the Pacific Ocean and in the Atlantic. The renovated South Dakota joined the Alabama stationed here in Scapa Flow. enabling the British to send the battleships of the Home Fleet Hove and King George V to Sicily to participate in Operation Husky. Together with the remaining British battleships of the Home Fleet Anson. Duke of York and Malaya, cruisers Augusta and Tuscaloosa, two American battleships took part in a demonstration off the coast of Norway in order to divert the attention of the Kriegsmarine command from the Mediterranean. Unfortunately for the Allies, German intelligence did not detect any movements from the Anglo-American fleet. Shortly after the demonstration, South Dakota left the hospitable waters of Great Britain for the Pacific Ocean, where the battleships Washington, North Carolina and Indiana formed TF3. 3, designed to support Operation Curtwil, the June 30 invasion of New Georgia. This was the first of the typical amphibious operations involving the high-speed battleships of the US Navy - three battleships were escorted by aircraft carriers (in this case, the American Saratoga and the British Victorius), while the "old" battleships provided fire support for the invasion forces ... Later, "Indiana" will be involved in escorting the first raid of aircraft carriers, during which on August 31, carrier-based aircraft attacked Makin. The aircraft carriers Yorktown, Essex and Independence took part in that raid.

Indiana returned to the Gilbert Islands on November 19, 1943 as part of TF50. 2 together with the battleship North Carolina. The battleships were escorted by the aircraft carriers Enterprise, Belly Wood and Monterey, who were involved in Operation Galvanic, the invasion of Makin. Washington, South Dakota and Massachusetts made up the TF50 compound. 1, which also included the aircraft carriers Yorktown, Lexington and Copens, covering the landing at Miles. At the end of August, carrier-based aircraft softened the Japanese defenses on the Gilbert Islands, so the samurai resisted the invasion for no more than a week. The Japanese were able to hold out only on Makin and, to a greater extent, on Tarawa. The same five high-speed battleships were brought together again by December 8 to cover the movement of aircraft carriers in the direction of Kwajalein. All five ships of the line were part of the same unit, TF50. 8, commanded by Rear Admiral Lee. The battleships moved towards Nauru under the cover of aircraft from the aircraft carriers Bunker Hill and Monterey, where they fired 810 16 "rounds and 3,400 5" rounds at the island's small Japanese garrison. With return fire, the Japanese sank one escort destroyer of the American squadron.

The high-speed battleships again found themselves in the fire of battle on January 29, 1944 - Operation Flintlock, the invasion of the Marshall Islands. Now there were eight battleships, the Alabama (came from the Atlantic) and the first two Iowa (Iowa and New Jersey) were added. Again, the battleships were divided between the carrier groups. Washington, Indiana and Massachusetts were assigned to TG58. 1 (Enterprise, Yorktown and Belly Wood) operating off the Roy and Namur Islands (Kwajalein). North Carolina, South Dakota and Alabama were escorted by the carriers Essex, Intrepid and Cabot of TG58. 2 in the waters of Maloelap. The newest "Iowa" and "New Jersey" worked in the interests of TG58. 3 (Bunker Hill, Monterey and Cowpenes) in the Enewetok area. In the first hours of February 1, battleships Indiana and Washington clashed in the waters of Kwajalein. The ships were not seriously damaged, but their combat activity was interrupted for several months.

The six surviving high-speed battleships took part in a raid, code-named Halestone, against Truk Island on 17-18 February 1944. Iowa and New Jersey were assigned to TG50. 9. Then Admiral Spruance chose the battleship "New Jersey" as his flagship. The other four battleships, along with escort aircraft carriers, formed the TG58 formation. 3, it played a supporting role in the operation. A month later, on March 18, Iowa and New Jersey, again under the command of Rear Admiral Lee, escorted the aircraft carrier Lexington and seven destroyers with the TG50. 10 during the bombing of Milli Atoll, south of Majuro. During Operation Iowa, she received several direct hits from 6-inch shells fired by Japanese coastal batteries, which, however, did not cause serious damage to the ship. The battleship remained in the battle line. A similar group was formed on May 1, it was again commanded by our good friend Lee (already a vice-admiral!). for a raid to Ponepe Island from the Carolina Archipelago. Seven fast battleships (Indiana were removed) and ten destroyers supported by aircraft from the aircraft carriers of the TF58 formation. 1 shot across the island without interference.

For the next raiding operation, seven battleships were again brought together, although now the place of "Massachusetts" was taken by "Washington" (with a new bow end); Massachusetts went out for repairs. Battleships formed the core of the TG58 group. 7. intended for shelling the enemy in the framework of Operation "Foreager" - the invasion of the Mariana Islands. Spruance anticipated opposition from the Japanese fleet. The expectations of the American naval commander came true - on June 18, 1944, an epic naval battle unfolded in the Philippine Sea, well known as the Great Mariana Defeat. Li's battleships then formed the core of the 5th Fleet. Throughout the day, American battleships were subjected to sporadic Japanese air raids, the main target of which was actually the US Navy aircraft carriers. "South Dakota" then received one direct hit from an aerial bomb, another bomb exploded under the side of "Indiana".

Spruance's strategy in that three-day battle, according to modern critical experts, at times lacked aggressiveness. Most of all questions are raised by the admiral's decision to turn away from Ozawa's fleet on the evening of the 18th, giving the initiative to the Japanese naval commander. Spruance's decision was then greatly influenced by Lee, who did not want to risk his as yet undamaged battleships in night combat with the Japanese, known for their art of warfare in the dark. Lee reasonably doubted the ability of his ships, which had never operated in a single battle formation, to inflict more damage on the enemy than the enemy would inflict on them.

The damage inflicted on the South Dakota was not a reason to send the battleship for repairs at Pearl Harbor. At the same time, the North Carolina went to the West Coast of the States for repairs that this ship needed more than South Dakota. Thus, six high-speed battleships remained available, capable of taking part in the TF38 raid of Admiral Halsey into the Philippine Sea in September-October 1944.

And again, the grouping of fast battleships was dismembered. Iowa and New Jersey (Admiral Halsey's flagship) gave the TG38 connection. 3. Four other battleships (Washington, Indiana, Massachusetts and Alabama) entered TG38. 3. "Washington" - Admiral Lee's flagship. These forces supported raids on Palace (6-8 September), Mindanao (10 September), Visayas (12-14 September) and Luzon (21-22 September). During the short pause that followed the strike on Luzon. "South Dakota" was replaced by "Indiana"; South Dakota went into repairs. The attacks resumed with a raid against Okinawa (October 10), then again against Luzon (October 11), then Formosa (October 12-14), again Luzon (October 15). In anticipation of the invasion of Leyte Bay, which began on October 17, Washington and Alabama were relocated from TG38. 3 in TG38. 4.

The Imperial Japanese Navy responded to the US invasion of the Philippines with a final gathering of its main forces. For the last time, the battleships Lee had an excellent chance with a high probability of a successful outcome to meet face-to-face with their opponents without intermediaries in the form of aircraft carriers. Lee did not have this chance.

The high-speed battleships were distributed in pairs among the aircraft carrier formation of Admiral Halsey, who spent most of the day on October 24 in the San Bernardino Strait. For the main forces of the Japanese fleet, the squadron of Admiral Kuri you. the carrier-based aircraft of the American fleet worked. The planes sank the Musashi super-battleship, and Kurita's compound was partly sunk and partly scattered. By the evening of October 24, the aircraft carriers of Admiral Ozawa's Northern Fleet, which operated independently, were noticed by the Americans north of Luzon. Halsey gave at 15.12 the order for Lee's high-speed battleships to head north, isolating them into a separate unit TF34.

Lee protested against the exclusion of his battleships from the general fleet and the immediate dispatch of ships from the San Bernardino Strait. He expressed his protest twice, both protests had no effect on Halsey. In the Strait of San Bernardino, not even the destroyers of the radar patrol remained.

In a slow and dangerous night maneuver, Lee regrouped his forces, concentrating the battleships in a curtain in front of the carriers. The maneuvering took most of the night. At dawn on October 25, Formation TF34 was formed and, at the head of Halsey's fleet, set out at high speed to pursue the carriers of Ozawa, the American fleet filling the entire horizon. Three hours after Halsey left the strait, the ships of Admiral Kurita's Central Squadron arrived here. Exactly at the moment Halsey first struck Ozawa's ships, Admiral Kincaid, stationed in Leyte Bay, 300 miles south, radioed for help. Admiral Nimitz at Pearl Harbor heard Kincaid's calls and did not understand how the Japanese had gone undetected to the Taffy-3 formation and why the Japanese were not intercepted by Lee's battleships. At 10:00 am Nimitz radioed Halsey:

- FROM WITH IN PAC ACYION COM TFIRD FLEET INFO COMINCH CTF77 X WHERE IS RPT WHERE IS TF34 RR THE WORLD WONDERS

The last three words were added to the radio message to confuse the Japanese cryptographers, but Halsey took them personally. Halsey flew into a rage, believing that he was exposed as an eccentric with the letter "M" in front of Admiral King (COMINCH) and Admiral Kinkade (CTF77). The admiral had a stroke, almost an hour passed before he gave the order at 10.55 to Admiral Lee to go to the rescue at full speed. TF34 returned to the strait at 1.00 am on October 26, Kurita had escaped three hours earlier. Ironically, at the time of receiving the order to return to San Bernardino, Lee's battleships were only 42 miles from Ozawa's aircraft carriers, and there was a chance of a successful battle at both the starting and ending points of the route. As a result, it didn't work either there. not there. Four battleships scurried across the sea-ocean in a completely obscene manner.

The chance for the last general battle of the line fleets turned out to be missed to the great indignation of naval historians of all countries and generations - how many lost royalties! It is one thing to criticize Halsey and Lee, and another to describe the battle. The number of printed characters, directly proportional to the amount of the fee, in the latter case increases many times. Well - that's how the historical solitaire cards were laid.

Having missed the chance to put a fat point at the end of their historical career, the American battleships accompanied the rest of the war by aircraft carriers, occasionally being involved in shelling the Japanese coastal positions. Of the significant events, it is worth noting except that the campaign of the New Jersey and the newest Wisconsin to Cam Ranh Bay in January 1945, guarded by a cruiser and a destroyer in order to shoot at the surviving Kurita ships, which allegedly found their refuge in Cam Ranh. The trek was interrupted as air reconnaissance confirmed on 12 January that Kurita was not in Cam Ranh.

With the exception of the campaign to Cam Ranh, the high-speed battleships were engaged in escorting aircraft carriers until the end of the war. Battleships together with aircraft carriers sailed from November 1944 to March 1945 Luzon, Okinawa, Indochina, mainland China, Formosa and the waters of the Japanese islands. On January 25, Indiana fired at Iwo Jima once, firing 203 16-inch rounds. In April 1945, the main efforts of the American fleet were directed to Okinawa, then the high-speed battleships fired several times at the positions of the Japanese on the island. When the carriers returned to Japanese waters in July, the high-speed battleships came with them. South Dakota, Indiana and Massachusetts shelled Kamaishi Island on July 14. July 29-30 aircraft plant in Hamamatsu and again on August 9, 1945 Kamaishi Island.

Victory Day over Japan found the high-speed battleships of the US Navy in Tokyo Bay, distributed among four aircraft carrier groups. The fact that South Dakota was the flagship of Admiral Nimitz, and the signing of the Japan Surrender Act took place on board the Missouri completely overshadowed the very modest contribution that high-speed battleships actually made to the outcome of the campaign in the Pacific. In fact, apart from the first battles, these ships acted only as high-speed armored floating batteries.

With the end of World War II, heated discussions began in the United States about the reduction of appropriations for military needs, as well as about ways to further build the armed forces in general and the Navy in particular. Among other things, the fate of ten newest battleships was discussed. These ships became the crown of development, but the crown of development, according to most experts, had no future. Battleships could not fly. Airplanes finally became the main caliber of the navy.

In 1946, the battleship Missouri took part in the highly successful Operation Goodwill, a cruise in the Mediterranean to curb the activity of the communist movement in Greece and Turkey. The operation of large ships with numerous crews required significant costs, while the role of such ships remained unclear. In this light, the decision to withdraw the battleships from the fleet's combat strength looks logical. On September 11, 1946, exactly one year after Victory Day over Japan, the Indiana was withdrawn from the Navy. North Carolina and three other South Dakotas followed the path laid out by Indiana in 1947, New Jersey and Wisconsin were dropped from the lists of the fleet in 1948, Iowa in 1949.

At the beginning of the Korean War in 1950, the only battleship left in the US Navy was the Missouri. He arrived on the shores of Korea in mid-September 1950 and immediately began using his large cannons with very remarkable effect. The assessment of combat work was so high that it was decided in 1951 to re-commission three Iowa-class battleships.

The second "round" of combat service "Iowa" was longer than the first. The parties concerned signed an armistice in 1952, but before the armistice, the main caliber of the four American battleships actively fought the threat of communism, shelling Korea from the left and right, in the sense - from the East and from the West. Two years after the conclusion of the armistice, the four battleships remained in the combat composition of the Navy, until lawmakers again intervened in their further fate, deciding to reduce defense costs. The first on February 26, 1955, Missouri was excluded from the lists of the Navy's combat strength. The next year, the Missouri sisters were retired. The Mississippi was decommissioned on March 8, 1958 - for the first time since 1895, not a single battleship remained in the US Navy.

SK

SK-2

One after another, battleships were sent for cutting, although there were also supporters of the continuation of the active service of battleships. In the early 50s, the question of the possibility of increasing the full speed of six old "high-speed" battleships to 31 knots was studied, so that it would again become possible to use them for escorting aircraft carriers. The cost of such an improvement turned out to be prohibitively high, which is why the idea had to be abandoned. "North Carolina" and "Washington" were scrapped on June 1, 1960 ("North Carolina", however, was preserved as a memorial ship). Two years later, it was time for the four South Dakotas. Two of them, "Massachusetts" and "Alabama", have been put in permanent parking. If the Vietnam War had not happened, then a similar fate would most likely await "Iowa". The war in Vietnam brought to mind the battleships - it was decided to modernize and commission the "New Jersey". The battleship once again entered the combat composition of the US Navy on April 8, 1968. The battleship's participation in the Vietnam events turned out to be very short-term, despite the extremely positive effect of its main caliber. The alarmed diplomats raised a fuss about "... destabilizing influence ..." in fear of a possible super-response from the enemy. On December 17, 1969, New Jersey was again pushed into reserve.

The radio-technical armament of the Iowa differed from that of the New Jersey only by the installation of the FC antenna on the tower-like superstructure. Coloring - extremely unusual, camouflage: Dull Black / Ocean Gray. Pay attention: one side of the black stripes is clear, the other is "softened" by the gray paint. This paint scheme was developed for use in the Atlantic on escort aircraft carriers. Presumably, "Iowa" styles are the only ship in the Pacific Ocean painted according to this scheme.

A ray of light in the dark life of old battleships flashed again in the 70s. Many narrow-minded people from among the inhabitants of the Pentagon have repeatedly criticized the authorities for their desire to keep the expensive relics of World War II. However, at the end of the decade, prominent analysts, mainly outside the Pentagon, began to work out new scenarios of naval policy, in which there was a place for battleships. Since the mid-60s, the American navy has undergone a rather slow process of replacing surface ships built during the Second World War with new ships focused on use in the World Ocean under the dominance of aircraft carriers and submarines as the main means of waging war at sea. During that period, the majority of the world's navies (but not the Navy) were supplied with relatively small and relatively weak ships, which were intended to fight aircraft and submarines. In most cases, they had no body armor at all, and their superstructures were generally made of aluminum. The artillery was represented, at best, with a 5-inch caliber. The ships were intended to protect aircraft carriers or to hunt enemy submarines. The main work was assigned to carrier-based aircraft.

Fire control radars

FC

FH

In the late 70s, this approach to the construction of the Navy was criticized by prominent representatives of the expert community. The Vietnam War showed that the development of air defense systems is progressing as rapidly as the development of aviation. This conclusion was confirmed during the 1973 Middle East war. Then the Israeli Air Force fulfilled the tasks assigned to them only at the cost of very large losses in personnel and equipment. Even if the level of losses in tactical aircraft taking part in the raid was 1% (a very optimistic estimate), their cost becomes fabulous - the price of one aircraft even then went off scale for a million dollars. In addition, again with a loss level of 1%, two aircraft carriers (the standard composition of an aircraft carrier group of the US Navy) are not capable of providing direct air support to the ground forces in the required volume for more or less a long time. None of the above problems could have been solved by the cannons of the ships of that time. The 5-inch shells did not have enough damaging effect to destroy coastal fortifications. The big question is that ships not protected by armor will be able to withstand the fire of land artillery and tanks. Aluminum burns, and the superstructures of many American ships have been made of aluminum to save weight. The collision of the cruiser Belknap with the aircraft carrier Kennedy in 1975 showed what a fire on an "aluminum" ship could lead to. The British lost four destroyer-frigate-class ships in the Falklands campaign, and several more ships were out of order due to damage. which would hardly have become fatal for ships of a similar class during the Second World War.

Analysts saw an alternative to the use of aviation, insufficient and sometimes inadequate, in the high-speed battleships of the Second World War. At the end of the 70s, the question of bringing Iowa-class ships into the US Navy's combat strength was again on the agenda. The logic is simple: aircraft from two aircraft carriers will deliver 420 tons of explosives to the coast in about 12 hours of operations. while armed with nine 6-inch guns, the battleship is capable of bringing down a similar "payload" to coastal structures in just 18 minutes. On the other hand, the range of carrier-based aircraft is several hundred miles, while the range of the battleship's main battery is only 20 miles. However, the experience of the Vietnam War showed that in 80% of the carrier-based aircraft worked on targets that could be fired from the battleship's guns. In terms of the accuracy of the delivery of ammunition and the response time to the threat, the battleship is preferable to the aircraft. If we take naval artillery, the 5 "/ 45 caliber guns, which were widespread at that time on US Navy ships, simply should not be compared with the 16" monsters of the Iowa-class battleships. It's still comparable. The five-inch projectile weighs about 70 kg, the firing range is about 13 nautical miles; the projectile is capable of penetrating a concrete ceiling 90 cm thick.The mass of a 15-inch projectile is from 860 to 1220 kg, the firing range is more than 20 nautical miles, the projectile penetrates concrete floors up to 9 m thick. New technologies have made it possible to increase the firing range of 16-inch guns to 50 nautical miles. With 12 inches of armor and an all-steel structure, the Iowa-class battleships posed virtually no danger to the anti-ship missiles such as the French Exocet or the 500 pound bombs that had inflicted such heavy losses on the British fleet at the Falklands.

Despite the weight of the arguments of the supporters of the next coming of battleships, the cuts in the military budget during the presidency of Jimmy Carter made the return of the Iowa to the US Navy impossible. Only the rise to power in 1980 of Ronald Reagan sparked hope in the hearts of battleship supporters. Reagan, immediately after his housewarming, announced the start of a program to build a 600-ship navy. The appropriations for the 1981 financial year included the commissioning of the battleship New Jersey, the appropriations for the 1982 financial year included the commissioning of the Iowa. In the future, it was planned to modernize and commission the battleships Missouri and Wisconsin. Budget cuts and revisions of plans are typical for US politicians at the end of the 20th century, because of which the plans were not fully implemented, and the battleship commissioning program itself slowed down. The launching ceremony of the battleship New Jersey was furnished in Hollywood style, it took place on December 28, 1982 at the shipyard in Long Beach. "Iowa" has undergone a deeper modernization, in full, and not in a truncated form like "New Jersey". The Iowa entered service on April 28, 1984. Appropriations for the modernization and commissioning of two other battleships were blocked by Congress. "New Jersey" showed itself perfectly already in the first year of service after commissioning in Nicaragua and Lebanon.

According to the plan, "New Jersey" was to become the nucleus of an autonomous formation of surface ships designed to strike at the enemy's coast and ships.