There is a myth according to which America began building the fleet that helped the United States win the war on the morning of December 8, 1941, when it recovered a little from the defeat of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese the day before. Myth. In fact, the American militarists began building all ten fast battleships that brought victory to Washington on their decks at least ten months before the samurai attack on 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 certainly could not have been built if one rolled up one’s sleeves only on the morning of December 8th. Thus. Japanese air strike on the main base Pacific Fleet The United States played absolutely no role in the fate of the high-speed battleships of the US Navy.
Fast battleships in World War II and after it
The Washington Treaty of 1922 stopped the production of heavy ships for the US Navy. Due to the machinations of politicians, it was necessary to stop or not begin the construction of seven battleships and six battlecruisers. It got to the point that on February 8, 1922, a decision was made to dismantle the battleship Washington (BB47), which was at 75% completion stage - a blatant act of vandalism! The Washington Treaty limited the number of battleships of the US and British Navy to 18 and 20, respectively. Japan was allowed to have ten such ships, France and Italy - just a few. In the ten years that have passed since the conclusion of the treaty, only two battleships have entered service in the world - the British Nelson and Rodney. The construction of these ships began in 1922 and was specially stipulated in the Washington Treaty, because the frankly weak Grand Fleet at that time had only extremely outdated battleships.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 US Navy reacted to the conclusion of the Washington Treaty with mixed feelings. The admirals mourned the loss of 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 that developed after the end of the First World War. Although for the USA this situation was rather favorable. The United States entered World War I as the third naval power in the world. And after the war, the US Navy became one of the two great navies in the world, and most experts agreed that in a short time the US Navy would become the number 1 fleet in the world. The previously unattainable greatness of the Grand Fleet was fading into history. The war clearly demonstrated the strategic role of the fleet. Only the navy was able to provide convoys across the Atlantic. After the war, the US Navy was left with de facto the only serious adversary - the Japanese navy. Everything was merry and rosy for the American admirals, but then suddenly the Great Depression happened.
The global economic crisis contributed to the rise to power of authoritarian regimes in a number of countries that did not firmly defend the ideals of freedom and democracy. Duce Mussolini came to power in Italy, and Fuhrer Hitler came to power in Germany. Well, in the USA - Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt was at one time involved in the affairs of the US Navy, served as assistant secretary for navy. In 1932, the ex-assistant became US President from the Democratic Party. Roosevelt considered the adoption and implementation of an ambitious shipbuilding program to be one of the ways to bring the country out of the Great Depression. However, the first “naval” budget, adopted during the time of Roosevelt, provided for appropriations for the construction of aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers; it did not say anything about the construction of battleships. Japan's sudden announcement of refusal to comply with the terms of the Washington Treaty, made in 1934, changed the situation in a most dramatic way by 1936. For the first time in ten years, American designers rolled up their sleeves, washed their hands, took a drawing board, whatman paper and drawing board, and then began to draw the outline of the battleship of the future. The process has begun. All that remains is to deepen it.
The design of a battleship after 1922 was determined largely 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 poorly armed battleships. They wished the same for everyone. The British demanded that new battleships not be armed with artillery of a caliber higher than 14 inches, although the Washington Treaty established a limit for the main caliber of battleships at 16 inches. Surprisingly. but it was the Americans who benefited primarily from the British demands in terms of displacement and size. Dimensions and displacement of all American ships were limited by the capacity of the Panama Canal - the requirement for ships to pass through the canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic and back was mandatory when designing any American ship or vessel. At the same time, American admirals began to swear in American style when they heard about the limitation of the main caliber of a battleship to 14 inches. The restrictions imposed by the Panama Canal, combined with restrictions on the main gun, promised the US Navy a battleship weaker than the British Nelson or the Japanese Nagato. Japan withdrew from the treaty and installed 16-inch guns on the battleship. The British demanded 14 inches from everyone except themselves, also arming the Nelson with 16-inch main-caliber artillery. In October 1935, US representatives began negotiations with British representatives regarding the limitations of the Washington Treaty in light of the perfidy shown by the Japanese military. The parties came to an agreement on April 1, 1937... after which the permitted main caliber of battleships automatically increased to 16 inches.
On September 14, North Carolina was hit by a torpedo fired by Japanese submarine 1-19. The submarine then fired six torpedoes in one gulp, three of them hit the aircraft carrier Wasp, one hit the destroyer O'Brien and one hit the battleship. North Carolina was hit by a torpedo on the left side of the bow of the hull in the turret area. No. 1 main caliber. The explosion destroyed the armored belt of the battleship. The battleship tilted by five degrees, but retained the ability to maneuver at high speed. On October 11, 1942, the battleship was put into dry dock at Pearl Harbor for repairs.
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 with more powerful guns it was necessary to develop new larger and heavier turrets, then “fit” the new turrets into the design of the already designed ship. Admiral Standley took a thoughtful position in his time, ordering 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 battleship guns even became a topic of discussion during the 1936 presidential election campaign. Republicans criticized Democrat Roosevelt for publicly speaking in favor of increasing the main caliber of battleship artillery, pointing out that such statements contribute to the growth of the arms race and are a tangible blow to détente 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 the preserve of rabid imperialism. Japan, on the other hand, did not initially react to the statements of the American Democrats. believing that the 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 spoke out against the new terms of the Washington Treaty. It was then that a decision was made in Japan to build Yamato-class battleships with a displacement of 64,000 tons and armed with 18-inch caliber artillery.
During a break between main gun fire, sailors walk along the quarterdeck of the battleship Massachusetts. Two huge American flags are raised 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 caliber of artillery on battleships did not cause harsh statements in the USA and Great Britain. Roosevelt became the first politician to advocate arming his own ships with cannons larger than 14 inches. The British began construction in 1937 new series battleships of the King George V type with 14-inch caliber guns, although the former Secretary of the Navy, a certain Winston Churchill, sharply objected to this.
Roosevelt, however, reconsidered his decision regarding the main caliber of battleships - in favor of 14 inches. Specialists from the Naval Design Bureau felt insulted and in some cases even became indignant. Meanwhile, it’s in vain: they should read the Pravda newspaper more often. After all, the whole world has long known the corruption of bourgeois politicians who spin any fairy tales in order to attract votes, and immediately after the elections they forget about both the fairy tales and the voters. In fact, the choice in favor of a larger caliber of battleship artillery is not so clear-cut. as it may seem to amateurs. A 14-inch caliber projectile weighs 680 kg. 16-inch caliber projectile - 450 kg. Due to a more powerful powder charge, a 14-inch projectile flies further than a 16-inch projectile, due to its greater mass it has greater destructive power, and causes less wear on the expensive gun barrel. However, as representatives of the design bureau noted in their excited message dated 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 considered to be a zone that cannot be shot through due to the insufficiently small angle of descent of the guns, but a zone in which a projectile is even theoretically unable to penetrate armor of a certain thickness. That is, the “dead” zone is not adjacent to the ship, but is far away from it. Experts made calculations based on the average thickness of the armor of battleships - 12 inches for the main armor belt and 5-6 inches for the armored deck. It turned out that at short firing distances the armor penetration of 14- and 16-inch shells is approximately the same. At long firing distances, at which a naval battle actually takes place, a 14-inch projectile is significantly inferior to a 16-inch one, approximately 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 invited Ambassador Grew to Once again approach the Japanese side with a proposal to agree to limit 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 I didn't have to wait long for an answer. The Japanese agreed to the US President's proposal, with a small amendment: subject to limiting the total number of battleships in the US and British Navy - ten American and ten British. Such an amendment was completely unacceptable to Roosevelt, so on July 10, 1937, the president gave the command to design battleships with 16-inch artillery.
Debates over the main caliber of battleships delayed the design of battleships for several months. But once 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 laying down on October 27, 1937 and June 14, 1938, respectively. According to the budget for the 1939 fiscal year, July 5, 1939 was laid down "South Dakota", 15 days later - "Massachusetts". November 20, 1939 Indiana and February 1, 1940 Alabama. The fiscal year 1941 budget called for the Missouri to be laid down on January 6, 1941, and the Wisconsin to be laid down on January 25, 1941.
The Two-Ocean Navy Act passed by Congress in 1940 provided for the construction of seven more battleships - two more Iowas (Illinois and Kentucky) and five Montana-class monsters armed with four turrets with three 16-inch guns in each and on each. Due to its width, the Montana would no longer be able to pass through 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 was no longer considered a modern ship, which is why there were discussions for a very long time about what to do with the hull of the unfinished battleship. The hull occupied the slipway for five long years. Ultimately, the unfinished ship was launched in 1950. but they did not finish building it, and in 1958 they sold it for scrap metal.
There is a myth according to which America began building the fleet that helped the United States win the war on the morning of December 8, 1941, when it recovered a little from the defeat of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese the day before. Myth. in fact, the American militarists began building all ten fast battleships that brought victory to Washington on their decks at least ten months before the samurai attack on 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 certainly could not have been built if one rolled up one’s sleeves only on the morning of December 8th. Thus. the Japanese air strike 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 increasingly involved in escorting Atlantic convoys. First of all, it was not the Pacific, but the Atlantic Fleet that was strengthened. In the US Navy. just like 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 Europe deals with Hitler. The North Carolina and the Hornet aircraft carrier, intended for operations off the East Coast of the United States, were sent to the Atlantic. But after Pearl Harbor, both battleships were transferred to 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 British fleet base of Scapa Flow, from where she, 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 convoys PQ-15 and QP-11 to and from Murmansk. Together with the British battleship King George V, the American ship patrolled the waters between Norway and Iceland in case of Kriegsmarine ships. There was no naval battle then, but adventures did happen. A British battleship collided with a British destroyer. "Washington" left for a military campaign from Scapa Flow once again. On June 28, 1942, he, along with the battleship Duke of York, went out to guard the ill-fated convoy PQ-17. To defeat the convoy, the Germans initiated Operation Rosselsprung. Four large Kriegsmarine surface ships appeared in Altafjord. including Tirpitz. Well, the Tirpitz, alone, was capable of smashing to smithereens the entire united Anglo-American fleet. And here are as many as four large ships of the German fleet. The order of the British Admiralty to abandon convoy warships to their fate seems 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 guarding convoy PQ-17 was the last combat (such as combat) operation of the battleship Washington in the Atlantic. After a short stop on the West Coast, the battleship was transferred to the Pacific Ocean.
The beginning of the campaign in the Pacific resulted in heavy losses in aircraft carriers for the Americans. By mid-May 1942, the Lexington was sunk, the Saratoga was torpedoed, and the Yorktown was heavily damaged. The fleet urgently needed replenishment. The aircraft carrier Wasp rushed to the rescue, accompanied by the battleship North Carolina. By the time the ships passed through the Panama Capal, the peak of the crisis in the campaign in the Pacific had safely passed for the Americans, but the 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 formed TF-18. The formation arrived in San Diego on June 15, 1942, and then headed to the South Pacific. Along the way, North Carolina was separated from TF-18 and became part of the TG-61 group. 2, guarding the aircraft carrier Enterprise. Enterprise aircraft were involved in Operation Watchtower, the landing on Guadalcanal that began on August 7, 1942, as part of TG-61. 2 North Carolina took part in the two-day battle of the Eastern Solomon Islands. August 23–24, 1942. At one point in the battle, the battleship’s anti-aircraft fire became so dense that the North Carolina disappeared in a puff of smoke. A request came from the Enterprise - 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 determine exactly). Thanks to the skill of the North Carolina anti-aircraft gunners, the American fleet did not suffer any losses.
Despite the obvious success in the first battle, North Carolina was unable to protect the aircraft carrier Wasp in the next one. Perhaps that battle was the most successful example of the use of torpedo weapons in history. On September 14, 1942, the Japanese submarine 1-19 fired a salvo of six torpedoes at an aircraft carrier from a distance of approximately 1,400 m. One traveled a distance of ten miles, passing the keels of two destroyers along the way. after which it stuck into the left side of the North Carolina’s nose below the armor belt. As a result of the torpedo explosion, a hole with an area of 32 square meters was formed in the side. feet, through which the ship received 1000 tons of water. Two torpedoes passed in front of the aircraft carrier's bow, one of them hit the destroyer O'Brien (also in the left bow of the hull, the torpedo traveled 11 miles). The other three torpedoes hit the starboard side of the aircraft carrier. The consequences of the torpedo explosions became catastrophic for the aircraft carrier. The ship did not sank, but there was no point in repairing it. "O" Brien lost its bow and sank three days later. The North Carolina acquired a negative pitch angle of 5 degrees, and the battleship's bow ammunition magazine was flooded. Attempts to tow the battleship were unsuccessful. However, the battleship continued to guard the aircraft carrier Enterprise under its own vehicles. sometimes developing a speed of 25 knots. There was no danger of flooding, but the damage to the battleship was great. The ship was sent to Pearl Harbor for repairs, and the Enterprise went there along with the battleship. The battleship was under repair until January 1943.
The American fleet in the South Pacific was left without high-speed battleships for only three weeks - the Washington arrived from the Atlantic to Noumea on October 9, 1942. A week later, the South Dakota and the Enterprise (reorganized) left Pearl Harbor for the South Pacific. connection TF-6I). "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 force was commanded by Rear Admiral Wills A. "Ching" Lee. previously serving as chief of staff to Vice Admiral William F. "Bill" Halsey, commander of the Pacific Fleet. Lee would spend most of the war as commander of TF-64. The admiral found himself in right time and in the right place. Subsequent events became the culmination of the confrontation between American and Japanese battleships in the Pacific Ocean. The month of the battleship war has arrived.
The month began with an attempt by Japanese aircraft carriers to make another raid in the Solomon Islands area. Again, aircraft carriers of the United States fleet rushed to intercept them, and again high-speed battleships provided escort for carrier-based aircraft carriers. South Dakota continued to guard the Enterprise, preserving the aircraft carrier in the brutal affair at Santa Cruz, which took place on October 26, 1942. Then the battleship's anti-aircraft gunners shot down at least 26 Japanese airplanes. The next day, the battleship Washington was nearly hit by a torpedo fired by the submarine I-15. On the same day, the South Dakota was attacked by a Japanese submarine. While dodging a torpedo, the South Dakota collided with the destroyer Mahan. Fortunately, none of the ships received serious damage.
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 formation was intended to provide additional protection to the TF-16 group, the core of which was the aircraft carrier Enterprise. Two days later, after the dramatic first naval battle at Guadalcanal, TF-64 was reinforced with the destroyers Priston and Gwin. The formation received orders 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, heavy cruisers Rakao and Atagi, light cruisers Nagara and Sendai, and eight destroyers.
The forces of the opponents, who inexorably walked towards each other, were theoretically approximately equal. The Japanese had more ships, and Lee had larger 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 conducting naval battles 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 at the head, followed by the Washington and South Dakota.
The Japanese discovered the American fleet at 10:15 p.m. on November 14, 1942, identifying the enemy force as four destroyers and two heavy cruisers. At 10:45 p.m. Lee changed course to a southerly direction. At 23.00, the radar of the battleship Washington detected Japanese ships. Minutes later, visual contact was made. At 23.17, the battleship Washington opened fire with its main guns on the Japanese destroyers. The destroyers withdrew without receiving damage. Return fire from the Japanese heavy ships and the main group of destroyers led to dire consequences for the American destroyers. Two lines of enemy ships diverged on opposite courses. The Japanese brought all their artillery and all their torpedo tubes into action. The destroyer Priston came under concentrated fire from the cruiser Nagara and destroyers. The destroyer exploded at 23.27 and disappeared from the surface nine minutes later. The destroyer Welk was next in the sights of the Nagara gunners. It was hit by a torpedo at 23.32. The ship sank after 11 minutes.
However, the battle was not at all of the nature of a one-goal game. As soon as the American battleships got involved, events quickly took a completely different turn. The lead Japanese destroyer Ayanami received three main caliber gifts from the South Dakota at 23.32, after which she was engulfed in flames.
Eight minutes later the fire reached the ammunition magazines, and seven minutes later the Annami went down in history. The battle, however, was far from over. The next American destroyer in the line, the Gwin, received a portion of one-inch shells from the Nagara at 23:37, after which it was forced to withdraw from the battle. Benham, the last American destroyer, was hit by a torpedo on the bow a minute later. Its speed immediately dropped to 5 knots, but the ship still remained afloat, although it was no longer possible to continue the battle.
Suddenly, silence fell over the gray waves of the greatest of planet Earth's oceans. Relative silence: the noise of ship's engines after the roar of artillery reminded the sailors of the chirping of grasshoppers among the fields of Arizona and the fields of Fuji. The guns fell silent because at 23.43 the column Japanese samurai Nagara went beyond the firing range of American ships. Two US Navy battleships still remained 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 - the Kondo column consisting of the battleship Kirishima, two heavy cruisers and two destroyers. And here is Lee. at the most critical moment, an unfortunate incident occurred: the radar of the main fire control system on the battleship South Dakota failed.” Another problem faced by the American naval commander. there was a violation of the battle order by the battleships. The ships were in each other's wake for a very short time. To avoid a collision with the sinking and damaged destroyers, the South Dakota steered north, as a result of which it found itself a good few hundred meters closer to the Japanese than the Washington. Suddenly, at 23.50, the South Dakota was illuminated by the searchlight of the Japanese battleship Kirishima. At the same time, all five Japanese ships fired at the US Navy battleship. In a short period of time, the South Dakota was hit by 27 shells with a caliber of 5 inches or more. "South Dakota" was unable to return fire to fire. The third main caliber turret was temporarily out of action, a fire spread through the superstructure, and 58 people among the crew were killed and 60 wounded. "South Dakota" turned south.
However, the situation with South Dakota also had some positive side. Behind the burning Dakota, the Japanese did not see the Washington, whose radar was working properly in normal mode. At approximately midnight, the Washington opened fire with its main caliber from a distance of 8,000 m. The battleship, in the shortest possible time, fired nine 16-inch shells and more than 40 5-inch shells into the Kirishima. On the Kirishima, the poorly armored steering device failed, after which the Japanese battleship began to describe a wide circulation. Kondo had only one thing left to do - give the order to retreat so as not to lose ends. Washington tried to pursue the enemy for several miles, but then the Yankees decided: “Game over.” The Kirishima, unable to stay on course, was scuttled by the Japanese themselves at 3.20 on November 15, 1942.
For the first and last time in the entire war, American high-speed battleships met face to face in open battle with their Japanese opponent; the battle was won by the ships of the United States Navy. It is worth noting that the battle conditions are not entirely equal. "Kirishima" at a venerable age, which was approaching 30 years, was two generations older than the American battleships, that is, it was old enough to be their grandfather. Kirishima began its life as a battlecruiser designed by the British during the First World War, and then through successive steps it was turned into a high-speed battleship. The Kirishima's booking was half that of the Washington or South Dakota. Was it armor? The Kirishima's sister ship, the battleship Hiei, two days earlier, also in a night battle, was taken out of the battle by the Americans with one hit from an 8-inch shell to the steering gear. The Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal resulted in victory for the American fleet, but the cost, as in many other cases that took place in the waters of the Solomon Islands, was high. Three American destroyers sank (Benham sank by the end of the day), another destroyer and the battleship South Dakota were heavily damaged. It took seven months to repair the battleship.
Meanwhile, other ships of the South Dakota class completed combat training and were ready to take part in hostilities. "Massachusetts" received a baptism of fire on November 8, 1942. Off the coast North Africa, where the battleship escorted transports with landing forces that took part in Operation Torch. The American battleship also took part in the “neutralization” of the French battleship Jean Bart. The Massachusetts hit the Jean Bart with five 16-inch shells and disabled the French ship's only operational main-caliber turret. By the evening of November 8, the invasion fleet began to be threatened by several destroyers of the Vichy government fleet. One 16-inch shell from the Massachusetts and several 8-inch shells fired through the Tuscaloosa's gun barrels caused the sinking of the destroyer Fogue. In this battle, the Massachusetts was almost hit by a torpedo fired by a French submarine. The torpedo missed the battleship's hull by only 15 feet. Just before 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 approximately 11 p.m., Massachusetts was hit by a 5-inch cannon shell from the French destroyer Boulogne, which soon disappeared in a barrage of concentrated artillery fire from the battleship Massachusetts and the 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 Primacu. The French fought bravely, but their light forces stood no chance against the US Navy's newest fast battleship. The commander of the French squadron gave the order to return to port.
"Indiana" at the end of November 1942 found itself in the waters of the island. Tonga, where she, along with the Washington and the repaired North Carolina, provided cover for the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Saratoga during operations off 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 off the Solomon Islands. For the first almost six months of 1943, there were almost no major naval battles in the South Pacific. The crews of fast American battleships spent most of this period on Noumea. where they periodically hunted wild animals of New Caledonia, ate them, washed down the meat with excellent Australian champagne. Time was on America's side. When the US Navy resumed in mid-1943 offensive operations in the Pacific Ocean, the command already had a much stronger fleet at its disposal.
American naval activity in 1943 resumed in June in both the Pacific and Atlantic. The repaired South Dakota joined the Alabama at Scapa Flow. allowing the British to send the battleships of the Home Fleet, Howe and King George V, to Sicily to participate in Operation Husky. Along with the remaining British battleships of the "Home" fleet, Anson. The Duke of York and Malaya, the 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 Sea. Unfortunately for the Allies, German intelligence did not detect the movements of the Anglo-American fleet. Soon after the demonstration, the South Dakota left the hospitable waters of Great Britain, going to the Pacific Ocean, where the battleships Washington, North Carolina and Indiana formed TF3. 3, designed to support Operation Cartwheel, the invasion of New Georgia scheduled for June 30. This was the first of the typical amphibious operations in which the fast battleships of the US Navy were involved - three battleships were escorted by aircraft carriers (in this case the American Saratoga and the British Victorious), while the "old" battleships provided fire support for the invasion forces . Indiana would later be involved in escorting the first carrier raid, during which carrier-based aircraft attacked Makin on August 31. 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 along with the battleship North Carolina. The battleships were escorted by the aircraft carriers Enterprise, Belly Wood and Monterey, which were involved in Operation Galvanic, the invasion of Makin. Washington, South Dakota and Massachusetts made up the TF50. 1, which also included the aircraft carriers Yorktown, Lexington and Cowpens, which covered the landing on Mili. At the end of August, carrier-based aircraft softened the Japanese defenses in the Gilbert Islands, so the samurai resisted the invasion for no more than a week. The Japanese were able to hold out only on Makina 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 battleships were part of one formation, TF50. 8, which Rear Admiral Lee took command of. The battleships advanced to Nauru under the cover of aircraft from the aircraft carriers Bunker Hill and Monterey, where they fired 810 16-inch shells and 3,400 5-inch shells at the island’s small Japanese garrison. With return fire, the Japanese sank one escort destroyer of the American squadron.
Fast battleships again found themselves in the fire of battle on January 29, 1944 - Operation Flintlock, the invasion of the Marshall Islands. Now there were already eight battleships, the Alabama (came from the Atlantic) and the first two Iowas (Iowa and New Jersey) were added. Again the battleships were divided between aircraft carrier groups. "Washington", "Indiana" and "Massachusetts" were assigned to connection TG58. 1 ("Enterprise", "Yorktown" and "Belly Wood"), operating in the waters of the islands of Roy and Namur (Kwajalein). North Carolina, South Dakota and Alabama escorted the aircraft 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 Cowpens) in the Eniwetok area. In the first hours of February 1, a collision between the battleships Indiana and Washington occurred 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 the raid, codenamed Hailstone, launched against the island of Truk on February 17–18, 1944. Iowa and New Jersey were assigned to formation TG50. 9. Then Admiral Spruance chose the battleship New Jersey as his flagship. The other four battleships, along with the escort carriers, formed TG58. 3, it played an auxiliary role in the operation. A month later, on 18 March, Iowa and New Jersey, again under the command of Rear Admiral Lee, escorted the aircraft carrier Lexington and seven destroyers in TG50. 10 during the bombardment of Milli Atoll, south of Majuro. During the operation, Iowa 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 Ponape Island from the Caroline Archipelago. Seven fast battleships (Indiana was removed) and ten destroyers, supported by aircraft from aircraft carriers of formation TF58. 1 shot around the island without interference.
For the next raid operation, seven battleships were again brought together, although now the place of the Massachusetts was taken by the Washington (with a new bow); "Massachusetts" went for repairs. Battleships formed the core of the TG58 group. 7. intended for shelling the enemy as part of Operation Forager - the invasion of the Mariana Islands. Spruance expected opposition from the Japanese fleet. The expectations of the American naval commander were justified - on June 18, 1944, an epic naval battle unfolded in the Philippine Sea, well known as the Great Marianas Defeat. Lee's battleships then formed the core of the 5th Fleet. Throughout the day, the American battleships were subject to sporadic attacks by Japanese aircraft, whose main targets were actually US Navy aircraft carriers. The South Dakota then received one direct hit from an air bomb, and another bomb exploded under the Indiana's side.
Spruance's strategy in that three-day battle was considered by modern critics to be at times lacking in aggressiveness. The most questionable thing is the admiral's decision to turn away from Ozawa's fleet on the evening of the 18th, giving the initiative into the hands of the Japanese naval commander. Spruance's decision was then greatly influenced by Lee, who did not want to risk his still intact battleships in a night battle with the Japanese, known for their art of fighting 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 did not cause the battleship to be sent to Pearl Harbor for repairs. At the same time, the North Carolina went to the West Coast of the United States for repairs, which this ship needed more than the South Dakota. Thus, six high-speed battleships remained available, capable of taking part in Admiral Halsey's TF38 raid into the Philippine Sea in September - October 1944.
And again the group of high-speed battleships was dismembered. "Iowa" and "New Jersey" (Admiral Halsey's flagship) gave the formation TG38. 3. Four other battleships (Washington, Indiana, Massachusetts and Alabama) entered TG38. 3. Washington - Admiral Lee's flagship. These forces supported raids on Palac (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 for repairs. The attacks resumed with a raid against Okinawa (October 10), then again against Luzon (October 11), then Formosa (October 12–14), Luzon again (October 15). In anticipation of the invasion of Leyte Gulf, which began on 17 October, Washington and Alabama were transferred from TG38. 3 in TG38. 4.
The Imperial Japanese Navy responded to the American invasion of the Philippines by gathering its main forces for the last time. For the last time, Lee’s battleships had an excellent chance, with a high probability of a successful outcome, to meet their opponents in person without intermediaries in the form of aircraft carriers. Lee didn’t get this chance.
The fast battleships were distributed in pairs among Admiral Halsey's carrier force, which was in the San Bernardino Strait for most of the day on October 24. According to the main forces of the Japanese fleet, the squadron of Admiral Kurito. carrier-based aircraft of the American fleet operated. The planes sank the super battleship Musashi, and Kurita's force was partly sunk and partly scattered. By the evening of October 24, the aircraft carriers of Admiral Ozawa's Northern Fleet, which was operating independently, were spotted by the Americans north of Luzon. Halsey gave the order at 15.12 to Lee's high-speed battleships to head north, isolating them into a separate formation TF34.
Lee protested against the removal of his battleships from the general fleet and the immediate departure of the ships from the San Bernardino Strait. He protested twice, both protests had no effect on Halsey. There were not even radar patrol destroyers left in the San Bernardino Strait.
In a slow and dangerous night maneuver, Lee regrouped his forces, concentrating the battleships in a screen ahead of the carriers. Maneuvering took most of the night. At dawn on October 25, TF34 was formed and, at the head of Halsey's fleet, began to pursue Ozawa's aircraft carriers at high speed, the American fleet filling the entire horizon. Three hours after Halsey left the strait, the ships of Admiral Kurita's Central Squadron arrived here. Right at the moment Halsey launched the first strike on Ozawa’s ships, Admiral Kincaid, who was in Leyte Gulf, 300 miles to the south, radioed for help. Admiral Nimitz at Pearl Harbor heard Kincaid's calls and did not understand how the Japanese reached the Taffy-3 connection undetected and why the Japanese were not intercepted by Lee's battleships. At 1000 Nimitz radioed Halsey:
- FROM WITH IN RAC 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 radiogram to confuse Japanese cryptographers, but Halsey took them personally. Halsey was furious, feeling that he was being made out to be an "M" weirdo in front of Admiral King (COMINCH) and Admiral Kincaid (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 on October 26, Kurita had left three hours earlier. The irony of fate is that at the time of receiving the order to return to San Bernardino, Lee’s battleships were only 42 miles from Ozawa’s aircraft carriers. There was a chance for a successful battle in both the original and end point route. As a result, it didn’t work out either way. not here. Four battleships scurried across the sea-ocean in a completely obscene manner.
The chance for the last general battle of the battle fleets turned out to be missed, to the great indignation of naval historians of all countries and generations - how many lost fees! It's one thing to criticize Halsey and Lee, it's 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 - this is how the cards of historical solitaire lay down.
Having missed the chance to put an end to the twilight of their historical career, American battleships accompanied aircraft carriers for the rest of the war, occasionally being involved in shelling Japanese coastal positions. Of the significant events, it is worth noting only the trip of the New Jersey and the newest Wisconsin to Cam Ranh Bay in January 1945, guarding a cruiser and a destroyer in order to shoot at the surviving Kurita ships, which allegedly found their refuge in Cam Ranh. The campaign was interrupted, since on January 12, aviation reconnaissance was convinced of Kurita’s absence in Cam Ranh.
With the exception of the campaign to Cam Ranh, high-speed battleships were exclusively engaged in escorting aircraft carriers until the end of the war. Battleships together with aircraft carriers passed from November 1944 to March 1945 Luzon, Okinawa, Indochina, mainland China, Formosa and the waters of the Japanese Islands. On January 25, the Indiana bombarded Iwo Jima once, firing 203 16-inch shells. In April 1945, the main efforts of the American fleet were directed to Okinawa, then high-speed battleships fired at Japanese positions on the island several times. When the carriers returned to Japanese waters in July, the fast battleships came with them. "South Dakota", "Indiana" and "Massachusetts" fired on the island of Kamaishi on July 14. 29–30 July Hamamatsu aircraft plant and again 9 August 1945 Kamaishi Island.
Victory over Japan Day found the high-speed battleships of the American Navy in Tokyo Bay distributed among four aircraft carrier groups. The fact that the South Dakota was the flagship of Admiral Nimitz, and the signing of the Japanese Surrender Act took place on board the Missouri, completely obscured the very modest contribution that high-speed battleships actually made to the outcome of the campaign in the Pacific. In fact, except for the first battles, these ships acted only as fast armored floating batteries.
With the end of World War II, heated discussions arose in the United States about reducing military spending, as well as about ways to further build the armed forces in general and the Navy in particular. The fate of ten new battleships was also discussed. These ships became the crown of development, but the crown of development, according to most experts, no longer had a future. Battleships couldn't fly. Airplanes finally became the main caliber of the navy.
In 1946, the battleship Missouri took part in the highly successful Operation Goodwill, a campaign in the Mediterranean undertaken to limit 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 not entirely clear. In this light, the decision to withdraw battleships from the fleet’s operational composition appears logical. On September 11, 1946, exactly one year after Victory over Japan Day, the USS Indiana was withdrawn from the Navy. North Carolina and three other South Dakotas followed the path paved by Indiana in 1947. New Jersey and Wisconsin were removed from the fleet lists in 1948, Iowa in 1949.
At the start of the Korean War in 1950, the only battleship left in service with the US Navy was the Missouri. He arrived on the shores of Korea in mid-September 1950 and immediately began using his big guns to very remarkable effect. The assessment of the combat work was so high that in 1951 they decided to put three Iowa-class battleships back into service.
The second “tour” of the Iowa combat service turned out to be longer than the first. The parties concerned signed an armistice in 1952, but before the armistice the main body of four American battleships actively fought the threat of communism, bombarding Korea left and right, that is, from the East and from the West. For two years after the armistice, four battleships remained in service with the Navy, while their further fate Again, legislators who decided to cut defense spending did not intervene. The first to be removed from the Navy's combat lists was the Missouri, on February 26, 1955. The following year, the “sisters” of “Missouri” were retired. The Mississippi was withdrawn from Navy service on March 8, 1958 - for the first time since 1895, there was not a single battleship left in the US Navy.
S.K.
SK-2
One by one, the battleships were sent to be dismantled, although there were also supporters of continuing the active service of battleships. In the early 50s, the possibility of increasing the full speed of six old “fast” battleships to 31 knots was studied, so that their use for escorting aircraft carriers would again become possible. The price 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 monument ship). Two years later, the time came for the four South Dakotas. Two of them, Massachusetts and Alabama, were permanently moored. If the Vietnam War had not happened, a similar fate would most likely have awaited Iowa. The Vietnam War made us remember battleships - a decision was made to modernize and commission the New Jersey. The battleship once again entered service with the US Navy on April 8, 1968. The battleship's participation in the Vietnam events turned out to be very short-lived, despite the extremely positive effect provided by its main caliber. Alarmed diplomats raised a fuss about “... the destabilizing influence...” in fear of a possible super-response from the enemy. On December 17, 1969, New Jersey was again put into reserve.
The Iowa's radio equipment differed from that of the New Jersey only in the installation of an FC antenna on the tower-like superstructure. The coloring is extremely unusual, camouflage: Dull Black/Ocean Gray. Please note: one side of the black stripes is clear, the other is “softened” with gray paint. This paint scheme was developed for use in the Atlantic on escort carriers. Presumably, "Iowa" is the only ship in the Pacific Ocean painted in this scheme.
A ray of light in the dark life of old battleships sparkled again in the 70s. Many narrow-minded people from among the inhabitants of the Pentagon have repeatedly criticized their superiors for their desire to store expensive relics of the Second World War. However, at the end of the decade, prominent analysts, mainly outside the Pentagon, began to develop new scenarios for naval policy in which there was a place for battleships. Since the mid-60s, the American Navy has been undergoing a rather slow process of replacing surface ships built during the Second World War with new ships, focused on use in the World Ocean in conditions of dominance of aircraft carriers and submarines as the main means of warfare at sea. At that time, the majority of the world's navies (but not the Navy) entered service with relatively small and relatively weak ships, which were intended to combat aircraft and submarines. In most cases, they had no hull armor protection at all, and their superstructures were generally made of aluminum. Artillery was represented at best by a caliber of 5 inches. 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
F.C.
FH
At the end of the 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 Middle East war of 1973. Then the Israeli Air Force fulfilled the tasks assigned to it only at the cost of very heavy losses in people and equipment. Even if the level of losses in tactical aircraft taking part in a raid is 1% (a very optimistic estimate), their cost becomes fabulous - the price of one aircraft even then exceeded a million dollars. In addition, again with a loss rate of 1%, two aircraft carriers (the standard composition of the US Navy aircraft carrier group) are not capable of providing direct air support for a more or less long period of time ground forces in the required volume. None of the above problems could have been solved by the guns of ships of that time. 5-inch caliber shells did not have sufficient destructive effect to destroy coastal fortifications. The big question is whether 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 were made of aluminum to save weight. What a fire on an “aluminum” ship can lead to was clearly demonstrated by the collision of the cruiser Belknap with the aircraft carrier Kennedy in 1975. The British lost four ships of the destroyer-frigate class in the Falklands campaign, and several more ships were disabled due to damage, which would hardly have been fatal for ships of a similar class during the Second World War.
Analysts saw an alternative to the use of aviation, which was insufficient and sometimes inadequate, in high-speed battleships of the Second World War. At the end of the 70s, the issue of introducing Iowa-class ships into service with the US Navy again came up on the agenda. The logic is simple: aircraft from two aircraft carriers will deliver 420 tons of explosives ashore in about 12 hours of operations. while a battleship armed with nine 6-inch guns is capable of bringing down a similar “payload” on coastal structures in just 18 minutes. On the other hand, the range of carrier-based aircraft is several hundred miles, while the firing range of the main gun of a battleship is only 20 miles. However, the experience of the Vietnam War showed that 80% of carrier-based aircraft operated on targets that could have been fired from the guns of a battleship. In terms of accuracy of ammunition delivery and reaction time to a threat, a battleship is preferable to an aircraft. If we take naval artillery, then the 5-inch/45-caliber guns that were widespread at that time on US Navy ships simply cannot be compared with the 16-inch monsters of the Iowa-class battleships. Let's compare anyway. A five-inch projectile weighs about 70 kg, the firing range is about 13 nautical miles; the projectile is capable of penetrating a concrete floor 90 cm thick. The mass of a 15-inch caliber projectile is from 860 to 1220 kg, the firing range is more than 20 nautical miles, the projectile penetrates a concrete floor up to 9 m thick. New technologies have made it possible to increase the firing range of 16-inch caliber guns to 50 nautical miles. With an armor thickness of 12 inches and completely steel structure for battleships of the Iowa class, anti-ship missiles such as the French Exocet or 500-pound bombs, which caused such heavy losses to the British fleet at the Falklands, posed virtually no danger.
Despite the weight of the arguments of supporters of the next coming of battleships, military budget cuts during the presidency of Jimmy Carter made the return of the Iowas to the combat service of the US Navy impossible. Only the coming to power of Ronald Reagan in 1980 sparked hope in the hearts of battleship supporters. Reagan immediately after his housewarming party announced the start of a program to build a 600-ship navy. Appropriations allocated for the 1981 fiscal year included the commissioning of the battleship New Jersey, and allocations for the 1982 fiscal 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 were typical for US politicians at the end of the 20th century, which is why the plans were not fully implemented, and the program for commissioning battleships itself slowed down. The commissioning 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” underwent a deeper modernization, according to the full program, and not in a truncated form like “New Jersey”. Iowa entered service on April 28, 1984. The allocation of funds for the modernization and commissioning of the other two battleships was blocked by Congress. "New Jersey" showed excellent performance already in the first year of service after commissioning in Nicaragua and Lebanon.
According to the plan, New Jersey was to become the core of an autonomous formation of surface ships designed to strike the coast and enemy ships.
There was a time when the strength of a 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. Were battleships needed? Were they useful or did they represent a greater purpose? Let's look at five legends of the battleship era.
The battleship of the Third Reich "Bismarck" lived a short but colorful life, which still provides material for literature and cinema. On May 24, 1941, Bismarck, paired with Prinz Eugen, met with two British ships, Hood and Prince of Wales. During the ensuing battle, the Hood was sunk, but the Bismarck also received serious damage. A three-day pursuit of the German battleship began.
On May 27, the Bismarck took on an unequal battle and received a lot of damage, but remained afloat. Even after exhausting all its ammunition, the ship did not lower its flag. In the end, the ship's commander, Lutyens, ordered the seams to be opened and the ship abandoned. It should be noted that the Bismarck received critical damage from a torpedo fired from an aircraft. The death of the Bismarck became an important signal of the loss of the dominant role of battleships in the fleet.
The ancient Japanese called their country Yamato, which means “great harmony”, “peace”. There is some irony in the fact that the largest warship in the world was named by this name. Its giant 460 mm cannons were capable of sending one and a half ton shells over a distance of 25 nautical miles (46 km). The ship's side armor was 410 mm. Despite its enormous weight, the Yamato reached a speed of 27 knots, although it was inferior to the lighter American battleships with their speed of 33 knots.
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Unlike the Bismarck, the main Japanese battleship for a long time remained idle, since the Japanese command was saving battleships for the proposed general battle 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 also died not from shells from American ships, but from bombs and torpedoes from US naval aviation. This 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 island’s garrison, which was dying in unequal battles and suicidal attacks.
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The first two Iowa-class battleships, Iowa and New Jersey, proved their worth during the Pacific War. They have many battles and victories to their credit. The Missouri, which belonged to this class, did not have time to prove itself in battle, 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 combat 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 German ones could enter there.
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“October Revolution” and “Marat” took part in the defense of Leningrad, supporting the city’s defenders 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 an anti-aircraft gun (Ivan Tombasov's Gun) of the "October Revolution" after the decommissioning of the ship in 1956 were installed on Anchor Square in Kronstadt in memory of heroic defense besieged Leningrad.
"Paris Commune"
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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 Black Sea Fleet The “Paris Commune” took part in the defense of Sevastopol, destroying the ground forces of the enemy besieging the city. In total, the main caliber guns of the battleship fired three thousand rounds. Anti-aircraft artillery successfully repelled 21 air attacks, thanks to which the ship did not receive a single serious damage throughout the war.
The Second World War was the swan song of large battleships. Operations in the Pacific clearly demonstrated that naval dominance had shifted from battleships to aircraft carriers. Since then, the United States has relied on aircraft carriers, which have become the main instrument of global dominance. But that's a completely different story.
Battleships are armored artillery warships that have a large displacement and good armament. USSR battleships were widely used in a variety of battles, as they easily cope with the destruction of the enemy in naval battle through artillery strikes on objects located on the shore.
Peculiarities
Battleships are powerful artillery armored ships. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War there were a lot of them in the country's arsenal. The battleships of the USSR had high-quality weapons in the form of various guns, which were constantly modernized. Most often, the weapons consisted of large-caliber machine guns and torpedo tubes. These ships provided the defense of Leningrad, Sevastopol and other coastal cities.
Sevastopol class
Battleships of this class had a monitor-shaped hull, in which the freeboard area and icebreaker-shaped stem were minimized. With a short hull length, the ship's displacement was 23,000 tons, but in reality it reached about 26,000 tons. Coal was used as fuel, and if forced operation was required, then oil. These battleships of the USSR Navy were equipped with a power plant of 42,000 hp. With. at a speed of 23 knots and a cruising range of 4000 miles.
As weapons, the battleship was equipped with rifled guns, which were arranged linearly and had a technical rate of fire of 1.8 rounds per minute. As mine countermeasures, 16 120 mm guns were used, the rate of fire of which was 7 rounds per minute, with all guns located on the middle deck. This placement of artillery led to low firing efficiency, which, combined with the low seaworthiness of the battleship itself, made them more difficult to control.
These USSR battleships were modernized before the Second World War, which improved the silhouette of the ships: they had a tank superstructure that was tightly coupled to the hull and covered with a durable deck on top. The changes affected the nasal tip, power plants and improved living conditions for the team.
"Paris Commune"
This battleship was the latest to undergo modernization. As it was improved, its displacement became larger, the engine power became higher and amounted to 61,000 hp, and the ship reached a maximum speed of 23.5 knots. During modernization, much attention was paid to strengthening anti-aircraft weapons: 6 76 mm anti-aircraft guns, 16 artillery pieces and 14 machine guns appeared on the bow and stern. These World War II USSR battleships were used in the defense of Sevastopol. During the entire period of hostilities during the Great Patriotic War, the battleship took part in 15 military campaigns, carried out 10 artillery firings, repelled more than 20 enemy air raids and shot down three enemy aircraft.
During World War II, the ship defended Sevastopol and the Kerch Strait. The first hostilities took place on November 8, 1941, and only during the first period of fighting was it destroyed a large number of tanks, guns, military vehicles transporting certain cargo.
"Marat"
These USSR battleships defended the approaches to Leningrad, defending the city for 8 days. During one of the enemy attacks, the ship was hit by two bombs at once, which destroyed the bow of the ship and led to the detonation of the shell magazines. As a result of this tragic event, 326 crew members died. Six months later, partial buoyancy was restored to the ship; the stern part, which sank, surfaced. For a long time the Germans tried to destroy the damaged battleship, which was used by our military as a fort.
However, after some time, the battleship was repaired and partially restored, but even this allowed it to resist enemy artillery fire: after the ship was restored, aircraft, batteries and enemy personnel were destroyed. In 1943, this USSR battleship was renamed Petropavlovsk, and 7 years later it was completely removed from service and transferred to a training center.
"October Revolution"
This battleship was initially based in Tallinn, but with the outbreak of World War II it was relocated to Kronstadt as soon as the Germans began to approach the city. The "October Revolution" became a reliable artillery defense of the city, since all attempts by the German army to sink the battleship remained unsuccessful. During the war years, this largest battleship of the USSR proved itself to be a reliable adversary on the water.
From "Gangut" to "Revolution"
The original name of the battleship was Gangut. It was under this name that the ship took part in the First World War: under its cover, minefields were laid, on which more than one German cruiser was subsequently blown up. After giving the ship a new name, it performed during the Second World War, and all attempts by the Germans to cope with it were failures. The USSR battleships of the Second World War were generally distinguished by their reliability: for example, the “October Revolution” was subjected to numerous air and artillery attacks, and still survived. During the war years, the battleship itself fired about 1,500 shells, repelled numerous air raids, shot down 13 aircraft and damaged many more.
The main campaigns of "Gangut" ("October Revolution")
An interesting fact is that the formidable ships of our army never met enemy battleships in battle during the two world wars - the first and second. The only battle was fought by the Sevastopol back in the Civil War, when the ship covered the destroyer Azard and repelled the attack of as many as seven British destroyers.
In general, "Gangut" visited three military campaigns in the Baltic, where it provided mine laying, then in service with the Red Army it received a new name and was included in Marine forces Baltic Sea. The battleship also took part in the Soviet-Finnish war as fire support for ground forces. The most important task of the battleship was the defense of Leningrad.
In 1941, on September 27, the ship was hit by a bomb weighing 500 kg, which pierced the decks and tore apart the tower.
"Arkhangelsk"
Not all battleships of the USSR during the Second World War were initially in service with our country. Thus, the battleship "Arkhangelsk" was first part of the British Navy, then was transferred to the Soviet Union. It is noteworthy that this ship was converted in the USA and equipped with modern radar systems for all types of weapons. That is why Arkhangelsk is also known as HMS Royal Sovereign.
In the interwar years, the battleship was modernized several times, and seriously. And the changes concerned mainly additional equipment with guns. By World War II, this battleship was already outdated, but despite this, it was nevertheless included in the country's fleet. But its role was not as valiant as that of other battleships: Arkhangelsk for the most part stood off the coast of the Kola Bay, where it provided the fire offensive of the Soviet troops and disrupted the evacuation of the Germans. In January 1949, the ship was delivered to Great Britain.
USSR battleship projects
The battleships of the USSR, the projects of which were developed by a variety of engineers, have always been considered one of the most reliable in the whole world. Thus, engineer Bubnov proposed a super-dreadnought project, which attracted attention with its elaborate details, artillery power, high speed and sufficient level of armor. Design began back in 1914, and the main task of the engineers was to place three four-gun turrets on a small hull, which was not enough for such weapons. It turned out that in this situation the ship was left without reliable anti-torpedo protection. The main weapons on this ship were:
- main armor belt, which extended over 2/3 of the length of the ship;
- horizontal reservation on four levels;
- circular reservation of towers;
- 12 guns in turrets and 24 anti-mine caliber guns, which were located in casemates.
Experts said that this battleship was a powerful combat unit, which, compared to foreign analogues, was capable of reaching a speed of 25 knots. True, the armor was already insufficient at the time of the First World War, and there were no plans to modernize the ships...
Project by engineer Kostenko
The perfect battleships of Russia and the USSR have come to the rescue more than once Soviet troops. One of the developments was the Kostenko ship, which is considered the latest. Its distinctive features included balanced weapon characteristics, excellent speed and high-quality armor. The project was based on the Anglo-German experience of the Battle of Jutland, so the engineer in advance abandoned the maximum artillery equipment of the ships. And the emphasis was on balancing armor protection and mobility.
This ship was developed in four versions, with the first version being the fastest. As in the Bubnov version, the battleship had a main combat belt, which was complemented by a bulkhead of two plates. Horizontal armor affected several decks, which itself acted as armor flooring. The armor was carried out in the turret, the deckhouse, and around the ship; in addition, the engineer paid close attention to the anti-torpedo protection, which previously appeared on battleships in the form of a simple longitudinal bulkhead.
The engineer proposed using 406 mm main caliber guns and 130 mm guns as weapons. The first ones were located in towers, which provided a good firing range. The designs of this vessel, as already mentioned, were different, which also affected the number of guns.
Project by engineer Gavrilov
Gavrilov proposed building the most powerful, so-called ultimate battleships of the USSR. The photo shows that such models were small in size, but were more efficient in terms of technical and operational characteristics. According to the general concept, the battleship was the ultimate ship, the technical characteristics of which were on the verge of an achievable level. The project took into account only the most powerful weapon parameters:
- 16 main caliber 406 mm guns in four turrets;
- 24 152 mm anti-mine caliber guns in casemates.
Such weapons fully corresponded to the concept of Russian shipbuilding, when there was an amazing combination of the maximum possible artillery saturation with high speed while damaging the armor. By the way, it was not the most successful on most Soviet battleships. But the ship’s propulsion system was one of the most powerful, since its operation was based on transformer turbines.
Equipment features
The battleships of the USSR during the Second World War (the photo confirms their power), according to Gavrilov’s projects, were equipped with the most advanced systems at that time. Like previous engineers, he paid attention to the armor, and the thickness of the armor was somewhat greater. But experts noted that even with powerful artillery, high speed and enormous size, this battleship would be quite vulnerable when meeting the enemy.
Results
As experts note, the Second World War became a certain stage for checking the state of the battleships of the USSR for readiness. As it turned out, the battle fleet was not ready for destructive force and power atomic bombs and precision guided weapons. That is why, towards the end of the war, battleships ceased to be considered a powerful combat force, and so much attention was no longer paid to the development of carrier-based aviation. Stalin ordered that battleships be excluded from military shipbuilding plans because they did not meet the requirements of the time.
As a result, ships such as the “October Revolution” and “Paris Commune” were withdrawn from the active fleet, and some models were put into reserve. Subsequently, Khrushchev left literally several heavy artillery ships in the country's arsenal, considering them effective in battle. And on October 29, 1955, the flagship of the Black Sea squadron, the last battleship of the USSR, Novorossiysk, sank in the Northern Bay of Sevastopol. After this event, our country said goodbye to the idea of having battleships in its fleet.
Exactly seventy years ago Soviet Union began implementing a seven-year program of “large naval shipbuilding” - one of the most expensive and ambitious projects in the history of domestic, and not only domestic, military equipment.
The main leaders of the program were considered to be heavy artillery ships - battleships and cruisers, which were to become the largest and most powerful in the world. Although it was never possible to complete the super-battleships, there is still great interest in them, especially in light of the recent fashion for alternative history. So what were the projects of the “Stalinist giants” and what preceded their appearance?
Lords of the Seas
The fact that the main force of the fleet are battleships has been considered an axiom for almost three centuries. From the time of the Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th century until the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the outcome of the war at sea was decided by an artillery duel of two fleets lined up in wake lines (hence the origin of the term “ship of the line”, or battleship for short). Faith in the omnipotence of the battleship was not undermined by either the appearance of aviation or submarines. After World War I, most admirals and naval theorists continued to measure the strength of fleets by the number of heavy guns, the total weight of the broadside, and the thickness of the armor. But it was precisely this exceptional role of battleships, considered the undisputed rulers of the seas, that played a cruel joke on them...The evolution of battleships in the first decades of the twentieth century was truly rapid. If at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the largest representatives of this class, then called squadron battleships, had a displacement of about 15 thousand tons, then the famous “Dreadnought”, built in England two years later (this name became a household name for its many followers), had a full the displacement was already 20,730 tons. The Dreadnought seemed to its contemporaries a giant and the height of perfection. However, by 1912, compared to the latest super-dreadnoughts, it looked like a completely ordinary ship of the second line... And four years later, the British laid down the famous Hood with a displacement of 45 thousand tons! Incredibly, powerful and expensive ships, in the context of a rampant arms race, became obsolete in just three or four years, and their serial construction became extremely burdensome even for the richest countries.
Why did this happen? The fact is that every warship is a compromise of many factors, three of which are considered the main ones: weapons, protection and speed. Each of these components “ate up” a significant part of the ship’s displacement, since artillery, armor, and bulky power plants with numerous boilers, fuel, steam engines or turbines were very heavy. And designers, as a rule, had to sacrifice one of the fighting qualities in favor of another. Thus, the Italian shipbuilding school was characterized by fast and heavily armed, but poorly protected battleships. The Germans, on the contrary, prioritized survivability and built ships with very powerful armor, but moderate speed and light artillery. The desire to ensure a harmonious combination of all characteristics, taking into account the trend of constant increase in the main caliber, led to a monstrous increase in the size of the ship.
Paradoxical as it may seem, the appearance of the long-awaited “ideal” battleships - fast, heavily armed and protected by powerful armor - brought the very idea of such ships to complete absurdity. Of course: because of their high cost, floating monsters undermined the economies of their own countries more significantly than the invasions of enemy armies! At the same time, they almost never went to sea: the admirals did not want to risk such valuable combat units, since the loss of even one of them was practically equivalent to a national catastrophe. Battleships have transformed from a means of warfare at sea into an instrument of big politics. And the continuation of their construction was no longer determined by tactical expediency, but by completely different motives. Having such ships for the prestige of the country in the first half of the twentieth century meant about the same as having nuclear weapons now.
The governments of all countries were aware of the need to stop the spinning flywheel of the naval arms race, and in 1922, at a meeting convened in Washington international conference radical measures were taken. Delegations of the most influential states agreed to significantly reduce their naval forces and fix the total tonnage of their own fleets in a certain proportion over the next 15 years. During the same period, the construction of new battleships was stopped almost everywhere. The only exception was made for Great Britain - a country forced to scrap greatest number completely new dreadnoughts. But those two battleships that the British could build would hardly have had an ideal combination of combat qualities, since their displacement should have been measured at 35 thousand tons.
The Washington Conference was the first real step in history to limit offensive weapons on a global scale. It gave the global economy some respite. But nothing more. Since the apotheosis of the “battleship race” was yet to come...
The dream of a "big fleet"
By 1914, the Russian Imperial Navy ranked first in the world in terms of growth rates. On the stocks of shipyards in St. Petersburg and Nikolaev, powerful dreadnoughts were laid one after another. Russia recovered quite quickly from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and again laid claim to the role of a leading maritime power.However, the revolution Civil War and general devastation left no trace of the former naval power of the empire. The Red Fleet inherited from the “tsarist regime” only three battleships - “Petropavlovsk”, “Gangut” and “Sevastopol”, 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 that time.
At first, the Red Fleet really did not have any special prospects. The Bolshevik government had much more urgent tasks than restoring its former naval power. In addition, the first persons of the state, Lenin and Trotsky, looked at the navy as an expensive toy and a tool of world imperialism. Therefore, during the first decade and a half of the existence of the Soviet Union, the ship composition of the RKKF was replenished slowly and mainly only with boats and submarines. But in the mid-1930s, the naval doctrine of the USSR changed dramatically. By that time, the “Washington battleship vacation” was over and all the world powers began feverishly to catch up. Two international treaties signed in London tried to somehow restrain the size of future battleships, but everything turned out to be in vain: practically none of the countries participating in the agreements was going to honestly fulfill the signed conditions from the very beginning. France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the USA and Japan began creating a new generation of leviathan ships. Stalin, inspired by the success of industrialization, also did not want to stand aside. And the Soviet Union became another participant in a new round of the naval arms race.
In July 1936, the Council of Labor and Defense of the USSR, with the blessing of the Secretary General, approved a seven-year program of “large naval shipbuilding” for 1937-1943 (due to the cacophony of the official name in the literature, it is usually called the “Big Fleet” program). In accordance with it, it was planned to build 533 ships, including 24 battleships! For the Soviet economy of that time, the figures were absolutely unrealistic. Everyone understood this, but no one dared to object to Stalin.
In fact, Soviet designers began developing a project for a new battleship back in 1934. The business progressed with difficulty: the experience of creating large ships they were completely absent. We had to attract foreign specialists - first Italian, then American. In August 1936, after analyzing various options, the terms of reference for the design of battleships of type “A” (project 23) and “B” (project 25) were approved. The latter was soon abandoned in favor of the Project 69 heavy cruiser, but Type A gradually developed into an armored monster that left far behind all its foreign counterparts. Stalin, who had a weakness for giant ships, could be pleased.
First of all, we decided not to limit the displacement. The USSR was not bound by any international agreements, and therefore, already at the technical design stage, the standard displacement of the battleship reached 58,500 tons. The thickness of the armor belt was 375 millimeters, and in the area of the bow towers - 420! There were three armored decks: 25 mm upper, 155 mm main and 50 mm lower anti-fragmentation. The hull was equipped with solid anti-torpedo protection: in the central part of the Italian type, and in the extremities - of the American type.
The artillery armament of the Project 23 battleship included nine 406-mm B-37 guns with a barrel length of 50 calibers, developed by the Stalingrad Barrikady plant. The Soviet cannon could fire 1,105-kilogram shells to a range of 45.6 kilometers. In terms of its characteristics, it was superior to all foreign guns of this class - with the exception of the 18-inch guns of the Japanese super-battleship Yamato. However, the latter, having heavier shells, were inferior to the B-37 in terms of firing range and rate of fire. In addition, the Japanese kept their ships so secret that until 1945 no one knew anything about them. In particular, Europeans and Americans were confident that the caliber of Yamato artillery did not exceed 16 inches, that is, 406 millimeters.
The Japanese battleship Yamato is the largest warship of World War II. Laid down in 1937, entered service in 1941. Total displacement - 72,810 tons. Length - 263 m, width - 36.9 m, draft - 10.4 m. Armament: 9 - 460 mm and 12 - 155 -mm guns, 12 - 127 mm anti-aircraft guns, 24 - 25 mm machine guns, 7 seaplanes
The main power plant of the Soviet battleship is three turbo-gear units with a capacity of 67 thousand liters each. With. For the lead ship, the mechanisms were purchased from the Swiss branch of the English company Brown Boveri; for the rest, the power plant was to be manufactured under license by the Kharkov Turbine Plant. It was assumed that the speed of the battleship would be 28 knots and the cruising range at 14 knots would be over 5,500 miles.
Meanwhile, the “large maritime shipbuilding” program was revised. In the new “Great Shipbuilding Program,” approved by Stalin in February 1938, “small” battleships of type “B” no longer appeared, but the number of “large” Project 23 increased from 8 to 15 units. True, none of the experts doubted that this number, as well as the previous plan, belonged to the realm of pure fantasy. After all, even the “mistress of the seas” Great Britain and ambitious Nazi Germany expected to build only 6 to 9 new battleships. Realistically assessing the capabilities of the industry, the top leadership of our country had to limit themselves to four ships. And this turned out to be impossible: the construction of one of the ships was stopped almost immediately after laying.
The lead battleship (Soviet Union) was laid down at the Leningrad Baltic Shipyard on July 15, 1938. It was followed by “Soviet Ukraine” (Nikolaev), “Soviet Russia” and “Soviet Belarus” (Molotovsk, now Severodvinsk). Despite the mobilization of all forces, construction was behind schedule. By June 22, 1941, the first two ships had the highest degree of readiness, 21% and 17.5%, respectively. At the new plant in Molotovsk, things were much worse. Although in 1940 they decided to build one instead of two battleships, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War its readiness had reached only 5%.
The deadlines for the production of artillery and armor were also not met. Although in October 1940, tests of an experimental 406-mm gun were successfully completed and before the start of the war, the Barrikady plant managed to deliver 12 barrels of naval superguns, not a single turret was assembled. There were even more problems with the release of the armor. Due to the loss of experience in the manufacture of thick armor plates, up to 40% of them were scrapped. And negotiations on ordering armor from the Krupp company ended in nothing.
The attack of Nazi Germany crossed out the plans for the creation of the “Big Fleet”. By government decree of July 10, 1941, the construction of battleships was stopped. Later, the armor plates of the “Soviet Union” were used in the construction of pillboxes near Leningrad, and the experimental B-37 gun also fired at the enemy there. “Soviet Ukraine” was captured by the Germans, but they did not find any use for the gigantic corps. After the war, the issue of completing the battleships according to one of the improved designs was discussed, but in the end they were dismantled for metal, and a section of the hull of the parent "Soviet Union" was even launched in 1949 - it was planned to be used for full-scale testing of the torpedo protection system. At first they wanted to install the turbines received from Switzerland on one of the new light cruisers of the 68-bis project, but then they abandoned this: too many alterations were required.
Good cruisers or bad battleships?
Heavy cruisers of Project 69 appeared in the “Great Shipbuilding Program,” of which, like A-type battleships, it was planned to build 15 units. But these were not just heavy cruisers. Since the Soviet Union was not bound by any international treaties, the restrictions of the Washington and London conferences for ships of this class (standard displacement up to 10 thousand tons, artillery caliber no more than 203 millimeters) were immediately discarded by Soviet designers. Project 69 was conceived as a destroyer of any foreign cruisers, including the formidable German “pocket battleships” (displacing 12,100 tons). Therefore, at first its main armament was supposed to include nine 254 mm guns, but then the caliber was increased to 305 mm. At the same time, it was necessary to strengthen the armor protection, increase the power of the power plant... As a result, the total displacement of the ship exceeded 41 thousand tons, and the heavy cruiser turned into a typical battleship, even larger in size than the planned Project 25. Of course, the number of such ships had to be reduced. In reality, in 1939, only two “supercruisers” were laid down in Leningrad and Nikolaev - “Kronstadt” and “Sevastopol”.
The heavy cruiser Kronstadt was laid down in 1939, but was not completed. Total displacement 41,540 tons. Maximum length - 250.5 m, width - 31.6 m, draft - 9.5 m. Turbine power - 201,000 l. s., speed - 33 knots (61 km/h). The thickness of the side armor is up to 230 mm, the thickness of the turrets is up to 330 mm. Armament: 9 305 mm and 8 - 152 mm guns, 8 - 100 mm anti-aircraft guns, 28 - 37 mm machine guns, 2 seaplanes
There were many interesting innovations in the design of Project 69 ships, but in general, according to the “cost-effectiveness” criterion, they did not stand up to any criticism. Conceived as good cruisers, the Kronstadt and Sevastopol, in the process of “improving” the design, turned into bad battleships, too expensive and too difficult to build. In addition, the industry clearly did not have time to produce the main artillery for them. Out of desperation, the idea arose to arm the ships instead of nine 305 mm guns with six German 380 mm guns, similar to those installed on the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz. This gave an increase in displacement by another thousand-plus tons. However, the Germans were in no hurry to fulfill the order, of course, and by the beginning of the war not a single gun had arrived from Germany to the USSR.
The fate of “Kronstadt” and “Sevastopol” was similar to their counterparts such as “Soviet Union”. By June 22, 1941, their technical readiness was estimated at 12-13%. In September of the same year, the construction of “Kronstadt” was stopped, and “Sevastopol”, located in Nikolaev, was captured by the Germans even earlier. After the war, the hulls of both “supercruisers” were dismantled for metal.
The battleship Bismarck is the strongest ship of the Nazi fleet. Laid down in 1936, entered service in 1940. Total displacement - 50,900 tons. Length - 250.5 m, width - 36 m, draft - 10.6 m. Thickness of side armor - up to 320 mm, turrets - up to 360 mm. Armament: 8 - 380 mm and 12 - 150 mm guns, 16 - 105 mm anti-aircraft guns, 16 - 37 mm and 12 - 20 mm machine guns, 4 seaplanes
Last attempts
In total, 27 battleships of the latest generation were built in the world in 1936-1945: 10 in the USA, 5 in Great Britain, 4 in Germany, 3 each in France and Italy, 2 in Japan. And in none of the fleets did they live up to the hopes placed on them. The experience of World War II clearly showed that the time of battleships was over. Aircraft carriers became the new masters of the oceans: carrier-based aircraft, of course, were superior to naval artillery both in range and in the ability to hit targets in the most vulnerable places. So we can say with confidence that Stalin’s battleships, even if they had been built by June 1941, would not have played any noticeable role in the war.But here’s a paradox: the Soviet Union, which spent somewhat less money on unnecessary ships compared to other states, decided to make up for lost time and became the only country in the world that continued to design battleships after World War II! Contrary to common sense, designers worked tirelessly for several years on drawings of the floating fortresses of yesterday. The successor of the “Soviet Union” was the Project 24 battleship with a total displacement of 81,150 tons (!), the successor of the “Kronstadt” was the 42,000-ton heavy cruiser of Project 82. In addition, this pair was complemented by another so-called “medium” cruiser of Project 66 with 220- mm main caliber artillery. Note that although the latter was called medium, its displacement (30,750 tons) left all foreign heavy cruisers far behind and was approaching battleships.
Battleship "Soviet Union", project 23 (USSR, laid down in 1938). Standard displacement - 59,150 tons, full displacement - 65,150 tons. Maximum length - 269.4 m, width - 38.9 m, draft - 10.4 m. Turbine power - 201,000 l. s., speed - 28 knots (with boost, respectively, 231,000 hp and 29 knots). Armament: 9 - 406 mm and 12 - 152 mm guns, 12 - 100 mm anti-aircraft guns, 40 - 37 mm machine guns, 4 seaplanes
The reasons that domestic shipbuilding is in post-war years went clearly against the grain, mostly subjective. And in the first place here are the personal preferences of the “leader of the peoples.” Stalin was very impressed by large artillery ships, especially fast ones, and at the same time he clearly underestimated aircraft carriers. During a discussion of the Project 82 heavy cruiser in March 1950, the Secretary General demanded that the designers increase the ship’s speed to 35 knots, “so that it would panic the enemy’s light cruisers, disperse them and destroy them. This cruiser must fly like a swallow, be a pirate, a real bandit.” Alas, on the threshold of the nuclear missile era, the Soviet leader’s views on issues of naval tactics were one and a half to two decades behind their time.
If projects 24 and 66 remained on paper, then according to project 82 in 1951-1952, three “bandit cruisers” were laid down - “Stalingrad”, “Moskva” and a third, which remained unnamed. But they did not have to enter service: on April 18, 1953, a month after Stalin’s death, the construction of the ships was stopped due to their high cost and complete uncertainty of tactical use. A section of the hull of the lead "Stalingrad" was launched and for several years was used for testing different types naval weapons, including torpedoes and cruise missiles. It’s very symbolic: the world’s last heavy artillery ship turned out to be in demand only as a target for new weapons...
Heavy cruiser "Stalingrad". Laid out in 1951, but not completed. Total displacement - 42,300 tons. Maximum length - 273.6 m, width - 32 m, draft - 9.2 m. Turbine power - 280,000 l. s., speed - 35.2 knots (65 km/h). The thickness of the side armor is up to 180 mm, the thickness of the turrets is up to 240 mm. Armament: 9 - 305 mm and 12 - 130 mm guns, 24 - 45 mm and 40 - 25 mm machine guns
The "supership" obsession
In conclusion, it should be noted that the desire to create a “supership” stronger than any potential adversary of its class, in different time designers and shipbuilders were puzzled different countries. And here there is a pattern: the weaker the economy and industry of the state, the more active this desire is; for developed countries, on the contrary, it is less typical. Thus, in the interwar period, the British Admiralty preferred to build ships that were very modest in combat capabilities, but in large quantities, which ultimately made it possible to have a well-balanced fleet. Japan, on the contrary, sought to create ships stronger than the British and American ones - in this way it hoped to compensate for the difference in economic development with its future rivals.In this regard, the shipbuilding policy of the then USSR occupies a special place. Here, after the decision of the party and government to build a “Big Fleet,” the obsession with “superships” was actually brought to the point of absurdity. On the one hand, Stalin, inspired by successes in the aviation industry and tank building, too hastily believed that all problems in the shipbuilding industries could be solved just as quickly. On the other hand, the atmosphere in society was such that the project of any ship proposed by industry and not superior in its capabilities to its foreign counterparts could easily be considered “sabotage” with all the ensuing consequences. Designers and shipbuilders simply had no choice: they were forced to design the “most powerful” and “fastest” ships, armed with the “world’s longest-range” artillery... In practice, this resulted in the following: ships with the size and armament of battleships began to be called heavy cruisers (but the strongest in the world!), heavy cruisers - light, and the latter - “destroyer leaders”. Such a substitution of one class for another would still make sense if domestic factories could build battleships in the quantities in which other countries built heavy cruisers. But since this was, to put it mildly, not at all true, the reports going to the top about the outstanding successes of the designers often looked like a banal fraud.
It is characteristic that almost all “superships” ever embodied in metal have not justified themselves. It is enough to cite the Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi as examples. They died under the bombs of American planes, without firing a single main-caliber salvo at their American “classmates.” But even if they had a chance to meet the US fleet in a linear battle, they could hardly count on success. After all, Japan was able to build only two battleships of the latest generation, and the United States - ten. With such a balance of forces, the individual superiority of “Yamato” over an individual “American” no longer plays any role.
World experience shows that several well-balanced ships are much better than one giant with exaggerated combat characteristics. And yet, in the USSR the idea of a “supership” did not die. A quarter of a century later, the Stalinist leviathans had distant relatives - nuclear-powered missile cruisers of the Kirov type, followers of the Kronstadt and Stalingrad. However, this is a completely different story...
World War II was the golden age of battleships. The powers that claimed dominance at sea, in the pre-war years and the first few war years, laid down several dozen giant armored ships with powerful main-caliber guns on the slipways. As the practice of combat use of “steel monsters” has shown, battleships acted very effectively against formations of enemy warships, even being in the numerical minority, capable of terrifying convoys of cargo ships, but they can practically do nothing against aircraft, which with a few hits of torpedoes and bombs can even 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 only at critical moments, using them very ineffectively. In turn, the Americans mainly used battleships to cover aircraft carrier groups and landing troops 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 millimeters located in two towers. Ships of this class were created by the French to counter the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship was launched in 1939 and was adopted by the French Navy a year later. "Richelieu" actually did not take part in the Second World War, except for a collision 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 naval convoys and supporting French troops with fire during landing operations. The battleship was withdrawn from the fleet and decommissioned in 1967.
9. Jean Bart, France
The French Richelieu-class battleship Jean Bart was launched in 1940, but was never commissioned into the fleet by the beginning of World War II. At the time of the German attack on France, the ship was 75% ready (only one turret of main caliber guns was installed); the battleship was able to travel under its own power from Europe to the Moroccan port of Casablanca. Despite the absence of some weapons, "Jean Bar" managed to take part in hostilities on the side of the Axis countries, repelling attacks by American-British forces during the Allied landing in Morocco. After several hits from the main caliber guns of American battleships and aircraft bombs, the ship sank to the bottom on November 10, 1942. In 1944, the Jean Bart was raised and sent to the shipyard for repairs 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 withdrawn from the fleet and scrapped.
8. Tirpitz, Germany
The German Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz, launched in 1939 and put into 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. Vessels of this class were intended for raider operations against enemy merchant fleets. 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. The Tirpitz stood in the fortified Norwegian fjords for almost the entire war, taking part in only three operations to intercept convoys and support landings on the islands. The battleship sank on November 14, 1944, during a raid by British bombers, after being hit by three aerial bombs.
7. Bismarck, Germany
The battleship Bismarck, put into service in 1940, is the only ship on this list that took part in a truly epic naval battle. For three days, the Bismarck, in the North Sea and the Atlantic, confronted almost the entire British fleet alone. The battleship was able to sink the pride of the British fleet, the cruiser Hood, in battle, and seriously damaged several ships. After numerous hits from shells and torpedoes, the battleship sank on May 27, 1941.
6. Wisconsin, USA
The American battleship "Wisconsin", Iowa class, with a displacement of 55,710 tons, has a length of 270 meters, on board which are three towers with nine 406 mm main caliber guns. The ship was launched in 1943 and entered service in 1944. The ship was retired from the fleet in 1991, but remained in the US Navy Reserve until 2006, becoming the last battleship in the US Navy Reserve. During World War II, the ship was used to escort aircraft carrier groups, support landing operations and bombard coastal fortifications. Japanese army. In the post-war period, he participated in the Gulf War.
5. New Jersey, USA
The Iowa-class battleship New Jersey was launched in 1942 and entered service in 1943. The ship underwent several major upgrades and was eventually decommissioned from the fleet in 1991. During the Second World War, she was used to escort aircraft carrier groups, but did not really participate in any serious naval battles. Over the next 46 years, she served 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 World War II, the battleship was used to escort carrier groups and support landings, and did not participate in any serious naval battles. It was on board the Missouri that the Japanese surrender pact was signed, ending World War II. In the post-war period, the battleship participated in only one major military operation, namely the Gulf War, during which the Missouri provided naval gunfire support to a multinational force.
3. Iowa, USA
The battleship Iowa, a class of the same name, was launched in 1942 and entered service a year later, fighting on all ocean fronts of World War II. 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, supported landing forces, attacked enemy coastal fortifications, and participated in several naval operations to intercept strike groups of the Japanese fleet. During Korean War provided artillery fire support for ground forces from the sea. In 1990, the Iowa was decommissioned and turned into a museum ship.
2. Yamato, Japan
Pride of Japanese imperial fleet The battleship Yamato was 247 meters long, weighed 47,500 tons, and had on board three turrets with 9 460 mm main caliber guns. The ship was launched in 1939, but was ready to go to sea on a combat mission only in 1942. During the entire war, the battleship took part in only three real battles, of which only in one was it able to fire at enemy ships from its main caliber guns. Yamato was sunk on April 7, 1945 by enemy aircraft, after being hit by 13 torpedoes and 13 bombs. Today, the 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 for combat only in 1943. The battleship participated in only one serious naval battle, trying to prevent the Allies from landing troops in the Philippines. On October 24, 1944, after a 16-hour battle, the Musashi sank in the Sibuyan Sea after being hit by several torpedoes and aircraft bombs. Musashi, together with her brother Yamato, is considered the largest battleship in the world.