A cruiser is a class of multi-purpose large high-speed surface artillery ships capable of performing various defense and attack missions, both independently and as part of formations of ships. The variety of tasks performed by cruisers gave rise to a number of subclasses - specialized ships. So during the war they distinguished: battlecruisers, heavy and light, armored and armored, mine and anti-aircraft, aircraft carrier and training. Less than a third of cruisers of all types were built during the war, a third were pre-war, and the rest took part in the First World War.
Approximate number of cruisers used in the war by country and type of ship (excluding captured and transferred/received)
|
Countries |
Types of cruisers (total/killed) | Total | ||||
| Linear | Heavy | Bron. 1) | Lungs |
Others |
||
| Argentina | — | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 7 |
| Brazil | — | — | — | 2/1 | — | 2/1 |
| Great Britain | 3/2 | 18/6 | — | 80/26 | 7/3 | 108/37 |
| Germany | — | 6/5 | — | 6/5 | — | 12/10 |
| Greece | — | — | 1 | 1/1 | — | 2/1 |
| Spain | — | 1 | — | 5 | — | 6 |
| Italy | — | 11/11 | 1 | 13/4 | — | 25/15 |
| Netherlands | — | — | — | 5/4 | — | 5/4 |
| Peru | — | — | — | 2 | — | 2 |
| Poland | — | — | — | 2/1 | — | 2/1 |
| USSR | — | — | — | 9/2 | 1/1 | 10/3 |
| USA | 2 | 30/6 | — | 52/3 | — | 84/9 |
| Türkiye | 1 | — | 2 | — | — | 3 |
| France | — | 7/4 | — | 10/5 | 2/1 | 19/10 |
| Chile | — | — | 3 | — | — | 3 |
| Sweden | — | — | — | — | 4 | 4 |
| Yugoslavia | — | — | 1/1 | — | — | 1/1 |
| Japan | 4/4 | 18/17 | 4/3 | 22/21 | 3/2 | 51/47 |
| TOTAL | 10/6 | 93/49 | 16/4 | 210/73 | 17/7 | 346/138 |
1) Armored and armored carriers
In addition to the data provided, it should be noted that 3 light cruisers were sold by Great Britain to Australia, 1 was transferred to Canada.
The above classification of cruisers should be understood as follows.
Battle cruiser- a class of artillery ships with weapons similar to battleships, but with greater speed and lighter armor. They appeared as a development of armored cruisers and were supposed to form the vanguard of the main forces of the fleet, and in battle play the role of its high-speed wing. In fact, battlecruisers occupied an intermediate position between battleships and heavy cruisers. They were assigned the following tasks: reconnaissance in force; support and assistance to smaller scout cruisers; independent expeditions to surround enemy raiders; pursuing the retreating enemy fleet and, if possible, putting it in a hopeless position by concentrating fire on the lagging ships; rapid encirclement of the enemy during combat operations. All the ships were pre-war built, were unbalanced in terms of performance characteristics and, due to their intermediate position between classes, became unnecessary for the fleets. As a result, the “dying” ships did not achieve any significant results during the war.
Heavy cruiser- a surface combat ship, a subclass of heavily armed artillery high-speed cruisers, designed for operations at long distances with the aim of disrupting sea communications, conducting naval combat as part of formations, protecting their sea routes, ensuring amphibious landings, laying minefields and other tasks. In the naval weapons system, it occupied an intermediate place between a light cruiser and a battle cruiser. The ship had advanced armored protection designed to counter the artillery of an enemy cruiser. The displacement of the cruisers was in the range of 10-28 thousand tons, the armament consisted of 6 - 9 guns of 203 - 305 mm caliber, 8 - 12 medium caliber guns (100-127 mm), 80 - 90 anti-aircraft guns and machine guns.
By the beginning of the war, the leading fleets maritime countries There were the following number of heavy cruisers: 18 each in England, the USA and Japan, 7 each in Italy and France, 5 in Germany.
As an important force in all major navies, heavy cruisers were used very intensively, but their results were mixed. British cruisers performed well as defenders of communications. Their autonomy ensured long-term operations on the oceans and made it possible to cause serious damage to enemy shipping and intercept a number of raiders. These ships also turned out to be very useful when escorting polar convoys. However, when faced with an adequate enemy, weak protection and a primitive fire control system extremely limited their combat capabilities. They were also extremely vulnerable to air attacks due to their weak air defense system.
American cruisers suffered heavy losses from Japanese classmates and destroyers. They turned out to be most useful as fire support ships for landing operations, and the newest cruisers also as air defense ships.
High speed Italian heavy cruisers they were unable to achieve success in combat at long distances, and they were afraid to approach due to weak armor. They rarely went to sea, also due to lack of fuel, and achieved no success. At the same time, they were seriously damaged by enemy aircraft and submarines, as well as British human torpedoes.
German heavy cruisers also did not perform well on the battlefield. Pocket battleships were used for their raiding purposes only in the first period of the war, when each of them made one ocean voyage. Subsequently, their performance was low, and death came from British aviation. Germany's heavier cruisers also did not justify the costs of their construction.
Japanese heavy cruisers performed admirably in the first stage of the war, easily dealing with comparable opponents. During the entire war, the Japanese lost only one heavy cruiser from artillery fire, and that was an outdated one. Subsequently, their main opponents were aviation and submarines, which they could not resist. In total, Japanese heavy cruisers sank 6 heavy and 3 light cruisers, an escort aircraft carrier, 8 destroyers and two dozen Allied auxiliary ships and transports.
Armored cruiser- a ship, the protection of the mechanisms and gun magazines of which consisted of an armored deck, flat or convex. An armored cruiser is a ship equipped with an armor belt along the waterline. The ships of these subclasses were obsolete vessels of the First World War. Their remains were used in World War II as auxiliary ships.
Light cruiser- a combat surface artillery ship with advanced armor protection, a displacement of up to 15 thousand tons and armed with medium-caliber artillery (up to 152 mm). By the beginning of the war, the fleets of the leading maritime countries had the following number of light cruisers: Great Britain had 47 ships, Japan - 20, USA - 19, Italy - 13, France - 12, USSR - 7, Germany - 6 and the Netherlands - 4. Mass construction During the war, only the USA (38) and Great Britain (13) could afford cruisers. A small number of ships of this class were built in Italy (3), USSR (2) and Japan (4).
Light cruisers different countries During the war they took part in almost all operations, but their effectiveness turned out to be different. German light cruisers showed extremely low seaworthiness and the command was forced to transfer them to the Baltic, where they operated without much success until the end of the war.
The Italian light cruisers were unable to put their high speed to use in practice, their armor protection was clearly insufficient, and their artillery was imperfect. As a result, after the first defeats, the Italian cruisers acted extremely carefully, but even in these cases they suffered losses, and the British destroyers also turned out to be dangerous for them.
The general obsolescence of most Japanese light cruisers did not allow them to count on success in open battle with American ships of the same type. However, operating in formations with larger ships, they achieved success. Light cruisers were often used to escort detachments of landing ships and transports. The main losses of Japanese ships of this class were from attacks by submarines and aircraft.
The light cruisers of Great Britain successfully fought even with a stronger enemy. Moreover, these ships have proven that in certain circumstances they can be dangerous even for ships of a formally more powerful class. According to a number of authors, British Fiji-class ships can be considered the ideal light cruiser of World War II in terms of cost/effectiveness. British ships of this class suffered the main losses during the war from aviation.
The newest US light cruisers with 12-15 152 mm guns entered into night artillery duels with heavy Japanese cruisers and often emerged victorious due to their fire performance.
Light cruisers also achieved high efficiency as air defense vessels.
During the war, Soviet light cruisers were not used in the manner intended during their construction. The cruisers of the Baltic Fleet spent almost the entire war as floating batteries supporting the defenders of Leningrad. Black Sea cruisers were actively used to solve a wide variety of tasks, including even direct landings. The main threat to them was German aviation, and since 1943 large ships Black Sea Fleet did not participate in combat operations for fear of losses.
In the fleets of Great Britain and France, the class of cruisers - minelayers - has received some development. For example, British ships were armed only with universal artillery, but carried up to 156 mines on board and were distinguished by an unusual rate for British ships at the highest possible speed - more than 39 knots. The lightly armored French ship, capable of taking up to 200 mines, had the full armament of a cruiser of nine 152 mm guns and developed a speed of more than 30 knots during testing. The fleets of other countries did not build specialized minelayer cruisers, but often provided for the possibility of placing mines on conventional ships.
In the 1930s, specialized cruisers, later called air defense cruisers, appeared in a number of navies. They were built on the basis of small but armored cruisers with universal main-caliber artillery, capable of fighting enemy air and acting as destroyer leaders. In the British Navy, such ships were Dido-class cruisers. The American fleet was replenished with Atlanta-class cruisers. However, in general new class did not justify itself. Too weak for naval combat with a serious surface enemy, these cruisers, at the same time, did not prove themselves as a stronghold of naval air defense. British cruisers lacked firepower and aiming speed, while American cruisers had problems with the number of control systems.
The performance characteristics of the main types of cruisers by country are outlined below.
By the time the Second World War ended, the class of high-speed battleships had reached the limit in its development, advantageously combining the destructive power and security of dreadnoughts with the high speed of battlecruisers; these examples of the sea performed many amazing feats under the flags of all the warring states.
It is not possible to compile any “rating” of battleships of those years - four favorites are vying for first place, and each of them has the most serious reasons for this. As for the rest of the places of the honorary podium, it is generally impossible to do any conscious choice. Only individual tastes and subjective preferences. Each battleship is distinguished by its unique design, chronicle of combat use and, often, tragic death.
Each of them was created for its own specific tasks and conditions of service, for a specific enemy and in accordance with the chosen concept of using the fleet.
Different theaters of combat dictated different rules: inland seas or open ocean, proximity or, conversely, extreme remoteness of the bases. Classic squadron battles with the same monsters or a bloody mess with repelling endless air attacks and shelling of fortifications on the enemy coast.
Ships cannot be considered in isolation from the geopolitical situation, the state of scientific, industrial and financial spheres states - all this left a significant imprint on their design.
A direct comparison between any Italian "Littorio" and the American "North Caroline" is completely excluded.
However, contenders for the title best battleship visible to the naked eye. These are the Bismarck, Tirpitz, Iowa and Yamato - ships that even those who have never been interested in the fleet have heard of.
Living according to the teachings of Sun Tzu
...Her Majesty's battleships "Anson" and "Duke of York", aircraft carriers "Victory", "Furious", escort aircraft carriers "Seacher", "Empuere", "Pesuer", "Fancer", cruisers "Belfast", "Bellona" , “Royalist”, “Sheffield”, “Jamaica”, destroyers “Javelin”, “Virago”, “Meteor”, “Swift”, “Vigilant”, “Wakeful”, “Onslot”... - a total of about 20 units under the British , Canadian and Polish flags, as well as 2 naval tankers and 13 carrier-based aviation squadrons.
Only with this composition in April 1944 did the British dare to approach the Altafjord - where, under the gloomy arches of the Norwegian rocks, the pride of the Kriegsmarine, the super-battleship Tirpitz, rusted.
The results of Operation Wolfram are assessed as controversial - carrier-based aircraft managed to bomb a German base and cause serious damage to the battleship's superstructure. However, another Pearl Harbor did not work out - the British were unable to inflict mortal wounds on the Tirpitz.
The Germans lost 123 men killed, but the battleship still posed a threat to shipping in the North Atlantic. The main problems were caused not so much by numerous bomb hits and fires on the upper deck, but by newly discovered leaks in the underwater part of the hull - the result of a previous British attack using mini-submarines.
...In total, during its stay in Norwegian waters, the Tirpitz withstood dozens of air strikes - in total, during the war years, about 700 aircraft of British and Soviet aviation took part in raids on the battleship! In vain.
Hidden behind an anti-torpedo net, the ship was invulnerable to Allied torpedo weapons. At the same time, aerial bombs turned out to be ineffective against such a well-protected target; it was possible to destroy the armored citadel of the battleship for an infinitely long time, but the destruction of the superstructures could not critically affect the combat effectiveness of the Tirpitz.
Meanwhile, the Britons stubbornly rushed to the site of the Teutonic beast: mini-submarines and human torpedoes; raids by carrier-based and strategic aviation. Local informant agents, regular air surveillance of the base...
“Tirpitz” became a unique embodiment of the ideas of the ancient Chinese commander and thinker Sun Tzu (“The Art of War”) - without firing a single shot at enemy ships, it shackled all British actions in the North Atlantic for three years!
One of the most effective warships of the Second World War, the invincible Tirpitz turned into an ominous scarecrow for the British Admiralty: planning any operation began with the question “What to do if
"Tirpitz" will leave its anchorage and go to sea?
It was the Tirpitz that scared away the escort of convoy PQ-17. He was hunted by all the battleships and aircraft carriers of the metropolitan fleet in the Arctic latitudes. The K-21 boat shot at him. For his sake, Lancasters from the Royal Air Force settled at the Yagodny airfield near Arkhangelsk. But everything turned out to be useless. The British were able to destroy the super-battleship only towards the end of the war with the help of monstrous 5-ton Tallboy bombs.
Tallboy
The impressive success of the battleship Tirpitz is a legacy left from the legendary Bismarck, a sister battleship, the encounter with which forever instilled fear in the hearts of the British: a funeral pillar of flame soared above the British battlecruiser HMS Hood froze before our eyes. During the battle in Denmark Strait the gloomy Teutonic knight needed only five volleys to deal with the British “gentleman”.
"Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" on a military campaign
And then came the hour of reckoning. The Bismarck was chased by a squadron of 47 ships and 6 submarines of Her Majesty. After the battle, the British calculated: in order to sink the beast, they had to fire 8 torpedoes and 2876 shells of main, medium and universal caliber!
What a tough guy!
Hieroglyph "loyalty". Yamato-class battleships
There are three useless things in the world: the Cheops pyramid, the Great Wall of China and the battleship Yamato...Really?
WITH battleships“Yamato” and “Musashi” have this story: they were undeservedly slandered. Around them there was a persistent image of “losers”, useless “Venderwaffles” who died shamefully at the first meeting with the enemy.
But based on the facts, we have the following:
The ships were designed and built on time, managed to fight and, finally, suffered a heroic death in the face of numerically superior enemy forces.
What else is required of them?
Bright victories? Alas, in the situation in which Japan was in the period 1944-45, even the sea king Poseidon himself could hardly have acted better than the battleships Musashi and Yamato.
Disadvantages of super battleships?
Yes, first of all, weak air defense - neither the monstrous Sansiki 3 fireworks (460 mm anti-aircraft shells), nor hundreds of small-caliber magazine-fed machine guns could replace modern anti-aircraft guns and control systems with fire adjustment based on radar data.
Weak PTZ?
I am begging you! "Musashi" and "Yamato" died after 10-11 torpedo hits - not a single battleship on the planet could withstand that many (for comparison, the probability of the death of the American "Iowa" from being hit by six torpedoes, according to the calculations of the Americans themselves, was estimated at 90%) .
Otherwise, the battleship Yamato corresponded to the phrase “the most, the most”
The largest battleship in history and, concurrently, the largest warship that took part in the Second World War.
70 thousand tons of total displacement.
The main caliber is 460 mm.
Armored belt – 40 centimeters of solid metal.
The walls of the conning tower are half a meter of armor.
The thickness of the front part of the main battery turret is even greater - 65 centimeters of steel protection.
A grandiose spectacle!
The main miscalculation of the Japanese was the veil of extreme secrecy that shrouded everything related to the Yamato-class battleships. To date, only a few photographs of these monsters exist - mostly taken from American aircraft.
Such ships were worth being proud of and seriously frightening the enemy with them - after all, until the last moment the Yankees were sure that they were dealing with ordinary battleships, with guns of 406 mm caliber.
With a competent PR policy, the very news of the existence of the battleships Yamato and Musashi could cause panic among the commanders of the US Navy and their allies - just as happened with the Tirpitz. The Yankees would rush to build similar ships with half-meter armor and 460 or even 508 mm guns - in general, it would be fun. The strategic effect of Japanese super-battleships could be much greater.
Yamato Museum in Kure. The Japanese carefully preserve the memory of their "Varyag"
How did the leviathans die?
The Musashi sailed all day in the Sibuyan Sea under heavy attacks from aircraft from five American aircraft carriers. He walked all day, and by the evening he died, receiving, according to various estimates, 11-19 torpedoes and 10-17 aircraft bombs...
Do you think the Japanese battleship had great security and combat stability? And which of his peers could repeat this?
"Yamato"...death from above was his destiny. Traces of torpedoes, the sky is black from planes...
To put it bluntly, Yamato committed honorable seppuku, sailing as part of a small squadron against eight aircraft carriers of the 58th Task Force. The result is predictable - two hundred aircraft tore apart the battleship and its small escort in two hours.
The era of high technology. Iowa-class battleships
What if?
What if, instead of the Yamato, a battleship identical to the American Iowa came out to meet Admiral Mitscher’s 58th task force? What if Japanese industry had been able to create air defense systems similar to those found on US Navy ships at the time?
How would the battle between the battleship and American aircraft carriers have ended if the Japanese sailors had systems similar to the Mk.37, Ford Mk.I Gunfire Control Computer, SK, SK-2, SP, SR, Mk.14, Mk.51, Mk.53 ... ?
Masterpieces are hidden behind dry indices technical progress– analog computers and automatic systems fire control, radars, radio altimeters and projectiles with a radar fuse - thanks to all these “chips,” the Iowa’s anti-aircraft fire was at least five times more accurate and effective than the shots of Japanese anti-aircraft gunners.
And if you take into account the terrifying rate of fire of the Mk.12 anti-aircraft guns, the extremely effective 40 mm Bofors and belt-fed Oerlikon assault rifles... There is a considerable chance that the American air attack could have drowned in blood, and the damaged neo-Yamato could have hobbled to Okinawa and run aground, turning into an invincible artillery battery (according to the Ten-Ichi-Go operation plan).
Everything could have been... alas, the Yamato went to the seabed, and the impressive complex of anti-aircraft weapons became the prerogative of the American Iowas.
It is absolutely impossible to come to terms with the idea that the Americans have the best ship again. US haters will quickly find a dozen reasons why the Iowa cannot be considered the most advanced battleship.
The Iowas are harshly criticized for the lack of a medium caliber (150...155 mm) - unlike any German, Japanese, French or Italian battleships, American ships were forced to fend off attacks from enemy destroyers only with universal anti-aircraft guns (5 inches, 127 mm).
Also, among the disadvantages of the Iowas are the lack of reloading compartments in the main battery towers, worse seaworthiness and “wave surfing” (compared to the same British Vanguard), the relative weakness of their PTZ compared to the Japanese “long lances”, “fraud” with declared maximum speed (at a measured mile, the battleships barely accelerated to 31 knots - instead of the declared 33!).
But perhaps the most serious of all accusations is the weakness of the armor compared to any of their peers - the Iowa's beam bulkheads especially raise many questions.
Of course, defenders of American shipbuilding will now go into overdrive, proving that all of the Iowa's listed shortcomings are just an illusion; the ship was designed for a specific situation and ideally suited the conditions of the Pacific Theater of Operations.
The lack of a medium caliber became an advantage of American battleships: universal “five-inch” guns were enough to fight surface and air targets; there was no point in taking 150 mm guns on board as “ballast”. And the presence of “advanced” fire control systems completely eliminated the factor of the lack of “medium caliber”.
Accusations of poor seaworthiness are a purely subjective opinion: the Iowa has always been considered an extremely stable artillery platform. As for the strong “overwhelming” of the bow of a battleship in stormy weather, this myth was born in our time. More modern sailors were surprised by the habits of the armored monster: instead of calmly rocking on the waves, the heavy Iowa cut the waves like a knife.
The increased wear of the main battery barrels is explained by very heavy projectiles (which is not bad) - the Mk.8 armor-piercing projectile weighing 1225 kg was the heaviest ammunition of its caliber in the world.
The Iowa had no problems at all with the range of shells: the ship had a whole range of armor-piercing and high-explosive ammunition and charges different power; after the war, “cassette” Mk.144 and Mk.146 appeared, filled with explosive grenades in quantities of 400 and, accordingly, 666 pieces. A little later, the Mk.23 special ammunition with a 1 kt nuclear warhead was developed.
As for the “shortage” of the design speed at the measured mile, the Iowa tests were carried out with limited power of the power plant - just like that, without a good reason, to boost the vehicles to the design 254,000 hp. the thrifty Yankees refused.
The general impression of the Iowas can only be spoiled by their relatively low security... however, this disadvantage is more than compensated for by the many other advantages of the battleship.
The Iowas have more service than all other WWII battleships combined - World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Iraq... Battleships of this type outlasted everyone - modernization in the mid-1980s made it possible to extend the service life of veterans to beginning of the XXI century - battleships lost parts artillery weapons, in return receiving 32 Tomahawk SLCMs, 16 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SeaSparrow air defense systems, modern radars and Phalanx close combat systems.
Off the coast of Iraq
However, the physical wear and tear of the mechanisms and the end of the Cold War played an important role in the fate of the most famous American battleships - all four monsters left the US Navy ahead of schedule and turned into large naval museums.
Well, the favorites have been identified. Now is the time to mention a number of other armored monsters - after all, each of them is worthy of its own portion of surprise and admiration.
For example, Jean Bart is one of two Richelieu-class battleships built. An elegant French ship with a unique silhouette: two four-gun turrets in the bow, a stylish superstructure, a dashingly curved back chimney...
Richelieu-class battleships are considered one of the most advanced ships in their class: having a displacement of 5-10 thousand tons less than any Bismarck or Littorio, the “French” were practically not inferior to them in terms of armament power, and in terms of “ security" - the layout and thickness of the Richelieu armor was even better than many of its larger peers. And all this was successfully combined with a speed of more than 30 knots - the “French” was the fastest of the European battleships!
The unusual fate of these battleships: the flight of unfinished ships from the shipyard, in order to avoid capture by the Germans, sea battle with the British and American fleets at Casablanca and Dakar, repairs in the USA, and then a long happy service under the French flag until the second half of the 1960s.
But here is a magnificent trio from the Apennine Peninsula - Italian battleships of the Littorio class.
These ships are usually the object of harsh criticism, but if you take an integrated approach to assessing them, it turns out that the Littorio battleships are not so bad compared to their British or German peers, as is commonly believed.
The project was based on the ingenious concept of the Italian fleet - to hell with greater autonomy and fuel reserves! – Italy is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, all bases are nearby.
The saved load reserve was spent on armor and weapons. As a result, the Littorio had 9 main caliber guns in three rotating turrets - more than any of their European counterparts.
"Roma"
A noble silhouette, high-quality lines, good seaworthiness and high speed are in the best traditions of the Italian school of shipbuilding.
Ingenious anti-torpedo protection based on calculations by Umberto Pugliese.
At a minimum, the staggered reservation scheme deserves attention. In general, when it comes to armor, Littorio-class battleships deserve the highest marks.
As for the rest...
As for the rest, the Italian battleships turned out to be bad - it is still a mystery why the Italians’ guns fired so crookedly - despite excellent armor penetration, the 15-inch Italian shells had surprisingly low accuracy and accuracy of fire. Rebooting gun barrels? The quality of the liners and shells? Or maybe they affected national characteristics Italian character?
In any case, the main problem of the Littorio-class battleships was their incompetent use. The Italian sailors never managed to engage in a general battle with Her Majesty's fleet. Instead, the lead “Littorio” was sunk right at its anchorage during a British raid on the Taranto naval base (the cheerful slobs were too lazy to pull up the anti-torpedo net).
The Vittorio Veneto raid against British convoys in the Mediterranean ended no better - the battered ship was barely able to return to base.
In general, nothing good came out of the idea with the Italian battleships. The battleship Roma ended its combat journey brighter and more tragically than anyone else, disappearing in a deafening explosion of its own artillery magazines - the result of a well-aimed hit by a German guided air bomb "Fritz-X" (air bombs? That's an understatement. The 1,360-kilogram ammunition "Fritz-X" was little like regular bomb).
Epilogue.
There were different battleships. Some of them were formidable and effective. There were no less formidable ones, but ineffective ones. But every time, the fact that the enemy had such ships caused the opposite side a lot of trouble and anxiety.
Battleships always remain battleships. Powerful and destructive ships with the highest combat stability.
Based on materials:
http://wunderwaffe.narod.ru/
http://korabley.net/
http://www.navy.mil.nz/
http://navycollection.narod.ru/
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://navsource.org/
Small ones had a displacement of 250-550 tons. Their armament consisted of two to four torpedo tubes, one 45-105 mm gun, one or two machine guns. The boats could dive to a depth of 80-90 m, and their autonomy was 10-20 days. Small boats operated mainly on coastal sea lanes.
Medium submarines, like the one, had a displacement of 500-1000 tons. They were armed with 6-8 torpedo tubes, one or two 45-105 mm guns, an anti-aircraft gun, and machine guns. The immersion depth reached 100 m, autonomy - 20-30 days. The full speed on the surface under diesel engines was 14-17 knots, and under water, when the electric motors were running, up to 10 knots. Their cruising range was estimated at 3000-5000 miles. The famous German submarine VII series could travel 6,100 miles.
The Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from having submarine fleet. This is what explains such a small number of boats. But the Germans, of course, did not forget about the impressive results of their submariners in the First World War. They sank 5,861 ships with a total tonnage of 13.2 million tons, which was 22 times greater than the effect of the actions of German cruisers.
Without passing until the mid-30s. Before the open construction of submarines, the Germans did not stop working on improving the types of weapons and mechanisms with which they intended to equip their boats in the future. Traceless torpedoes, effective hydroacoustic technology are being created, and engines are being improved. A cadre of submarine officers and submarine shipbuilding specialists is being trained. The new one will soon be in demand.
One incident helped the British develop means of combating magnetic mines. Due to an inaccuracy made by German pilots when dropping mines, two of them ended up on the shallows during low tide and then fell into the hands of English engineers. The secret of the mines was revealed, and the British managed to find a method of trawling magnetic mines and find enough effective method demagnetization of ships. Therefore, they already felt relatively more confident on the open sea.
The Soviet fleet suffered its first losses from magnetic mines laid by the Germans in the Baltic and Sevastopol Bay in June 1941. The mines were laid from aircraft, surface ships and submarines.
Civilian ships and boats, mobilized under wartime laws, were involved in anti-submarine defense and patrol service. In Germany, militarized fishing boats were specially built and used as patrol boats and submarine hunters. They were armed with anti-aircraft guns and depth charges. Many of them were equipped with hydroacoustic equipment.
Convoy service of destroyers that solved not only anti-submarine, but also air defense, demanded that the main artillery of these ships be made universal, capable of firing not only at sea targets, but also at air targets. During the course of the war, the British fleet began to be replenished with a series of Zambezi-class destroyers equipped with four 114 mm universal guns. Most American destroyers were also armed with universal main caliber artillery (127 mm). New German destroyers designed during the war also had twin universal 128-mm guns.
The lead destroyer “Ognevoy” of the new Project 30, equipped with more advanced technology, entered the Soviet fleet only in 1945.
The displacement of destroyers increases from 500-1000 to 1500-2500 tons. To launch destroyers into an attack (leading) in the face of enemy fire as flagships, the fleets included a special type (subclass) of these ships - large destroyers, or leaders (Table 6) . Unlike destroyers, the leaders were armed with a slightly larger number of guns, had an advantage in speed, and had a larger displacement. Certain types of leaders in terms of tactical and technical elements approached light cruisers. For example, the French leader Mogador was not inferior in firepower to the Italian light cruiser Attilio Regolo. Both ships had eight 135-138 mm caliber guns. German large destroyers, laid down in 1938, had an almost “cruising” set of artillery (four 150 mm guns). The French destroyer Fantask developed a speed of up to 40 knots, and the Soviet leader Leningrad - up to 42 knots.
Under enemy cannon fire, cruisers usually retained sufficient survivability. Ships damaged by artillery were often lost as a result of the first attacks by aircraft and submarines. The loss of speed made the stricken ship an easy target.
As a rule, aircraft carriers were based on aircraft for various tactical purposes (fighters, bombers, torpedo bombers, anti-submarine aircraft).
An important problem was ensuring the combat survivability of aircraft carriers. After all, these ships became the targets of priority attacks for the enemy. Therefore, shipbuilders paid great attention to the means of protecting aircraft carriers from fires and explosions as a result of bombs, torpedoes, shells and mines, as well as equipping them with powerful anti-aircraft artillery. Carrier-based fighter aircraft were used as active defense. Aircraft carriers hold first place among large warships destroyed and damaged.
A ship that had a special flight deck, which allowed planes to take off and land without touching the surface of the water, became a real aircraft carrier. The first such aircraft carrier was the British Argus, originally built as a passenger liner. It entered the fleet in 1918. Its displacement was 14,450 tons, and it carried 15 aircraft. In England, the Hermes was designed and built as an aircraft carrier (1922), also carrying 15 aircraft.
And yet, the traditional importance of battleships as the most powerful warships was still taken into account in operational plans and reports, and influenced naval strategy. Notification of the appearance of an enemy battleship in any area added worries and anxieties to the fleet headquarters. Thus, despite the fact that the German battleship Tirpitz actually used its impressive artillery only once during the entire war (shelling of Spitsbergen), information about its location and movement in the ocean always attracted the attention of the British Admiralty and made significant adjustments to the plans for its use. naval forces and aviation.
By the time the Second World War ended, the class of high-speed battleships had reached the limit in its development, advantageously combining the destructive power and security of dreadnoughts with the high speed of battlecruisers; these examples of the sea performed many amazing feats under the flags of all the warring states.
It is not possible to compile any “rating” of battleships of those years - four favorites are vying for first place, and each of them has the most serious reasons for this. As for the remaining places on the podium, it is generally impossible to make any conscious choice here. Only individual tastes and subjective preferences. Each battleship is distinguished by its unique design, chronicle of combat use and, often, tragic death.
Each of them was created for its own specific tasks and conditions of service, for a specific enemy and in accordance with the chosen concept of using the fleet.
Different theaters of combat dictated different rules: inland seas or open ocean, proximity or, conversely, extreme remoteness of bases. Classic squadron battles with the same monsters or a bloody mess with repelling endless air attacks and shelling of fortifications on the enemy coast.
The ships cannot be considered in isolation from the geopolitical situation, the state of the scientific, industrial and financial spheres of states - all this left a significant imprint on their design.
A direct comparison between any Italian "Littorio" and the American "North Caroline" is completely excluded.
However, the contenders for the title of best battleship are visible to the naked eye. These are the Bismarck, Tirpitz, Iowa and Yamato - ships that even those who have never been interested in the fleet have heard of.
Living according to the teachings of Sun Tzu
...Her Majesty's battleships "Anson" and "Duke of York", aircraft carriers "Victory", "Furious", escort aircraft carriers "Seacher", "Empuere", "Pesuer", "Fancer", cruisers "Belfast", "Bellona" , “Royalist”, “Sheffield”, “Jamaica”, destroyers “Javelin”, “Virago”, “Meteor”, “Swift”, “Vigilant”, “Wakeful”, “Onslot”... - a total of about 20 units under the British , Canadian and Polish flags, as well as 2 naval tankers and 13 carrier-based aviation squadrons.
Only with this composition in April 1944 did the British dare to approach the Altafjord - where, under the gloomy arches of the Norwegian rocks, the pride of the Kriegsmarine, the super-battleship Tirpitz, rusted.
The results of Operation Wolfram are assessed as controversial - carrier-based aircraft managed to bomb a German base and cause serious damage to the battleship's superstructure. However, another Pearl Harbor did not work out - the British were unable to inflict mortal wounds on the Tirpitz.
The Germans lost 123 men killed, but the battleship still posed a threat to shipping in the North Atlantic. The main problems were caused not so much by numerous bomb hits and fires on the upper deck, but by newly discovered leaks in the underwater part of the hull - the result of a previous British attack using mini-submarines.
...In total, during its stay in Norwegian waters, the Tirpitz withstood dozens of air strikes - in total, during the war years, about 700 aircraft of British and Soviet aviation took part in raids on the battleship! In vain.
Hidden behind an anti-torpedo net, the ship was invulnerable to Allied torpedo weapons. At the same time, aerial bombs turned out to be ineffective against such a well-protected target; it was possible to destroy the armored citadel of the battleship for an infinitely long time, but the destruction of the superstructures could not critically affect the combat effectiveness of the Tirpitz.
Meanwhile, the Britons stubbornly rushed to the site of the Teutonic beast: mini-submarines and human torpedoes; raids by carrier-based and strategic aviation. Local informant agents, regular air surveillance of the base...
“Tirpitz” became a unique embodiment of the ideas of the ancient Chinese commander and thinker Sun Tzu (“The Art of War”) - without firing a single shot at enemy ships, it shackled all British actions in the North Atlantic for three years!
One of the most effective warships of the Second World War, the invincible Tirpitz turned into an ominous scarecrow for the British Admiralty: planning any operation began with the question “What to do if
"Tirpitz" will leave its anchorage and go to sea?
It was the Tirpitz that scared away the escort of convoy PQ-17. He was hunted by all the battleships and aircraft carriers of the metropolitan fleet in the Arctic latitudes. The K-21 boat shot at him. For his sake, Lancasters from the Royal Air Force settled at the Yagodny airfield near Arkhangelsk. But everything turned out to be useless. The British were able to destroy the super-battleship only towards the end of the war with the help of monstrous 5-ton Tallboy bombs.
Tallboy
The impressive success of the battleship Tirpitz is a legacy left from the legendary Bismarck, a sister battleship, the encounter with which forever instilled fear in the hearts of the British: a funeral pillar of flame soared above the British battlecruiser HMS Hood froze before our eyes. During the battle in the Denmark Strait, the gloomy Teutonic knight needed only five volleys to deal with the British “gentleman”.
"Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" on a military campaign
And then came the hour of reckoning. The Bismarck was chased by a squadron of 47 ships and 6 submarines of Her Majesty. After the battle, the British calculated: in order to sink the beast, they had to fire 8 torpedoes and 2876 shells of main, medium and universal caliber!
What a tough guy!
Hieroglyph "loyalty". Yamato-class battleships
There are three useless things in the world: the Cheops pyramid, the Great Wall of China and the battleship Yamato...Really?
This is what happened to the battleships Yamato and Musashi: they were undeservedly slandered. Around them there was a persistent image of “losers”, useless “Venderwaffles” who died shamefully at the first meeting with the enemy.
But based on the facts, we have the following:
The ships were designed and built on time, managed to fight and, finally, suffered a heroic death in the face of numerically superior enemy forces.
What else is required of them?
Bright victories? Alas, in the situation in which Japan was in the period 1944-45, even the sea king Poseidon himself could hardly have acted better than the battleships Musashi and Yamato.
Disadvantages of super battleships?
Yes, first of all, weak air defense - neither the monstrous Sansiki 3 fireworks (460 mm anti-aircraft shells), nor hundreds of small-caliber magazine-fed machine guns could replace modern anti-aircraft guns and control systems with fire adjustment based on radar data.
Weak PTZ?
I am begging you! "Musashi" and "Yamato" died after 10-11 torpedo hits - not a single battleship on the planet could withstand that many (for comparison, the probability of the death of the American "Iowa" from being hit by six torpedoes, according to the calculations of the Americans themselves, was estimated at 90%) .
Otherwise, the battleship Yamato corresponded to the phrase “the most, the most”
The largest battleship in history and, concurrently, the largest warship that took part in the Second World War.
70 thousand tons of total displacement.
The main caliber is 460 mm.
Armored belt – 40 centimeters of solid metal.
The walls of the conning tower are half a meter of armor.
The thickness of the front part of the main battery turret is even greater - 65 centimeters of steel protection.
A grandiose spectacle!
The main miscalculation of the Japanese was the veil of extreme secrecy that shrouded everything related to the Yamato-class battleships. To date, only a few photographs of these monsters exist - mostly taken from American aircraft.
Such ships were worth being proud of and seriously frightening the enemy with them - after all, until the last moment the Yankees were sure that they were dealing with ordinary battleships, with guns of 406 mm caliber.
With a competent PR policy, the very news of the existence of the battleships Yamato and Musashi could cause panic among the commanders of the US Navy and their allies - just as happened with the Tirpitz. The Yankees would rush to build similar ships with half-meter armor and 460 or even 508 mm guns - in general, it would be fun. The strategic effect of Japanese super-battleships could be much greater.
Yamato Museum in Kure. The Japanese carefully preserve the memory of their "Varyag"
How did the leviathans die?
The Musashi sailed all day in the Sibuyan Sea under heavy attacks from aircraft from five American aircraft carriers. He walked all day, and by the evening he died, receiving, according to various estimates, 11-19 torpedoes and 10-17 aircraft bombs...
Do you think the Japanese battleship had great security and combat stability? And which of his peers could repeat this?
"Yamato"...death from above was his destiny. Traces of torpedoes, the sky is black from planes...
To put it bluntly, Yamato committed honorable seppuku, sailing as part of a small squadron against eight aircraft carriers of the 58th Task Force. The result is predictable - two hundred aircraft tore apart the battleship and its small escort in two hours.
The era of high technology. Iowa-class battleships
What if?
What if, instead of the Yamato, a battleship identical to the American Iowa came out to meet Admiral Mitscher’s 58th task force? What if Japanese industry had been able to create air defense systems similar to those found on US Navy ships at the time?
How would the battle between the battleship and American aircraft carriers have ended if the Japanese sailors had systems similar to the Mk.37, Ford Mk.I Gunfire Control Computer, SK, SK-2, SP, SR, Mk.14, Mk.51, Mk.53 ... ?
Behind the dry indices are hidden masterpieces of technical progress - analog computers and automatic fire control systems, radars, radio altimeters and projectiles with a radar fuse - thanks to all these “chips,” the Iowa anti-aircraft fire was at least five times more accurate and effective than the shots of Japanese anti-aircraft gunners .
And if you take into account the terrifying rate of fire of the Mk.12 anti-aircraft guns, the extremely effective 40 mm Bofors and belt-fed Oerlikon assault rifles... There is a considerable chance that the American air attack could have drowned in blood, and the damaged neo-Yamato could have hobbled to Okinawa and run aground, turning into an invincible artillery battery (according to the Ten-Ichi-Go operation plan).
Everything could have been... alas, the Yamato went to the seabed, and the impressive complex of anti-aircraft weapons became the prerogative of the American Iowas.
It is absolutely impossible to come to terms with the idea that the Americans have the best ship again. US haters will quickly find a dozen reasons why the Iowa cannot be considered the most advanced battleship.
The Iowas are harshly criticized for the lack of a medium caliber (150...155 mm) - unlike any German, Japanese, French or Italian battleships, American ships were forced to fend off attacks from enemy destroyers only with universal anti-aircraft guns (5 inches, 127 mm).
Also, among the disadvantages of the Iowas are the lack of reloading compartments in the main battery towers, worse seaworthiness and “wave surfing” (compared to the same British Vanguard), the relative weakness of their PTZ compared to the Japanese “long lances”, “fraud” with declared maximum speed (at a measured mile, the battleships barely accelerated to 31 knots - instead of the declared 33!).
But perhaps the most serious of all accusations is the weakness of the armor compared to any of their peers - the Iowa's beam bulkheads especially raise many questions.
Of course, defenders of American shipbuilding will now go into overdrive, proving that all of the Iowa's listed shortcomings are just an illusion; the ship was designed for a specific situation and ideally suited the conditions of the Pacific Theater of Operations.
The lack of a medium caliber became an advantage of American battleships: universal “five-inch” guns were enough to fight surface and air targets; there was no point in taking 150 mm guns on board as “ballast”. And the presence of “advanced” fire control systems completely eliminated the factor of the lack of “medium caliber”.
Accusations of poor seaworthiness are a purely subjective opinion: the Iowa has always been considered an extremely stable artillery platform. As for the strong “overwhelming” of the bow of a battleship in stormy weather, this myth was born in our time. More modern sailors were surprised by the habits of the armored monster: instead of calmly rocking on the waves, the heavy Iowa cut the waves like a knife.
The increased wear of the main battery barrels is explained by very heavy projectiles (which is not bad) - the Mk.8 armor-piercing projectile weighing 1225 kg was the heaviest ammunition of its caliber in the world.
The Iowa had no problems at all with the range of shells: the ship had a whole range of armor-piercing and high-explosive ammunition and charges of varying power; after the war, “cassette” Mk.144 and Mk.146 appeared, filled with explosive grenades in quantities of 400 and, accordingly, 666 pieces. A little later, the Mk.23 special ammunition with a 1 kt nuclear warhead was developed.
As for the “shortage” of the design speed at the measured mile, the Iowa tests were carried out with limited power of the power plant - just like that, without a good reason, to boost the vehicles to the design 254,000 hp. the thrifty Yankees refused.
The general impression of the Iowas can only be spoiled by their relatively low security... however, this disadvantage is more than compensated for by the many other advantages of the battleship.
The Iowas have more service than all other WWII battleships combined - World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Iraq... Battleships of this type outlived everyone - modernization in the mid-1980s made it possible to extend the service life of veterans until the beginning of the 21st century - the battleships lost parts artillery weapons, in return receiving 32 Tomahawk SLCMs, 16 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SeaSparrow air defense systems, modern radars and Phalanx close combat systems.
Off the coast of Iraq
However, the physical wear and tear of the mechanisms and the end of the Cold War played an important role in the fate of the most famous American battleships - all four monsters left the US Navy ahead of schedule and turned into large naval museums.
Well, the favorites have been identified. Now is the time to mention a number of other armored monsters - after all, each of them is worthy of its own portion of surprise and admiration.
For example, Jean Bart is one of two Richelieu-class battleships built. An elegant French ship with a unique silhouette: two four-gun turrets in the bow, a stylish superstructure, a dashingly curved back chimney...
Richelieu-class battleships are considered one of the most advanced ships in their class: having a displacement of 5-10 thousand tons less than any Bismarck or Littorio, the “French” were practically not inferior to them in terms of armament power, and in terms of “ security" - the layout and thickness of the Richelieu armor was even better than many of its larger peers. And all this was successfully combined with a speed of more than 30 knots - the “French” was the fastest of the European battleships!
The unusual fate of these battleships: the flight of unfinished ships from the shipyard to avoid capture by the Germans, a naval battle with the British and American fleets in Casablanca and Dakar, repairs in the USA, and then a long happy service under the flag of France until the second half of the 1960s.
But here is a magnificent trio from the Apennine Peninsula - Italian battleships of the Littorio class.
These ships are usually the object of harsh criticism, but if you take an integrated approach to assessing them, it turns out that the Littorio battleships are not so bad compared to their British or German peers, as is commonly believed.
The project was based on the ingenious concept of the Italian fleet - to hell with greater autonomy and fuel reserves! – Italy is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, all bases are nearby.
The saved load reserve was spent on armor and weapons. As a result, the Littorio had 9 main caliber guns in three rotating turrets - more than any of their European counterparts.
"Roma"
A noble silhouette, high-quality lines, good seaworthiness and high speed are in the best traditions of the Italian school of shipbuilding.
Ingenious anti-torpedo protection based on calculations by Umberto Pugliese.
At a minimum, the staggered reservation scheme deserves attention. In general, when it comes to armor, Littorio-class battleships deserve the highest marks.
As for the rest...
As for the rest, the Italian battleships turned out to be bad - it is still a mystery why the Italians’ guns fired so crookedly - despite excellent armor penetration, the 15-inch Italian shells had surprisingly low accuracy and accuracy of fire. Rebooting gun barrels? The quality of the liners and shells? Or maybe the national characteristics of the Italian character had an effect?
In any case, the main problem of the Littorio-class battleships was their incompetent use. The Italian sailors never managed to engage in a general battle with Her Majesty's fleet. Instead, the lead “Littorio” was sunk right at its anchorage during a British raid on the Taranto naval base (the cheerful slobs were too lazy to pull up the anti-torpedo net).
The Vittorio Veneto raid against British convoys in the Mediterranean ended no better - the battered ship was barely able to return to base.
In general, nothing good came out of the idea with the Italian battleships. The battleship Roma ended its combat journey brighter and more tragically than anyone else, disappearing in a deafening explosion of its own artillery magazines - the result of a well-aimed hit by a German guided air bomb "Fritz-X" (air bombs? That's an understatement. The 1,360-kilogram ammunition "Fritz-X" was little like regular bomb).
Epilogue.
There were different battleships. Some of them were formidable and effective. There were no less formidable ones, but ineffective ones. But every time, the fact that the enemy had such ships caused the opposite side a lot of trouble and anxiety.
Battleships always remain battleships. Powerful and destructive ships with the highest combat stability.
Based on materials:
http://wunderwaffe.narod.ru/
http://korabley.net/
http://www.navy.mil.nz/
http://navycollection.narod.ru/
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://navsource.org/
Second World War became 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 entered service in the same year. 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 Pacific Ocean, where he covered aircraft carrier groups, provided support to the landing force, 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.