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If you are looking for a WWII battleship that was too expensive to risk the Tirpitz is probably the best example. I think they let it out once.
by protomyth 10y ago
If you are looking for a WWII battleship that was too expensive to risk the Tirpitz is probably the best example. I think they let it out once.
- Animats 10y agoTirpitz did get used a few times, but it was mostly useful as a way to tie up a big chunk of the Royal Navy. Eventually, Tirpitz was sunk by aircraft. The US's four Iowa-class battleships were quite useful, mostly for shore bombardment. They required a huge crew, 2,700 for WWII, Korea), and, after some modernization, 1,800 in the 1980s and 1990s. It's the crew size that led to their retirement. Each turret needed 90-110 people. There was naval interest in building some "bombardment ships" intended for shore bombardment of countries that didn't have a significant capability for shooting back. But that went nowhere, since most of the US's enemies in recent decades have been too far inland.
- WalterBright 10y agoThe battleships proved incredibly vulnerable to aircraft. The Bismarck was disabled by a biplane, of all things.
- NickNameNick 10y agoThe Tirpitz and also the major portion of the Italian fleet were able to exert disproportionate influence so long as they remained a potential threat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_in_being#World_War_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_in_being#World_War_II