What Do you say is the greatest Warship in WWII?

Question

What is the greatest warship in WWII by theis factors?

#1 Firepower
#2 Armor
#3 Manuver
#4 Fear Factor
#5 Service Life



EX- US Fletcher Class Destroyer
1. 5 X 5in Duel Purpose guns, 6 X 40mmAA,
10 X 20mmAA, 10 X Torpedos,
4 X Dept Charge Racks
2. USS Johnston took 14in shells from Japanese Battleship, 6in Sec guns from Yamato
and countless shells from destroyers and a light cruiser untill it sank.

3. 36.5 Knots max and able to travel across the Pacific

4. Feard by the enemy army for getting close and firing very close and accure fire also took on light cruisers

5. lasted till the 1970's in the Navy books

Answer 1

Based on your 5 points it would have to be hands down the Iowa Class Battleships which lasted in upgraded form all the way to Desert Storm in the early '90s.

The Yamato Class IJN Balttleships had greater firepower and fear factor but were very short lived thanks to US Navy Airpower.

The Germans had several terrifying Battleships and heavy cruisers but for the most part that was due to propaganda.

If I had to choose a ship to serve on in WW2 (And I am a USN Vet) I would probably choose the Fletcher class. They were awesome and were considered the workhorse of the fleet.

You mention USS Johnston taking on the Yamato... The Battle off Samar Island is one of my most favorite and awe inspiring battles to read about.
There were 3 Fletchers present at the Battle. Johnston, Hoel, and Heermann. All three were sunk and a Destroyer Escort sunk as well. but they gave worse than they got. It was quite literally the US Navy's "Finest Hour"

Task Force "Taffy 3" was comprised of the following

6 "Pocket" Escort carriers
USS FANSHAW BAY (CVE 70) (Flagship)
USS ST LO (CVE 63)
USS WHITE PLAINS (CVE 66)
USS KALININ BAY (CVE 68)
USS KITKUN BAY (CVE 71)
USS GAMBIER BAY (CVE 73)

3 Destroyers
USS HEERMANN (DD 532)
USS HOEL (DD 533)
USS JOHNSTON (DD 557)

4 Destroyer Excorts
USS JOHN C. BUTLER (DE 339)
USS RAYMOND (DE 341)
USS DENNIS (DE 405)
USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (DE 413)

these 7 "small boys" were the sole force protecting the pocket carriers.

They were shocked and totally surprised one morning to see Admiral Kurita's "Center Force" bearing down on them from over the northern horizon.

the Center Force consisted of the following:
4 Battleships
YAMATO (worlds largest battleship)
NAGATO
KONGO
HARUNA

6 Heavy Cruisers
HAGURO
KUMANO
CHOKAI
SUZUYA
TONE
CHIKUMA

2 light Cruisers
NOSHIRO
YAHAGI

11 Destroyers
FUJINAMI
URAKAZE
KISHINAMI
ISOKAZE
OKINAMI
YUKIKAZE
HAMANAMI
NOWAKI
HAYASHIMO
AKISHIMO
SHIMAKAZE

the 11 Jap Destroyers were more than a match for the 3 US Destroyers and 4 Escorts even without the capital ships. Any one of the other Cruisers or Battleship was more than a match for the entire Taffy 3 task force by itself. The Battleship Yamato by itself had more displaced Tonnage than ALL of the US Task Force COMBINED!

The mismatch of forces was on the order of having a modern Jet fighter go up againts an old WW1 Biplane.

There was no where to run
It was suicide to fight.

as the 6 Carriers and 3 of the 4 excorts turned east and ran for a nearby rainsquall making covering smoke screaming for help on the radio circuits, the 3 destroyers and 1 of the escorts (USS Samuel B Roberts) turned and made a mad suicide charge straight at the Japanese fleet.
Though all four attacking US ships were eventually sunk. the Japanese fleet was shocked and taken into complete disarray by the sudden and ferocious charge by the destroyers.
in a combination of Torpedo and gunnery attacks, the Japanese fleet was sent running to the North in full retreat.
All 4 US ships were sunk. but the toll on the Jap fleet was severe
Center Force suffered five cruisers lost or severely damaged.

While USS Johnstons survivors were in the water. Several Jap Destroyers circled and put several shells into the listing hulk of the Destroyers, sending her under. As the Survivors watched, A Jap destroyer circled back toward them. They feared the Japs were going to open fire on them in the water. Instead they were shocked as the Jap destroyer steamed past and every Jap sailor saluted and rendered honors to the gallant men who took on the suicidal task and took out 5 Jap Cruisers.

Of the 6 Carriers they were protecting. only one was sunk due to enemy fire Another was lost later that day to Kamikaze Attack

Answer 2

The Iowa class battleships.

1. 9x16in Mk VII guns
20x5in Mk XII guns
80 40mm AA guns
49 20mm AA guns
2. The USS Missouri was hit by several kamikaze attacks and stayed afloat. One set the ship aflame but the fire was extinguished.
3. 33 knots, unheard of at the time for ships of their class. They were designed for speed, maneuverability, and firepower.
4. Able to hit shore targets 9 miles away, not as important as aircraft carriers came to power. The sound of the 16in guns firing is terrifying to hear, especially if their shells are headed towards you.
5. All 4 ships of the class still exist as museum vessels. They were reactivated in the 1980's and retrofitted to modernize them they were re-retired in 1995.

Answer 3

I would say the Bismark was the toughest and most hunted. Britain diverted half of its Navy to hunt this guy down which led to a short service life. As far as armament goes:
8 × 380 mm (15 in) SKC34 (4×2)
12 × 150 mm (5.9 in) (6×2)
16 × 105 mm (4.1 in) (8×2)
16 × 37 mm (8×2)
20 × 20 mm (20 × 1)
No contest.

And armor:
That survey found no underwater penetrations of the ship's fully-armoured citadel and only four direct hit holes on it above the waterline, all of them on one side, as delivered by the Rodney's 16 inch (406 mm) guns. Each of those hits killed from 150 to 200 sailors but did not threaten Bismarck's structural integrity. Huge dent marks signify that the 14 inch (356 mm) shells fired by the King George V bounced off the Wotan type German belt armour. Interior ROV footage showed that the "terrible destruction" the British expedition reported was in fact the torpedo bulges, which were designed to absorb the energy of torpedoes and plunging shells. Underneath the torn bulge sheeting, the ship's 320 mm (12.6 inch) thick main belt armour is intact.

In all 2,876 shells were fired by the British ships, of various calibres. Approximately 300-400 hit. In an underwater excavation, it was discovered that only two fully penetrated the main armour. These holes were on the starboard side, suggesting that they were 16" shells from Rodney. Two other penetrations were found on the port side, albeit above the main armor belt, and appeared to be 14" shells. In all 714 14-inch and 16-inch shells were fired by the two battleships, of which 80 hit the Bismarck. Only four penetrated the belt. In successive hits main gun shells took out A turret, B turret, each director and the bridge. Such accuracy implies that the BBs were deliberately aiming at the upper works, as very few battleships have ever been sunk by belt penetration. Standard doctrine was to silence the enemy battleship by gunfire, before sinking her with torpedoes.

Now that was a ship!

Answer 4

I honestly do not know, but I did spend the night on the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier. It was freaking amazing.

Answer 5

Bismark

Answer 6

Hard to say... would have to be one of the British Navy's... by the time the US got involved they had depleted the German fleet quite nicely...