If the Iowa Class battleships, or a modern style battleship is pressed into the navy, would it be able work and be useful in the world's oceans today? And yes the ship has Missiles and Anti-missile systems.
2007-03-26 08:47:22 · 17 answers · asked by MG 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Ships can have a small crew with automation. Only one person is needed to fire the guns. The X-craft only has one person to take care of the engines.
2007-03-27 10:12:41 · update #1
Old Salt: Thank you for catching my mistake. Their is more that one person that deals with the guns ,but it is a lot less than the older ships were men had to handle the shell and powder up to the gun and load it.
2007-03-28 06:11:24 · update #2
The Iowa, as much as I love them, I think would be at a disadvantage. Not from missiles, I think given the same anti-missile systems as other ships it has a higher degree of survivability than other ships just because it’s larger and the armor will help. The Iowa's main weakness will be its engines. The noise from the engines will give it away to submarines.
A modern style battleship would probably be one of the most powerful ships afloat. A modern ship would incorporate many types of modern ideas regarding stealth that the older Iowa’s would not. I think it would be a very survivable ship. I think with the advent of rail guns the battleship could make a comeback, but it’s highly unlikely.
2007-03-27 01:58:05 · answer #1 · answered by rz1971 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I tooled with that idea when I was in the navy here are some of the requirements that I built into my design. I mounted 6-32" guns with rocket assist for long range bombardment and a 50 tomahawk missile battery plus a vertical launchers for the SAM system which was Aegis at the time of the design. It also mounted 6-30mm goal keeper CIWS similiar to Phalanx. The ship would be equipped with chaff and flares to draw off missiles. It would be equiped with a towed sonar array as well as a hull mounted array. The ship would carry 4-anti-sub helos seahawks were specified. The armor would be chobham armor the same that is used in modern tanks. This armor would be distributed like previous battleships except that it would be half the thickness as there are no real armor piercing shell threats left in the worlds oceans. The fire control would be second to none. It would use GPS and lasers to fix and track it's targets on land. In this design the main battery is mounted foward with 3 guns in two turrets and a full helo and hangar deck aft. The engines would be Gas turbine this was decided upon to keep cost down. Automation would be used as much as possible to keep the crew numbers under a thousand. The purpose of this ship would be to support a beachhead 24/7 which aircraft cannot do and do it cheaply which planes and missiles don't do. The other mission is to intimidate and show the flag nothing like big guns with a big reach to get a dictators attention. Such a vessels only true foe would be a sub and this ship would be fitted out like any sub hunter with very quiet machinery and a quiet propellors similar to those mounted to the newest class of subs. The ship would also have fore and aft thrusters for manuvering in harbors without tugs and to increase the ships agility in battle. In todays world the new threat is from small boats. The armor will protect this ship well but it's always better to sink em 1st. That is why this ship would mount 25mm gun turrets from the Bradley IFV this gun is very reliable and the turret would protect the crew from the main gun blast. This vessel would be very useful in the gulf where you DON'T want to send carriers into that tiny pond they are very prone to battle damage in such tight quarters. This battleship would laugh off such attacks and with the lenghtening of the stern could house either harriers or F-35's to protect the ship without bothering the carrier's airwing.
2007-03-26 16:59:01 · answer #2 · answered by brian L 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Because of the armor on a battle ship, concrete reinforced 6 inch steel plates, make it the most armored ship. Currently only 4 battle ships still exist, they are on loan to some communities as sea museums with the condition that the Navy can reclaim them if they want. There are no ships now that are as armored, or have the gun power of a battle ship. The 16inch guns can still fire a shell over 24 miles accurately. Though considered obsolete, when the ships were reactivated there were major updates made to them. One of the best update was the capability to fire Tomahawk cruise missile. The 16 inch guns still can be a fear invoking weapon in any action.
2007-03-27 04:49:03 · answer #3 · answered by GIOSTORMUSN 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Depends upon the enemy. Highly sofisticated enemies, as in ones with technology near to what the US has, would be able to destroy battleships fairly easily. Between stealth planes and submarines, battleships stand no chance. If they are a part of the support, or are in a large, well protected fleet, then they would be great. But they are more of support. The days of two ships going at it, side by side, or even with long range missiles and guns are over for the most part.
2007-03-26 15:56:21 · answer #4 · answered by Weston 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
It takes more than ONE person to fire guns on our ships. It takes loaders, safety personnel, handlers, men/women to operate the guidance system for the guns. It takes bodies to stow and remove the shells. Don't forget the maintenance on the whole system. ONE person cannot accomplish all that.
Right now the most effective ship we have (other than carriers) is the Aegis cruiser with its target tracking and firing system. MANY MANY targets can be tracked and eliminated at one time.
(USN retired)
2007-03-28 11:44:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes it can survive, it might not be as up to date as some ships, but Battleships do not travel alone. It would have modern cruisers, destroyers, submarines, helicopters, maybe an aircraft carrier, and other support vessels that would protect it.
2007-03-26 17:20:43 · answer #6 · answered by John B 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Equipped with modern defense systems and missles, sure. It could survive. But what would be the point? You can equip the same defense systems and missles on a smaller, faster, and cheaper ship. It would be no better off than a similarly equipped cruiser or destroyer that could easily out maneuver it, in addition to have all those bells and whistles. The battleship is currently archaic. So could it work? Sure. Would it be useful? Definitely not. Costs matter, too, and a battleship can no longer do more that another ship can.
2007-03-26 15:57:31 · answer #7 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Yes, but why bother? The battleship was useful for providing fire support for near-shore operations and long-range attack of enemy fleets, as well as transporting large numbers of troops for large-scale invasions.
The first two functions are virtually obsolete due to modern missiles attack helicopters, jets, etc. and the third function can be done more efficiently by other types of craft.
2007-03-26 16:12:33 · answer #8 · answered by qwiff_hunter 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Battleships needs more sophisticated technology.
2007-03-26 16:27:15 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It would probably be used in a similar fashion as Aegis class cruiser: I.E. to protect carriers.
It would survive most wars, but not one against someone technologically advanced like Russia or Britain.
2007-03-26 15:52:50 · answer #10 · answered by Ricky T 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋