Anyone for a simulation for naval supremacy?

Which part of shaped charge didn't you understand? A panzerfaust is a shaped charge. A TOW missile uses a shaped charge. The later with a puny, by comparison, warhead will penetrate almost three feet of steel plate. The Iowa's belt is just 12.5" thick while the majority of the turret is 10" or less thick.
A similar sized charge using commercial grade and homemade explosives and a crude shaped charge focus nearly blew the destroyer Cole in half in Yemen. Battleship shells used for armor percing contain less than 100 lbs of explosive content and rely largely on kinetic energy to do their damage.

The US has regularly sent destroyers within 20 miles of hostile coasts in the last 30 years. They were regularly used in Vietnam for shore bombardment, and have been since. The only reason that an Iowa has to approach so closely is that the antiquated fire control for the main battery requires the range to be under 30,000 yards for accuracy.
The two British destroyers that were hit by exocets were in open ocean operating off the Falklands and hundreds of miles from Argintina itself. The British made no attempt to sink the Cinco de Mayo as that carrier stayed in port welded to a pier and had no aircraft aboard.

I could easily show you why these ships will never get built and how they have been rejected as too narrowly focused on mission and vulnerable they are but I'd probably get a visit from the FBI for it. So, I'll leave it at that. Suffice it to say they didn't do well in simulations.

 

Re: your last paragraph. that's just one school of thought, saying the USN surface should maintain its open sea denial and counter-denial role. littoral fighting is not a crucial role of surface ships.

granting that, the fact remains no navy ship besides the iowas have enough protection and close-in firepower to really fight with land forces on the beach. and that's why the iowa mothball process is into its seventh decade.

 

It isn't "one school of thought." It is the opinion of most of those who make decisions for what the Navy is going to purchase like Admirals and politicians. I know first hand that for a fact, just as they are not going to buy the "Streetfighter" stealth ships either. These will remain concepts, and nothing else. I'm sorry for not being specific but I do have to watch what I say about current Navy stuff sometimes.

The Iowas are no longer being "mothballed." They have been decommissioned and have been offered up for museum ships and other non-military uses. They will not be coming back into active service. As I said, they are just too old, too hard to maintain, and too expensive for what they do to keep them operational.

 

LOL Thats a good one Jeff .

 

Sometimes one just has to piss into the wind to know you still can when you get old.

 

Whats the nation thinking about it?


Well, in my books, I'd think the Battleships would win the beauty pageant.

'cept the Marat Class ><!