Failed repeatedly? There was only 1 incident with the Iowas turrets I can recall.Trantor wrote: a) by 2kn in sunny weather. In harsh conditions she lost a lot of speed, also her slender hull made her roll. In sept. ´53 NATO exercise 'Mariner' (North Atlantic only, not even Arctic Ocean) she performed poorly in comparison to HMS Vanguard. In every aspect, even in speed, although Vanguard was 4kn slower "by the nummbaas". Her forward turret1 failed repeatedly ´cause of severe wash. That leaves only 6 guns...
and it's more than 2kn..Iowas can reach up to 35 knots
Sez you. I've seen the Mark7 lauded as the better one repeatedly.c) by 1"/Yes, marginally. But SK34 was the most accurate big gun. It also fired more rapidly. Especially in harsh conditions.
I guess that is why it can repeatedly hit within 100 meters at almost max range....d) Only if it worked. But Mk. 38 radar was flawed in many ways, which is not uncommon for early stages of tech. Also Gun stabilization was sub par. The US navy had nowhere nothing like the german balance trim system "Askania". (The whole company was rounded up after war in Operation Paperclip, guess why...)
Armor distribution is better in the Iowa.f) Armoured Belt: Iowa 307mm, Bismarck 320mm (up to 370mm RHA-equivalent).
You'd have to get in range to use those....not bloody likely.And don´t forget: Iowas didn´t carry torpedoes. Tirpitz did.
Air defense is part of a battleship design. I'd say it's very important, especially given that how many BB's were sunk by aircraft.e) doesn´t matter in an environment where you can´t rely on aircraft or have to face them.
Yes, because closing a distance to a enemy that outguns you, outranges you, outpaces you and is more accurate is super-easy. Why didn't the US just surrender to glorious Germany?Your conclusion is flawed.TrashMan wrote:And I really don't see how Bismarck could hope to win. Iowa outranges her and is faster, with more accurate guns. This means that it dictates the battle. If Iowa decides to keep outside Bismarcks range, and pepper it with long-range fire, what can the Bismarck do? It can't close the distance, since Iowa is faster. It can't escape either, for the same reason. It can't outgun her. It can't outlast her.
Look, if the germans were such suckers in all aspects, why didn´t you just end the war earlier?
In combat there are things like "manouvers". Sully little thingys like "zigzag-course" and others. The range gap would have been easily closed by the germans, and then the rapid precise fire would have been very uncomfortable for the Iowas. Cripple one ship a time, then finish it off. Next one.
Of the Iowa? Whaaaaaa????- Given that the Iowa has the best AA defense of any battleship ever...you're gonna need a bit more than that.
- Try again. Remember: It was a lucky punch from that swordfish.
- A lucky puch that did what?
- Crippling the rudder. Please at least pretend to have read the history books.
Nah, the Bismarck's rudder was shot. And that's because it didn't have as awesome AAA.