NationStates Jolt Archive

I know this may sound like godmodding but it's an idea. An idea that would make the battleship pratical again. Have it have for example 40 inch armour. It would be powered by something like 6 nuclear reactors, and go at maybe a max of 25 knots. It could bring the battleship back to life it took nearly 40 bombs and torpedos to sink the Yamoto, think about this maybe 100? I know I can't afford it but once I can would it be possibls.

Please reply would it work?

Yes, it would be possible, but 40 Inches of armor would sink the ship. It would require propellars to turn, float, and move. However, remember that bombs and torpedoes were a lot different in WWII than they are now.

If this was realisticly possible I think it would have been done already.

40 inches is a real lot of armor. I am sitting on the coach with my laptop looking at the 36 inch TV, and 36 inches would be HUGE amounts of armor.
Besides if there is 40 inch armor on the sides, someone could always drop bombs from 50,000 feet up, directly above the ship. Even if it was travelling at 25 knots, a B-52 could drop its entire payload over the general area. Or a C-130 could use a daisy cutter.

Bottom line: It will work, but would likley swamp in anything higher than seastate 2.

Ok I'll look for a contractor to make me 5.

The reason the battleship is no longer practical is that it is such a big target, both physically, and as far as its radar cross section are concerned. These days, the Yamato would have taken far less of a beating before going under thanks to modern anti-shipping missiles. Pretty much if you can find a ship and hit the ship, you are likely to sink the ship. Therefore, a better idea, rather than armouring the battleship, would be to design it using low-observability hull geometry and radar absorbant materials to lower its radar cross section. With a smaller radar cross section, the ship is harder to find, and thus harder to sink.

As well, increasing the missile armament would probably be a good idea. At the very least, you're going to want some SM-2-MR Surface-to-Air missiles or some Evolved Sea Sparrows. Tomahawks would also probably be a really good idea, as the only thing a battleship is better at than a cruiser these days is ground support. Also, a bunch of Harpoon ASMs would be a good idea.

On the electronics side of things, you'll probably want an SPY-series multi-function radar, a hull mounted active sonar, and a tactical towed array, or TACTAS sonar. For countermeasures, you'll want a Prairie/Masker system to make it harder for submarines to hear. Again, being able to take a lot of beating is a good thing. Being hard to find is better.

I know I want all those things plus no kidding about 100 Patriots, that should keep it ok, unless someone decides to nook it which can sink about anything and even then do to the patriots it should not hit it be3cause if yous hoot it down it doesn't detoante. Anyeay could someone please make me 5?

I would recomend you build it like a stealth ship, extremley low in the water with few prominent features.

Besides if there is 40 inch armor on the sides, someone could always drop bombs from 50,000 feet up, directly above the ship. Even if it was travelling at 25 knots, a B-52 could drop its entire payload over the general area. Or a C-130 could use a daisy cutter.

The bombs would work, especially if BLU-9 penetrators were used, but A daisy cutter wouldn't do anything. The bomb was made for clearing landing zones in the jungle, and as such was designed specifically not to generate a crater. A daisy cutter would just airburst over the hull, and maybe take out some electronics or lighter systems, but would barely put a dent in the deck armor of a battleship.
The daisy cutter has only two real uses: its original role of clearing landing zones, and as a psychological weapon. It's far less powerful than it is percieved to be, and is used far more often in NS than it should be.

Well, if you were to detonate a Daisy Cutter next to the ship as opposed to above it, you would do a number on it. Much of the crew would certainly be killed by the vacuum created.

Battleships are useful as fleet command ships.

Yeah, I know it would be impossible to exactly hit something traveling at 25 knots with a free fall bomb (yeah I know there is a parachute, but to use it against ships would require no parachute)

It would do even less when detonated next to the ship. The same features that protect the ship from an overhead blast would be even more effective against one from the side.
A daisy cutter does create a massive vacuum, but the effects are rather limited against a buttoned up ship or vehicle. Some crew would likely die, but not that many. You'll note that the information that states the effects of a daisy cutter only applies to troops in the open. Battleships, because of the weapons they were designed to fire and survive hits from, have their crews and systems protected against most of the effects of FAE weapons.

The use of large guns is soemthing that is comming back into fashion particularly with the advent of guns with ranges greater than that of medium sized anti shiiping missiles (such as exocet etc).

Recently there has been a rahter sudden shift in the west towards putting large 155mm weapons on ships of frigate size and above including straight mountings of gorund warfare SPG turrets (the germans and the brits both have experiemnted with this) and new advanced weapons (the US advanced gun system for the future litoral warfare vessel is a 155mm weapons with ranges greater than 100km).

The advanet of cheap precision giuded sheels has helped this along (although they judged copperhead too expensive a giuded shell is stil cheaper than a missile as it only giudes in the terminal phase as the gun can easily get them into the general area).

Battleships are useful for shore bombardment but the US at least is handing this role over destroyers and to an extent submarines (they have a gun system that fits inside a missile tube of an ohio that is nearly ready for full trials) whose new fast firing and accurate weapons are far more effective than the big 16" weapons on the Iowa.

I though about a new battleship but i ended up going for a slightly heavy criuser instead.