Topic: Battleships... should they return to the USN?

AussieNick · May 5th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by 84RFK

Battleships in their old role (going out to sink another battleship) are in any means obsolete.
But as a threat to any oponent without air-superiority or naval capacity they would perform well.
Acting as a massive artillery platform they could be placed off the coast and be able to launch their 12" shells with reasonable accuracy over the target, and as a sailor on a US battleship once told me, you can shoot down a missile, the cruise-missiles are easy targets compared to a 12" shell.
Nothing can stop a 12" shell from reaching the target once it's launched.

But it would require a whole new doctrine to do it.

So the return of the battleship is a far fetched idea.

There wouldn't need to be a new doctrine.

Firstly, most modern armies are inter-operable with naval gunfire support. Australian frigates have fired in support of British soldiers in Iraq for example. It is a similar system to calling any other indirect fire, just that the naval shell travels at a much flatter trajectory, and you'll probably find that the relevant army member who could do the job would have a title along the lines of NGSLO or RANLO for example.

The modern frigate/destroyer usually has about a rapid firing 5 inch gun, and that is more than enough to support any infantry operation.

To say that they would perform well against a foe without a naval capacity or air superiority is redundant. If there is no naval capacity then the job could be done by a single frigate, or even an offshore patrol boat. No enemy ships = no need for a powerful ship.