Battleship showdown (march madness)

[ABWorsham4]

@Red:

@poloplayer15:

you could use the North Carolina instead as well seeing as it was commissioned in April of '41

You are correct.   I had forgotten that the South Dakota wasn’t commissioned until 1942.Â

Of course ABWorsham is ranking contenders on the strength of their navies in 1941, rather than limiting the contest to 1941 era ships, so by that criteria the Iowa also works.Â

You’re correct. Let’s have the next round this weekend. Whats your thoughts on the Bismarck and Jean Bart match up?

[Gargantua]

BIZ MARK!

[Red Harvest]

@ABWorsham:

Whats your thoughts on the Bismarck and Jean Bart match up?

That’s a tough one, primarily because of how muddled the history of the French ships was (new/incomplete boats, Vichy/Free French, gun issues.)  Richelieu was sort of complete at the start of the war, Jean Bart wasn’t.  Assuming a completed boat of the class one should probably still factor in teething troubles:  the Richelieu’s guns did worse damage to themselves than their targets because of improper propellant/shell design issues.

The Richelieu was tough enough though.  It took some 15" hits with no significant damage.  Jean Bart also took some hits from the 16" battery of South Dakota class BB, but was still in action.  These French BB’s were not as vulnerable as the Hood.

From what I gather the French ship’s gunnery was a mess because the shells and propellant had not been properly tested, plus the close mounting of the 4-gun turrets produced a “wake effect” that created “excessive dispersion.”

So in a fighting scenario I would expect it to go something like this:
At long range, where the Bismarck would be vulnerable to rounds plunging through her deck, the French ship wouldn’t be able to hit anything without a lot of luck.  The Bismarck on the other hand would be able to find the range and pound away.  However, this fire likely would only cause non-crippling damage.

As the range closed, the Richelieu/Jean Bart would finally be able to score some hits, but would be firing against the disproportionately thick belt armour of the Bismarck.

Both would be bloodied, but still standing.  To break the tie comes down to discipline and ability to adapt, favoring the Bismarck.

[CWO Marc]

@ABWorsham:

If the countries of the 1940’s decided to solved WWII by a Battleship Duel […]

Representative John S. Williams, from Mississippi, suggested something similar during a Congressional debate back around 1907 or 1908.  Unhappy with the decision to start construction of the battleship USS Michigan, he proposed “That whereas the battleship sea monster we are imitating has been named the Dreadnought – an archaic name – this man o’war is hereby named the Skeered o’ Nothin’ as an expression of our true American spirit: provided further, that it is hereby made the duty of the first captain who shall command her to challenge in the nation’s name the so-called Dreadnought to a duel a l’outrance, to take place upon the sea somewhere in sight of Long Island, and upon that occasion of the combat the President and his Cabinet … shall be entertained on the quarter deck as guests of the ship and the nation.”

[Gargantua]

LOL

SKEEREd O NUTHIN!

[poloplayer15]

so when do we get to find out the results?