After Hitler came to power, Germany secretly began building large ships. At the end of the thirties, the so-called "Z" plan was developed, according to which the Germans were going to build eight battleships, five heavy cruisers, four aircraft carriers and 12 smaller cruisers. The "nails" of the program were to be the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz.

The Anglo-German agreement on naval armaments of 1935 allowed Germany to build two 35,000-ton battleships, but Bismarck and Tirpitz exceeded the established limit in terms of their displacement. The standard displacement of the battleship is 42,000 tons, and when fully loaded - 50,000 tons.
The main battery guns, eight 381 mm, were housed in four twin-gun turrets. All the towers had their own names: bow - Anton and Brun, stern - Caesar and Dora. And in that year, when the Wehrmacht pushed the borders of the Reich from the Pyrenees to the North Cape, from the Atlantic to the Oder, the ship became combat-ready.

"Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" in a military campaign

By May 1941, together with the cruiser Prince Eugene, he was already operating in the North Atlantic, but his first voyage was destined to become his last. The battleship had not yet managed to track down a single Allied convoy when the CVMF scouts themselves discovered it. The Hood and the Prince of Wales made visual contact with the German formation in the early hours of 24 May. The British ships began the battle at 5:52 am at a distance of 22 km. By 6:00 the ships were at a distance of 16-17 km. At this time, an explosion was heard on the Hood, apparently caused by the hit of the fifth salvo of the Bismarck, the ship was torn into two parts, and it sank in a matter of minutes. In addition to three people, the entire team, consisting of 1417 people, died. The battleship "Prince of Wales" continued the battle, but very unsuccessfully: he was forced to close to 14 km with two German ships in order to avoid a collision with the sinking Hood. The battleship withdrew from the battle under a smoke screen, having received seven hits. The Hood was one of the largest losses suffered by the British Navy during World War II. The death of Hood was perceived by the English people as a national tragedy.

The Bismarck transfers fire to the battleship Prince of Wales after the sinking of the Hood. The most famous photo of "Bismarck"

Bismarck also got it hard. English sailors were not the ones to die with impunity. Three heavy shells hit the port side of the battleship, most likely all three from the Prince of Wales. The first one hit the battleship in the middle of the hull below the waterline, pierced the skin below the armor belt and ruptured inside the hull, as a result of which flooded power plant No. 4 on the port side. Water began to flow into the neighboring boiler room No. 2, but the emergency batches stopped the flow. The second shell pierced the hull above the armor belt and came out from the starboard side without exploding, but having made a hole with a diameter of 1.5 meters. As a result, about 2,000 tons of water poured into the tank, the fuel tank was damaged, and the battleship lost 1,000 tons of fuel. Plus a trace of spreading fuel ... The overall result of all these hits was that Bismarck's speed dropped to 28 knots. There was a trim of 3 degrees to the nose and a roll of 9 degrees to the port side, due to which the right screw was exposed from time to time. I had to take water into ballast tanks to eliminate the roll.
It was a clash of the titans - the largest battleships of the world at that time tested themselves and their strength, and the matter ended with the death of one of these giants.

And then came the hour of reckoning. A squadron of 47 ships and 6 submarines of Her Majesty chased the Bismarck. The Bismarck tried to reach the coast of France, but was again discovered and subjected to a torpedo attack by Swordfish aircraft from the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal. As a result of the raid, torpedoes hit the ship in one of the most vulnerable places. After that, with damaged rudders, the British battleships King George V and Rodney attacked from a distance of 20,000 meters, and later Norfolk and Dorsetshire joined them. Ultimately, on May 27, 1941, the German battleship sank, torpedoed by the British cruiser Dorsetshire. Almost two hours passed from the beginning of the battle to the death of Bismarck, the battleship showed extraordinary vitality. Hood - the flagship of the British fleet, drowned in 6 minutes, Bismarck could only be drowned in 74.
After the battle, the British calculated that in order to sink the Teutonic beast, they had to fire 8 torpedoes and 2876 shells of the main, medium and universal caliber (from 406 mm to 133 mm).

Battle of Denmark Strait

The Battle of the Denmark Strait, also known as the Battle of Iceland, was essentially a short-lived engagement lasting just over a quarter of an hour. But it was a clash of the titans - the largest battleships of the world at that time tested themselves and their strength, and the matter ended in the death of one of these giants.

In the early morning of May 24, the weather cleared up and visibility improved. The Germans followed a course of 220 degrees at a speed of 28 knots, and at 0525 Prinz Eugen's hydroacoustics detected the propeller noise of two ships on the port side. At 0537 the Germans visually spotted what they initially thought was a light cruiser at a range of 19 miles (35 km) to port. At 05.43 another silhouette was discovered, the combat alarm was sounded. On Bismarck, they still have not decided what exactly they are observing, mistakenly believing that these are heavy cruisers. But the fact is that the accurate identification of enemy ships was of great importance for the upcoming battle, since it was necessary to determine the type of shells for firing. Prinz Eugen's artillery commander, Lieutenant Commander Pauls Jasper, decided by a strong-willed decision that they were observing British heavy cruisers, and ordered the guns to be loaded with the appropriate shells. In reality, Hood and the Prince of Wales were rapidly approaching the Germans, on a course of 280 degrees, with a speed of 28 knots. It is likely that Vice Admiral Holland, aware of the weakness of the battlecruiser Hood at long range, wanted to get as close as possible in order to gain advantages or at least negate the possible benefits for the enemy. So Lutyens had no choice whether to get involved in the fight or not. The fight was inevitable.

The British also failed to recognize the silhouettes, and deciding that Bismarck should have been the leader, Holland ordered Hood and the Prince of Wales to open fire on the leader. After that, the British ships turned 20 degrees to starboard, thereby taking a course of 300 degrees. At 0552, Holland finally figured out that Bismarck was not the leader and gave the appropriate commands, but for some reason Hood continued to track the leader - Prinz Eugen. The Prince of Wales followed the command correctly and turned his sights on Bismarck, who followed in the wake of Prinz Eugen at a distance of about a mile. To everyone's surprise, at 05525 Hood opened fire at 12.5 miles. Following him spat out the first volleys and the Prince of Wales. Both ships fired volleys from the forward turrets, the stern turrets could not be put into action due to the too acute approach angle. Admiral Lutyens reported to the command by radiogram “He entered into battle with two heavy enemy ships” - and surrendered to the elements of battle.

The first shells from the Prince of Wales were divided - part flew over Bismarck, part fell into the sea at the stern. The Prince of Wales immediately began having technical problems with the opening of fire, and for a start, the first gun of the first bow turret failed. The next volleys of Wales also missed the target, whistling over the Aryan heads and exploding in a safe distance. Hood's first volleys fell short, however, dousing the cruiser with water from explosions - let me remind you that Hood opened fire on Prinz Eugen.

The shells of the bastards of the British began to fall closer and closer, and the German guns were still silent. Bismarck's artillery commander, Lieutenant Commander Adalbert Schneider, requested "go-ahead" for firing, without waiting for commands from the ship's command post. Adalbert was at the fire control post on the foremast. Finally, at 0555, when the British turned 20 degrees and thereby helped the Germans to understand that they were dealing with Hood and the King George V class battleship, Bismarck opened fire, and immediately after him - Prinz Eugen. At this time, the distance was about 11 miles (20,300 meters). Both German ships concentrated their fire on the enemy's lead ship, the battlecruiser Hood. Bismarck's first volley is undershot. At this time, the commander of Prinz Eugen orders the commander of the mine-torpedo warhead, Lieutenant Reimann, to load the port side torpedo tubes with torpedoes with a diameter of 53.3 cm and open fire, without waiting for commands from the bridge, as soon as the ship reaches the torpedo fire zone, at the discretion of the lieutenant. The 5th salvo of Wales again overshot, but the sixth, it is possible, hit the battleship, although the Prince of Wales did not record a hit. The return fire of the Germans cannot be called anything other than sniper fire. At 05.57 Prinz Eugen recorded the first hit, his shells hit Hood in the mainmast area. Explosions of shells caused a large fire, the flames spread to the second chimney.

Bismarck also got it, that was the famous hit that pierced the fuel tank, and now the battleship left a trail in the form of a wide oil stain. Lutyens ordered Prinz Eugen to fire on the Prince of Wales, and Bismarck's gunners to open fire with second-caliber guns on the Prince of Wales.

At 0600, Hood and Prince of Wales began to turn 20 degrees to port, thus allowing the aft turrets of the main battery to come into play. And just at this time, the fifth volley of Bismarck covered Hood with direct hits. The distance at that time was already less than 9 miles (16668 m). At least one 15-inch projectile from the salvo pierced through Hood's armor belt, flew into the powder magazine and exploded there. The explosion that followed horrified the witnesses with its force. Hood, Great Hood, for 20 years the largest ship of the line in the world, the pride of the Royal Navy, split in two and sank in just three minutes. At the point with coordinates 63 degrees 22 minutes north latitude, 32 degrees 17 minutes west longitude. The stern part sank first, stern up, followed by the bow, stem up. No one had time to leave the ship, everything was so fast. Of the 1418 people on board, only three survived ... Admiral Holland and his staff, ship commander Ralph Kerr and other officers died. The three survivors were picked up from the water by the destroyer Elektra and later landed in Reykjavik.

After Hood's explosion, Bismarck veered to the right and shifted his fire to the still-alive Prince of Wales. The British battleship was also forced to tuck in so as not to crash into the sinking remains of Hood, and thus found itself between the sinking Hood and the Germans, presenting an excellent target. The Germans did not miss theirs. At 0602, a Bismarck shell explodes in the conning tower of the Prince of Wales, killing everyone there except for the battleship's commander, John Catterall, and another man. The distance was reduced to 14,000 meters, now even the shells of the largest anti-aircraft caliber Prinz Eugen could reach the poor fellow Welsh, and of course, anti-aircraft guns also opened fire. If the English battleship did not want to share the fate of Hood, he had to run away. And quickly. The British put up a smoke screen and rushed to retreat at maximum speed. They got it hard - four hits from Bismarck and three from Prinz Eugen. Finally, burning with revenge, the British fired three volleys from the “Y” turret, controlled at the time of firing on their own, but to no avail, all the volleys missed. At 06:09 the Germans fired their last salvo and the Battle of Denmark Strait ended. Many sailors from the Prince of Wales, probably after this trip, put candles in the church in memory of their savior, Admiral Lutyens. The fact is that the British were amazed by the fact that the German raiders did not finish off the Prince of Wales. Most likely, there is only one reason - Lutyens was in a hurry to get away from the main British forces hurrying to the battlefield, and decided not to waste time chasing. There is no doubt that Lutyens and the sailors of the raiders, inspired by victory, wanted nothing at that moment more than to catch up with Wales and send Hoodoo to the company, but the circumstances - due to the choice made by Lutyens - were stronger.

Prince Eugen did not suffer from the fire of the British in any way, except for the deck that became wet from close explosions and several fragments that clinked powerlessly against this deck. But Bismarck got it hard. English sailors were not the ones to die with impunity. Three heavy shells hit the port side of the battleship, most likely all three from the Prince of Wales. The first hit the battleship in the middle of the hull below the waterline, pierced the skin below the armor belt and burst inside the hull, as a result of which the power station No. 4 was flooded on the port side. Water began to flow into the neighboring boiler room No. 2, but the emergency batches stopped the flow. The second shell pierced the hull above the armor belt and exited from the starboard side, without exploding, but having made a hole with a diameter of 1.5 mm. As a result, about 2,000 tons of water poured into the tank, the fuel tank was damaged, and the battleship lost 1,000 tons of fuel. Plus a trace of spreading fuel ... The third shell pierced the boat without any other consequences.

The sum total of all these hits was that Bismarck's speed dropped to 28 knots. There was a trim of 3 degrees to the nose and a roll of 9 degrees to the port side, due to which the right screw was exposed from time to time. I had to take water into ballast tanks to eliminate the roll.

Technically speaking, nothing serious happened to Bismarck. He did not lose combat capability, the speed remained sufficient, only 5 people from the crew received minor injuries - in other words, scratches. The most serious consequence was the loss of a considerable part of the fuel.

After the battle, the raiders remained on the same course, following in a south-westerly direction. Lutyens had two options - either to return before it was too late to Norway, or to continue the breakthrough to the Atlantic.

Today, all experts believe that the best way out was to turn back to Norway, along the way finishing off the Prince of Wales. Two ways - either the Danish Strait, or a shorter route, the passage of the Faroe Islands - Iceland, although there was a considerable risk of meeting with the main forces of the British - the battleship King George V, the aircraft carrier Victorias, the light cruisers Kenya, Galatea, Aurora, Neptune and Hermione, the destroyers Active, Ingelfield, Intrepid, Lance, Punjab and Windsor. There is also no doubt that Bismarck's commander Lindemann insisted on this option.

However, Lutyens informs the command, and orders the raiders to follow to France, to Saint-Nazaire. He was right about one thing, that Operation Rheinburg should be forgotten for the time being and the repair of Bismarck should be taken care of. Meanwhile, an undamaged Prinz Eugen could bite enemy convoys here and there. But why did Lutyens decide to bite into St. Nazaire instead of Norway, which was so much closer? Maybe because he was still thinking more about the raids in the Atlantic than about the situation in which he found himself? After all, raids from the ports of France were much more convenient than from Norway, and shorter. Or maybe because only two months ago he safely brought the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to Brest? Speaking in a stamp, we will never know about it.

At 09.50, commander Eugen Brinkmann received an order from Lutyens by semaphore to go to Bismarck's wake and visually assess the damage to the battleship - namely, fuel leakage. At 11.00 Eugen again led the column. The British ships continued their pursuit under Rear Admiral Wake-Walker, Suffolk to starboard, Norfolk and the newly born Prince of Wales to port. At noon, the Germans laid down on a course of 180 degrees, due south, and reduced their speed to 24 knots.

That's something that the Admiralty did not expect at all - the death of Hood. The indignant admirals immediately began issuing orders to involve all available ships within reasonable limits of the course in the hunt for Bismarck. Including those ships that were involved in the protection of convoys.

The British and Americans understood perfectly well what a Bismarck-class battleship Tyrannosaurus was up against helpless sheep in convoys, and the Bismarck raid demonstrated that it was worth destroying this Tyrannosaurus Rex. That is why, having received intelligence about the exit of Tirpitz, they removed and tore everything they could from everywhere, and threw it across the proposed raid. Tirpitz's combat training was no worse than that of Bismarck, there was the cream of the Kriegsmarine, and they would not have died cheaply.

In general, most of the convoys in the Atlantic were left unguarded. The battleship Rodney (commander Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton) was heading to Boston USA for repairs, accompanied by the destroyers Somalia, Tartar, Mashona and Eskimo of the 6th flotilla, along the way accompanying the liner Britannic (27759 tons displacement, used as a transport for transporting military units) - they turned and him without sparing the liner. It was said: "If the liner cannot follow you, leave one destroyer with it, and throw it to hell."

Battleship Ramilles (commander Arthur Reed) escorted convoy HX-127. Order: "Proceed immediately to the west so that the enemy raiders are between you and our forces pursuing him." And the convoy, accordingly, will be interrupted somehow.

The battleship Rivenge (commander Ernst Archer) formed a convoy in Halifax, on the same day at 15.00 he was already rushing at full speed to meet Bismarck, who had inflicted such a strong offense on the Grand Fleet of the Lady of the Seas.

On the morning of May 24, Lutyens decided that the cruiser should continue to follow independently, and at 14.20 he announced his decision to commander Eugen Brinkmann by semaphore. The order read: “During a rain squall, Bismarck will lie on a course due west. Prinz Eugen will follow the same course and speed for at least three hours after Bismarck's departure. The cruiser should then refuel from tankers Belchen or Loringen. Then act against enemy convoys independently. The code word for the start of the operation is Hood.

At this time, Karl Doenitz orders his wolves, all submarines in the North Atlantic, to completely cease hostilities and be ready to help Bismarck. Doenitz wanted to arrange a grand trap for the British - to put boats in a certain square so that they would attack the British ships pursuing Bismarck. In accordance with this plan, Doenitz placed the boats U-93, U-43, U-46, U-557, U-66, U-94 south of the southern tip of Greenland.

At 15.40 a squall came up, and the word "Hood" sounded. Bismarck turned to starboard and headed west, speeding up to 28 knots. However, Suffolk was too close, Bismarck returned to his place at the stern of Eugen. Two hours later, the attempt was repeated, this time successfully. Prinz Eugen broke away, and Bismarck, just in case, at 18.30 opened fire on Suffolk from a distance of 18,000 meters. The cruiser retreated quickly under the cover of a smoke screen.

After which Bismarck fell upon the Prince of Wales, the exchange of volleys ceased at 18.56, there were no hits from either side. However, Suffolk left Bismarck's starboard side and joined Norfolk and Wales, fearing that Bismarck would catch him and finish him off after all. Thus, no one pursued Bismarck from the starboard side. A little later, it cost the British dearly.

In the meantime, it turned out that the battleship was extremely bad with fuel, so Lutyens was forced to decide to go straight to St. Nazaire, which he notified the command about. The battleship had about 3000 tons of fuel left, too little for maneuvers and attempts to break away from the pursuers.

If only they had refueled in Bergen... If only the fuel tank had not been damaged in the battle in the Danish Strait... History, what can you do with it! There is "if-would" and there is what is. Do not remake or replay.

Another extremely unpleasant consequence of the lack of fuel for the Germans - the idea with an underwater trap failed, as Bismarck had to turn around to straighten the course to St. Nazaire. The trap was left aside, but for the uninitiated, we note that diesel submarines and in the surface position are no match for surface ships in terms of speed. That is, the boats simply could not have time to change position. Dönitz ordered the boats at Biscay to prepare to cover the approaching Bismarck, and that was all Dönitz could do for the hunted battleship.

At 15.09, Admiral Tovey detached a separate group under the command of Rear Admiral Alban Kurteys, who held the flag on the cruiser Galatea. The group included the aircraft carrier Victories, light cruisers Galatea, Aurora, Kenya and Hermione. The task was set as follows - to get close to Bismarck and conduct a torpedo attack.

At 22.10, at a distance of about 120 miles from Bismarck, all of its torpedo bombers took off from the aircraft carrier in the amount of 9, 825 squadron under the command of Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmond. At 11:50 p.m., Esmond's torpedo bomber got a mark on the radar, but it was not Bismarck, but the American Coast Guard cutter Modoc. Bismarck was 6 miles further, he spotted the planes, opened fire and increased his speed to 27 knots. One Swordfish fought off the squadron while passing the cloud layer, the remaining 8 went on the attack at about midnight. Bismarck fired back from all types of guns, even the main and second caliber came into play. At first, Lindemann and helmsman Hans Hansen successfully dodged, and six torpedoes missed. But still the British got in. An 18-inch MK XII torpedo hit the starboard side in the area of ​​​​the midship frame, hitting the armor belt, and the armor belt withstood the blow! Damage was minimal. The first victim appeared - Oberboatswain Kurt Kirchberg died. Six people were injured.

All torpedo bombers returned to the aircraft carrier despite the battleship's furious fire.

After the raid, Bismarck slowed down to 16 knots to ease the water pressure on the forepeak bulkheads and try to make some repairs. The distance between the opponents decreased, and at 01.31 already on May 25, the Prince of Wales opened fire. Bismarck did not remain in debt, and at a distance of 15,000 meters, two battleships exchanged two volleys each, to no avail. An unusually high spirit was preserved on board the Bismarck; according to the general ship broadcast, the crew congratulated Admiral Lutyens on his 52nd birthday - the admiral's birthday fell on May 25th.

The trinity, pursuing Bismarck, began to go in an anti-submarine maneuver due to fear of attacks by German submarines. At 03:06 Lutyens saw this as his chance, turning to the right. It worked - the British lost it. After that, Bismarck lay down on a course of 130 degrees - right on St. Nazaire.

For some time the British tried to re-establish contact, but finally gave up, and at 0401 Suffolk radioed guiltily: "Contact lost." Yesterday's order from Vice Admiral Wake-Walker to pull Suffolk off the starboard side of the Bismarck proved to be a mistake. Bismarck was given the opportunity to maneuver, and did not fail to take advantage of this opportunity. Stay Suffolk in his place, Bismarck could hardly break away.

Funny or not, the Bismarck never realized that they had come off. At 0700, Lutyens radioed: "One battleship and two enemy cruisers continue to pursue." At 0900 Bismarck sends another rather lengthy message to headquarters. Both messages were received by the command much later than 0900, but much worse, the British tracked these radio messages and roughly calculated Bismarck's position.

At 11.52 Lutyens received a congratulatory radiogram addressed to him from Raeder: “The most cordial congratulations on the occasion of your birthday! I have no doubt that in the coming new year of your life you will achieve new glorious victories, similar to the one you won two days ago!”

A few minutes later, Lutyens addressed the entire crew over the ship's broadcast: "Sailors of the battleship Bismarck! You have already covered yourself with glory! The sinking of Hood is not only a military victory, it is also a victory of the spirit. Hood was the pride of England. Now, of course, the enemy will gather all his forces and throw them against us. That is why I released Prinz Eugen yesterday on his own voyage - he will wage his own war against the merchant fleet of the enemy. He managed to escape. It's a different matter with us, we were damaged in battle, and now we must go to the French port. The enemy will try to intercept us on the way to the port, and impose a battle. The whole German people is with us, and we will fight to the last shell. For us now there is only one motto - victory or death!

Having thus encouraged the crew, Lutyens, meanwhile, receives another congratulation, this time from Hitler. The Fuhrer sent him the best about it and wished. Meanwhile, a party of sailors under the command of Walter Lehmann, the chief mechanic of the battleship, were building a false chimney to change the silhouette of the ship and confuse the brutalized Britons. On the night of the 25th/26th, Bismarck followed the same course and speed without any incident.

Last Stand

On the morning of May 26, the battleship decided to repaint the top of the main and second caliber gun turrets yellow. Not an easy job, given the excitement, but it was done. However, it is not clear why, since the paint was washed off almost immediately.

And a few hours before the start of paintwork, from the town of Loch Erne, in northern Ireland, two flying boats Catalina of the Coastal Defense Forces took off. The task was simple and obvious at that time - to find the damned battleship! Any damn price! And at 10.10 Catalina Zet (crew commander Dennis Briggs) of 209 Squadron discovered the cursed battleship. The battleship also discovered it and immediately opened fire, quite well-aimed. Catalina dropped 4 depth charges on board - not in order to sink the battleship or damage her paint, but in order to make it easier to evade the viciously well-aimed fire of the Germans. The hull of the boat was riddled with shrapnel, which did not prevent her from sending a laconic radio command - “Battleship, bearing 240, distance 5 miles, heading 150, my coordinates are 49o 33 minutes north, 21o 47 minutes west. Transmission time is 10.30 am on the 26th.” 31 hours after Suffolk's loss of contact, the battleship was again caught in a lethal surveillance net.

But Tovey's ships were too far away, King George V 135 miles to the north, Rodney (at a max speed of 21 knots) 121 miles to the northeast. They had no chance of intercepting Bismarck, none. Provided Bismarck retains his speed and his strength.

This nightmare of the Admiralty could only be intercepted by Group H, under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir James Sommerville, coming from Gibraltar. However, the British admirals, having burned themselves with Hood, did not want to sink the battleship Rinaun (commander Roderick McGriggor), who led the group, and therefore he was ordered to stay away from Bismarck and not play a hero. The only way to delay the battleship, and at the same time not destroy their battleships, was air raids. This could be done with the aircraft carrier Ark Royal.

At 0835, ten Swordfish torpedo bombers took off from Ark Royal in search of the Germans, and as soon as the report from Catalina arrived, the two nearest Swordfish rushed to the battleship. At 11:14 they found him. A little later, two more torpedo bombers with additional fuel tanks flew up, replacing the first two.

At 1450, 15 Swordfish torpedo bombers, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Stuart-Moore, took off from Ark Royal (the commander of the aircraft carrier was Loben Mound) with the task of attacking Bismarck. At 15.50 they established radar contact with the battleship. During the attack, the British fired 11 torpedoes, none of which worked, as something was wrong with the magnetic fuses. Strong luck - but not Bismarck, but the British light cruiser Sheffield (commander Charles Larcom). He separated from the forces of N with the task of searching for Bismarck, was confused by the pilots with this same Bismarck, and mistakenly attacked. Two torpedoes exploded as soon as they fell into the water, three passed along the stern and exploded in a wave caused by the cruiser, the cruiser managed to turn away from 6 others. At 1700, the torpedo bombers returned to the aircraft carrier, and it is unlikely that they were met with an orchestra. Lucky Sheffield, meanwhile, made contact with Bismarck - visually.

The British understood that this was their last chance. It's getting dark here. If Bismarck leaves now, he will be in France the next day. At 19.15, 15 Swordfish took to the air, mostly the same ones who demonstrated their combat skills on the cruiser Sheffield during the day. This time, the fuses on all torpedoes were installed with contact ones - the British used the mistake, which almost became fatal, for the good of the cause.

During all these disturbances, group H, led by the battleship Rinaun and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, entered the combat position of the German submarine U-556 (commander - Lieutenant Herbert Wolfart). The shooting position was perfect. But ... the boat did not have torpedoes, they spent their last "fish" on the ships of the HX-126 convoy a few days ago. All Wohlfarth could do was report back to HQ the details of the enemy group, its location, course, and speed. He did this, but it did not help Bismarck. What can I say - fate ...

The attack squadron of Swordfish this time flew under the command of Lieutenant Commander Kuda, and on the way to Bismarck flew over Sheffield to clarify the distance and bearing to the battleship, and this time nothing was fired at Sheffield, not a single torpedo. The pilots finally remembered how their own cruiser looks from the air.

The last hours of Bismarck

The attack began at 20.47, the battleship's artillery immediately opened barrage fire. But it did not help, at least two torpedoes hit the battleship. One or two hit the battleship from the port side in the middle of the hull, the other hit the stern on the starboard side. A hit or hits on the port side caused practically no harm, Krupp steel saved, but the rudders jammed from hitting the stern in a position of 12 degrees to the left. Bismarck made a circulation, and then, almost uncontrollably, began to follow in a northwesterly direction. As before, not a single torpedo bomber was shot down, although several aircraft were damaged.

This time, the damage to the battleship was so severe that Lutyens radioed: “The ship is uncontrollable. We will fight to the last shell. Long live the Fuhrer! Although what does the Fuhrer have to do with it?

A hit in the stern not only jammed the rudders, but also led to the flooding of the helmsman and the compartments adjacent to it. That is, repair work could only be carried out under water. A group of divers entered the compartment, but it was impossible to work because of the strongest whirlpools. From the outside - that is, overboard, it was also excluded - there was too much excitement. They wanted to blow up the rudders and then be controlled by machines, but they were afraid that the explosions could damage or destroy the propellers. Bismarck was doomed. The most offensive - he was still in excellent even, not satisfactory condition, no serious damage, but the jamming of the rudders doomed him to uncontrollability and inevitable death.

After the air raid, the almost uncontrollable Bismarck began to scour in different directions, and approached Sheffield. In order to somehow have some fun, the Germans fired six volleys at the light cruiser at a distance of about 9 miles. They did not hit, but fragments damaged the cruiser's radar antenna and injured 12 people, of whom three later died. The cruiser was enveloped in a smoke screen and moved away. Contact with the battleship was lost, at 22.00 the cruiser reported the approximate bearing and distance to the battleship to the destroyers of the 4th flotilla (commander of the flotilla Philip Vaillant) Kossak, Maori, Zulu, Sikh and Piorun, the latter under the Polish flag, that approached it.

At 22.38, the Poles (commander Edzhenish Plawski) spotted the battleship, and received three volleys in response. Despite the fierce barrage, the destroyers rushed to the attack. At 2342, shrapnel shot down the radar antenna of the destroyer Kossak. After zero hours, the destroyers began firing illuminating shells, one of which fell on the battleship's forecastle and started a fire, which was quickly extinguished.

The weather for torpedo attacks was unsuitable - heavy seas, squalls with rain, almost no visibility. Not the last word remained with Bismarck - the dying lion snapped aptly and strongly, even the Polish uhlans did not dare to approach the "pistol shot".

There were no hits, although by 07.00 in the morning 16 torpedoes were fired at Bismarck.

Bismarck's last day met him with a storm from the northwest. His strength reached 8 points. In the conning tower of the battleship, the atmosphere was hardly cheerful. Everyone understood that the main enemy forces would soon attack the battleship. Bismarck somehow hobbled along at a speed of 7 knots and waited for the end - and what else was left for him?

At 0833, King George V and Rodney lay down on a course of 110 degrees, and 10 minutes later they spotted Bismarck at 23,000 meters.

Rodney opened fire at 0847, joined by King George V a minute later. The range was 20,000 meters. Bismarck began to snarl with the Anton and Bruno bow turrets, aiming at Rodney. At 0854 Norfolk entered with his eight 203mm guns, at 0858 Rodney's secondary caliber joined the main caliber, also opening fire.

At 09.02, the first hits began, several shells hit the forecastle, the foremast and disabled the rangefinder on the foremast. At 09.04 fire on Bismarck was opened by Dorsetshire (commander Benjamin Martin). Now two battleships and two heavy cruisers were firing at Bismarck. Of course, this execution quickly brought results - already at 09.08 the Anton and Bruno towers were out of order.

Fire control on the battleship switched to the stern command post, as the bow rangefinder was destroyed. Artillery officer Lieutenant Mullenheim-Rechberg commanded Bismarck's fire from the aft command post, fired 4 volleys from the aft towers and almost covered King George V, but at 09.13 a large-caliber projectile demolished the aft command tower along with a well-aimed lieutenant.

The stern towers began to fire independently, focusing on Rodney. Rodney fired 6 torpedoes, none hit. At 09.21, the Dora's aft turret went out of order - a shell exploded in the right barrel. By some incomprehensible miracle at 09.27, the bow towers suddenly came to life and fired one volley, after which they fell silent forever. 4 minutes down, at 09.31, the last salvo was made by the Tsar tower. A few auxiliary caliber guns remained in the ranks, but even those did not last long under the hurricane fire of the British. And at this time, the commander of the battleship Lindemann gives the order to leave the dying ship.

As Bismarck's fire weakened, the British came closer. Rodney turned out to be the most arrogant and approached at a distance of about 2500 meters, opening fire from everything that was possible, for a small amount not from pistols. At 09.40, the rear plate of the Bruno tower was torn out, the tower was engulfed in fire.

At 0956 Rodney decided to continue his torpedo practice and fired two more torpedoes, one of which appeared to hit Bismarck's port side. All the British ships approached for a pistol shot - it was impossible to miss even drunk, and they put shell after shell of all calibers into the dying battleship.

Amazingly, Bismarck did not sink! A little after 1000 Norfolk fired two torpedoes, one of which appeared to hit the starboard side. On board the stubbornly not sinking Bismarck, everything that can be imagined was destroyed. People started jumping overboard. All the guns were put out of action, their barrels froze in a variety of, sometimes bizarre, positions. The chimney and settings looked like a sieve. The aircraft hangar on the port side was completely destroyed. The main deck looked like the floor of a slaughterhouse. Only the mainmast survived, and Bismarck's battle flag fluttered from it!

At 10.16 Rodney ceased fire and went aside - the battleship ran out of fuel.

At 09.20, 12 torpedo bombers took off from Ark Royal, at 10.15 they flew up to Bismarck, but they didn’t get into the slaughterhouse - their fire could sweep them away like flies. King George V in a fever decided that it was the Germans, and opened fire on the planes - as if in retaliation for Sheffield, but having figured it out, the fire ceased. However, there was nothing for the planes to do there. The torpedo bombers only got to slowly circle over the ships and watch this drama - a unique opportunity.

At 10.20 Dorsetshire came close to Bismarck and fired two 21 inch MK VII torpedoes at the starboard side of the battleship. Both hit, but the dying Bismarck paid no attention to it. No, that is, visible effect. The cruiser turned around and fired another torpedo into the port side. The battleship finally began to sink, there was a strong roll to the port side, the port side guns went into the water.

Finally, to the delight of the weary British, at 10.39 Bismarck reluctantly capsized and sank at 48 degrees 10 minutes north, 16 degrees 12 minutes west.

Almost two hours passed from the beginning of the battle to the death of Bismarck, the battleship showed extraordinary vitality. The first hits began at 09.02, the fire stopped at 10.16, for 74 minutes in a row Bismarck was hit by everyone, from anti-aircraft caliber shells to torpedoes and 406mm "suitcases". Hood was drowned in 6 minutes, Bismarck could not be drowned in 74 - after all, the battleship's armor belt withstood all the blows, and in fact the battleship sank at the hands of the Germans themselves, they opened the kingstones! In the storm and the fear of the British, shells were fired:

380 40.6 cm shells from Rodney
339 rounds of 35.6 cm caliber from King George V
527 20.3 cm shells from Norfolk
254 20.3 cm rounds from Dorsetshire
716 15.2 cm shells from Rodney
660 rounds of 13.3 cm caliber from King George V

At 1100 hours, just 20 minutes after the death of Bismarck, Churchill announced to Parliament: “This morning at dawn, the British battleships entered the battle with Bismarck, who had lost control. How it all ended, I don't know yet. It seems that the Bismarck could not be sunk by artillery fire, and it will be finished off with torpedoes. Looks like we're doing just that right now. Yes, our loss, Hood, is great, but let's pay tribute to Bismarck, the most powerful battleship that our sailors have ever fought. We will destroy it, but the control of the North Sea is still very far away, it would be a mistake to reduce the victory over the German fleet to the victory over Bismarck. Churchill sat down, at this time a note was handed to him, he got up again and proclaimed: "I have just received a message - Bismarck has been destroyed!" Parliament greeted the news with shouts and applause.

Eternal parking of the battleship "Bismarck"

The impressive success of the Tirpitz battleship is a legacy left over from the legendary Bismarck, a battleship of the same type, a meeting with which struck fear into the hearts of the British forever.

In total, about 20 units under the British, Canadian and Polish flags, as well as 2 naval tankers and 13 carrier-based aviation squadrons - only in this composition in April 1944 did the British dare to approach the Alta Fjord - where, under the gloomy vaults of the Norwegian rocks, the pride of the Kriegsmarine rusted - Tirpitz.
The carrier-based aircraft managed to bomb the German base and cause serious damage to the battleship's superstructures. However, the next Pearl Harbor did not work out - the British could not inflict mortal wounds on the Tirpitz.
The Germans lost 123 men killed, but the battleship still posed a threat to shipping in the North Atlantic. The main problems were caused not so much by numerous bomb hits and fires on the upper deck, but by newly opened leaks in the underwater part of the hull - the result of a previous British attack using mini-submarines.

In total, during the stay in Norwegian waters, the Tirpitz withstood dozens of air strikes - in total, during the war years, about 700 British and Soviet aircraft took part in raids on the battleship! In vain. The British were able to destroy the super-battleship only towards the end of the war with the help of the monstrous 5-ton Tallboy bombs dropped by the Lancasters of the Royal Air Force. As a result of two direct hits and three close gaps, the Tirpitz capsized and sank.

Tallboy ("Big Boy")

Brief performance characteristics of the Bismarck-class battleships

Standard displacement: 41,700 tons; full 50 900 t
Main dimensions: length (total) 248 m; width (at the waterline level) 35.99 m; draft 8.68 m
Power plant: 12 Wagner-type boilers, three Bloem-und-Voss-type turbines with a total capacity of 138,000 hp, rotating three propellers
Maximum speed: 29 knots
Reservation: side belt thickness from 317 mm to 266 mm; decks 50 mm; armored deck from 119 mm to 89 mm; torpedo installation 44 mm; turrets of main caliber guns from 368 mm to 178 mm; towers of anti-mine guns from 102 mm to 38 mm
Armament: eight 15-in. (381-mm) guns of the main caliber, 12 - 6-in. (152 mm) and 16 - 4.1-in. (105 mm) universal guns, 15 - 37 mm and 12 - 20 mm automatic anti-aircraft guns, from four to six aircraft
Team: 2092 people

There is a myth according to which the fleet that helped the United States win the war, America began to build on the morning of December 8, 1941, when it recovered a little from the Japanese defeat of Pearl Harbor that had happened on the eve. Myth. In fact, the American militarists began building all ten high-speed battleships that brought victory to Washington on their decks at least ten months before the samurai attack on Pearl Harbor. The North Carolina-class battleships were laid down at two-week intervals in June 1940 and entered service in April and May 1941. In fact, three of the four South Dakota-class battleships were launched before December 7, 1941. Yes, the fleet that crushed Japan had not yet been built, but even more so it could not have been built by rolling up its sleeves only on the morning of December 8th. Thus. The strike of Japanese aviation on the main base of the US Pacific Fleet played absolutely no role in the fate of the high-speed battleships of the US Navy.

Fast battleships in World War II and after

The Washington Treaty of 1922 stopped the production of heavy ships for the US Navy. Due to the intrigues of politicians, the construction of seven battleships and six battlecruisers had to be stopped or not started at all. It got to the point that on February 8, 1922, it was decided to dismantle the battleship Washington (BB47), which was in 75% of the readiness stage - a blatant act of vandalism! The Washington Treaty limited the number of battleships in the US and British navies to 18 and 20 respectively. Japan was allowed to have ten such ships, France and Italy - a few. In the ten years that have passed since the conclusion of the treaty, only two battleships have entered service in the world - the British Nelson and Rodney. The construction of these ships began in 1922 and was specifically stipulated in the Washington Treaty, because the frankly weak Grand Fleet at that time had only extremely outdated battleships. The world “vacation” in battleship building ended in 1932 with the laying of the Dunkirk ship with a displacement of 26,500 tons in France.

In the US Navy, the conclusion of the Washington Treaty was treated with mixed feelings. The admirals mourned over the missing battleships and cruisers, but those of them. who were considered realists, understood the complexity of the political and economic situation in the country and the world that developed after the end of the First World War. Although for the United States, this situation was rather favorable. The United States entered the First World War as the third largest naval power in the world. And after the war, the US Navy became one of the two great fleets of the world, and most experts agreed that in a short time the US Navy would become the No. 1 fleet in the world. The grandeur of the Grand Fleet, unattainable before, was fading into history. The war clearly demonstrated the strategic role of the fleet. Only the fleet was able to ensure the passage of convoys across the Atlantic. After the war, the US Navy was de facto the only serious enemy - the Japanese navy. Everything was fun and rosy for the American admirals, but then the Great Depression suddenly happened.

The global economic crisis contributed to the coming to power in a number of countries that did not firmly defend the ideals of freedom and democracy, authoritarian regimes. In Italy, Duce Mussolini came to power, in Germany - the Fuhrer Hitler. Well, in the USA - Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt was at one time related to the affairs of the US Navy, served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In 1932, the ex-assistant became the President of the United States from the Democratic Party. Roosevelt considered the adoption and implementation of an ambitious shipbuilding program one of the ways to bring the country out of the Great Depression. However, the first "naval" budget, adopted in the time of Roosevelt, provided for the construction of aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers, it did not say anything about the construction of battleships. Japan's sudden announcement of its refusal to comply with the terms of the Washington Treaty, made in 1934, changed the situation by 1936 in the most dramatic way. For the first time in ten years, American designers rolled up their sleeves, washed their hands, took a drawing board, drawing paper and drawing pen, after which they began to draw the outline of a battleship of the future. The process has begun. It remains to deepen it.

The design of the battleship after 1922 was determined to a greater extent not by technology, but by politics. The British constantly insisted on limiting the size, displacement and armament of battleships due to the simple fact that they themselves had decrepit, small and poorly armed battleships. They all wanted the same. The British demanded that the new battleships not be armed with artillery above 14 inches, although the Washington Treaty set the limit for the main caliber of battleships at 16 inches. Surprisingly. but the Americans were the first to benefit from the requirements of the British in terms of displacement and size. The size and displacement of all American ships were limited by the capacity of the Panama Canal - the requirement for the passage of ships through the canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic and back was mandatory when designing any American ship or ship. At the same time, American admirals began to swear in American style when they heard about the limitation of the main caliber of a battleship to 14 inches. The restrictions imposed by the Panama Canal, combined with restrictions on the main battery, promised the US Navy a battleship weaker than the British Nelson or the Japanese Nagato. Japan withdrew from the treaty and put 16-inch guns on the battleship. The British demanded 14 inches from everyone but themselves, also arming the Nelson with 16-inch main battery artillery. In October 1935, US representatives began negotiations with British representatives regarding the limitations of the Washington Treaty in the light of the perfidy of the Japanese military. The parties came to an agreed opinion on April 1, 1937 ... after which the permitted main caliber of battleships automatically increased to 16 inches.

On September 14, the North Carolina was hit by a torpedo fired by the Japanese submarine 1-19. The submarine then fired six torpedoes in one gulp, three of them hit the USS Wasp, one hit the destroyer O'Brien, and one hit the battleship. 1 main caliber.The explosion destroyed the battleship's armor belt.The battleship listed five degrees, but retained the ability to maneuver at high speed.On October 11, 1942, the battleship was put in dry dock for repairs at Pearl Harbor.

The decision to increase the caliber gave rise to new problems. The design of battleships for the US Navy in 1937 was already in full swing, and now even more powerful guns were required to develop new larger and heavier turrets, then "fit" new turrets into the design of the already designed ship. At one time, Admiral Standley took a well-thought-out position, having ordered the design of universal three-gun turrets of the main caliber, designed for mounting both 14-inch guns and 16-inch guns. The size and caliber of battleship guns even became a subject of debate during the 1936 presidential election campaign. Republicans criticized Democrat Roosevelt for publicly speaking in favor of increasing the main caliber of battleship artillery, pointing out that such statements promote an increase in the arms race and are a tangible blow to detente international tension. Ordinary Americans did not heed the arguments of the Republicans, electing Roosevelt president for a second term and, thereby, confirming the obvious fact that America has always been a reserve of rabid imperialism. Japan, on the other hand, did not react at first to the statements of the American Democrats. believing that the unclear international situation will delay the design of new battleships for the US Navy. Only on March 27, 1937, did the Japanese government publicly speak out against the new terms of the Washington Treaty. It was then that a decision was made in Japan to build Yamato-class battleships with a displacement of 64,000 tons armed with 18-inch artillery.

In the interval between firing the main battery, the sailors walk along the poop of the battleship "Massachusetts". Two huge American flags are raised on the mast - a faint hope that the French will not shoot at their sincere American friends, with whom they fought shoulder to shoulder with the Boches during the First World War.

Even the refusal of the Japanese to comply with the 14-inch limit on the caliber of battleship artillery did not cause sharp statements in the USA and Great Britain. Roosevelt was the first politician to advocate arming his own ships with guns larger than 14 inches. The British began in 1937 to build a new series of battleships of the "King George V" type with 14-inch guns, although the former Secretary of the Navy, a certain Winston Churchill, sharply objected to this.

Roosevelt, however, reconsidered his decision regarding the main caliber of battleships - in favor of 14 inches. Specialists from the Naval Design Bureau felt offended and even outraged somewhere. Meanwhile - in vain: they should read the newspaper "Pravda" more often. After all, the venality of bourgeois politicians has long been known to the whole world, who weave any fairy tales in order to attract the votes of voters, and immediately after the elections they forget about fairy tales and voters. In fact, the choice in favor of a larger caliber battleship artillery is not so unambiguous. as it may seem to amateurs. A 14-inch projectile weighs 680 kg. Projectile caliber 16 inches - 450 kg. Due to a more powerful powder charge, a 14-inch projectile flies further than a 16-inch one, due to its greater mass it has a greater destructive ability, and wear on an expensive gun barrel causes less wear. However, as representatives of the design bureau noted in their excited message dated May 17, 1937 to the President of the United States: the real difference lies in the "dead" zone of the guns. In this case, a dead zone is not considered to be a zone that cannot be penetrated due to an insufficiently small angle of descent of the guns, but a zone in which the projectile is not even theoretically capable of penetrating armor of a certain thickness. That is, the "dead" zone is not adjacent to the ship, but far away from it. Experts made calculations based on the average thickness of the armor of battleships - 12 inches of the main armor belt and 5-6 inches of armored deck. It turned out that at short firing distances, the armor penetration of 14 and 16 caliber shells is approximately the same. At long firing distances, at which a naval battle is actually conducted, a 14-inch projectile is significantly inferior to a 16-inch one, about ten times!

Iowa

Roosevelt, in response to the message, promised to think or come up with something. The President kept his word. In early June 1937, he suggested that Ambassador Gru once again turn to the Japanese side with a proposal to agree to limit the main caliber of battleships to 14 inches. While the court - yes, the case - Roosevelt puts forward a proposal, the Japanese discuss it, then prepare an answer - the design of battleships could not stand still. This time it didn't take long for an answer. The Japanese agreed to the proposal of the US President, with a slight amendment: subject to the limitation of the total number of battleships in the US Navy and the British Navy - ten American and ten British. Such an amendment was completely unacceptable for Roosevelt, so on July 10, 1937, the president gave the command to design battleships with 16-inch artillery.

The debate over the main caliber of battleships delayed the design of battleships for several months. But as soon as the decision was made, the design moved forward by leaps and bounds. The budget for the 1938 financial year allocated financial flows for the construction of two battleships "North Carolina" and "Washington" with the laying, respectively, on October 27, 1937 and June 14, 1938. According to the budget for the 1939 financial year, July 5, 1939 was laid "South Dakota", after 15 days - "Massachusetts". November 20, 1939 "Indiana" and February 1, 1940 "Alabama". The budget for fiscal year 1941 called for the bookmark "Missouri" on January 6, 1941 and "Wisconsin" on January 25, 1941.

The Two Oceans Navy Act, passed in 1940 by Congress, provided for the construction of seven more battleships - two more Iows (Illinois and Kentucky) and five Montana-class monsters armed with four towers with three 16-inch tools in each and on each. Due to their width, the Montanas would no longer be able to pass the Panama Canal. The last two Iowas were laid down, the first two Montans were ordered, but their construction was abandoned in 1943. The Kentucky was no longer considered a modern ship, which is why discussions were held for a very long time on what to do with the hull of the unfinished battleship. The corps occupied an empty slipway for five long years. In the end, the unfinished ship was launched in 1950. J. but they did not finish building it, and in 1958 they sold it for scrap.

There is a myth according to which the fleet that helped the United States win the war, America began to build on the morning of December 8, 1941, when it recovered a little from the Japanese defeat of Pearl Harbor that had happened on the eve. Myth. in fact, the American militarists began building all ten high-speed battleships that brought victory to Washington on their decks at least ten months before the samurai attack on Pearl Harbor. The North Carolina-class battleships were laid down at two-week intervals in June 1940 and entered service in April and May 1941. In fact, three of the four South Dakota-class battleships were launched before December 7, 1941. Yes, the fleet that crushed Japan had not yet been built, but even more so it could not have been built by rolling up its sleeves only on the morning of December 8th. Thus. The strike of Japanese aviation on the main base of the US Pacific Fleet played absolutely no role in the fate of the high-speed battleships of the US Navy.

The U-boats of the Kriegsmarine began to pose a mortal threat to England. It was the presence of such a threat that forced the command to shift priorities in the development plans of the US Navy. In 1941, the American fleet was involved on an ever-larger scale in escorting Atlantic convoys. First of all, not the Pacific, but the Atlantic fleet was strengthened. In the US Navy. as well as in the White House, they clearly underestimated the yellow danger. The calculation was based on that the power of the Pacific Fleet would be enough to defend the Philippines from a possible Japanese attack while Hitler was dealt with in Europe. Intended for operations off the East Coast of the United States, the North Carolinas and the aircraft carrier Hornet were sent to the Atlantic. But after Pearl Harbor, both battleships were transferred to the Pacific Ocean.

While not yet fully commissioned, the Washington became the first high-speed American battleship to take part in the hostilities. The battleship was transferred from the base in Casco Bay to the base of the British fleet of Scapa Flow, from where she, together with Her Majesty's ship Wasp, set off on a campaign in March 1942. the purpose of which was to support the landing of New Zealand troops on Madagascar. In early May, the Washington took part in the escort of the PQ-15 and QP-11 convoys to and from Murmansk. Together with the British battleship King George V, the American ship patrolled the waters between Norway and Iceland in case the Kriegsmarine ships appeared. The naval battle did not take place then, but the adventures happened. A British battleship collided with a British destroyer. "Washington" went on a military campaign from Scapa Flow again. On June 28, 1942, he, along with the battleship Duke of York, went out to guard the ill-fated convoy PQ-17. To defeat the convoy, the Germans initiated Operation Rosselsprung. Four large surface ships of the Kriegsmarine appeared in the Alta Fjord. including Tirpitz. Well, "Tirpitz", he alone was able to smash the entire combined Anglo-American fleet to smithereens. And here - as many as four large ships of the German fleet. The order of the British Admiralty to leave convoys to the warships to their fate looks quite understandable under such conditions. In fact, the German ships never left Norwegian waters, which did not save the convoy. Participation, or rather non-participation, in guarding the PQ-17 convoy was the last combat (type of combat) operation of the battleship Washington in the Atlantic. With a short stop on the West Coast, the battleship was transferred to the Pacific Ocean.

The beginning of the campaign in the Pacific turned out to be the hardest losses for the Americans in aircraft carriers. By mid-May 1942, the Lexington was sunk, the Saratoga was torpedoed, and the Yorktown was badly damaged. The fleet was in urgent need of replenishment. The USS Wasp hurried to the rescue, escorted by the battleship North Carolina. By the time the Panama Kapal ships passed, the peak of the crisis in the Pacific campaign had passed safely for the Americans, but the Yorktown was lost in the Battle of Midway and the Pacific Fleet needed a new aircraft carrier even more urgently. Wasp, North Carolina, and four cruisers made up the TF-18 formation. The formation arrived in San Diego on June 15, 1942, and then headed for the South Pacific. Along the way, "North Carolina" was isolated from TF-18 and became part of the TG-61 group. 2 guarding the USS Enterprise. Enterprise aircraft were involved in Operation Watchtower, the landing on Guadalcanal, which began on August 7, 1942. As part of TG-61. 2 "North Carolina" took part in a two-day battle off the Eastern Solomon Islands. August 23-24, 1942 At one point in the battle, the battleship's anti-aircraft guns became so dense that the North Carolina disappeared in clouds of smoke. A request was received from the Enterprise - what is wrong with the ship, do you need help? In eight minutes, the battleship's anti-aircraft gunners shot down 18 Japanese aircraft and damaged seven (or seventy - it was not possible to establish exactly). Thanks to the art of the North Carolina anti-aircraft gunners, the American fleet then had no losses.

Despite clear success in the first battle, North Carolina failed to protect the USS Wasp in the next. Perhaps that battle was the most successful example of the use of torpedo weapons in history. On September 14, 1942, the Japanese submarine 1-19 fired a salvo of six torpedoes at an aircraft carrier from a distance of approximately 1400 m. One covered a distance of ten miles, passing the keels of two destroyers along the way. after which it stuck into the left side of the nose of the "North Carolina" below the armored belt. As a result of the explosion of a torpedo, a hole of 32 square meters was formed in the board. foot through which the ship received 1000 tons of water. Two torpedoes passed in front of the nose of the aircraft carrier, one of them hit the destroyer O'Brien (also in the left bow of the hull, the torpedo passed 11 miles). The remaining three torpedoes hit the starboard side of the aircraft carrier. The consequences of the torpedo explosions became catastrophic for the aircraft carrier. The ship did not sank, but its repair did not make sense. "O" Brien lost her nose and sank three days later. "North Carolina" acquired a negative pitch angle of 5 degrees, the bow cellar of the battleship's ammunition was flooded. Attempts to tow the battleship were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the battleship continued to guard the aircraft carrier Enterprise under its own vehicles. sometimes developing a stroke of 25 knots. There was no danger of flooding, but the damage to the battleship turned out to be great. The ship was sent to Pearl Harbor for repairs, and the Enterprise went there along with the battleship. The battleship was under repair until January 1943.

The American fleet in the South Pacific remained without high-speed battleships for only three weeks - Washington came from the Atlantic to Noumea already on October 9, 1942. A week later, South Dakota and Enterprise (reorganized) left Pearl Harbor for the South Pacific. connection TF-6I). "Washington" became part of the TF-64 compound. along with three cruisers and six destroyers. This connection was intended to escort convoys between Noumea and Gaudalcanal. the formation was commanded by Rear Admiral Wills A. "Ching" Lee. formerly served as Chief of Staff to the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral William F. "Bill" Halsey. Lee would spend most of the war as commander of TF-64. The admiral was at the right time and in the right place. Subsequent events culminated in the confrontation between American and Japanese battleships in the Pacific. The month of the war of battleships has come.

The month began with an attempt by Japanese aircraft carriers to make another raid in the area of ​​the Solomon Islands. Again, the aircraft carriers of the United States fleet rushed to intercept them, and again, high-speed battleships provided an escort for carrier-based aircraft carriers. "South Dakota" was still guarding the "Enterprise", retaining the aircraft carrier in the tough case at Santa Cruz, which took place on October 26, 1942. Then the battleship's anti-aircraft gunners shot down at least 26 Japanese airplanes. The next day, the battleship Washington was nearly hit by a torpedo fired by the submarine I-15. On the same day, the South Dakota became the target of a Japanese submarine attack. Dodging a torpedo, the South Dakota collided with the destroyer Mahan. Fortunately, none of the ships received serious damage.

Admiral Lee's battleships went into action again two weeks later. On November 11, 1942, the TF-64 formation was reorganized, it included the battleships "South Dakota" and "Washington", the destroyers "Winham" and "Welk". The connection was intended to give additional protection to the TF-16 grouping, the core of the bark was the aircraft carrier Enterprise. Two days later, after the dramatic first naval battle at Guadalcanal, TF-64 was reinforced by the destroyers Preston and Gwin. The unit was ordered to go to Guadalcanal in case of a possible second coming of the Japanese Admiral Kondo. On November 14, Lee approached the strait, and from the other end Kondo sailed here with his battleship Kirishima, heavy cruisers Rakao and Atagi, light cruisers Nagara and Sendai, and eight destroyers.

The forces of the opponents, who inexorably walked towards each other, were theoretically approximately equal. The Japanese had more ships, and Lee had more large-caliber artillery. In addition, Admiral Lee had the opportunity to use radar, which the Japanese were completely deprived of. But the Japanese had excellent training for naval battles at night and far surpassed the Americans in the art of using torpedo weapons. Kondo led his forces in four separate columns. Lee lined up his squadron with the destroyers at the head, followed by the Washington and South Dakota.

The Japanese discovered the American fleet at 10:15 p.m. on November 14, 1942, identifying the enemy forces as four destroyers and two heavy cruisers. At 2245 Lee changed course, heading south. At 23.00, the radar of the battleship "Washington" spotted Japanese ships. Minutes later, eye contact was made. At 23:17, the battleship Washington opened fire with its main caliber on the Japanese destroyers. The destroyers withdrew undamaged. The return fire of the Japanese heavy ships and the main group of destroyers led to horrific consequences for the American destroyers. The two lines of enemy ships diverged on opposite courses. The Japanese put all their artillery and all their torpedo tubes into action. The destroyer "Priston" came under concentrated fire from the cruiser "Nagara" and destroyers. The destroyer exploded at 23.27 and disappeared from the surface nine minutes later. The destroyer Welk was next in sight of the Nagara gunners. It was hit by a torpedo at 23:32. The ship sank 11 minutes later.

However, the fight was not at all like a one-sided game. As soon as the American battleships entered the business, events quickly took a completely different turn. The lead Japanese destroyer "Ayanami" received three gifts of the main caliber from the "South Dakota" at 23.32, after which it was engulfed in flames.

Eight minutes later, the fire reached the magazines of the ammunition, and after seven minutes, "Annami" went down in history. The fight, however, was far from over. Another American destroyer in the line - "Gwin" - received a portion of 1-inch shells from the "Nagara" at 23.37, after which it was forced to withdraw from the battle. Benham, the last American destroyer, received a torpedo in her bow a minute later. Its speed immediately dropped to 5 knots, but the ship still remained afloat, although it was no longer possible to continue the battle.

Suddenly, silence hung over the gray waves of the greatest of the oceans of the planet Earth. Relative silence: the noise of ship engines after the rumble of artillery reminded the sailors of the chirping of grasshoppers among the fields of Arizona and the fields of Fujiyama. The guns fell silent, for at 23.43 the column of the Japanese samurai of Nagara went beyond the firing range of the American ships. The two battleships of the US Navy still held out to the west. The lull was just an episode on the way to a climax. The main forces of the Japanese appeared on the scene - the Kondo column consisting of the battleship Kirishima, two heavy cruisers and two destroyers. And here is Lee. at the most critical moment, an unfortunate incident occurred: the radar of the main battery fire control system on the battleship South Dakota failed. Another problem faced by the American naval commander. there was a violation of battle formation by battleships. The ships walked in the wake of each other for a very short time. To avoid a collision with sinking and damaged destroyers, the South Dakota took to the north, as a result of which it was a good few hundred meters closer to the Japanese than the Washington. Unexpectedly, at 2350, South Dakota was illuminated by the searchlight of the Japanese battleship Kirishima. At the same time, all five Japanese ships fired on the battleship of the US Navy. In a short time, 27 shells with a caliber of 5 inches or more hit South Dakota. The South Dakota was unable to return fire to fire. The third tower of the main caliber was temporarily out of order, a fire spread through the superstructure, among the team 58 people were killed and 60 injured. The South Dakota turned south.

However, the South Dakota situation also had some positive side. Behind the flaming Dakota, the Japanese did not see the Washington, whose radar worked properly in normal mode. Around midnight, the Washington opened fire with its main caliber from a distance of 8000 m. The battleship in the shortest possible time laid nine 16-inch shells and more than 40 5-inch shells in the Kirishima. On the Kirishima, the poorly armored steering gear failed, after which the Japanese battleship began to describe a wide circulation. Kondo had only one thing left - to give the order to withdraw, so as not to give up. "Washington" tried to pursue the enemy for several miles, but then the Yankees decided: "Game over." "Kirishima", unable to stay on course, was flooded by the Japanese themselves at 3.20 November 15, 1942.

For the first and last time in the entire war, American high-speed battleships met face to face in open battle with their Japanese opponent, the battle was won by ships of the United States fleet. It is worth noting that the conditions of the battle are not quite equal. "Kirishima" at a venerable age, which was approaching 30 years old, was two generations older than the American battleships, that is, they were fit for their grandfathers. The Kirishima began its life as a battlecruiser designed by the British during the First World War, and then, with successive steps, it was turned into a high-speed battleship. Booking "Kirishima" was half inferior to booking "Washington" or "South Dakota". Was it armor? Kirishima's sister ship, the Hiei battleship, two days earlier, also in a night battle, the Americans took out of the battle with one hit of an 8-inch projectile on the steering machine. The Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended in victory for the American fleet, but the price, as in many other cases that took place in the waters of the Solomon Islands, was high. Three American destroyers sank (Benham sank by the end of the day), another destroyer and the battleship South Dakota were heavily damaged. It took seven months to repair the battleship.

Meanwhile, other South Dakota-class ships had completed combat training and were ready to take part in the fighting. "Massachusetts" received a baptism of fire on November 8, 1942 off the coast of North Africa, where the battleship escorted transports with landing forces that took part in Operation Torch. The American battleship also took part in the "neutralization" of the French battleship Jean Bar. The Massachusetts hit the Jean Bart with five 16-inch shells and disabled the French ship's only active main battery turret. By the evening of November 8, the invasion fleet began to be threatened by several destroyers of the Vichy government fleet. One 16-inch Massachusetts shell and several 8-inch shells fired through the Tuscaloosa's gun barrels sank the destroyer Fogue. In this battle, Massachusetts was nearly hit by a torpedo fired by a French submarine. The torpedo missed the battleship's hull only 15 feet away. By nightfall, a 16-inch shell from the American battleship's guns pierced the bow of the French destroyer Milan, after which the latter withdrew from the battle. At about 11 p.m., Massachusetts was hit by a 5-inch cannon shell from the French destroyer Boulogne, which soon disappeared in a flurry of concentrated artillery fire from the battleship Massachusetts and the light cruiser Brooklyn. The battle ended with a direct hit by a 16-inch shell from the battleship Massachusetts on the French flagship, the light cruiser Primakyu. The French fought bravely, but their light forces stood no chance against the latest fast battleship in the US Navy. The commander of the French squadron gave the order to return to port.

"Indiana" at the end of November 1942 was in the waters of. Tonga, where she, along with Washington and the refurbished North Carolina, provided cover for the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Saratoga during operations off Guadalcanal. Here, there was not much work for the battleships, since both the Japanese and the Americans had not yet recovered from the fierce naval battles off the Solomon Islands. For the first almost six months of 1943, there were almost no major naval battles in the South Pacific. Most of this period, teams of fast American battleships spent on Noumea. where they periodically hunted the wild animals of New Caledonia, took them for food, washing down the meat with excellent Australian champagne. Time worked for America. When the US Navy resumed offensive operations in the Pacific in mid-1943, the command already had a much stronger fleet at its disposal.

The activity of the American fleet in 1943 resumed in June both in the Pacific and in the Atlantic. The refurbished South Dakota joined the Alabama at Scapa Flow. enabling the British to send the battleships of the Home Fleet Hove and King George V to Sicily to participate in Operation Husky. Together with the remaining British battleships of the Anson Home Fleet. Duke of York and Malaya, cruisers Augusta and Tuscaloosa, two American battleships took part in a demonstration off the coast of Norway in order to divert the attention of the Kriegsmarine command from the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately for the Allies, German intelligence did not detect the movements of the Anglo-American fleet. Shortly after the demonstration, the South Dakota left the hospitable waters of Great Britain, leaving for the Pacific Ocean, where the battleships Washington, North Carolina and Indiana formed the TF3 formation. 3, designed to support Operation Cartwil, the June 30 invasion of New Georgia. It was the first of the typical amphibious operations in which high-speed battleships of the US Navy were involved - three battleships escorted aircraft carriers (in this case, the American "Saratoga" and the British "Victorius"), while the "old" battleships provided fire support for the invasion forces . Later, "Indiana" will be involved in the escort of the first raid of aircraft carriers, during which, on August 31, carrier-based aircraft hit Makin. The aircraft carriers Yorktown, Essex and Independence took part in that raid.

Indiana returned to the Gilbert Islands on November 19, 1943 as part of TF50 formation. 2 with the battleship North Carolina. The battleships came in the escort of the aircraft carriers Enterprise, Belly Wood and Monterey, involved in Operation Galvanic, the invasion of Makin. Washington, South Dakota, and Massachusetts made up the TF50 compound. 1, which also included the aircraft carriers Yorktown, Lexington and Cowpens, which covered the landing on Mile. At the end of August, carrier-based aircraft softened the Japanese defenses on the Gilbert Islands, so the samurai resisted the invasion for no more than a week. The Japanese were able to hold out only on Makin and, to a greater extent, on Tarawa. The same five high-speed battleships were brought together again by December 8 to cover the movement of aircraft carriers in the direction of Kwajalein. All five battleships became part of one formation, TF50. 8, commanded by Rear Admiral Lee. The battleships advanced to Nauru under the cover of aircraft from the aircraft carriers Bunker Hill and Monterey, where they fired 810 16-inch caliber shells and 3400 5-inch caliber shells at the small Japanese garrison of the island. By return fire, the Japanese sank one destroyer guarding the American squadron.

High-speed battleships again found themselves in the fire of battle January 29, 1944 - Operation Flintlock, the invasion of the Marshall Islands. Now there were already eight battleships, the Alabama (came from the Atlantic) and the first two Iowas (Iowa and New Jersey) were added. Again, the battleships were divided between aircraft carrier groups. "Washington", "Indiana" and "Massachusetts" were attached to the connection TG58. 1 ("Enterprise", "Yorktown" and "Belli Wood"), operating in the waters of the islands of Roy and Namur (Kwajalein). "North Carolina", "South Dakota" and "Alabama" escorted the aircraft carriers "Essex", "Intrepid" and "Cabot" of the TG58 formation. 2 in the waters of Maloelap. The newest "Iowa" and "New Jersey" worked in the interests of TG58. 3 ("Bunker Hill", "Monterey" and "Cowpens") in the Enewetok area. In the early hours of February 1, the battleships Indiana and Washington collided in the waters of Kwajalein. The ships were not seriously damaged, but their combat activity was interrupted for several months.

The six surviving high-speed battleships took part in the raid under the code name "Halestone", undertaken against Truk Island on February 17-18, 1944. "Iowa" and "New Jersey" were attached to the formation TG50. 9. Then Admiral Spruance chose the battleship New Jersey as his flagship. The other four battleships, along with the escort aircraft carriers, made up the TG58 formation. 3, it played an auxiliary role in the operation. A month later, on March 18, the Iowa and New Jersey, again under Rear Admiral Lee, escorted the USS Lexington and seven destroyers in TG50. 10 during the bombardment of Milli Atoll, south of Majuro. During the operation, Iowa received several direct hits from 6-inch shells fired by Japanese coastal batteries, which, however, did not cause serious damage to the ship. The battleship remained in the battle line. A similar grouping was formed on May 1, it was again commanded by our good friend Lee (already Vice Admiral!). for a raid on Ponape Island from the Caroline Archipelago. Seven fast battleships (Indiana was suspended) and ten destroyers, supported by aircraft from aircraft carriers of the TF58 formation. 1 fired back at the island without interference.

For the next raiding operation, seven battleships were again brought together, although now the place of "Massachusetts" was taken by "Washington" (with a new bow); "Massachusetts" went for repairs. The battleships formed the core of the TG58 group. 7. intended for shelling the enemy as part of Operation Forager - the invasion of the Mariana Islands. Spruance expected opposition from the Japanese fleet. The expectations of the American naval commander were justified - on June 18, 1944, an epic naval battle unfolded in the Philippine Sea, well known as the Great Marianas Rout. Lee's battleships then formed the core of the 5th Fleet. Throughout the day, American battleships were subjected to sporadic raids by Japanese aircraft, the main target of which was actually the US Navy aircraft carriers. "South Dakota" then received one direct hit by an air bomb, another bomb exploded under the side of the "Indiana".

Spruance's strategies in that three-day battle, according to modern critical experts, lacked aggressiveness at times. Most of the questions are caused by the decision of the admiral to turn away from Ozawa's fleet on the evening of the 18th, leaving the initiative in the hands of the Japanese naval commander. Spruance's decision was then very much influenced by Lee, who did not want to risk his as yet undamaged battleships in a night battle with the Japanese, known for their art of warfare at night. Lee reasonably doubted the possibility of his ships, which had never yet operated in a single battle formation, to inflict more damage on the enemy than the enemy would inflict on them.

The damage inflicted on the South Dakota did not become a reason for sending the battleship for repairs to Pearl Harbor. At the same time, the North Carolina went to the West Coast of the States for repairs, which this ship needed more than the South Dakota. Thus, six high-speed battleships remained available, capable of taking part in Admiral Halsey's TF38 raid in the Philippine Sea in September - October 1944.

And again, the grouping of fast battleships was dismembered. "Iowa" and "New Jersey" (Admiral Halsey's flagship) gave the TG38 compound. 3. Four other battleships ("Washington", "Indiana", "Massachusetts" and "Alabama") entered TG38. 3. "Washington" - the flagship of Admiral Lee. These forces supported raids on Palatz (September 6–8), Mindanao (September 10), Visayas (September 12–14) and Luzon (September 21–22). During the short pause that followed the strike on Luzon. "South Dakota" was replaced by "Indiana"; "South Dakota" went for repairs. The strikes resumed with a raid against Okinawa (October 10), then again against Luzon (October 11), then Formosa (October 12-14), Luzon again (October 15). In anticipation of the invasion of Leyte Gulf, which began on October 17, Washington and Alabama were transferred from TG38. 3 in TG38. 4.

The Imperial Japanese Navy responded to the American invasion of the Philippines by bringing together all of its main forces for the last time. The last time Lee's battleships had an excellent chance, with a high probability of a successful outcome, to meet face-to-face with their opponents without intermediaries in the form of aircraft carriers. This chance did not work out for Lee.

The high-speed battleships were distributed in pairs among Admiral Halsey's aircraft carrier formation, which was in the San Bernardino Strait for most of the day on October 24. By the main forces of the Japanese fleet, the squadron of Admiral Kuri. carrier-based aircraft of the American fleet worked. The planes sank the super-linker Musashi, and the Kurita formation was partly sunk and partly dispersed. By the evening of October 24, the aircraft carriers of the Northern Fleet of Admiral Ozawa, who acted independently, were seen by the Americans north of Luzon. At 15:12 Halsey ordered Lee's fast battleships to head north, separating them into a separate formation, TF34.

Lee protested against the exclusion of his battleships from the general fleet and the immediate dispatch of ships from the San Bernardino Strait. He protested twice, both of which had no effect on Halsey. There were not even radar patrol destroyers left in the San Bernardino Strait.

In a slow and dangerous night maneuver, Lee regrouped his forces, concentrating his battleships in a screen in front of the carriers. Maneuvering took most of the night. At dawn on October 25, TF34 was formed and, at the head of Halsey's fleet, began to pursue Ozawa's aircraft carriers at high speed, the American fleet filled the entire horizon. Three hours after Halsey's departure from the strait, the ships of Admiral Kurita's Central Squadron arrived here. Accurately at the time of Halsey's first attack on Ozawa's ships, Admiral Kincaid, who was in Leyte Gulf, 300 miles to the south, radioed for help. Admiral Nimitz at Pearl Harbor heard Kincaid's calls and did not understand how the Japanese had gone undetected right on the Taffy-3 compound and why the Japanese had not been intercepted by Lee's battleships. At 10:00 Nimitz radioed Halsey:

- FROM WITH IN PAC ACYION COM TFIRD FLEET INFO COMINCH CTF77 X WHERE IS RPT WHERE IS TF34 RR THE WORLD WONDERS

The last three words were added to the radiogram to confuse Japanese cryptographers, but Halsey took them personally. Halsey flew into a rage, believing that he was put up as an eccentric with the letter "M" in front of Admiral King (COMINCH) and Admiral Kincaid (CTF77). The admiral had a stroke, almost an hour passed before he gave the order to Admiral Lee at 10.55 at full speed to help. TF34 returned to the channel at 01:00 on October 26, having left Kurita three hours earlier. The irony of fate - at the time of receiving the order to return to San Bernardino, Lee's battleships were only 42 miles from Ozawa's aircraft carriers. There was a chance for a successful battle both at the starting point and at the end point of the route. As a result, it didn't work out. not here. Four battleships scurried across the sea-ocean in a completely indecent way.

The chance for the last general battle of the battle fleets turned out to be missed, to the great indignation of naval historians of all countries and generations - how many lost fees! It's one thing to criticize Halsey and Lee, it's another to describe the battle. The number of printed characters, directly proportional to the amount of the fee, in the latter case increases many times over. Well - so lay the cards of historical solitaire.

Having missed the chance to put an end to the sunset of their historical career, American battleships escorted aircraft carriers for the rest of the war, occasionally being involved in shelling Japanese coastal positions. Of the significant events, it is worth noting that the New Jersey and the newest Wisconsin campaign to Cam Ranh Bay in January 1945 guarding a cruiser and destroyer in order to shoot at the surviving ships of Kurita, who allegedly found their refuge in Cam Ranh. The campaign was interrupted, as on January 12, aviation reconnaissance was convinced of the absence of Kurita in Cam Ranh.

With the exception of the campaign to Cam Ranh, high-speed battleships were engaged until the end of the war exclusively in escorting aircraft carriers. Battleships, together with aircraft carriers, passed from November 1944 to March 1945 Luzon, Okinawa, Indochina, mainland China, Formosa and the waters of the Japanese islands. On January 25, the Indiana bombarded Iwo Jima once, firing 203 16-inch shells. In April 1945, the main efforts of the American fleet were directed to Okinawa, then high-speed battleships fired several times at the positions of the Japanese on the island. When the carriers returned to Japanese waters in July, the fast battleships came with them. The South Dakota, Indiana, and Massachusetts bombarded Kamaishi Island on July 14. 29–30 July aircraft factory at Hamamatsu and again on 9 August 1945 Kamaishi Island.

Victory Day over Japan found the fast battleships of the US Navy in Tokyo Bay divided into four aircraft carrier groups. The fact that the South Dakota was the flagship of Admiral Nimitz, and the signing of the Japanese Surrender Act on board the Missouri completely obscured the very modest contribution that high-speed battleships actually made to the outcome of the Pacific campaign. In fact, except for the first battles, these ships acted only as high-speed armored floating batteries.

With the end of World War II, heated discussions unfolded in the United States about reducing appropriations for military needs, as well as about ways to further build the armed forces in general and the Navy in particular. Including discussed the fate of the ten newest battleships. These ships became the crown of development, but the crown of development, according to most experts, no longer had a future. Battleships couldn't fly. Aircraft have finally become the main caliber of the navy.

In 1946, the battleship Missouri took part in the very successful Operation Goodwill, a campaign in the Mediterranean Sea, undertaken to limit the activity of the communist movement in Greece and Turkey. The operation of large ships with numerous crews required significant costs, while the role of such ships remained not entirely clear. In this light, the decision to withdraw battleships from the combat strength of the fleet looks logical. September 11, 1946, exactly one year after the Victory Day over Japan, the Indiana was withdrawn from the Navy. "North Carolina" and three other "South Dakotas" followed the path laid by "Indiana" in 1947, "New Jersey" and "Wisconsin" were excluded from the lists of the fleet in 1948, "Iowa" - in 1949.

At the start of the Korean War in 1950, the only battleship remaining in the US Navy was the Missouri. He arrived off the coast of Korea in mid-September 1950 and immediately began using his large guns to very remarkable effect. The assessment of the combat work was so high that it was decided in 1951 to put three battleships of the Iowa type back into operation.

The second "round" of the Iowa combat service turned out to be longer than the first. The interested parties signed a truce in 1952, but before the truce, the main caliber of four American battleships actively fought against the threat of communism, shelling Korea from the left and right, in the sense from the East and from the West. Two years after the armistice, four battleships remained in the combat strength of the Navy, until legislators again intervened in their future fate, who decided to cut defense spending. The first on February 26, 1955, the Missouri was excluded from the lists of the combat strength of the Navy. The following year, the "sisters" "Missouri" were sent to rest. The Mississippi was withdrawn from the Navy on March 8, 1958 - for the first time since 1895, not a single battleship remained in the US Navy.

SK

SK-2

One after another, the battleships went to the cutting, although there were also supporters of the continuation of the active service of battleships. At the beginning of the 1950s, the possibility of increasing the full speed of six old "high-speed" battleships to 31 knots was studied, so that they could again be used to escort aircraft carriers. The price of such an improvement turned out to be prohibitively high, which is why the idea had to be abandoned. The North Carolina and Washington were scrapped on June 1, 1960 (the North Carolina, however, was preserved as a memorial ship). Two years later, it was time for the four South Dakotas. Two of them, "Massachusetts" and "Alabama", put on eternal parking. If the Vietnam War had not happened, then a similar fate would most likely have awaited Iowa. The Vietnam War made me think about battleships - a decision was made to modernize and commission the New Jersey. The battleship once again entered the combat structure of the US Navy on April 8, 1968. The participation of the battleship in the Vietnam events turned out to be very short-lived, despite the extremely positive effect of its main caliber. Anxious diplomats made a fuss about "... destabilizing influence ..." in fear of a possible super-response of the enemy. December 17, 1969 "New Jersey" was again pushed into the reserve.

The radio equipment of the Iowa differed from that of the New Jersey only by the installation of an FC antenna on a tower-like superstructure. Coloring - extremely unusual, camouflage: Dull Black/Ocean Gray. Please note: one side of the black stripes is clear, the other is "softened" with gray paint. This paint scheme was developed for use in the Atlantic on escort aircraft carriers. Presumably, "Iowa" styles are the only ship in the Pacific Ocean, painted according to this scheme.

A ray of light in the dark life of old battleships flashed again in the 70s. Many narrow-minded people from among the inhabitants of the Pentagon have repeatedly criticized the authorities for their desire to store expensive relics of the Second World War. However, at the end of the decade, prominent analysts, mainly outside the Pentagon, began to work out new scenarios for naval policy, in which there was a place for battleships. Since the mid-1960s, the US Navy has been undergoing a rather slow process of replacing surface ships built during the Second World War with new ships focused on use in the oceans under the dominance of aircraft carriers and submarines as the main means of waging war at sea. At that time, the majority of the navies of the world (but not the Navy) were armed with relatively small and relatively weak ships that were intended to combat aircraft and submarines. In most cases, they did not have body armor at all, and their superstructures were generally made of aluminum. Artillery, on the other hand, was represented at best by a caliber of 5 inches. The ships were intended to protect aircraft carriers or to hunt for enemy submarines. The main work was assigned to carrier-based aviation.

fire control radar

FC

FH

In the late 1970s, this approach to the construction of the Navy was criticized by prominent representatives of the expert community. The Vietnam War showed that the development of air defense systems is progressing as rapidly as the development of aviation. This conclusion was confirmed during the Middle East war of 1973. At that time, the Israeli Air Force fulfilled the tasks assigned to them only at the cost of very large losses in people and equipment. Even if the level of losses in tactical aircraft participating in the raid is 1% (a very optimistic estimate), their cost becomes fabulous - the price of one aircraft already then went off scale for a million dollars. In addition, again with a loss level of 1%, two aircraft carriers (the standard composition of the US Navy aircraft carrier group) are not capable of providing close air support to the ground forces in the required volume for more or less a long time. None of the above problems could have been solved by the guns of the ships of that time. 5-inch caliber shells did not have sufficient damaging effect to destroy coastal fortifications. The big question is that ships that are not protected by armor will be able to withstand the fire of ground artillery and tanks. Aluminum burns, and the superstructures of many American ships were made of aluminum to save weight. What a fire on an “aluminum” ship can lead to was well shown by the collision of the Belknap cruiser with the Kennedy aircraft carrier in 1975. The British lost four destroyer-frigate class ships in the Falklands campaign, and several more ships failed due to damage, which would hardly have been fatal for ships of a similar class during the Second World War.

An alternative to the use of aviation, insufficient and sometimes inadequate, analysts saw in the high-speed battleships of the Second World War. At the end of the 1970s, the issue of introducing ships of the Iowa type into the combat structure of the US Navy again arose on the agenda. The logic is simple: aircraft from two aircraft carriers will deliver 420 tons of explosives to the coast in about 12 hours of operations. while a battleship armed with nine 6-inch guns is capable of bringing down a similar "payload" on coastal installations in just 18 minutes. On the other hand, the range of carrier-based aircraft is several hundred miles, while the firing range of a battleship's main battery is only 20 miles. However, the experience of the Vietnam War showed that in 80% carrier-based aircraft worked on targets that could be fired from the guns of a battleship. In terms of accuracy of ammunition delivery and response time to a threat, a battleship is preferable to an aircraft. If we take naval artillery, then the 5-inch / 45-caliber guns that were widespread at that time on the ships of the US Navy simply should not be compared with the 16-inch monsters of the Iowa-class battleships. Let's compare anyway. The five-inch projectile weighs about 70 kg, the firing range is about 13 nautical miles; the projectile is capable of penetrating a 90 cm thick concrete floor. The mass of a 15-inch caliber projectile is from 860 to 1220 kg, the firing range is more than 20 nautical miles, the projectile pierces a concrete floor up to 9 m thick. New technologies have made it possible to increase the firing range of 16-inch guns to 50 nautical miles. With 12 inches of armor and an all-steel construction, the Iowa-class battleships were virtually immune to the French Exocet-type anti-ship missiles or the 500-pound bombs that had inflicted such heavy losses on the British fleet at the Falklands.

Despite the weight of the arguments of supporters of the next advent of battleships, cuts in the military budget during the presidency of Jimmy Carter made the return of the Iows to the US Navy impossible. Only the rise to power in 1980 of Ronald Reagan ignited hope in the hearts of battleship supporters. Reagan, immediately after his housewarming party, announced the start of a program to build a 600-ship navy. Appropriations allocated for fiscal year 1981 provided for the commissioning of the battleship New Jersey, appropriations for fiscal year 1982 for the commissioning of the Iowa. In the future, it was planned to modernize and commission the battleships Missouri and Wisconsin. Budget cuts and revisions of plans are typical of US politicians at the end of the 20th century, which is why the plans were not fully implemented, and the battleship commissioning program itself slowed down. The commissioning ceremony of the battleship "New Jersey" was furnished in Hollywood style, it took place on December 28, 1982 at a shipyard in Long Beach. Iowa underwent a deeper modernization, in full, and not in a truncated form like New Jersey. Iowa entered service on April 28, 1984. Congress blocked the allocation of funds for the modernization and commissioning of two other battleships. "New Jersey" proved to be excellent in the first year of service after commissioning in Nicaragua and Lebanon.

According to the plan, the New Jersey was to become the core of an autonomous formation of surface ships designed to strike at the coast and enemy ships.

For a complete understanding of the picture: a battleship is a class of heavy armored artillery warships with a displacement of 20 to 70 thousand tons, a length of 150 to 280 m, with a caliber of main caliber guns of 280-460 mm, with a crew of 1500-2800 people.

Battleships became an evolutionary development of battleships in the second half of the 19th century. But before they were sunk-decommissioned-turned into museums, the ships had to go through a lot. We'll talk about this.

Richelieu

• Length - 247.9 m
• Displacement - 47 thousand tons

Named after the famous statesman of France, Cardinal Richelieu. It was built to stop the raging fleet of Italy. He never went into a real battle, except for participation in the Senegalese operation in 1940. Sadness: in 1968, "Richelieu" was sent for scrap. Only one of his guns survived - they were installed in the port of Brest as a monument.

Source: wikipedia.org

Bismarck

• Length - 251 m
• Displacement - 51 thousand tons

Left the shipyard in 1939. When launching, the Fuhrer of the entire Third Reich, Adolf Hitler himself, was present. The Bismarck is one of the most famous ships of World War II. He heroically destroyed the English flagship, the cruiser Hood. For this, he also paid a heroic price: they staged a real hunt for the battleship, and yet they caught it. In May 1941, British boats and torpedo bombers sank Bismarck with a long battle.

Source: wikipedia.org

Tirpitz

• Length - 253.6 m
• Displacement - 53 thousand tons

Although the second largest battleship of Nazi Germany was launched in 1939, it practically could not take part in real battles. With his presence, he simply kept the hands of the Arctic convoy of the USSR and the British fleet tied. Tirpitz was sunk in 1944 as a result of an air raid. And then with the help of special super-heavy bombs like Tallboy.

Source: wikipedia.org

Yamato

• Length - 263 m
• Crew - 2500 people

The Yamato is one of the largest battleships in the world and the largest warship in history ever sunk in a naval battle. Until October 1944, he practically did not participate in battles. So, “little things”: fired at American ships.

On April 6, 1945, he went on another campaign, the goal was to resist the Yankee troops that had landed on Okinawa. As a result, for 2 hours in a row, the Yamato and other Japanese ships were in hell - they were fired upon by 227 American deck ships. Japan's largest battleship caught 23 hits from air bombs and torpedoes → ripped the bow compartment → the ship sank. Of the crew, 269 people survived, 3 thousand sailors died.

Source: wikipedia.org

Musashi

• Length - 263 m
• Displacement - 72 thousand tons

The second largest Japanese ship of the Second World War. Launched in 1942. The fate of Musashi is tragic:

• the first campaign - a hole in the bow (torpedo attack by an American submarine);
• the last campaign (October 1944, in the Sibuyan Sea) - came under attack by American aircraft, caught 30 torpedoes and bombs;
• along with the ship, its captain and more than a thousand crew members died.

On March 4, 2015, 70 years after the sinking, the Musashi sunk in the waters of Sibuyan was discovered by American millionaire Paul Allen. The battleship rested at a depth of one and a half kilometers.

Source: wikipedia.org

Soviet Union

• Length - 269 m
• Displacement - 65 thousand tons

"Sovki" did not build battleships. They tried only once - in 1938 they began to lay down the "Soviet Union" (Project 23 battleship). By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the ship was 19% ready. But the Germans began to actively attack, and terribly frightened the Soviet politicians. The latter, with trembling hands, signed a decree to stop the construction of the battleship, they threw all their efforts into stamping “thirty-fours”. After the war, the ship was dismantled for metal.

World War II was the golden age of battleships. The powers that claimed dominance at sea, in the pre-war years and the first few war years, laid on the stocks several dozen giant armored ships with powerful main-caliber guns. As the practice of the combat use of "steel monsters" has shown, battleships acted very effectively against formations of enemy warships, even being in the numerical minority, capable of terrifying convoys from cargo ships, but they can practically oppose nothing to aircraft that, with several hits of torpedoes and bombs, can let multi-ton giants to the bottom. During the Second World War, the Germans and Japanese preferred not to risk battleships, keeping them away from the main naval battles, throwing them into battle only at critical moments, using them very inefficiently. In turn, the Americans mainly used battleships to cover aircraft carrier groups and amphibious landings in the Pacific Ocean. Meet the ten biggest battleships of World War II.

10. Richelieu, France

Battleship "Richelieu" of the same class, has a weight of 47,500 tons and a length of 247 meters, eight guns of the main caliber of 380 mm caliber placed in two towers. The ships of this class were created by the French to counter the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean. The ship was launched in 1939 and was adopted by the French Navy a year later. The Richelieu did not actually take part in the Second World War, except for a collision with a British aircraft carrier group in 1941, during an American operation against Vichy forces in Africa. In the post-war period, the battleship was involved in the war in Indochina, covering naval convoys and supporting French troops with fire during landing operations. The battleship was withdrawn from the fleet and decommissioned in 1967.

9. Jean Bar, France

The French battleship "Jean Bar", class "Richelieu", was launched in 1940, but by the beginning of the Second World War, it was never put into the fleet. At the time of the German attack on France, the ship was 75% ready (only one main battery turret was installed), the battleship was able to get from Europe to the Moroccan port of Casablanca under its own power. Despite the absence of part of the weapons, the Jean Bar managed to take part in the hostilities on the side of the Axis countries, repelling the attacks of the US-British forces during the Allied landing in Morocco. After several hits by the main caliber guns of American battleships and aerial bombs, the ship sank on November 10, 1942. In 1944, "Jean Bar" was raised and sent to the shipyards for repairs and rearmament. The ship became part of the French Navy only in 1949, never took part in any military operation. In 1961, the battleship was withdrawn from the fleet and sent for scrap.

8. Tirpitz, Germany

The German battleship Tirpitz of the Bismarck class, launched in 1939 and put into service in 1940, had a displacement of 40,153 tons and a length of 251 meters. Eight main guns with a caliber of 380 millimeters were placed in four towers. Vessels of this class were intended for raider operations against the enemy merchant fleet. During the Second World War, after the loss of the battleship Bismarck, the German command preferred not to use heavy ships in the maritime theater of operations, in order to avoid their loss. Tirpitz spent almost the entire war standing in the fortified Norwegian fjords, taking part in only three operations to intercept convoys and support landings on the islands. The battleship sank on November 14, 1944 during a raid by British bombers, after being hit by three aerial bombs.

7. Bismarck, Germany

The battleship Bismarck, commissioned in 1940, is the only ship on this list to take part in a truly epic naval battle. For three days, the Bismarck, in the North Sea and the Atlantic, stood alone against almost the entire British fleet. The battleship was able to sink the pride of the British fleet, the cruiser Hood, in battle, and seriously damaged several ships. After numerous hits by shells and torpedoes, the battleship went under water on May 27, 1941.

6. Wisconsin, USA

The American battleship "Wisconsin", class "Iowa", with a displacement of 55,710 tons, has a length of 270 meters, on board, which has three turrets with nine 406 mm main battery guns. The ship was launched in 1943 and entered service in 1944. In 1991, the ship was withdrawn from the fleet, but remained in the US Navy reserve until 2006, becoming the last battleship in the US Navy reserve. During World War II, the ship was used to escort aircraft carrier groups, support amphibious operations, and bombard the coastal fortifications of the Japanese army. In the post-war period, he participated in the Persian Gulf War.

5. New Jersey, USA

The Iowa-class battleship New Jersey was launched in 1942 and entered service in 1943. The ship went through several major upgrades, and was eventually decommissioned from the fleet in 1991. During the Second World War, it was used to escort aircraft carrier groups, but did not really participate in any serious naval battle. For the next 46 years, she participated in the Korean, Vietnamese and Libyan wars as a support ship.

4. Missouri, USA

The Iowa-class battleship Missouri was launched in 1944 and commissioned into the Pacific Fleet the same year. The ship was withdrawn from the fleet in 1992, and turned into a floating museum ship, which is now available for anyone to visit. During the Second World War, the battleship was used to escort aircraft carrier groups and support amphibious landings, and did not participate in any serious naval battle. It was on board the Missouri that the Japanese surrender pact was signed, which put an end to World War II. In the post-war period, the battleship participated in only one major military operation, namely the Gulf War, during which the Missouri provided fire support to the multinational forces from the sea.

3. Iowa, USA

The Iowa battleship, class of the same name, was launched in 1942 and was put into service a year later, fought on all oceanic fronts of World War II. At first, he patrolled the northern latitudes of the US Atlantic coast, after which he was transferred to the Pacific Ocean, where he covered aircraft carrier groups, supported landing forces, attacked enemy coastal fortifications and participated in several naval operations to intercept strike groups of the Japanese fleet. During the Korean War, she provided artillery fire support for ground forces from the sea. In 1990, the Iowa was decommissioned and turned into a museum ship.

2. Yamato, Japan

The pride of the Japanese Imperial Navy, the Yamato battleship had a length of 247 meters, weighed 47,500 tons, had three turrets with 9 460 mm main caliber guns on board. The ship was launched in 1939, but was ready to go to sea on a military campaign only in 1942. For the entire duration of the war, the battleship took part in only three real battles, of which only in one was it able to fire on enemy ships from main battery guns. Yamato was sunk on 7 April 1945 by enemy aircraft after being hit by 13 torpedoes and 13 bombs. Today, the Yamato-class ships are considered the largest battleships in the world.

1. Musashi, Japan

"Musashi" is the younger brother of the battleship "Yamato", has similar technical characteristics and armament. The ship was launched in 1940, was put into service in 1942, but was ready to go on a military campaign only in 1943. The battleship participated in only one serious naval battle, trying to prevent the Allies from landing troops in the Philippines. On October 24, 1944, after a 16-hour battle, Musashi sank in the Sibuyan Sea, after being hit by several torpedoes and aerial bombs. Musashi, along with her brother Yamato, is considered the largest battleship in the world.

Battleships of the Second World War did not play an important role in the course of large-scale naval battles that shook the skies over the seas and oceans for exactly six years, from September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945. They did not fulfill their function, did not justify the high hopes placed on them. But a lot of money was spent on their construction, a lot of money was spent on their maintenance. The fate of these imaginary "masters of the sea", the tools of failed domination, is very instructive, and can serve as an example of incorrect calculation, incorrect forecasting of the future nature of strategy and tactics, and irrational expenditure of economic resources.

The State of Naval Tactical Thought in the Interwar Period

From the time when the Anglo-Dutch naval battles thundered on the seas, and until the middle of the 20th century, the idea of ​​an ideal ship existed and practically did not change in the minds of the command of the fleets of the whole world. The main tactical technique was formed at the same time, in the 17th century, and it consisted in lining up all the forces in a wake column, and then opening fire from all trunks. Whoever sinks more enemy units wins. Some confusion in the minds of naval commanders was introduced in 1916 by the Battle of Jutland, which took place according to a slightly different scenario. Performing vigorous maneuvering, the German squadron inflicted significant damage on the British forces, which had quantitative and qualitative superiority, suffering half as many losses and "beating on points" (to put it in sports terminology) the enemy. However, the British hurried to announce the victorious outcome of the battle, do not bother to analyze their, in general, unsuccessful actions. And you should have thought about it. Perhaps then the battleships of World War II would have been more effective weapons in the fight against fascism, or at least there would have been fewer of them, which would have freed up resources for other, more important defense programs. However, the winners of Jutland, the Germans, did not draw the right conclusions either. They (at least Hitler and his immediate circle) also considered power and size to be a priority factor in defeating the enemy. And other countries that faced heavy battles on the seas and oceans held similar views. They were all wrong.

What is a battleship?

The question is not superfluous, and in order to answer it, one should return to history, to those times when the ships (then still sailing, and later steam) of the opponents lined up in wake formations (that is, one after another), and the advantage of artillery weapons was a guarantee of victory. The formation was a straight line, this was dictated by the main principle of the battle, otherwise there would be interference in the line of fire, and the power of the guns could not be used to the full. The ships that had the largest number of guns lined up on decks were defined as "linear". The abbreviation "battleship" has taken root in the Russian fleet, consisting of the roots of the two words "linear" and "ship".

Sails gave way to steam engines and turbines, but the principle and purpose of a large artillery floating battery, protected by armor and fast, remained unchanged. It was possible to combine all the required fighting qualities only under the condition of large sizes. For this reason, the battleships of the Second World War had a monstrous displacement.

Battleships and the economy

The shipbuilders of the thirties, fulfilling the orders of the fleets and governments, tried to provide them with the most powerful and destructive weapons in the history of mankind. Not every country could afford to have at least one ship of this class; in addition to the defense function, it also played the role of a prestigious fetish. Owning battleships, the state asserted itself in its own power and demonstrated it to its neighbors. Today, the owners of nuclear weapons or aircraft carriers form a special club, access to which is allowed only to certain countries with the economic potential of the corresponding level. In the thirties, ships of the line served as a symbol of military power. Such an acquisition, not only was it very expensive, but also required additional allocations for ongoing maintenance, maintenance and training of crews and infrastructure. The fleets included units that survived the previous global conflict, but new ones were also launched. The battleships of the Second World War, that is, built between 1936 and 1945, were the focus of all the latest achievements of the technical thought of their time. Their presence served as a kind of guarantee of a new worldwide slaughter. It was possible to create such a powerful and expensive weapon only if it was to be used, and in the very near future. Otherwise, it makes no sense.

How many were there

For the entire period called pre-war (in fact, the war was already going on, in Spain and the Far East, for example), and all the years of the “hot phase” of the world conflict, the most developed countries, seeking to establish or restore their regional (or world) dominance, built twenty seven units of ships belonging to the class of linear.

Most of all, the Americans launched, as many as ten. This testifies to the quite serious intentions of the United States to maintain the level of its influence in remote areas of the World Ocean, however, without the large-scale direct participation of ground forces, which at that time were quite modest.

The second place is occupied by Britain with its five units. Good too.

Germany, having just rejected the terms of Versailles, launched four.

Italy, which claimed the role of the regional Mediterranean leader during the reign of Duce Mussolini, was able to master three large-capacity units. France managed to produce the same number of dreadnoughts.

Japanese battleships of World War II are represented by two units of the Yamato series. Relatively compared to other members of the "club", the imperial fleet was going to compensate for the small number of ships with the cyclopean size of the ships.

The figures given are actual. The plans were much bigger.

Soviet battleships of World War II were laid down in Tsarist Russia. Before the World War, the domestic fleet was developing rapidly, the modernization program launched then became the basis for growth for many years, after the revolution.

There were three battleships: "Paris Commune" ("Sevastopol"), "Marat" ("Petropavlovsk") and "October Revolution" ("Gangut"), all of the same project. They survived the hard times, albeit with damage, and served for some time after 1945. Thirty years of age for a warship is not considered advanced, and in 1941 they turned just that much. Thus, at the time of entry into the war, after the German attack, the USSR had three fairly modern units of ships of the linear class, inherited "by inheritance" from the tsarist regime. But this does not mean that the leadership of the USSR had no plans to strengthen the Navy. They were, and not only plans, but also quite specific actions. Stalin was preparing the most ambitious project in the history of domestic shipbuilding.

USSR plans

According to the government shipbuilding program adopted in 1936, over the next seven years, Soviet shipyards were to launch no less than 533 naval units. Of these, there are 24 battleships. Maybe they were going to build them in accordance with the possibilities, smaller and more modest, so to speak, in the "economy version"? No, the planned displacement is 58.5 thousand tons. Reservation - from 375 mm (belt) to 420 (base of gun turrets). Project "A" (No. 23) was calculated with the help of American engineers invited to the USSR in 1936 with appropriate pay. The Italian specialists with whom they tried to cooperate at the beginning were refused, and not because the Nazis (this circumstance did not prevent the purchase of the “blue cruiser”), they simply “did not pull” the scale of the plan. The guns were ordered from the Barricades plant (Stalingrad). Nine giant cannons of the main caliber 406-mm were supposed to fire shells of 11 centners each. Three armored decks. Only the latest battleships of Japan during the Second World War could compete with such power, but no one knew about them then, they were deeply classified, and became an unpleasant surprise for the US Navy in December 1941.

Why did the plans fail?

The battleship "Soviet Union" of project "A" was laid down in Leningrad by plant number 15 in the summer of 1938, two units ("Soviet Belarus", "Soviet Russia") began to be built in Molotovsk (today this city is called Severodvinsk), one more - in Nikolaev ("Soviet Ukraine"). So I. V. Stalin cannot be reproached for projecting and manilovism, the plans set by the party were steadily carried out. Another question is that there were objective difficulties, for which, quite possibly, some comrades who did not cope with the task subjectively answered before the law. At the time of the German attack, the ships under construction were in varying degrees of readiness, but no more than a fifth of the total amount of work. The most modern battleships of the USSR of World War II never got into combat formation, serving as donors for other important defense programs. Their guns and armor plates were used, but they themselves never went to sea. There was not enough time and experience, the development of technologies took too long a period.

What if they could?

JV Stalin was often reproached (and continues to do so) for not preparing the country to repel the German invasion. To some extent, these claims can be considered justified. However, given the situation that developed in the first months of Hitler’s aggression, today we can conclude that even the most modern and large Soviet battleships of World War II could not have influenced the course of hostilities that took place mainly on the land front. Already in the summer of 1941, the operational area of ​​the Baltic Sea, due to its geographical features (closeness), was closed with minefields and blocked by the submarine forces of the Kriegsmarine. The battleships of the USSR during the Second World War that were in service were used as stationary batteries, similar to coastal ones. With their heavy main-caliber guns, they inflicted damage on the advancing enemy, but aviation and long-range artillery succeeded more in this. In addition, going to sea with such a huge ship is fraught with great risk. He, like a magnet, attracts to himself all the forces of the enemy, who calms down only by letting him go to the bottom. A sad example is the many battleships of the Second World War, which became a steel grave for their crews.

The Germans and their ships of the line

Not only Stalin suffered from gigantomania, but also his main opponent, the German Chancellor. He had great hopes for the German battleships of the Second World War, their construction was too expensive, but it was they who were supposed to crush the naval power of the arrogant Britain. This, however, did not happen. After the loss of the Bismarck in 1941, shot down by a superior enemy, the Fuhrer treated the Tirpitz as an expensive and thoroughbred fighting dog, which is a pity to run into an ordinary dog ​​dump, but you still have to feed it, and it is used as a deterrent. For a long time, the second battleship annoyed the British until they dealt with it, bombing the beauty and pride of the Kriegsmarine in an obscure Norwegian fjord.

So the battleships of Germany rested at the bottom. In the Second World War, they got the role of huge animals, hunted down by a pack of smaller, but more agile predators. A similar fate awaited many other ships of this class. Their loss entailed huge casualties, they often died along with the crews in full force.

Japan

Who built the largest and most modern battleships of World War II? Japan. "Yamato" and the second ship of the series, which became the last, "Musashi", had a titanic displacement (total) in excess of 70 thousand tons. These giants were also armed with the most powerful guns of the main caliber 460 mm. Armor also knew no equal - from 400 to 650 mm. To destroy such a monster, dozens of direct hits from torpedoes, aerial bombs or artillery shells were required. The Americans had all these deadly weapons in sufficient quantities, and the circumstances were such that they were able to use them. They were angry at the Japanese for Pearl Harbor and knew no pity.

USA

US battleships of World War II are represented by ships of various designs, including the newest ones, launched between 1941 and 1943. These primarily include the class "Iowa", represented, in addition to the head unit, by three more ("New Jersey", "Wisconsin" and "Missouri"). On the deck of one of them, namely the Missouri, the last point was put in the six-year world war. The displacement of these giant ships is 57.5 thousand tons, they had excellent seaworthiness, but after the advent of rocket weapons, they were practically unsuitable for modern naval combat, which did not prevent them from using their artillery power for punitive purposes against countries that did not have the ability to effectively resist them. They served for a long time, and fought along different coasts:

- "New Jersey" - in Vietnamese and Lebanese.

- "Missouri" and "Wisconsin" - at the Iraqi.

Today, all three of the last US battleships of World War II are at their moorings and receiving tourist visitors.