There are no planes.
The battleship presumably is designed to stand up to shelling from an enemy battleship, and the aircraft carrier is not.
Therefore, the battleship wins if it gets close enough to the carrier to ram it, and does. The battleship’s hull has a better chance of surviving that collision. The carrier breaches and sinks.
We’re here, aren’t we?
Thank you sir/ma’am! Disappointingly, the wiki article doesn’t mention how Carson killed the alien.
Perhaps … but if you can take out the personnel while they are still on the Iowa, and damage stuff like radar, antennas and stuff on deck it can help the ‘war effort’. Though I wonder what an 85 gallon overpack that has been filled with cement weighs if you salt the cement with scrap metal. hmmm… <wanders off to ask mrAru> Filled with assorted steel crap and cement he says roughly 1500 to 2000 pounds. Lead bats + cement in an overpack down in the RadCon shop.
I think that could put a serious dent when flung even on armor. People on deck, forget it. [what is the thickness of the armor on the superstructure of the Iowa? My Janes is out in the barn]
Why not fill it with jet fuel and a fuse?
I seem to recall recall seeing carriers with very large access holes/ports in their hangar decks. Can those all be sealed? If not, perhaps battleship crew can ninja their way across to the carrier through them, without so much disadvantage.
You are starting with both ships facing bows on a 1 knott and 10 miles. If one ship starts to turn away from the other he will be presenting a broad side to be rammed. So I would assume each would try for a bows on ram. It will depend on which captian turns first.
The carrier’s bow will be a bulbous bow sticking out infront of the ship, I do not believe they are armor plated, so it is going to crush. The bow of the BB will be armor plated with a torpedo blister. The BB’s bow will plow very deep into the carrier. But if hit dead center bow to bow the BB will be stuck deep into the carrier this would give the crew of the carrier all the time to board the BB.
The trick if at the proper time the BB needs to Turn the helm full one direction wait about one minute and shift the helm full the other way. if properly timed it will allow the BB to make a major tear down the side of the carrier . And if properly timmed upset the shaft on one of the outer shafts. As the two ships pass some of the crew from the carrier canjump down on the the BB’s deck. But at a combined speed aproaching 60 knotts the two ships will not be in contact long. After the BB clears the carrier the BB’s crew can clean up the members of the carrier crew. If done right the carriers speed will be cut more than the BB’s. Now the BB can circle around and make a pass at the carrier’s stern to take out the rudders and then the other outside shaft. Now the BB attemps to punch more holes in the carrier.
Now if the carrier’s captian turns the right way at the right time he may be able to cause the BB to get burried deep in the carrier’s hull wher it can not get away. Also If the carrier gets lucky no holes punched in its hull as the two ships pass and if as they pass the carrier turns into the BB they should be able to take out one screw on the BB.
As as I see it which one will win, “it depends”.
No offence, but why is this thread in GD?
Iowa displaced mass: 45.000 tons. Nimitz displaced mass: a little over a hundred thou (plus the mass of the planes, assuming second hypothetical).
Nimitz rams Iowa at full speed. Game ? Over.
Sadly there are giant catapults sitting on the aircraft carrier deck, just ten miles away! Oh, sweet IRONY! 
That was where I thought I saw the previous Battleship v. Carrier thread.
I can’t wait for the clipper ship vs. 3-masted schooner thread. Followed shortly by the kayak vs. canoe one.
That shouldn’t have been here either.
My bad. I figured the community liked it there, given that the original run of that thread was about 7 days without it getting moved.
Hey, no problem.
It was just something I was wondering about - this thread seems like classic IMHO fodder. But the Mods apparently think otherwise.
Essentially zero, in terms of major caliber shells and bombs. However, even though the superstructure is made of mild steel (I forget the thickness. Half inch? Less?), it will provide some cover and protection from small arms fire (anything less than 50 cal).
Heh so a ton or more of cement and scrap metal will pretty much blow through it at steam catapoult+terminal velocity speed …
So much for that.
Terminal velocity? You’re not going to get to terminal velocity (which I interpret to mean the highest gravity induced speed possible in an atmosphere) falling from flight deck level to the water line/sea level.
Ramming is an option but it would be my last choice. Ramming causes damage to both ships and you’d be left in the middle of the ocean with a damaged vessel.
Triremes and icebreakers were designed to run into things and survive but not at 56mph.
If the Iowa managed to position itself in such a way that it could centerpunch the Nimitz at full speed, it would definately sink the Nimitz but how much damage would the Iowa sustain? I assume the Nimitz would not be a sitting duck. If it were dead in the water, there would be no point in ramming it.