# Coolest Battleships / Battleship Designs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817 "2009-06-05T14:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/21 "2009-06-05T18:54:20Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > For pure awesome, I lean toward the _Iowas_. For level of fear inspired among enemies, it’s hard to beat _Bismarck_ and _Tirpitz_ – the allied Pacific fleet monitored the _Tirpitz_ 'round the clock while she sat in a fjord in Norway. Now that’s badassery. > > For looks, the _Iowas_, [_Scharnhorst_](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/scharnhorst_main_page.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/&usg=__F-wLV_V10Jf0_GIMPJ-xNDkWdic=&h=294&w=750&sz=38&hl=en&start=13&tbnid=utmTha2pyc9MOM:&tbnh=55&tbnw=141&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dscharnhorst%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG), or the aforementioned HMS _Tiger_. > Do US Civil War ironclads fall into the category we’re discussing, or is that _another_ thread? Not my thread , but I don’t see why not. Steam engines and iron clad if nothing else, hulls. The monitor went on to last right up into the early nineteenth century in design, and served as inspiration in the Viet Nam war. Declan ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/22 "2009-06-05T19:01:11Z")
I’ve always thought the Italian Littorio class battleships were very beautiful. They just had very graceful clean lines. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/23 "2009-06-05T19:31:10Z")
BB-64, the USS Wisconsin, because: 1. I think she’s beautiful, and 2. My dad served aboard her in WW2. Here’s the Wisconsin firing a [full broadside](http://www.chuckhawks.com/wiscon.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/24 "2009-06-05T19:48:36Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > That thing is awesome! At least inasmuch as it is ghastly making it awesome. > > WTF were they thinking? Looks like they put small cannons up on the masts. 🙂 Yes, the battleships of the 1890’s had machine guns in the masts as a defense against (at the time) small torpedo boats. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/25 "2009-06-06T03:04:34Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > For pure awesome, I lean toward the _Iowas_. For level of fear inspired among enemies, it’s hard to beat _Bismarck_ and _Tirpitz_ – the allied Pacific fleet monitored the _Tirpitz_ 'round the clock while she sat in a fjord in Norway. Now that’s badassery. If the Allies _Pacific_ fleet was monitoring the Tirpitz then I would have to agree that it was truly bad ass. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/26 "2009-06-06T03:12:27Z")
Just off topic, but the Tiger at the time of Jutland was a very inefficient ship. It had poor gunnery (it was relatively new) and the crew included a lot of bad elements including previous deserters and such. End of off topic. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/27 "2009-06-06T03:19:22Z")
This thread has absolutely no legitimacy if sails are against the rules. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/28 "2009-06-06T05:53:54Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > If the Allies _Pacific_ fleet was monitoring the Tirpitz then I would have to agree that it was truly bad ass. > 😉 Yeah, that’s why I mentioned it! The Tirpitz was in Norway and the US Pacific fleet got constant updates on whether she had steam up because they wanted as much notice as possible, _on the other side of the world._ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/29 "2009-06-06T06:44:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > [The Massena](http://www.cityofart.net/bship/massena.html), for being so mind-numbingly ugly. Pure steampunk nightmare fuel. > > I love the pre-dreadnoughts, particularly the French ones. Their designers clearly had no idea what they were doing, so they let their imaginations run wild. Yes, those pre-dreadnoughts were truly cool. Too bad there was hardly any actions for them, other than the Russo-Japanese turkey shoot and the Spanish-America turkey shoot. Oddly, in both cases, one fleet pretty much wiped the other with little or no losses on their part. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/30 "2009-06-06T13:57:04Z")
Well, I’ve got two that I’m fond of, but they barely qualify…because they didn’t actually exist. Or, rather, were never built/completed. One was actually a modification of the _Iowa_-class…the “Interdiction Assault Ship” concept from the late 70s, which involved turning an _Iowa_ into a hybrid [battleship](http://www.combatreform2.com/chuckmyersBBG21interdictionassaultshiptn.jpg)/[aircraft carrier](http://www.combatreform2.com/chuckmyersinterdictionassaultshipreartn.jpg). Six 16"/50’s, and a Harrier squadron. [sub](Plus 155mm turrets replacing the 5" guns, and over _three hundred Tomahawks_ in a vertical launch cluster)[/sub] Yow. After that, the planned _followup_ to the _Iowa_ class, the [_Montana_ class](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana_class_battleship), armed with _12_ 16-inch guns, and big enough that it couldn’t traverse the Panama Canal. Preferably, I’d arm either of these with the Mk. 23 “Katie” nuclear shells. 15-20 kiltons of atomic hellfire, on the way! Battleship trivia of the day: An episode of the anime series _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ features two _Iowa_-class battleships as part of a future UN naval mission. But they’re the _Illinois_ and _Kentucky_—two ships of the class that were planned, but canceled during construction, and the incomplete forms scrapped in the late 50s! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/31 "2009-06-06T15:11:29Z")
The greatest Capital ships ever; the [Derfflinger Class Battlecruisers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derfflinger_class_battlecruiser). At Jutland they tooks over 30 heavy hits each and survived (_Lutzow_ was scuttled since she could not go over a sand bar, destroyed 3 brtish battlecruisers and faced the QE Class and came out better. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/32 "2009-06-11T16:57:31Z")
The german navy made a concious design choice to make their ships much tougher and survivable than the Royal Navy. This was intended to mitigate the RNs superior numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/33 "2009-06-11T17:13:27Z")
I’ve always thought The Bismark [was a good looking ship.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bb_bismarck.png) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/34 "2009-06-11T18:42:24Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Here’s the Wisconsin firing a [full broadside](http://www.chuckhawks.com/wiscon.jpg). Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/35 "2009-06-11T19:14:41Z")
I always thought the [Yamato](http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g700000/g704702.jpg) was the best looking, as well as the biggest. ---
**Author:** ![BlueOhio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@BlueOhio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueOhio)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/36 "2009-06-11T19:26:42Z")
If Chuck Norris had a BB, it would be the Tirpitz. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/37 "2009-06-11T19:37:21Z")
> [@BlueOhio](#): > > If Chuck Norris had a BB, it would be the Tirpitz. He wouln’t have one. Boxers lik Mike Tyson would have battleships. Chuck would have a destroyer or maybe a frigate. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/38 "2009-06-12T00:28:46Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I always thought the [Yamato](http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g700000/g704702.jpg) was the best looking, as well as the biggest. What about the…[_SUPER YAMATO!_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Yamato_class_battleship) 回天! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/39 "2009-06-12T01:21:25Z")
From the Super Yamato link: 100 mm (3.9 in)/65 caliber guns A 50 caliber machine guns are .50 inches. 45 caliber is .45 inches. What is the relation between 3.9 inches and 65 caliber? ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817/40 "2009-06-12T01:37:08Z")
I’d give props to the [Nelson Class](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/HMS_Nelson_%281931%29_profile_drawing.png) battleship, designed to cleverly circumvent the Washington Treaty rules. Considering how much the battleships of the time looked alike, this one was as radical as radical gets. Hence, cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-battleships-battleship-designs/498817.md?page=3)