Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The Bismarck and Tirpitz costed a fortune to make. BBs sailing the world sinking merchant vessels was a really dumb idea. The British or French with their empires, and ports around the world, and large navies would have sunk them and did. They were exceptionally poor value for money. Lots of smaller ships would have been far more useful for the largely landlocked Germans. If the money was spent on U-Boats and long range planes the return would have been greater.
Without the Swordfish the ship would not have been sunk. That is simple to understand.
Whats simple to understand is you simply changed your story when you were called out since you gave two different stories on the sinking of the Bismark. I really dont care but you could atleast admit you changed your story. Ron
The Bismarck and Tirpitz costed a fortune to make. BBs sailing the world sinking merchant vessels was a really dumb idea. The British or French with their empires, and ports around the world, and large navies would have sunk them and did. They were exceptionally poor value for money. Lots of smaller ships would have been far more useful for the largely landlocked Germans. If the money was spent on U-Boats and long range planes the return would have been greater.
Not just them, but ALL Battleships! None of the WW2 battleships offered any really decisive advantage for any of the warring nations. In the end they were just crazy-expensive national status symbols.
I do wonder what would have happened if the Kriegsmarine had been patient enough to wait for the Tirpitz to be ready... Bismarck, Tirpitz, Prinz Eugen, Gneisnau and Scharnhorst raiding together as a fleet would have made for wild times in 1941.
Still, I suppose they all would have eventually ended up on the bottom of the ocean anyway, just like Japan's battleships.
Not just them, but ALL Battleships! None of the WW2 battleships offered any really decisive advantage for any of the warring nations. In the end they were just crazy-expensive national status symbols.
I do wonder what would have happened if the Kriegsmarine had been patient enough to wait for the Tirpitz to be ready... Bismarck, Tirpitz, Prinz Eugen, Gneisnau and Scharnhorst raiding together as a fleet would have made for wild times in 1941.
Still, I suppose they all would have eventually ended up on the bottom of the ocean anyway, just like Japan's battleships.
Let us not forget the other outstanding heavy cruiser, Admiral Hipper, even if the narrow-tube boilers were problematic. And neither should we omit the two surviving Panzerschiffen, which the Brits called "Pocket Battleships:" Admiral Scheer and Luetzow (formerly Deutschland).
The Admiral Scheer made the longest and most successful commerce raiding cruise by a warship in Kriegsmarine history. It ranged from the North Atlantic to the South Atlantic, with a foray around the Cape of Good Hope, sneaking past the Royal Navy at Colombo and Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), into the Indian Ocean. During the operation, she sank 113,223 gross registered tons of shipping.
Last edited by Nighteyes; 09-01-2014 at 08:02 PM..
Not just them, but ALL Battleships! None of the WW2 battleships offered any really decisive advantage for any of the warring nations. In the end they were just crazy-expensive national status symbols.
I do wonder what would have happened if the Kriegsmarine had been patient enough to wait for the Tirpitz to be ready... Bismarck, Tirpitz, Prinz Eugen, Gneisnau and Scharnhorst raiding together as a fleet would have made for wild times in 1941.
Still, I suppose they all would have eventually ended up on the bottom of the ocean anyway, just like Japan's battleships.
BBs were relegated to shore bombardment. A very expensive way to bomb beaches.
BBs were relegated to shore bombardment. A very expensive way to bomb beaches.
That's generally true of the older BBs, although the Battle of the Surigao Strait in October of 1944 (part of the larger Battle of the Leyte Gulf) pitted US Admiral Oldendorf's six old BBs and their screen of cruisers and destroyers, plus some PT boat squadrons, against two older Japanese battleships (Fuso and Yamashiro) and their escorts. It was a one-sided American victory.
The US fast battleships in the Pacific (North-Carolina-class through Iowa-class) escorted/protected the carriers, primarily against aircraft. In the Atlantic and Med, they and the British King-George-V-class escorted convoys as long as Axis warships posed a threat.
When I read Peter C. Smith's Great Ships Pass: British Battleships at War I had the impression the Brits made good use of their BBs, until the POW/Repulse sortie and that may not have ended as it did if the accompanying CV had not been out of service.
That's generally true of the older BBs, although the Battle of the Surigao Strait in October of 1944 (part of the larger Battle of the Leyte Gulf) pitted US Admiral Oldendorf's six old BBs and their screen of cruisers and destroyers, plus some PT boat squadrons, against two older Japanese battleships (Fuso and Yamashiro) and their escorts. It was a one-sided American victory.
Aircraft would have sunk them all.
Quote:
The US fast battleships in the Pacific (North-Carolina-class through Iowa-class) escorted/protected the carriers, primarily against aircraft. In the Atlantic and Med, they and the British King-George-V-class escorted convoys as long as Axis warships posed a threat.
In short, they were very expensive floating AA batteries.
When I read Peter C. Smith's Great Ships Pass: British Battleships at War I had the impression the Brits made good use of their BBs, until the POW/Repulse sortie and that may not have ended as it did if the accompanying CV had not been out of service.
Or the commander did not go north against orders. He was told to take them to Australia. Or the RAF provided a full CAP over the ships which were in range of land based air fields. The Kates would have been blow out even by 2nd or 3rd rate fighters.
BBs were relegated to shore bombardment. A very expensive way to bomb beaches.
We did the same thing in Vietnam and Beirut with the New Jersey.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
