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For the listed ships, and using the "well known today," statement, the Mo and the Arizona would be running neck to neck in my book.
Before that it would have been the USS Oregon (BB-3) though. Sailed 14,000 Nautical miles in 66 days to enter the war with Spain in 1898. Besides setting speed records, that trip demonstrated without any doubt to the American People that the Panama Canal was a necessity.
It can fairly easily be argued that without the Oregon the Battle of Santiago de Cuba would not have been won by the US. She and the Cruiser Brooklyn were the only two ships fast enough to chase down the Cristóbal Colón to force it surrender. That entire battle is pretty amazing, the book "McKinley's Bulldog," is a great biography of the ship.
After that she was the Flagship of the Pacific Fleet and served in both the Philippine-American War and Chinese Boxer Rebellion.
She came out of retirement during WWII and served as a ammo barge before being sold for scarp in 1956
I'm going to go with the "showboat" (North Carolina) simply because she's the only true BB I've actually seen, moored at Wilmington, and I had the privelege of exploring her a few years later.
She did mostly what might be considered "yeoman duty" -- bombardments in advance of amphibious invasions and the like, but she did her part well, and incurred a suprisingly low number of casualties -- less than ten fatalities, if memory serves me correctly.
But as Henry Fonda observed in Mister Roberts, the vast majortiy of sea duty is long and tedious, and the North Carolina did as big a share if it as any other ship. Well done, Showboat!
The answer should be obvious - The USS Constitution.
I don't think this is limited to iron vessels of the 20th century are they (that was only your personal restriction)? The Constitution is a heavy frigate, not a ship of the line, but it is essentially one of the US's original and certainly iconic battleship, as sailing ships go.
It saw plenty of action - including a major naval victory in the War of 1812, showing The Limey's what a heavy American frigate can do.
In the last few decades even now the battleship is obsolete. Now it's the Aircraft Carrier fleet with it's assorted smaller specialized support vessels.
Considering that only the Arizona is the only ship that actually made a difference in the war, I have to go with the Arizona. The Japanese surrender could have taken place on any number of ships. In fact the flight deck of the Enterprise would have been far more accommodating and photogenic (so say the PR guy).
The answer should be obvious - The USS Constitution.
When Symbolic, American and Battleship are put into the same sentance, there is really only one answer.
The USS Constitution. It's name alone says so much more than 'Arizona' or 'Missouri'. Not saying that those ships are insignificant, they indeed have a place in history. One may be symbolic of Pearl Harbor, but that's about as far as it goes in most people's minds. Where as when someone mentions the USS Constitution, a lot of things come to mind. Our freedoms, our battles, our strength, our country, and while it may or may not be connected, I bet some people think of Paul Revere or even the Boston tea party just because of that period in our history.
I was in Mass. briefly and I made sure I got to visit this ship and walk across her deck and below. She is truly amazing that such a little thing that she is packed such a punch and could take one better than the rest.
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I don't think this is limited to iron vessels of the 20th century are they (that was only your personal restriction)? The Constitution is a heavy frigate, not a ship of the line, but it is essentially one of the US's original and certainly iconic battleship, as sailing ships go.
It saw plenty of action - including a major naval victory in the War of 1812, showing The Limey's what a heavy American frigate can do.
In the last few decades even now the battleship is obsolete. Now it's the Aircraft Carrier fleet with it's assorted smaller specialized support vessels.
When Symbolic, American and Battleship are put into the same sentance, there is really only one answer.
The USS Constitution.
The problem with that argument is that the USS Constitution wasn't even a ship-of-the-line much less a battleship. It is a frigate.
Which raises another question. The U.S. claims the Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship in the world and I have read a competing claim by the British for the HMS Victory, so who is lying.
The problem with that argument is that the USS Constitution wasn't even a ship-of-the-line much less a battleship. It is a frigate.
The average person is not going to know the difference. It's a 'ship', it was in battle, it's a battleship.
I certainly don't know the different specifics.
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Which raises another question. The U.S. claims the Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship in the world and I have read a competing claim by the British for the HMS Victory, so who is lying.
The average person is not going to know the difference.
I don't think that anyone on this forum aspires to be average.
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It's a 'ship', it was in battle, it's a battleship.
That's the wonderful thing about words, they mean specific things so that we don't miss communicate what we are talking about. If we just let any ship that is used in battle as being a battleship then everything from a destroyer to a submarine would be a battleship (that sure would make it hell for a look out.)
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