seydlitz_slith
Posts: 2036
Joined: 6/16/2002
From: Danville, IL
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Given the treaty restrictions, a South Dakota class is about as good as you will get. While they were an evolution of the North Carolina type design, they did not suffer the severe vibration problem that plaqued both North Carolina and Washington. I have always considered the SoDaks as cramped ships, which they were. If you didn't have treaty restrictions, and did not have to worry about the ship being ready in 1942, then the Iowas were the better ships.
Regarding the North Carolinas (Which I personally think were excellent ships):
This vibration problem was serious, and as late as April 1944, the navy was still conducting vibration trials and swapping propellor configurations.
The vibration was pronounced above 20 knots, and for a time, they were speed restricted to no more than 23 knots. Even after prop swaps, the vibration was still bad enough that the after fire control tower had to be externally braced and the after range finder still vibrated excessively.
Think about that....if the range finder is vibrating, how accurate is it going to be in determining precise ranges.
Other than that, the NCs were built to withstand 14" shellfire, where the SoDak and Iowas were built to resist 16". Torpedo protection was also not as good as in the later classes, although it compared quite well to the protection schemes used in other contemporary battleships. In fact, part of the problem is that torpedo warhead size/explosive force increased quite a bit from the time the treaty ships were designed until war.
The NoCars and SoDaks had 16"/45 cal guns...the Iowas had an improved 16"/50 cal gun, providing greater range and muzzle velocity (hence more accurate over a given range).
All three classes had excellent steaming range needed for a Pacific war.
Funny thing is, if you had asked "what battleship would you have wanted to be on during the war" I would have said "Washington". She had the most interesting war record. While checking my facts for this post, I found a few interesting but not widely known facts:
1. On 1 May 1942 she was steaming in formation behind King George V in dense fog at 18 knots when the KGV collided with the destroyer Punjabi and cut her in two. The Washington steamed through the wreckage of the destroyer as the depth charges were detonating, causing shock and concussion damage. However, hullwise, only one diesel tank sprang a leak. The shock caused three large circuit breakers to trip, cutting 25% of the power in the forward switchboard and cutting emergency power in the forward part of the ship. Also the search radar and three fire control radars were disabled from the shock.
Washingtion was able to continue on station. KGV was damaged enough that she had to return to port under DD escort for repairs.
2.On 1 February 1944 she was zigzagging at night in formation andcollided with the BB Indiana. She hit the Indy broadside, with her bow contacting the ship on the starboard side at number 3 16" turret. Washington's bow was seriously damaged and she had to steam to Majuro at 6 knots for repairs. After reaching Majuro,she was worked on for a little over a week, then sent to Pearl for a temporary bow, and then from there on to Puget Sound in the states for complete repairs. The damage to Indiana was also extensive, and according to one of my source books, was the most extensive damage to a US battleship aside from those damaged in the Pearl Harbor attack. I have not seen any pictures of either ship showing the damage, but I would certianly be interested in seeing some if anybody could ferret them out.
Finally, I went to Mobile to see the Alabama last month while I was on my way to Daytona for Speed weeks. I took lots of pics, and I will try to post some of the interesting ones in a separate thread for your viewing pleasure.
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RE: Design your BB for Pacific War... - 
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. But that shows imho that the washington would have suffered even more?
You don't like it - fine - go make your own. 
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