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Nikademus -> (10/30/2002 2:02:23 PM)
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Hi Possum.
I'm a lover of alternate batttleship scenerios, however i would have to point out two fobiles in this scenerio, in order of importance
1) Range.
The Littorios were designed for ops in the Med. As such range was on the low side of their equation. If the British had troubles operating their KGV class BB's in the Pacific, the problem would have been more so for these vessels, and thats not even factoring in their foreign origins (in terms of Allied supply pool) or the fact that their main armament had been disabled prior to their surrender.
2ndly, their main armament was totally unsuited for likely ops in said theater. Their main guns were extremely powerful for their size, easily the most powerful 15inch guns developed, but this came at the price of long term wear and tear. It was estimated that their 15inch guns had a service life as low as 90 rounds per barrell......not idea for shore bombardment
2) political
Lastly....any Allied attempt to use them operationally would have drawn the wrath of the Soviet Union, which claimed them as war reparations, but were stymied by Allied foot dragging which did not want to see the SU obtain genuine and modern WWII BB's.
Yavuz Sultan Selim, known simply as Yavuz from 1936 onward was in a similar situation in terms of range. Built as the German Goeben in 1912, range was not her strong point and by the time of her possible deployment would have been more of a burden on Allied supply vs a benefit so i can see no practical reason for her deployment.
Which is not to say that i dont find the idea of these ships appearance interesting or intriguing :) but to say they "would" have appeared in 1946 is a bit of an exageration in my opinion.
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