One question in modern naval thinking has had me wondering recently, looking at the multiple threads about gun-armed warships in the age of aircraft carriers. The reasoning is this.
The most recent (talking late 20th Century here) conflicts that involved real naval operations - Vietnam, Falklands, Grenada, Lebanon, Preying Mantis, Desert Storm - all involved naval gunfire support to troops close to the shore or invading a hostile shore. For the United States, Vietnam saw this provided by a reprieve for the last examples of the Baltimore-class and Des Moines-class heavy cruisers and two tours by the battleship New Jersey, while New Jersey also saw action in Lebanon and Wisconsin and Missouri were in action during Desert Storm, while British frigates and destroyers provided support to the Royal Marines landing on the Falklands. There are other conflicts which could require the use of NGFS as well. But in modern times, the United States' largest warship weapons are the five-inch weapons used by all their cruisers and destroyers, and I don't think anyone is any different today. But as the five-inch guns have shells of only 70-pound when used for land attack (the Baltimores and Des Moines had 335-pound shells) and a maximum range of about fifteen miles, this is kinda weak for trying to support troops on the beach, regardless of how accurate it is (and keeping in mind that extended-range and guided shells are VERY expensive) and when needing to get the bad guys off the beach. Using attack aircraft are useful as well, but they have limits as well.
My thought is that perhaps nations that still want this capability (most thought about being the USN, but they are not the only ones) might consider a modern vessel with heavier guns, say with 8" guns, as well as the capabilities of modern vessels and much smaller crewing requirements. Reactivating an Iowa would be a long and expensive process for such a job, the cruisers have all been scrapped.
Possible? And if so, what would they look like? I would guess that armoring is a pointless endeavor in such times (nobody does gun duels any more and modern anti-ship missiles are intended to punch through vessel hulls before detonating), but could they use Chobham armor in places as tanks do? Equipped with tons of missiles, like the arsenal ship ideas of the 1980s? What would you all do given such a design brief?
The most recent (talking late 20th Century here) conflicts that involved real naval operations - Vietnam, Falklands, Grenada, Lebanon, Preying Mantis, Desert Storm - all involved naval gunfire support to troops close to the shore or invading a hostile shore. For the United States, Vietnam saw this provided by a reprieve for the last examples of the Baltimore-class and Des Moines-class heavy cruisers and two tours by the battleship New Jersey, while New Jersey also saw action in Lebanon and Wisconsin and Missouri were in action during Desert Storm, while British frigates and destroyers provided support to the Royal Marines landing on the Falklands. There are other conflicts which could require the use of NGFS as well. But in modern times, the United States' largest warship weapons are the five-inch weapons used by all their cruisers and destroyers, and I don't think anyone is any different today. But as the five-inch guns have shells of only 70-pound when used for land attack (the Baltimores and Des Moines had 335-pound shells) and a maximum range of about fifteen miles, this is kinda weak for trying to support troops on the beach, regardless of how accurate it is (and keeping in mind that extended-range and guided shells are VERY expensive) and when needing to get the bad guys off the beach. Using attack aircraft are useful as well, but they have limits as well.
My thought is that perhaps nations that still want this capability (most thought about being the USN, but they are not the only ones) might consider a modern vessel with heavier guns, say with 8" guns, as well as the capabilities of modern vessels and much smaller crewing requirements. Reactivating an Iowa would be a long and expensive process for such a job, the cruisers have all been scrapped.
Possible? And if so, what would they look like? I would guess that armoring is a pointless endeavor in such times (nobody does gun duels any more and modern anti-ship missiles are intended to punch through vessel hulls before detonating), but could they use Chobham armor in places as tanks do? Equipped with tons of missiles, like the arsenal ship ideas of the 1980s? What would you all do given such a design brief?
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