As many of you may know, I have an interest in naval matters. Thought it may be a fun idea to try and compare the battleships post the Washington Treaty, but also to include any that were laid down but not completed.
This gives us a list of:
US
6 Iowa Class(actually three classes of two since BB61-62, BB63-64 and BB65-66 were actually built to different specs)
4 South Dakota Class
2 North Carolina Class
Let’s throw in 3 Alaska Class just for Calbear, since he loves them so much
UK
2 Lion Class
Vanguard
5 KGV Class
Germany
2 H Class
2 Bismarck Class
2 Scharnhorst Class
3 Deutschland Class
France
3 Richelieu Class
2 Strasbourg Class
Italy
4 Littorio Class(again actually two separate Classes, last two were different)
Japan
4 Yamato Class(again the last two were different)
Soviet Union
4 Sovetsky Soyuz Class
Now consider two things. Firstly, obviously, which of these is the best combat ship one on one and why? You can assess this by what ships are available in 1941 and in a hypothetical 1946 when all are completed.
Secondly, what design represents the best value for money? Let’s not into whether battleships in general represent good value for money, no one cares about that since this is a theoretical exercise.
Value for money equals construction cost, ability to carry out mission, range, versatility (eg AA escorts), vulnerability, running costs, seaworthiness and steadiness as a gun platform and so on as well as guns, armour and defensive systems