USN pre-WWII ships - sold for scrap - in 1959

Archibald

Banned
Well, as the thread title says. I have a fascination for big ships with large guns.
Reading Wikipedia I noted that most of the pre-WWII surviving battleships and cruisers were scrapped in 1959
Two questions
- why so long after 1945 ?
- why all at the same time ? to make more room for the monthballed fleet ?
 
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vl100butch

Donor
Laying things out by age and class:

The major driver for holding on to some of them so long was that they were rebuilt to a modern standard...

Arkansas - sunk at Bikini
Wyoming - gunnery training ship scrapped 1947

Texas - state memorial battleship
New York - sunk post Bikini

Nevada - sunk post Bikini

Pennsylvania - sunk at Kwajalein post Bikini

New Mexico - scrapped 1947
Idaho - scrapped 1947
Mississippi - replaced Wyoming as gunnery training ship, scrapped 1956

California - scrapped 1959 (post Pearl Harbor rebuild)
Tennessee - scrapped 1959 (post Pearl Harbor rebuild)

Colorado - scrapped 1957
West Virginia - scrapped 1959 (post Pearl Harbor rebuild)
Maryland - scrapped 1959 (post Pearl Harbor rebuild)
 

Voyager989

1959 marks the period when the United States Navy decided that nuclear war made the idea of a large reserve fleet a waste of money. The war would be over before they could be re-activated, and the gun ships were primarily kept around in case of WW2 style amphibious landings after the missile conversions were abandoned. When that doctrinal niche was finally abandoned, they all went for scrap.
 

Onkel Willie

Voyager989 said:
1959 marks the period when the United States Navy decided that nuclear war made the idea of a large reserve fleet a waste of money. The war would be over before they could be re-activated, and the gun ships were primarily kept around in case of WW2 style amphibious landings after the missile conversions were abandoned. When that doctrinal niche was finally abandoned, they all went for scrap.
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Could any of have been sold of to second rate navies? After all, battleships were still considered prestigious despite the fact that they were obsolete. Could a renewed naval race between Argentina and Brazil, for example, create demand for them? They'd borh gotten rid of their old BBs with the 12 inch guns by then.
 

vl100butch

Donor
Onkel Willie said:
Could any of have been sold of to second rate navies? After all, battleships were still considered prestigious despite the fact that they were obsolete. Could a renewed naval race between Argentina and Brazil, for example, create demand for them? They'd borh gotten rid of their old BBs with the 12 inch guns by then.
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six pre-war (2 per country) light cruisers were sold to Argentina, Brazil, and Chile for $3.7 million each, which was 10% of construction cost....the Belgrano was one of these...
 

RamscoopRaider

Donor
Onkel Willie said:
Could any of have been sold of to second rate navies? After all, battleships were still considered prestigious despite the fact that they were obsolete. Could a renewed naval race between Argentina and Brazil, for example, create demand for them? They'd borh gotten rid of their old BBs with the 12 inch guns by then.
Click to expand...
Too expensive, BB's have too high operating costs for the prestige factor alone to overcome
 
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