Which ship class would have been 'the best' for 80's reactivation?

Personally I think building something along the lines of the proposed Metcalf Class would of been a better option in terms of gunfire support for the Marines. Use a Burke Class hull and build interchangable modules that can be equiped for gun fire, Anti-air, and ASW. For artillery use the 155mm.
 

Bearcat

Banned
No one else has 16" guns, but by 1989 the USN already have eight Ticonderoga-class with VLS and four Spruance with VLS, plus more under construction or scheduled for refit. If you want more VLS, speed up the refit of the remaining 20-odd Spruance and the construction of the Ticonderoga's and Arleigh Burke's.

In point of fact, the VLS Spruances helped to retire the Iowas by taking over the surface Tomahawk shooter mission. But before that got going, the USN seriously considered removing the aft turret on each Iowa and installing a 'missile farm'. IOTL, it got shelved as money became tight. Maybe here the Mark 41 arrives a little earlier, and it gets into the initial 80s refit. If nothing else, you could simply replace the ABLs with VLS.

Remember the OP is the decision and planning to reactivate circa 1981. A lot of things look different looking back from 2010.

There was also a proposal to replace the aft turret with a baby VTOL flight deck. That one makes no sense to me, and would have been even more hideously expensive.
 

Bearcat

Banned
Personally I think building something along the lines of the proposed Metcalf Class would of been a better option in terms of gunfire support for the Marines. Use a Burke Class hull and build interchangable modules that can be equiped for gun fire, Anti-air, and ASW. For artillery use the 155mm.

There was also the Mark 71 lightweight 8-inch gun. It could have been based on a 'land-attack' large DD like this.
 
Remember the OP is the decision and planning to reactivate circa 1981. A lot of things look different looking back from 2010.

There was also a proposal to replace the aft turret with a baby VTOL flight deck. That one makes no sense to me, and would have been even more hideously expensive.

Sorry, I was responding to the question started on Page 4 about a 2010 modernization.

Yeah, I saw the VTOL deck proposal too. Someone must have liked the look of Ise...
 

Ming777

Monthly Donor
Its feasible. Expensive, but possible. The main concerns are electronics and communication systems, and the fact that there aren't any steam-powered USN warships any longer - gas turbines, diesels or nuclear across the board. The Iowas being reactivated again would need substantial engine upgrades, which on a battleship would be a gargantuan job.

Kinda like the one in your tl?
 
I think the crew and training costs are what bites. It's a sizable crew, and as touched on, the propulsion and other systems like the guns don't exist anywhere else. In the 80s, they had to bring in ww2 chiefs to explain to the ppl in the navy how things really worked, IIRC. Doing all of that for 2 or 4 ships is a heck of an expense.

*IF* it were feasible, you'd probably see a version of the VLS Mk. 41 launchers with armored hatches, I suppose. Replacing the Armored Box Launchers if nothing else. OTL planning envisioned *possibly* removing the aft turret for a more extensive VLS with hundreds of Tomahawks, etc. But by Reagan's second term the naval buildup was already losing steam and nothing more was done.

Maybe something more like this would be what they have in mind:

ussiowa2015.gif
 
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