View source for Battleships in World War II

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2013}}
[[File:Schleswig Holstein firing Gdynia 13.09.1939.jpg|thumb|300px|German battleship {{ship|German battleship|Schleswig-Holstein||2}}, shelling [[Westerplatte]] in Poland on 1 September 1939]]
World War II saw the end of the [[battleship]] as the dominant force in the world's navies. On the outbreak of the War, large fleets of battleships—many inherited from the [[dreadnought]] era decades before—were one of the decisive forces in naval thinking. By the end of the War, battleship construction was all but halted, and almost every remaining battleship was retired or scrapped within a few years of its end.

Some pre-war commanders had seen the [[aircraft carrier]] as the capital ship of the future, a view which was re-enforced by the devastating [[attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor attack]] in 1941. The resultant Pacific War saw aircraft carriers take precedence. There were just two engagements in the Pacific Theater where battleships fought each other,<ref>The [[attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor attack]] was a radical development of Japanese strategy that only occurred in 1941. It is also likely the American plan for the Pacific involved a prompt battleship engagement. Evans and Peattie, p.471-7</ref> and only three battleship versus battleship engagements in the Atlantic.

Battleships remained the most heavily protected ships afloat; nonetheless, sixteen were sunk or crippled by bombs or torpedoes delivered by aircraft, while three more were sunk by submarine-launched torpedoes.<ref>The battleships {{ship|Italian battleship|Conte di Cavour||2}}, {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|2}}, {{USS|Utah|BB-31|2}}, {{USS|Oklahoma|BB-37|2}},  {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|2}}, {{ship|Italian battleship|Roma|1940|2}}, {{ship|Japanese battleship|Musashi||2}}, {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}},  {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}}, {{ship|German battleship|Schleswig-Holstein||2}}, {{ship|Italian battleship|Impero||2}}, {{ship|Greek battleship|Lemnos||2}}, {{ship|Greek battleship|Kilkis||2}}, [[Soviet battleship Marat|''Marat'']], {{ship|Japanese battleship|Ise||2}} and {{ship|Japanese battleship|Hyūga||2}} were all put out of commission or destroyed by aerial attack including bombs, [[air-dropped torpedo]]es and missiles fired from aircraft.</ref> The war also saw the development of the first [[guided bomb]]s, which would make it much easier for aircraft to sink battleships in the future.

==Operations==
The German pre-dreadnought battleship {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein}} fired the first shots of World War II with the bombardment of the [[Second Polish Republic|Polish]] garrison at [[Battle of Westerplatte|Westerplatte]];<ref>Gibbons, p. 163</ref> and the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender|final surrender]] of the Japanese Empire took place aboard a United States Navy battleship {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}}. Between the two events, it became clear that battleships were now essentially auxiliary craft, and aircraft carriers were the new principal ships of the fleet.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

Still, battleships played a part in major engagements in [[Battle of the Atlantic|Atlantic]], [[Pacific War|Pacific]] and [[Battle of the Mediterranean|Mediterranean theatres]]. In the Atlantic, the Germans experimented with taking the battleship beyond conventional fleet action, using their pocket battleships as independent commerce raiders. Although there were a few battleship-on-battleship engagements, battleships had little impact on the destroyer and submarine [[Battle of the Atlantic]], and aircraft carriers determined the outcome of most of the decisive fleet clashes of the Pacific War.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

In June 1940 {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}} and {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}} surprised and sank the lightly escorted aircraft carrier {{HMS|Glorious}} off western Norway <ref>Gibbons, pp. 246–247</ref> This engagement marked the first and last time surface gunnery sank a fleet carrier. In the [[Attack on Mers-el-Kébir]], British capital ships opened fire on the French battleships harboured in [[Algeria]] with their own heavy guns, and later pursued fleeing French ships with planes from aircraft carriers.<ref>* {{cite book |last=O'Hara |first=Vincent P. |year=2009 |title=Struggle for the Middle Sea: The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940–1945 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]] |isbn=978-1-59114-648-3}}</ref>

===Taranto and Matapan===
[[File:Tirpitz early.jpg|thumb|{{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} (1941)]]
In late 1940 and 1941, a range of engagements saw battleships attacked by  carrier aircraft.

The first example of the power of naval aviation was the British air attack on the Italian naval base at [[Battle of Taranto|Taranto]] that took place on the night of 11&ndash;12 November 1940. A small number of Royal Navy aircraft attacked the Italian fleet at harbour, succeeding in sinking one Italian battleship and damaging two others.

Importantly, the attack forced the Italian navy to change tactics and seek battle against the superior British navy, which resulted in their defeat at the [[Battle of Cape Matapan]]. In that battle, British carrier-deployed torpedo bombers damaged an Italian battleship sufficiently to force it to withdraw from the main force, and then at night British battleships sank the Italian force's three heavy cruisers.[http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-cape-matapan-world-war-ii-italian-naval-massacre.htm]

===''Scharnhorst class''===
{{main article|Scharnhorst-class battleship}}
{{see also|Battle of North Cape}}
The ''' ''Scharnhorst'' class''' were the first capital ships, alternatively referred to as [[battlecruiser]]s or [[battleship]]s, built for [[Nazi Germany]]'s ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' after [[World War I]]. The class comprised two vessels: the [[lead ship]] {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}} and {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}}. ''Scharnhorst'' was launched first,{{sfn|Gröner|p=32}} and so she is considered to be the lead ship by some sources; however, they are also referred to as the '''''Gneisenau'' class''' in some other sources,{{sfn|Collier|p=99}} as ''Gneisenau'' was the first to be laid down and commissioned.{{sfn|Gröner|p=32}} They marked the beginning of German naval rearmament after the [[Treaty of Versailles]]. The ships were armed with nine [[28 cm SK C/34 naval gun|28&nbsp;cm (11&nbsp;in) SK C/34]] guns in three triple turrets, though there were plans to replace these weapons with six [[38 cm SK C/34 naval gun|38&nbsp;cm (15&nbsp;in) SK C/34]] guns in twin turrets.

''Scharnhorst'' was sunk at the [[Battle of North Cape]] by a British force of destroyers, cruisers, and the battleship ''Duke of York''. ''Gneisenau'' was bombed while in dry dock and never repaired.

===''Bismarck''===
{{Main article|German battleship Bismarck}}
The battleship war in the Atlantic was driven by the attempts of German capital ship [[commerce raider]]s&mdash;two battleships, the {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck||2}} and the {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}}, and two battlecruisers&mdash;to influence the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] by destroying Atlantic [[convoy]]s supplying the United Kingdom. The superior numbers of British surface units devoted themselves to protecting the convoys, and to seek-and-destroy missions against the German ships, assisted by both naval and land-based aircraft and by sabotage attacks. On 24 May 1941, during its attempt to break out into the North Atlantic as a commerce raider, ''Bismarck'' engaged the British battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}} and the battlecruiser {{HMS|Hood|51|6}}. Due primarily to the ''Bismarck''{{'}}s superior range-finding and accuracy, it soon sank ''Hood'' with an apparent hit to her magazines. ''Bismarck'' and ''Prince of Wales'' hit each other three times, the damage compelling the ''Prince of Wales'' to withdraw<ref>Gibbons, pp. 228–229</ref> and the ''Bismarck'' to call off its commerce raiding operation, as part of its fuel reserve had been contaminated with salt water. While the ''Bismarck'' was heading for St. Nazaire, the Royal Navy continued to hunt it, and eventually an attack by [[Fairey Swordfish|Swordfish]] [[biplane]] [[torpedo bomber]]s from the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|6}} disabled ''Bismarck''{{'}}s rudder and significantly reduced her speed. This enabled two Royal Navy battleships, cruisers and destroyers to close in for the kill.

===The Pacific battles===
[[File:US warships entering Lingayen Gulf 1945.jpg|thumb|left|{{USS|Pennsylvania|BB-38|2}} (1915) leading battleship {{USS|Colorado|BB-45|2}} (1921) and cruisers {{USS|Louisville|CA-28|2}} (1930), {{USS|Portland|CA-33|2}} (1932), and {{USS|Columbia|CL-56|2}} (1941) into [[Lingayen Gulf]], Philippines, January 1945]]
In many of the crucial battles of the Pacific, for instance [[Battle of the Coral Sea|Coral Sea]] and [[Battle of Midway|Midway]], battleships were either absent or overshadowed as carriers launched wave after wave of planes into the attack at a range of hundreds of miles. The primary tasks for battleships in the Pacific became shore bombardment and anti-aircraft defense for the carriers. The two largest battleships ever constructed, Japan's {{sclass-|Yamato|battleship|4}}, which carried a main battery of nine 18.1-inch (460 millimetre) guns were designed to be a principal strategic weapons, but ''Yamato'' fired her main guns in only one engagement, while ''Musashi'' never fired her main guns in an engagement. They were hampered by technical deficiencies (slow battleships were incapable of operating with fast carriers), faulty military [[doctrine]] (the Japanese waited for a "decisive battle", which never came), and defective dispositions (as at Midway).<ref>Willmott, H.P. ''Barrier and the Javelin'' (Annapolis: USNIPress, 1983).</ref>

====Pearl Harbor====
Before hostilities broke out in the Pacific Theatre, extensive pre-war planning centered around dreadnoughts. The [[Royal Navy]] could not achieve parity with the estimated nine Japanese [[capital ship]]s in Southeast Asia, since doing so would leave only a handful of ships to use against Nazi Germany. However, Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] was optimistic about the improving situation in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean and [[Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse|allocating two ships]] to the defense of [[Singapore in the Straits Settlements|Singapore]] was seen as a compromise. Furthermore, the U.S. Navy later agreed to send its [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]] with its eight powerful battleships to Singapore in the event of hostilities with Japan.<ref>[http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/sinking1.html The sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse (Forcez-survivors.org)]</ref>

On 7 December 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. Five out of eight U.S. battleships were quickly either sunk or sinking, with the rest seriously damaged (of those sunk two were total losses). The Japanese thus neutralized the U.S. battleship force in the Pacific by an air attack and showed the vulnerability to air attack of warships lying at anchor, as at Taranto. The loss of the battleships led the US Navy to rely on aircraft carriers as capital ships to make counterattacks against the Japanese such as the [[Doolittle raid]] April 1942 and to engage Japanese naval forces at the [[Coral sea battle|Battle of the Coral Sea]] May 1942 and the [[Battle of Midway]] June 1942.

[[Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse|The sinking]] of the British battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}} and her escort, the battlecruiser {{HMS|Repulse|1916|6}}, further demonstrated the vulnerability of a battleship to air attack, in this case while at sea without air cover. Both ships were on their way to assist in the defense of Singapore when Japanese land-based [[bomber]]s and [[fighter aircraft|fighters]] found and sank them on 10 December 1941. ''Prince of Wales'' had the unwanted distinction of being the first modern battleship sunk by aircraft while underway and able to defend herself.<ref>Axell, Albert: ''Kamikaze'', p. 14</ref>

====Midway====
Commonly understood as a victory of carriers, [[Battle of Midway|Midway]] showed up deficiencies in Japanese operational planning. [[Isoroku Yamamoto|Yamamoto]], considering his battleships the most valuable units, kept them far to the rear, in line with traditional practice. This placed them too far away to assist [[Chuichi Nagumo|Nagumo]] (and they would have been too slow to keep up with him in any case). Yet, when Nagumo's carriers were sunk, Yamamoto lost an opportunity to salvage something. Carriers, for all their evident potency, were virtually defenseless at night, and [[Frank Jack Fletcher|Fletcher]] might have been dealt a crushing blow by [[Japanese battleship Yamato|''Yamato'']] the night of 6–7 June, had Yamamoto stayed closer.<ref>Willmott, ''Barrier and the Javelin'', ''passim''.</ref>

====Guadalcanal====
Initially, when the U.S. entered the war in December 1941, none of the nine Pacific Fleet  battleships were available. One was being overhauled at Puget Sound Navy Yard from June 1941 until March 1942. Of the eight at Pearl Harbor, two were total losses and six had been sunk or crippled and were sent to West Coast shipyards for repair and reconstruction. With a top speed of only 21 knots, they would not have been able to keep up with the fleet carriers in any case. The new [[fast battleship]]s of the {{sclass-|North Carolina|battleship|4}} and {{sclass-|South Dakota|battleship (1939)|4}} were still undergoing trials. ''North Carolina'' and ''South Dakota'' were ready by summer of 1942 and provided crucial anti-aircraft defense during the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons|Eastern Solomons]] and [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands|Santa Cruz Islands]] carrier battles.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

[[File:Yamatotrials.jpg|thumb|The [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]'s {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}} (1940), seen in 1941, and her sister ship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Musashi||2}} (1940) were the largest battleships in history.]]

By contrast, the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] had the advantage of a dozen operational battleships early in the war, but chose not to deploy them in any significant engagements. The two {{sclass-|Fusō|battleship|5}} and two {{sclass-|Ise|battleship|2}}s, despite their extensive modernization and respectable speeds, were relegated to training and home defense, while the two {{sclass-|Nagato|battleship|5}} and two {{sclass-|Yamato|battleship|4}} were being saved due to fuel limitations for a [[Alfred Thayer Mahan|"decisive battle"]], which never came. In fact, the only Japanese battleships to see much action in the early stages were the four {{sclass-|Kongō|battlecruiser|2}}s, which served mostly as carrier escorts due to their high speed and antiaircraft armament.<ref>Gibbons, pp. 262–263</ref>

During the later part of the [[Guadalcanal campaign]] in fall 1942, Japan and the U.S. were both forced to commit their battleships to surface combat, due to the need to carry out night operations, and because of the exhaustion of their carrier forces. During the [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal#First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13|First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]], battleships {{ship|Japanese battleship|Hiei||2}} and {{ship|Japanese battleship|Kirishima||2}} were driven off by a force of U.S. cruisers and destroyers. Several USN ships were lost and others were crippled, but they inflicted critical damage on ''Hiei'', which was abandoned after being subject to repeated air attacks that made salvage impossible. The following evening, at the [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal|Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]] on 15 November 1942, the United States battleships {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57|2}} and {{USS|Washington|BB-56|2}} fought and destroyed ''Kirishima'', but only after the Japanese ship had inflicted heavy damage on ''South Dakota''. ''North Carolina'' was also temporarily put out of action by {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-19||2}}, which was credited with sinking {{USS|O'Brien|DD-415}} escorting her.

The Japanese also used battleships a single time for shore bombardment, sending {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Kongō||2}} and {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Haruna||2}}, against [[Guadalcanal Campaign#Battleship bombardment|Henderson Field]]. In the most successful Japanese battleship action of the war,<ref>Stille, Cdr Mark (2008). ''Imperial Japanese Navy Battleships 1941–1945''. p 19, Oxford: Osprey Publishing. {{ISBN|978-1-84603-280-6}}</ref> this action killed 41 defenders and put the airfield out of action for about 12 hours.

====Leyte Gulf====
[[File:Yamato1945.jpg|thumb|left|''Yamato'' (1940) under air attack, March 1945]]
At the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]], heavy aircraft losses left the Japanese carrier fleet ineffectual and forced the Japanese to finally commit their dreadnoughts, both old and new, to the upcoming [[Battle of Leyte Gulf|Leyte Campaign]]. The objective in this "decisive battle" was to stop the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] from capturing the Philippines, which would cut off the Japanese oil supply and render their navy useless.

In the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]], two Japanese battleship forces converged on the American landing forces at Leyte Gulf. The Center Force of five fast battleships attacked from the north; the Southern Force of two slower old battleships attacked from the south. In the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf#Battle of the Sibuyan Sea|Battle of the Sibuyan Sea]] on 24 October 1944, the Center Force came under attack by American aircraft and {{ship|Japanese battleship|Musashi||2}}, sister ship to ''Yamato'', was sunk long before she could come within gun range of the American fleet. At [[Battle of Leyte Gulf#The Battle of Surigao Strait|the Battle of Surigao Strait]] early on 25 October, the Japanese Southern Force which included the battleships {{ship|Japanese battleship|Fusō||2}} and {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yamashiro||2}} encountered a force including six American battleships (five of them raised and repaired from Pearl Harbor), led by Admiral [[Jesse Oldendorf]] of the [[United States Seventh Fleet|U.S. Seventh Fleet]]{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}}<!--check the date it changed from PacFlt-->. ''Fusō'' was sunk by torpedos from US destroyers before the opposing battleships fired. ''Yamashiro'' was hit by the US battleships and retired without being able to fire on them. After the battleships had ceased fire she was sunk by a torpedo fired by a US destroyer.<ref name="Tully 214 15">Tully, pp. 214–15</ref> This engagement marked the last time in history when battleship faced battleship.

In the [[Battle off Samar]] later on 25 October 1944, the remaining four powerful battleships of the Center Force, including {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}}, {{ship|Japanese battleship|Kongō||2}}, {{ship|Japanese battleship|Haruna||2}} and {{ship|Japanese battleship|Nagato||2}} and their [[cruiser]] escort, were defeated by the seemingly much weaker American task force of "Taffy 3" consisting of destroyers and [[escort aircraft carrier|escort carriers]]. American destroyers and aircraft attacked the battleships, enabling Taffy 3 to disengage and forcing the Center Force to withdraw. This battle marked the only time ''Yamato'' engaged enemy ships with her primary or secondary batteries.

====Japanese Coast====
During July and August 1945 several American battleships and {{HMS|King George V}} [[Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II|conducted naval bombardments]] of several Japanese coastal cities. These attacks targeted major factories as well as the cities' harbors and nearby rail infrastructure.<ref>Morison (1960), pp. 312–316, 331–332</ref>

===Soviet and Finnish battles===
[[File:Marat-in-Gdynia.png|thumb|Soviet battleship [[Soviet battleship Marat|''Marat'']] (1914) moored in [[Gdynia]] prior to World War II. ''Marat'' was sunk in [[Kronstadt]] harbor by a 1,000 kg aerial bomb but three of four main turrets continued to operate against the invading Germans]]
During the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-Finnish [[Winter War]], the Soviet battleships [[Soviet battleship Marat|''Marat'']] and [[Soviet battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya|''Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya'']] made several attempts to neutralize the Finnish coastal batteries to facilitate a full naval blockade. The Soviets inflicted little damage on the Finnish positions, and the defenders hit back, claiming at least one hit on ''Marat''.<ref>Appel, Erik: ''Finland i krig 1939–1940'', p. 182</ref>

During the [[Eastern Front of World War II|German assault on the Soviet Union]], the Soviet battleships served as convoy escorts during the evacuation of [[Tallinn]], and as floating batteries during the [[siege of Leningrad]].<ref name="Linder, Jan pp. 50">Linder, Jan: ''Ofredens hav'', pp. 50–51</ref> The dense German and Finnish minefields and the submarine nets effectively restricted Soviet traffic in the [[Gulf of Finland]], forcing the larger vessels to remain at port.<ref name="Linder, Jan pp. 50" /><ref>Brunila, Kai: ''Finland i krig 1940–1944'', pp. 100–108, 220–225</ref> The German [[Junkers Ju 87|Stuka]] pilot [[Hans-Ulrich Rudel]] eventually sank ''Marat'' at her moorings on 23 September 1941. Still, the vessel was able to serve as a battery for the remainder of the siege. The Soviets later refloated ''Marat'' and both it and ''Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya'' served until the 1950s.<ref>Greger, René: ''Schlachtschiffe der Welt'', pp. 201</ref>

==Capabilities and tactics==

===Fire support===
{{Main article|Fire Support}}
With the German capital-ship raiders sunk or forced to remain in port, shore bombardment became the focus of Allied battleships in the Atlantic. It was while covering the Allied [[Operation Torch|invasion of Morocco]] that the {{USS|Massachusetts|BB-59|6}} fought and disabled [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] battleship {{ship|French battleship|Jean Bart|1940|2}} on 27 October 1942. Six battleships came together as part of [[Operation Neptune]], in support of the [[Normandy Landings|D-Day landings]] in June 1944. D-Day also saw the deliberate sacrifice of two old dreadnoughts ({{ship|French battleship|Courbet|1911|2}} and {{HMS|Centurion|1911|6}}), which were [[Scuttling|scuttled]] as part of the breakwater around the Allied [[Mulberry harbour]]s.

===Aerial defense===
[[File:Kamikaze zero.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A [[kamikaze]] (just left of center near the top border), a [[A6M Zero|Mitsubishi Zero]] in this case, about to hit the {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|2}} (1944)]]

The [[Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse|sinking of ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Repulse'']] off the coast of [[British Malaya|Malaya]] in 1941 demonstrated that even the most modern battleships could not hold off aerial attacks without decent aerial defenses. The British [[HACS]] fire control system had been rendered inoperable by the extreme heat and humidity of the Malaya tropical climate, and the [[anti-aircraft artillery]] had managed to shoot down only a handful of attackers.

An aircraft carrier's [[combat air patrol]] proved to be the most effective form of defense against enemy bombers. Nonetheless, a modern [[fast battleship]] could provide a vital point defense against attackers that broke through the fighter screen. The ''North Carolina'' and ''South Dakota'' demonstrated just that in the battles of the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons|Eastern Solomons]] and [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands|Santa Cruz Islands]], respectively, with ''North Carolina'' downing between 7 and 14 planes, while ''South Dakota'' shot down between 26 and 32. The battleships' presence was crucial during these engagements in 1942, as the U.S. were still months from being able to realize their material advantage, with too few planes and ships to interdict enough of the skilled Japanese pilots. No American battleships were lost or seriously damaged by aerial attacks in open seas in World War II.
By 1944, Admiral [[Raymond A. Spruance]] had arrayed his forces in a [[Big blue blanket|complex defense formation]]. The first line of protection was a radar-vectored [[combat air patrol]], and any attackers who managed to get through would face anti-aircraft fire from a line of screening battleships and cruisers. This exacted such a heavy toll on the Japanese during the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea#Japanese raids|Battle of the Philippine Sea]] that they failed to cause any significant damage to their main targets, the aircraft carriers. The most damage that the Japanese caused was a bomb hit on ''South Dakota'' which caused many casualties but did little damage to the battleship.<ref>[http://www.combinedfleet.com/btl_ps.htm Battle of the Philippine Sea (CombinedFleet.com)]</ref>

====AA guns====
At the outbreak of World War II, most battleships had large anti-aircraft batteries. The battleships used the same light AA guns (the Allies used autocannons such as the [[Bofors 40 mm gun]] and [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]) as those on smaller ships, but in greater number. The later development of [[proximity fuse]]s and [[radar]] vastly increased the effectiveness of these batteries.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

[[File:USS Iowa (BB-61) Oerlikon 20mm AA gun mount.jpg|thumb|Oerlikon 20mm AA gun mount on board {{USS|Iowa|BB-61}}]]
Post–World War I battleships, particularly British and American, had discarded single purpose secondary batteries mounted in [[casemate]]s used to engage surface targets in favour of turret-mounted dual purpose secondary batteries ([[5"/38 caliber gun|5-inch]] or 6-inch caliber). Secondaries were initially designed to deal with rushing destroyers and torpedo boats, but there arose a need for heavy anti-aircraft armament as the potency of aircraft grew, particularly dive bombers and torpedo bombers. The rationale was that it is unlikely that a battleship would be simultaneously facing both destroyers and aircraft, but it would take up too much space to have separate types of guns to deal with both threats. Both weapons had similar calibers and so they could be merged into a single battery type, and the turret mountings were less susceptible to flooding and had a better firing arc than casemates. The space saved from combining the two types of guns added to simplification of supply, increased deck armor coverage, stowage of other equipment, more light anti-aircraft batteries, and other needs.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

The {{sclass-|Nelson|battleship}}, incorporating many concepts from the [[G3 battlecruiser]], was the first design to include a dual-purpose secondary battery, useful against both surface and airborne attacks. Compared to light AA they had a slower rate of fire, but they had a greater range and sufficient punch to knock enemy planes out of the sky. This proved a crucial defense against Japanese [[kamikaze]]s in the latter years of World War II. They could also fire into the sea to create waterspouts that slapped low-flying torpedo bombers with tonnes of water. Battleships could mount many more of these DP batteries than cruisers or carriers.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

German vessels such as the ''Bismarck'' class possessed dedicated secondary anti-ship batteries as well as dedicated heavy anti-aircraft batteries, rather than adopting the dual-purpose secondaries like the British or Americans. ''Bismarck'' for instance had a battery of twelve 5.9&nbsp;inch (150&nbsp;mm) cannon and another sixteen 4.1&nbsp;inch (105&nbsp;mm) battery was mounted to deal with air threats. The cannon could be used against ships only, as they could not be elevated to fire on high-level targets. This tended to complicate ammunition supplies, take up more space, and reduce the numbers of both guns (reducing the anti-ship ''or'' anti-aircraft broadside). The [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] suffered similar problems to the Germans', as their secondaries were too slow to track aircraft.<ref>[http://www.combinedfleet.com/127_50.htm Japanese Naval Ordnance (CombinedFleet.com)]</ref>

The Japanese even used the "San Shiki" (the Beehive) Model 13 anti-aircraft shell for the main gun armament of the {{sclass-|Yamato|battleship}}s, which would have in theory functioned as a super-sized "shotgun", though this was not considered a success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/military/wwii/Japanese.navy/jap_yamoto_bat.txt |title=Jap Yamoto bat |accessdate=15 October 2007 |format=txt |publisher=Ibiblio.org | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20071013165541/http://ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/military/wwii/Japanese.navy/jap_yamoto_bat.txt| archivedate= 13 October 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

HMS ''Prince of Wales'' had one of the most advanced naval anti-aircraft systems of the time, the [[HACS|High Angle Control System]], which demonstrated accurate long range radar directed AA fire during [[Operation Halberd]] in August and September 1941.<ref name="Mediterranean Convoys p26">''The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean Convoys''. A Naval Staff History, p26</ref> However the extreme heat and humidity in [[British Malaya|Malayan]] waters in December of that year rendered her AA FC radars unserviceable and her 2 pounder ammunition had deteriorated as well.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Battleship: The Loss of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse'', Middlebrook</ref> Royal Air Force technicians were called in to examine the ''Prince's'' radars but did not have sufficient time to make the repairs, rendering her HACS ineffective.<ref name="forcez-survivors.org.uk">[http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/sinking1.html Alan Matthews, 2006, "The sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse" (Force Z Survivors Association)]. Access date: 13 October 2007.</ref>

====Armor====
In the aftermath of the [[Battle of Jutland]] and post–World War I era, designers began drawing up [[vehicle armor|armor]] schemes that protected against ordnance dropped by aircraft or submarines. World War I ships fired at direct 90 degree trajectories. The introduction of high-angle battleship fire and plane bombings forced shipbuilders to consider adding significant armor to the top of battleships.  The five ships of the American {{sclass-|Tennessee|battleship|5}} and {{sclass-|Colorado|battleship|4}}es had considerably improved underwater hull protection over previous battleships, as the result of extensive experimentation and testing. The new class of Battleship was to include 40" of armored plating.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} The proposed [[G3 battlecruiser]] was planned to incorporate a thoroughly tested [[Torpedo belt|torpedo defense scheme]], which was later used in the ''Nelson'' class. Not surprisingly, as many World War I battleships lacked such a protection system, they fared poorly against torpedoes, which in World War II were increasingly being delivered by submarines and aircraft.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

Battleships had an [[Torpedo belt|armored belt]] along the waterline. It was intended to stop shells that hit their sides and to prevent flooding by underwater explosions due to near misses. World War I battleship, German and Italian World War II battleships had lighter upper armored belts to protect sides up to the main or weather deck. Main belt thickness along the waterline ranged from 10" to 15", upper belt thickness ranged from 4" to 10". Most ships of the World War II period had a sloped main belt (internal in some classes), to increase resistance to incoming shells; and no upper belt, to save weight. Thicknesses of belt armor ranged from 10" for ''Strasbourg'' class - large battlecruisers rather than pure battleships - or from 12" ''South Dakota'' and ''Iowa'' classes) to 16" ({{sclass-|Yamato|battleship|4}}).<ref>Gardner 1980, pp.98-99</ref><ref name="Gardner 1980, p.178">Gardner 1980, p.178</ref>

World War I ships had a light upper armored deck to protect the secondary guns and a main armored deck whose sides sloped down to meet the lower edge of the belt, but their thickness was usually no more than 1.5", or 2" for the slopes. As soon as long-range engagements became common and aerial threats increased, crash programs to improve deck and turret roof protection started. US Navy "all-or-nothing" armor layout introduced a flat heavy armor deck, which abutted the upper edges of the armored belt, and light armored weather and lower decks: this design was used by all World War II ships except Reichsmarine units, that kept a heavier lower deck and a lighter upper deck. Main deck armor thickness ranged from 4" to 6" or even 9" for {{sclass-|Yamato|battleship|4}}, usually increased over magazines: lighter decks were 1.5" to 2" thick.<ref name="Gardner 1980, p.178" />

From the lessons of Jutland, the protection scheme incorporated a sophisticated torpedo defense system (TDS).<ref>[http://www.combinedfleet.com/b_underw.htm Best Battleship: Underwater Protection (CombinedFleet.com)]</ref> By adopting a turbo-electric drive, this allowed a wholesale rearrangement and close subdivision of the machinery spaces, while simultaneously narrowing them and permitting more space outboard for a layered system of voids, liquid-filled tanks and thin armored bulkheads.<ref>[http://www.navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-071.htm A Survey of the American "Standard Type" Battleship (navweaps.com)]</ref> By contrast, "thin-skinned" cruisers and carriers relied only on numerous compartments to prevent flooding from spreading. Some were upgraded with [[Anti-torpedo bulge|anti-torpedo blisters]], though these were much inferior to the battleship's armored belt. During the Pearl Harbor attack, TDS and damage control counterflooding saved [[USS West Virginia (BB-48)#7 December 1941|''West Virginia'']] from nine torpedo hits, while {{USS|Oklahoma|BB-37|2}}, which lacked it, capsized after just three.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

For the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]] the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service|JNAF]] adapted 16" shells from {{sclass-|Nagato|battleship}}s into an aerial bomb specifically designed to penetrate the deck armor of the American battleships. It was one of these weapons, dropped from a [[Nakajima B5N]] level bomber, which resulted in the destruction of the {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|6}}.<ref>Note: This weapon was called ''800 kg armor-piercing bomb Type 99, No 80, Mark 5''. The development of this bomb is described in ''At Dawn We Slept''.</ref><ref>[[Gordon Prange|Prange, Gordon W.]] ''At Dawn We Slept: The untold story of Pearl Harbor''. New York, USA: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1981. {{ISBN|0-07-050669-8}}   p.161.</ref>

During the attack on {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}}, according to a [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS documentary]], U.S. torpedo bombers were taught to aim for either the bow or the stern, where the protective belt did not extend. For torpedo bombers to make their runs successfully, fighters strafed the battleship to suppress AA guns, and dive bombers wreaked havoc on the upper decks, destroying AA weapons and fire control systems. Pilots were also instructed to focus on one side of the ship, causing massive flooding which was difficult to counteract, leading to the ship capsizing. A bow hit was deadly, since the onrushing water from the battleship's high speed could wrench the hole open wider and collapse compartment bulkheads, which was why ''Yamato''{{'}}s sister, {{ship|Japanese battleship|Musashi||2}}, foundered at [[Battle of Leyte Gulf#Sibuyan Sea airstrike .2824 October.29|Sibuyan Sea]].<ref>[http://www.combinedfleet.com/eclipkong.html The Loss of Battleship KONGO: As told in Chapter "November Woes" of "Total Eclipse: The Last Battles of the IJN - Leyte to Kure 1944 to 1945". (CombinedFleet.com)]</ref> The stern attacks are best demonstrated by the cases of ''Bismarck'' and ''Prince of Wales''; the rudders and screws were similarly vulnerable.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

[[Fleet Air Arm]] planned to release their armor-piercing bombs from above a certain height so they would penetrate ''Tirpitz'''s thick armor during [[Operation Tungsten]].<ref>[http://www.combinedfleet.com/b_armor.htm Best Battleship: Armor (CombinedFleet.com)]</ref> As the British pilots did not release their ordnance from the optimal altitude, ''Tirpitz'' suffered extensive damage to her upperworks but her deck armor remained intact.<ref>[http://www.bismarck-class.dk/tirpitz/history/tiropertungsten.html Tirpitz: The History (www.bismarck-class.dk/tirpitz/history/tiropertungsten.html)]</ref> While the [[suicide attacks|suicide air attacks]]&mdash;the so-called kamikaze&mdash;struck many U.S. battleships, none were seriously damaged due to their thick armor. ''Kamikaze'' were much more successful against lesser-armored ships.<ref>Axell, Albert: ''Kamikaze'', pp. 205–213</ref>

There were limits to the battleship's protection scheme, since it could not keep pace with the faster pace of developments in ordnance. For instance, the TDS in the [[South Dakota-class battleship (1939)|''South Dakota'']] and {{sclass-|Iowa|battleship|2}}s were designed to absorb the energy from an underwater explosion equivalent to 700 pounds (317&nbsp;kg) of [[trinitrotoluene|TNT]] &mdash; the Navy's best guess in the 1930s about Japanese weapons. But unbeknownst to U.S. Naval Intelligence, the Japanese 24-inch (60&nbsp;cm) [[Type 93 torpedo]], carried a charge equivalent to 891 pounds (405&nbsp;kg) of TNT. And no amount of armor that could be practically incorporated would have saved the {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} from the massive 12,000&nbsp;lb (5.4t) [[Tallboy bomb|Tallboy]]s dropped by RAF Lancaster bombers during [[German battleship Tirpitz#Operations Paravane, Obviate and Catechism|Operation Catechism]].<ref>Tamelander, Michael: ''Slagskeppet Tirpitz''</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">Jacobsen, Alf R.: ''Dödligt angrepp''</ref> Notably a Tallboy bomb that hit ''Tirpitz'' [[amidships]] between the aircraft catapult and the funnel blew a massive hole into the ship's side and bottom, destroying the entire section of belt armour abreast of the bomb hit, which caused significant flooding and contributed to the ship's rapid list and eventual capsizing.{{sfn|Garzke & Dulin|p=273}}

====Coordination and waves====
In a well-planned attack, fighter planes strafed the battleship to suppress the AA guns, while dive bombers used their armor-piercing bombs to cause topside damage and havoc. The fighters and dive bombers, however, were diversions to allow the delivery of [[aerial torpedo]]es.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

Battleships were able to sustain more punishment and had fewer vulnerable spots than cruisers and carriers, so it was difficult to rely upon scoring a critical hit (the cases of the ''Bismarck'' and ''Prince of Wales'' are considered exceptional). Instead, the way to defeat battleships was by attrition, by overwhelming them with repeated waves of attacks inflicting accumulating damage. This is best demonstrated at the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]]; at the Sibuyan Sea where the super-dreadnought {{ship|Japanese battleship|Musashi||2}} eventually succumbed to her damage, after being beset by waves of U.S. carrier aircraft and with her being the primary focus of their attacks. The U.S. planes would have accomplished less if they spread out to attack the rest of the ships in Kurita's powerful force. By contrast, the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf#The Battle of Surigao Strait|24 October air attack]] on Nishimura's southern pincer did little damage, even though both of his {{sclass-|Fusō|battleship}}s were slow World War I-era dreadnoughts and his force had far fewer screening ships, as he only faced a single wave from U.S. carriers {{USS|Franklin|CV-13|2}} and {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|2}}.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

====Innovative Attacks====
The [[Axis Powers]] implemented some unconventional methods. The Italians used with success their tested method of having [[frogman|frogmen]] delivering explosive charges to the ships, managing to severely damage {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|1913|6}} and to a lesser extent {{HMS|Valiant|1914|6}} in the shallow waters of the harbor of [[Alexandria]], putting ''Valiant'' out of action until mid-1942 and ''Queen Elizabeth'' until mid-1943. Other more or less successful Italian methods included [[human torpedo|manned torpedoes]] and small [[MT explosive motorboat|motor assault boats]], which were filled with explosives, aimed at the target, sped up to full speed, while the pilot catapulted himself out from the dashing craft.<ref>Taylor, A. J. P.: ''1900-talet'', p. 139</ref>

The Germans developed a series of stand-off weapons, e.g., the [[precision-guided munition|guided bomb]] [[Fritz X]], which scored some early successes. On 9 September 1943, the Germans managed to sink the Italian battleship {{ship|Italian battleship|Roma|1940|2}} and severely damage her sister ship, the [[Italian battleship Littorio|''Italia'']], while they were underway to surrender. The first one hit ''Roma'' amidship between 90&nbsp;mm AA gun mounts, piercing deck and side, then exploded, halving her speed; the other one hit above deck between turret #2 and the conning tower. It caused an explosion that threw the turret overboard and affected the boilers, starting a major fire that detonated the main magazines. 1,353 lives were lost; only 596 survivors, most badly burned, were rescued. Among those killed was the Italian Commander in Chief of Naval Battle Forces, [[Carlo Bergamini (admiral)|Admiral Carlo Bergamini]]. One week later, the Germans scored another hit on the British battleship {{HMS|Warspite|03|6}}. The bomb penetrated six decks before exploding against the bottom of the ship, blowing a large hole in her. The ship took in a total of 5,000 tonnes of water, lost steam (and thus all power, both to the ship herself and to all her systems), and had to be taken in tow. She reached Malta but was out of action for the next 12 months.<ref>Ireland, Bernard: ''Jane's War at Sea'', pp. 190–191</ref>

The British further developed their ability to sink battleships in harbour with minisubs and very heavy bombs dropped by strategic bombers. The last active German battleship, {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}}, lurked until late into the war in Norwegian [[fjord]]s protected by [[anti-submarine weapon]]s and shore based anti-aircraft guns. She was severely damaged in September 1943 during [[Operation Source]], a daring covert attack by [[X class submarine|British mini-subs]]. After several air strikes, including [[Operation Tungsten]], which was made with carrier aircraft, ''Tirpitz'' was finally sunk in harbour by [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] heavy bombers carrying massive [[tallboy bomb]]s. During that action, codenamed [[German battleship Tirpitz#Operations Paravane, Obviate and Catechism|Operation Catechism]], two of the bombs penetrated her armor, one holing her portside and the other starting a fire that eventually detonated her magazines and blew off her Caesar turret, causing her to capsize and killing 1,000 of the 1,700 men aboard.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/>

==See also==
* [[List of ships of the Second World War]]
* [[List of battleships of the Second World War]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
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{{refend}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Battleships in World War Ii}}
[[Category:Battleships]]
[[Category:World War II battleships]]