Quote (Nibthebarb @ Apr 29 2022 05:41pm)
If going by pure ability, I'd agree that all 4 Iowa class should take the top 4 spots. With Missouri and wisconsin ever slightly higher due to armor upgrades. The 5th spot should probably go to the South Dakota. On paper the new American ships outclassed anything the Atlantic Ocean saw, and while the Yamatos boasted bigger stats, they were on aggregate less effective at their intended role. Iowa class had better speed, armor quality, radar, far better AAA, not to mention outside factors that America had over Japan like a billion to one.
Bismarck and Hood have nice lore but don't belong in this same league.
Arizona? Wtf... not even in the same time zone. WW1 era hunk of metal, good in its day. Makes a great memorial.
Coolness factor, looks, different story entirely. Iowas are beautiful, but Yamato and Musashi are in my opinion that absolute best looking war machines ever put into service.
So I'd say given all factors, #1 battleship of the human race's history would have to go to the Mighty Mo. Unsurpassed among its WW2 counterparts, is currently an awesome museum, and is super famous.
I used different criteria than Santara, and you never specified any. Just a "top 5 WW2 battleships GO" post. Mine aren't because of battle capability, but the notoriety they had. And Arizona is included because of the rallying cry for the war effort it became after Pearl Harbor. Hood because it was the British flagship and the primary image of British naval power for 20 years. The Bismarck because duh...pinnacle of Nazi surface sea power. The same for Yamato and Japan. The Missouri not only for the sheer capability of it, but for being the place where Japan surrendered.
Fun fact: I've been aboard the Missouri while it was in active service.