What is the purpose of battleships? Why did this ship disappear after World War II?

Because aircraft carriers and submarines became the main types of naval operations, battleships gradually became the second-class naval main ships in World War II.

warship

Battleship, also known as capital ship and combat ship, is a large surface warship with large caliber guns as its main weapon. It has strong armored protection and assault force and can fight in the ocean. In naval battles, it is usually carried out by multiple single-column fronts, hence the name. It was one of the main naval warships from 1860 to World War II. After World War II, its strategic position was replaced by aircraft carriers and ballistic missile submarines. Warship is one of the largest and most complex weapon systems ever created by mankind, which has the characteristics of large tonnage, strong firepower, thick armor and long range. In its heyday-from the beginning of the 20th century to the Second World War, the battleship was the only strategic weapon platform with long-range strike means. Therefore, it has attracted the attention of various naval powers. Early battleships were also called armored ships or armored ships. The word "warship" was originally written in English and literally translated as "warship". The name comes from the "main battle ship line" in the maritime era. At that time, the naval battle mode was that the fleets of the warring parties were arranged in a single column battle line, and the guns on the same side or the same side were fired together. All ships big enough to take part in this kind of battle are called "frontline ships". Warships have experienced two stages: sail warships and steam warships. Steam battleships appeared in the middle of19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, Britain built the battleship Intrepid. France, Russia, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and other countries have followed the example of the intrepid to build battleships.

The name of the battleship appeared with the change of naval tactics in 1655- 1667. At that time, the battleship with the strongest firepower did not fight in the dock, but arranged in a single column, running parallel to the enemy fleet, and using the side guns on one side of the fleet to concentrate fire on the enemy, hence the name "battleship". The British ship "King of the Sea" built at 1638 was the first warship of its kind. It has three gun decks and 102 guns. Battleships at this time are all wooden sailboats.

1849, France built the world's first warship "Napoleon" powered by a steam engine. It is equipped with 100 steam warship side guns. But it also has sails as auxiliary power. 186 1 year, Britain's first armored battleship "Warrior" also hung auxiliary sails. The sails on warships gradually disappeared after 20 years.

1862, France built the first battleship "Prince Albert" with a rotating turret. Because turret guns may be out of date in any direction, the name of the loading ship replaced the battleship for a period of time.

1906, the world's largest and strongest armored ship "Fearless" built by Britain was launched, and the name of the battleship was restored. "Fearless" was designed according to the concept of the famous Italian engineer Colonel Kunibedi, with a displacement of 1.79 million tons and a speed of 2 1 knot. It was equipped with 10 305 mm main guns, 24 76 mm auxiliary guns and 5 underwater torpedo launchers installed in 5 turrets, which was 65,438+more powerful than other largest armored ships at that time. Since then, naval powers have followed the example of the intrepid and built their own battleships. Before 1930s, the "intrepid" ship was synonymous with battleships, and the number of battleships became the standard to measure the strength of a country's navy. The last combat train in the world was launched at the end of World War II. During this period, the performance of battleships such as displacement, speed, main gun caliber and armor thickness has been greatly improved, and hundreds of battleships built successively have also inherited the basic form laid by the intrepid.

During World War II, Nazi Germany built the then ace battleship Bismarck and the sister ship Tibbits, which were once regarded as the ace by Adolf Hitler, but these two warships were sunk shortly after their service.

The largest battleships in the world are the Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi launched during World War II. The full-load displacement is 72,800 tons and the maximum speed is 27 knots. The ship is equipped with 9 main guns, 3 sets of 457 mm, and the shell weighs 1.460 kg, with 3 sets of 12 doors 1.500. 1944, 19451On October 24th, Musashi and Yamato were sunk by American planes, which marked the decline of battleships and their position in naval battles was replaced by aircraft carriers. After World War II, all countries stopped building new battleships. It is estimated that no country will build battleships in the future.

In the 1980s, the United States modernized four retired "Iowa" class battleships, added various new radar, missile, air defense, electronic countermeasures and command and control communication systems, and put them back into active service. 1989, the United States successively completed the modification works of battleships such as Missouri and Wisconsin, and put them into service again. Deployed in the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean respectively, they independently engage in maritime operations, support landings and attack onshore targets. 199 1 In the Gulf War in June, the US military used battleships Missouri and Wisconsin to shell Iraqi targets and launch cruise missiles. However, in 1993, four American battleships were retired again.

A brief history of warship development

Battleship was one of the main warships of the navy during the Second World War from 1960s to 19. After World War II, its strategic position was replaced by aircraft carriers and ballistic missile submarines.

Warship is one of the largest and most complex weapon systems ever created by mankind, which has the characteristics of large tonnage, strong firepower, thick armor and long range. In its heyday-from the beginning of the 20th century to the Second World War, the battleship was the only strategic weapon platform with long-range strike means, so it was valued by naval powers.

★ the age of navigation

The word "warship" was originally written in English and literally translated as "warship". The name comes from the "main battle ship line" in the maritime era. At that time, the naval battle mode was that the fleets of the warring parties were arranged in a single column battle line, and the guns on the same side or the same side were fired together. All ships big enough to take part in this kind of battle are called "frontline ships". After 1970s, the British Navy classified ships according to the following criteria:

First-class ship-three-plate gun, 100 guns, more than 875 people, displacement of 2500-3500 tons. The representative ship was Admiral Nelson's flagship Victory in the Battle of Trafalgar.

Second-class ship-the third artillery deck, 90-98 guns, with a capacity of about 750 people and a displacement of more than 2,000 tons.

Third-class ship-two to three gun decks, 64-80 guns, 490-720 people, displacement 1300-2000 tons. This is the largest number of capital ships in the British navy.

Class 4 ship-two guns deck, 50-56 guns, with a capacity of about 350 people, and the displacement exceeds 1000 tons.

The above four classes of ships are called battleships. Ships below this size are classified as frigates, corvettes and sloops.

Battleships at this time are basically made of wood, and sometimes they are wrapped in copper below the waterline. The power is the sail, and the weapon is the muzzle gun that fires round projectiles to destroy the hull, the shotgun that kills and the chain bomb that destroys the sail.

★ Armored ship

/kloc-After the mid-9th century, with the development of science and technology and shipbuilding industry, sail-powered battleships gradually gave way to steam-powered battleships. 1849, France built the world's first battleship "Napoleon" with a steam engine as an auxiliary power device, becoming a pioneer of naval steam-powered battleships. The Crimean War from 1853 to 1856 established the decisive position of steam armored battleships in modern naval fleet. 1859, France built the battleship Gloire with a displacement of 5,630 tons. 1860, HMS warrior was built in Britain with a displacement of 9 137 tons. These two warships are covered with real armor and are regarded as the first two steam armored ships in the world. During the American Civil War, USS monet, a small armored gunboat of the United States Northern Navy, adopted a closed turret for the first time. The first naval artillery battle in the modern sense-1862 Hampton naval battle-took place between it and the CSS Virginia of the Confederate Navy.

1873, France built the destroyer, which abolished the tradition of using sails and became the first pure steam-powered warship in the history of the world navy. By the 1970s of 19, the steam armored battleships of the world's naval powers had reached a higher level. Steam engines not only provide propulsion power for warships, but also are used for steering system, mooring system, rotating armor system, loading ammunition, pumping water and lifting ships. Large steam armored battleships have a displacement of 8,000 to 9,000 tons and a propulsion power of 6,000 to 8,000 horsepower. At this time, the battleship is equipped with armored turrets that can rotate 360 degrees in all directions on the central axis of the main deck or on both sides of the hull, and the naval guns also generally adopt spiral rifling, which further enhances the attack power. At this time, most of the battleships were called armored ships, and Dingyuan and Zhenyuan of Beiyang Navy in Qing Dynasty were the representatives of battleships in this period.

★ Once a fearless warship

1892, the British built the world's first all-steel battleship HMS Royal Sovereign, which later became a model for the design of battleships in various countries. Since then, battleships have generally adopted steel shells, with full displacement of 12000 tons, spiral rifling of main guns of 300-350 mm, protective armor of 230-450 mm, and speed of 16- 18 knots. At this time, naval gun power, armor protection, speed and displacement have become the four recognized elements in building battleships in various countries. The navies of Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Japan, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire built or imported a large number of battleships.

At this time, most battleships are equipped with two main guns. The primary main guns are arranged on the longitudinal central axis of the hull to fight against the enemy's capital ships, and the secondary main guns are arranged on both sides of the hull to fight against cruisers and light warships. Most of the power is a reciprocating steam engine.

1906, a brand-new warship appeared.

★ intrepid battleship

The name Dreadnaught comes from HMS Dreadnaught of British Navy. It adopts a unified model of heavy artillery and a high-power steam turbine, with a displacement of1810 ton and a maximum speed of 2 1 knot. The launch of the intrepid accelerated the competition among navies of various countries. The Nassau-class battleships in Germany, the South Carolina-class battleships in the United States and their follow-up ships all adopted the fearless standard. This kind of warship was uniformly named "Fearless Class". Its characteristics can be summarized as follows: the caliber of the main gun is unified (generally 1 1 to 13.5 inches), and the main turrets are arranged at the bow and stern, and staggered at the stern. The displacement is more than 20,000 tons, usually driven by steam turbine, and the speed exceeds 19 knots. During this period, Britain and Germany launched a large-scale naval arms race. By 19 14, when World War I broke out, Britain had 73 battleships and battle cruiser, while Germany had 52.

★ Super fearless

With the increase of the caliber of the battleship's main gun to 13.5- 15 inches, the effective range of the gun is constantly increasing, and the main gun turrets are all arranged on the transverse and longitudinal axes of the hull, and the main turret in the middle of the ship is reduced or cancelled, and the displacement is increased to more than 25,000 tons. This fearless warship is usually called "Super Fearless Ship" and "Super Crossbow Warship" in Japan. American Nevada class battleships, British Orion class battleships, Queen Elizabeth class battleships, German Bavarian class battleships, Japanese Fusang class battleships, and their successors can all be regarded as typical post-fearless classes.

In World War I, the largest naval battle in human history-Jutland naval battle broke out between Britain and Germany in 19 16. According to the lessons of this naval battle, major naval countries improved the design of the dreadnought. The main improvement measures include: increasing the caliber of the main gun and improving the protection of turret, powder magazine and other components; Take key protective measures to thicken the armor of important parts and reduce or cancel the armor of non-important parts; Pay attention to horizontal protection and torpedo protection below the waterline; Increase the host power. This intrepid warship is often called "Post Jutland Battleship".

★ Treaty era

World War I ended in the defeat of Germany and its allies. According to the armistice agreement of 19 18, the German fleet on the high seas surrendered to the allied forces and concentrated in Scarpa Bay, Orkney Islands in northern England, waiting to be distributed to the victors as war compensation. But most of them were sunk by German sailors on June 2 19 19.

During the war, all naval powers designed battleships with larger scale and stronger firepower, and the caliber of the main gun also rose to 16 to 18 inches. Because the construction and maintenance of battleships are extremely expensive, this expensive arms race is obviously unnecessary after the war. 1922 during the Washington conference, the five naval powers of the United States, Britain, Japan, France and Italy signed the Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Weapons (Washington Naval Treaty), which restricted the tonnage of battleships and battle cruiser (35,000 tons) and the caliber of main guns (not more than 16 inch), and stipulated that the United States, Britain, Japan and France.

The Treaty on the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Weapons (London Treaty) signed in 1930 made supplementary provisions. The period of 15 from 1922 to 1936 is called "naval holiday". The construction plans of large battleships in various countries were terminated or cancelled, and the existing battleships were replaced by renovation.

★ Super battleship

1936 65438+February 3 1, the Washington naval treaty expired and the naval powers resumed the construction of battleships. Britain built five King George V class battleships and a pioneer battleship. The US Navy has built two North Carolina class battleships, four South Dakota class battleships and four Iowa class battleships. The German navy built two Bismarck-class battleships, and the Japanese navy built two Yamato battleships. France and Italy also built new warships. Most battleships in this period used 15 or 16 inch or even 18 inch caliber main guns, and the speed was above 27 knots or even above 30 knots.

Because aircraft carriers and submarines became the main types of naval operations, battleships gradually became the second-class naval main ships in World War II. In the Atlantic battlefield, the British navy launched a large-scale encirclement and suppression operation around the German battleships Bismarck and Tilpitz. The rest of the time, the allied battleships are mainly engaged in escort missions.

In the Pacific battlefield, most of the eight old battleships of the US Navy suffered losses in the Pearl Harbor incident, and six of them were salvaged and repaired at home, undertaking the task of bombing targets on the shore. The newly-built high-speed battleship is the task of fleet alert (especially air defense alert and radar sentry ship) of aircraft carrier special mixed formation. During the night battle of Surigao Strait in Leyte Bay 1944, American battleships and Japanese battleships launched the last battleship artillery battle, sinking Japanese navy battleships Shancheng and Fusang.

In the Normandy landing campaign, the old battleships of Britain and America were used to bomb targets on the shore. In the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, American battleships also performed similar tasks. In addition, at the end of the Pacific War, new American and British battleships had shelled offshore industrial cities in Japan such as Kamaishi and Hitachi. 1on August 5, 945, the Japanese representative signed the surrender letter on the warship Missouri. The glorious career of battleships in the navy reached its peak and came to an end.

After World War II, battleships of various countries were sold to private companies as scrap steel for dismantling, or destroyed as target ships and weapon test platforms. The US Navy once put Iowa-class battleships into the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and then retired and sealed them. In the 1980s, the US Navy re-launched the "Iowa" class battleship with missiles and helicopters, but after using 10 for many years, it retired again, and the "Battleship" class officially withdrew from the US Navy's active ship classification. At present, only four Iowa-class battleships in the United States, two South Dakota-class battleships and battleships in North Carolina and Texas, as well as the former battleship intrepid in Japan, have been permanently preserved as floating museums.