Battleship Missouri firing its main gun battery in 1991

Battleships are so fucking cool. The 16-inch main guns of an Iowa-class battleship could hurl a projectile the size of a Volkwsagen Beetle over 24-miles, and they had enough armor plating to laugh off almost any modern anti-ship missile, mine or torpedo.

Built in the 30’s and 40’s, they were last deployed during the 1991 Iraq war. The guns were fired using the same primitive, room-sized computers used during WWII. Building artillery on this scale is impressive enough, but then making it float on a boat that can go 30 knots is an engineering marvel.

Sadly all the Iowas are now serving as museum ships (though subject to recall in the event of a national emergency). Right now a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is having to show the flag in the Straits of Hormuz, and there’s a lot of debate about what would happen if one of these nuclear powered bedrocks of the US Navy came under actual attack - something that’s never happened.

Whereas one well-placed cruise missile could take out a carrier’s flight deck and render her useless, or blow an escort vessel in half, an Iowa battleship could have sailed into the straits with no such worries. Iran’s anti-ship missiles would literally char the paint, with all the ship’s critical systems protected behind armor designed to deflect the impact of 18-inch armor-piercing shells.

Guess it’s time to watch “Under Siege” again…