Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, battleships were powerful tools in naval warfare.
However, in the interwar period, the Washington and London Naval treaties
sought to limit their might, with restrictions on the displacement of individual battleships
and the treaty signatories' naval fleets as a whole. Because of this,
battleships built before the war were small and generally less fearsome. But by the onset
of the Second World War, both Germany and Japan had abandoned the treaties,
with the Allies soon following. The battleships built during the war were
the biggest and most powerful battleships ever constructed – truly forces to be reckoned with.
In decisive sea battles throughout the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic,
and the Pacific and Indian Oceans, around 100 battleships from 12 countries saw action
in the war, employing advanced weaponry, armor, and sleeker,
faster designs. In this video, we look at five of the most feared battleships of World War II.
After Italy
entered the war in June 1940, the battle for the Mediterranean became crucial.
The Royal Navy largely underestimated the Regia Marina, believing they could swiftly take the
Mediterranean, but stubborn Italian soldiers and strong ship design squashed those hopes.
One such ship was the Vittorio Veneto. The oldest battleship on our list, she was laid
down in June 1934 and commissioned into the Regia Marina in April 1940.
A Littorio-class battleship, the Vittorio Veneto had a displacement of 45,963 tonnes.
Smaller than many of her contemporaries, she was one of the fastest battleships in Europe,
along with her three sister ships: Littorio, Roma, and Impero.
Equipped with nine 15-inch (or 38-centimeter) guns in triple turrets, and able to reach a
speed of 30 knots, the Vittorio Veneto was a predator in the Mediterranean.
Used extensively to attack British convoys sailing between Malta and North Africa,
Vittorio Veneto was the most active Italian battleship,
engaging in 11 offensive operations through the war. Admired and feared by the Allies,
she caused extensive damage to the British fleets in the Battle of Spartivento and the
Battle of Cape Matapan, before a torpedo struck her, taking her out of the fight.
The Vittorio Veneto was back in action by early 1942, but severely hindered due to
the oil shortage in Italy. Then after the Italians surrendered in September 1943,
Vittorio Veneto spent the remainder of the war under British control in Egypt.
While Italian ships caused turmoil in the Mediterranean, the German Navy dominated the North
Atlantic in the first couple years of the war. This included the mighty Bismarck, the first of
two Bismarck-class battleships, laid down in July 1936 and commissioned into the German Kriegsmarine
in August 1940. She, along with her sister ship, The Tirpitz, were the largest battleships Germany
ever built, 241.6 meters in length and boasting a full load displacement of 50,300 tonnes.
Equipped with eight 15-inch (38-centimeter) guns across four two-gun turrets, along with
a special nickel-chrome anti-torpedo belt, the British Royal Navy deemed it vital to
sink this supposedly “unsinkable” vessel. In May 1941, after a pursuit from the British,
the Bismarck sank the HMS Hood – a 42,000 tonne battle cruiser – in the
Battle of Denmark Strait, with only three of the 1,419 crew surviving.
After the devastating loss of the Hood, Prime Minister Winston Churchill said,
“here cannot be any lengthy delay in disposing of this vessel. Great as is our loss in the Hood, the
Bismarck must be regarded as the most powerful, as she is the newest battleship in the world.”
With a renewed vigor, the Royal Navy set out after the Bismarck, not knowing she had been damaged in
battle against the Hood and in prior engagements with the British Swordfish torpedo bombers.
This slowed the Bismarck and forced her towards relative safety in France,
instead of back to Germany. This proved fatal for the German battleship. On May 27, HMS
King George V and HMS Rodney caught up with The Bismarck, unleashing on her already fragile hull.
After the Bismarck sustained heavy gunfire damage, the British cruiser Dorsetshire
delivered the torpedo that sank her, ending her short – but memorable – eight-month career.
After sinking the Bismarck, the British HMS King George V earned itself a reputation as
a ship to be feared. The lead ship of five King George V-class battleships, she fought
in all three major naval theaters of the war – the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific.
Laid down in January 1937, launched in February 1939, and commissioned into the
Royal Navy in October 1940, the HMS King George V was 227 meters long and had a displacement of
42,200 tonnes at full load, making her the smallest battleship we're covering today.
Armed with ten 14-inch (or 36-centimeter) guns in two- and four-turret arrangements,
the HMS King George V escorted Atlantic convoys
in response to aggressive German naval operations in late 1940 and early 1941.
In 1943, HMS King George V was sent to the Mediterranean to take part in Operation
Husky – the Allied invasion into Sicily – and the bombardment of Levanzo and Trapani.
Months later, after the Italian surrender,
she escorted part of the surrendered Italian Fleet to Malta and then onward to Alexandria.
In 1945, after an overhaul in Liverpool, King George V returned to service,
taking part in operations against the Japanese, including the Okinawa
and Hamamatsu bombardments in July 1945, before returning home at the end of the war.
The King George V was critical to many British naval victories throughout the war.
Across the globe, the war raged in the Pacific theater, with Japan flexing its naval might
with the Yamato. With a displacement of 71,659 tonnes at full load, the Yamato
was an imposing battleship – the biggest ever built. Designed to counter the robust US fleet,
she was laid down in November 1937, launched in August 1940, and commissioned into the Imperial
Japanese Navy in December 1941, shortly after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
Armed with nine 18.1-inch (or 46-centimeter) guns capable of firing 3,200 pound projectiles
25 nautical miles, the Yamato was a ferocious offensive battleship.
She became the flagship of the Combined Fleet in 1942 and was sent to participate in the Battle
of Midway in June of that year. However, the Americans caught wind of the surprise attack and
took the initiative, destroying four naval vessels and more than 300 aircraft during the battle,
and the Yamato was ordered to withdraw to Japan before she could fire a single shot.
After the devastating Japanese defeat at the Battle of Midway, the Yamato
was reassigned. For all the resources that went into building this behemoth,
she spent much of the war transporting soldiers. This earned her the nickname “Hotel Yamato.”
Still, Yamato, along with her sister ship Musashi, remained a threat to the
Allies. American submarines continually tried to torpedo her, and succeeded in 1942, when the USS
Skate hit her northeast of Truk. This further reduced the amount of naval action Yamato saw.
In October 1944, the Yamato participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval
battle of the war. While American aircraft concentrated on – and ultimately succeeded
in – sinking the Musashi, the Yamato was able to fire upon American vessels,
the first and only time she did so during her career. However, this made her a target,
and soon after she was forced to withdraw to avoid further torpedo damage.
Yamato’s war career culminated in Operation Ten-Go in April 1945.
She was sent to intentionally beach herself in Okinawa, as a defensive tactic after the
fall of Iwo Jima. However, before she could reach her destination,
the Americans intercepted the plan and sank her after she sustained heavy artillery fire.
Even before Japan goaded the US into the, the US was renowned for its Naval might. Because of this,
the Japanese had sought to wipe out the fleet of American battleships
stationed at Pearl Harbor in a surprise attack, hoping this would cripple the US
and buy the Japanese time to complete military operations in Southeast Asia.
On top of the Japanese failing to sink most of these battleships, the US also invested
heavily in naval technology throughout the war. The USS Missouri, an Iowa-class battleship,
was laid down in 1941, later than many of the other battleships we've covered in this video.
With a displacement of 58,460 tonnes at full load, a length of 887 feet (or 270 meters),
and a top speed of 33 knots, it was smaller than the Yamato but faster than the Vittorio Veneto.
The USS Missouri was equipped with nine 16-inch (or 40.6-centimeter) guns across three turrets
with a range of about 24 nautical miles, but she didn’t enter active service until 1944,
so she hardly got to use them. However, despite her short tenure,
this beast of a ship played a critical role in ending the war with Japan.
The Missouri’s primary mission was to escort the aircraft carriers Lexington, Hancock, and San
Jacinto during the bombing of Tokyo, as flagship of the Third Fleet. She also took part in the
bombardments of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, providing coastline support to the Marines' amphibious
landings. In April 1945, she was hit during a Kamikaze attack, but suffered little damage.
Had the war gone on longer, she undoubtedly would have continued to play a major role. While this
isn't quite as exciting as naval warfare, Missouri hosted 11 Japanese representatives
including Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and representatives from nine Allied nations for the
final signing of Japan's unconditional surrender on the 2nd of September 1945.
Even though battleships played a less significant role in World War II than
previous wars – due to the rise of aircraft and aircraft carriers – battleships still instilled
fear in their enemies. The five battleships we discussed today each played critical roles in
the war even in non-battle capacities, even if they were ultimately sunk or surrendered.
But what do you think? Which of these battleships would
you have feared the most? Did we miss any heavy-hitters? Let us know in the comments.