Comments by "" (@RedXlV) on "The Drydock - Episode 182" video.

@Yuri Setsuna Once the quad turrets' teething problems are dealt with, I'd say even the as-built KGV with 14" guns is a 50/50 fight vs Bismarck. The guns are less powerful and 10 vs 8 isn't nearly the compensating factor that 12 vs 8 would've been. But KGV's armor is both more efficient and just better than Bismarck's. If KGV had been build with 3x3 15" instead, she'd be outright better than Bismarck in every respect except speed. Bismarck would be well-advised in such an encounter to use that speed to run away.
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@marinepixel6325 The problem with the Tennessees (or Seattles as they would've been called at that point, since lead ship Tennessee/Memphis was wrecked in 1916) is that it would be nearly impossible to refit them in a way that gives them a useful top speed. The hull form just wouldn't be suitable. They'd be limited to operating as a screening force for the battle line, since they'd be too slow to keep pace with carriers and Treaty cruisers.
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Even better, the new USS Puritan wasn't even an ironclad like the original. It was iron-hulled, but the armor was Harvey steel. Totally the same ship, though. And the US Navy actually did this with five Civil War monitors. The other four (the Amphitrite-class) were at least roughly the same size and had the same number of turrets and main guns as the Civil War monitors they were "repaired from".
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