Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "Elizabeth Jonas - Guide 302" video.

@themanformerlyknownascomme777 , there is something about that switch to 14" that doesn't seem right to me. Reportedly, the US opposed it, demanded the escalator clause, which would certainly be tripped, as Japan had given notice two years earlier they were dropping out of the treaty system. There was no mystery about the North Carolinas, as they were undoubtedly designed for 16", and the chatter about 14" was nothing but a Kabuki dance. I have set my project for the winter as sifting all the information I can get my hands on about Second London and the KGVs to figure out what the real reason for the 14" is. It can't be for cost, as the 9-15" armament weighed less than 12-14" originally planned for the KGVs, implying less material, and the lower number of guns reduces piece count. With less material and a lower piece count, I can't see how the 9-15", could have cost more. It seems that the "more smaller guns" school of thought had been discredited by 1920. The decision that 16" was superior had been made in the USN in 1916, and the RN was on the same track, escalating to 15", 16" with the Nelsons, and 18" with the N3s.
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@WALTERBROADDUS Utah could have been refloated the same way Okie was, Arizona was blown apart, so would me a more difficult job. Utah and Arizona did not obstruct the traffic pattern in the harbor the way Okie did. Of course, now, there doesn't seem to be much traffic around Battleship Row, as there is now a bridge to Ford Island just north of the BB moorings. The bridge is retractable, but I doubt they would have built it if there was a lot of traffic.
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@vikkimcdonough6153 repairing Arizona was probably like restoring an antique car: anything is possible, given enough time and money. When Maine was raised from Havana harbor, they built a cofferdam around it, inspected the wreck, then cut off the blown up part, built a new bow on what was left, towed it to deep water, and scuttled it. They could probably have done the same thing with Arizona, except the scuttling part, tow the intact part to Bremerton for rebuild. I have read that #1 turret was pretty well destroyed, and #2 was not exactly factory fresh, only yielding it's guns, as serviceable. The turrets on Oklahoma appear to be the same diameter as those on Arizona 27ft 11.5 inches, so, potentially, Okie's turrets could be salvaged to repair Arizona, but, in a world of infinite resources, someone would want to rebuild Okie too.
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@fjthatguy9496 I would suspect Marines are distinct from sailors due to a training focus on combat, rather than ship handling. I have read that, in the RN, part of the job of the Marines was to protect the officers from the crew, but I don't know how accurate that characterization is.
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@WALTERBROADDUS I agree repairing Arizona was not economic. The question was more a matter of feasibility, in a world of infinite resources. Some sources say that FDR wanted Arizona repaired, for propaganda points, minimizing the number of BBs lost at Pearl, but was talked out of the notion. Considering the herculean effort expended on Okie, I wonder why they didn't built a cofferdam around it, and scrap it in place.
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