Please realize that the Nouth Carolina/South Dakota class were the same ship design; Except, for one "flagship version" and the attendant small variation in SECONDARY armament for ONE of those 6 ships (2-5in gun mounts
). If you want to exclaim this hair-splitting difference as a totally different BB design class , no matter, please realize no other battleship design(s) did better in WWII , .
So far in error as to make it difficult to discuss things further as it exposes serious misconceptions from the outset and you compound this later with similar flaws in knowledge about other nations ships.
The same design except for the 48ft difference in hull length, the extra funnel, the 9,000SHP difference, the armour differences etc. You seem to be confusing the fact that South Dakota was built as a flagship from the South Dakota class and thus differed from the other members of that class as well as to the North Carolina and Washington which were indeed a very different class. Wikipedia gives enough detail and photos for people to spot the differences;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Caro ... battleship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dako ... %281939%29
Norman Friedman, probably recognized as the leading naval design expert in the world today, manages to consider them two separate classes and list them as such in all his works. Then again, what does he know?
The US built enough BB"s to have "flagships", obviously the British could not afford such "variations".
The British did have ships fitted for flagship duties, have a look at their construction details and operational activities, the South Dakota was fitted as a fleet flagship in a manner to Friedrich de Grosse in WWI, a rather pointless concept that other navies operated perfectly well without taking, and which highlights the rather obvious question of what operates as fleet flagship when the 'special flagship' is having a refit or repair?
And also realize the QE class did far more for England than those dud ass KGV class ships.
Have I said otherwise? The QE's were probably the most successful battleships ever built, and this is usually the conclusion when the subject is discussed on the internet too. The KGV's were far from duds though.
If you want to laud the KGV BB class as giving the the best performance of any BB class in WWII
You may have trouble with the concept that most is not always best, but I actually said they gave more service than any other modern warship class and that is correct.
And yes , I know the SoDak class had an electrical problem at Savo island
Idiot crewmen can happen anywhere, it is not a design issue though.
IMHO, any trade for more than 2 US HVY CA's for one of those KGV's, would seem like a horrendous bs trade to me, even discounting for dealing with the massive operational problems/costs for both navies in supporting/operating logistically "alien" warships.
With the majority of the US Pacific Fleet's capital units either sunk or badly damaged, getting hold of a modern fast capital unit is not an unreasonable idea. A ratio of 3 -1 or 4 - 1 is the most often agreed on ratio when this is discussed, though many people cannot see the attraction of large numbers of heavy cruisers, a type the RN did not need as badly as other types.
And no, I am not bashing you or "limeys" in general
. I just think the two(or three
) best classes of BB in WWII,as far service records go, were the US NC/SoDak class, followed by the UK QE class. I think the record bears this out.
Given you are so far out of your expertise area, 'bashing' would be ill advised. The record does bear out which class of modern warships performed the most service in WWII, even if you do not like it, but that has nothing at all to do with which ships were the 'best' ships or even the most effective. I know 'best' and 'most' must be hard for you to differentiate, but please do try as it will solve this misunderstanding easily!
If you actually look back through my posts you will see that I said that the South Dakota class had a very good claim to being the best class of modern warship in WWII, but that does not inflate their length of service operations and therefore qualify them as the ones who gave most service as a class.