Battleships: A Relevant Fire Support Platform in the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

Since the close of World War II, the role of American battleships has been steadily reduced. The last battleships to see action, the U.S.S. Wisconsin and the U.S.S. Iowa, were retired in 2001 and 1999 respectively. Their replacements, in the form of cruisers and guided missile destroyers, are purported to possess the improved fire support capabilities and survivability required to support the joint land battle. Nevertheless, eliminating the battleship altogether as a fire support platform for the prosecution of expeditionary operations in the littorals is not a logical conclusion. The retirement of American battleships with cruisers and destroyers adversely affects the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) because its demise deprives land forces of a fire support platform that can achieve and sustain massed surprise fires.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 19, 2008
Accession Number
ADA499160

Entities

People

  • S. M. Shea

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Antisubmarine Warfare
  • Battleships
  • Destroyers
  • Fire Support
  • Information Operations
  • Marine Corps
  • Naval Vessels (Combatant)
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • New Jersey
  • Platforms
  • Second World War
  • Ships
  • Submarine Warfare
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Maritime and Naval Warfare Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies