Battlecarrier: The Navy Could Have Merged Iowa-Class Battleships and Aircraft Carriers

Battlecarrier: The Navy Could Have Merged Iowa-Class Battleships and Aircraft Carriers

Key Points and Summary – For decades, naval enthusiasts and a few planners floated “battlecarrier” schemes to graft flight decks and large missile batteries onto Iowa-class battleships. The pitch: keep 16-inch guns, add STOVL jets and helicopters, and create a one-ship strike monster. -The reality: immense cost, severe air-ops limits, old hulls, huge crews, and poor survivability in a missile era. -The 1980s reactivations proved the Iowas could …