An anti-tank missile taking out a BB? I think not. Anti-ship threat assessment is something I have experience in, and I can tell you for a fact that the neither Exocet that hit the USS Stark, or the mine that struck the USS Tripoli would have put an Iowa-class BB out of commision. The bombing of the USS Cole would have difficulty being repeated with a BB, due to it would take a freighter filled with explosives, rather than a rowboat. I know people who were inside a turret on an Iowa-class that survived a direct hit from a kamikaze (they did lose most of their hearing, though). All I'm saying is that a BB is a lot more survivable than most anything else in the fleet. Since you like to use the carriers as examples, how do you think carriers defend themselves from anti-ship missiles? By having a DD or CG get in the missile's way and take the hit for them. If I had to take an inbound vampire strike, I would certainly rather be on a battleship.
The bombing of the USS Cole would have difficulty being repeated with a BB, due to it would take a freighter filled with explosives, rather than a rowboat.If I were the terrorists, I'd send in a suicide squad to detonate a bomb inside the forward powder magazine. That would sink the ship.
All I'm saying is that a BB is a lot more survivable than most anything else in the fleet.
Like I said: a BB is just about the only weapons system out there that concentrates THAT much chemical energy, in one place, in an easily-ignited form, and then dares the crew to make one mistake--or dares the enemy to get ONE bomb into the magazine by any means.
Since you like to use the carriers as examples, how do you think carriers defend themselves from anti-ship missiles?
By killing the archer, not the arrows.
By having a DD or CG get in the missile's way and take the hit for them.
Actually, the idea is that the DD or CG uses their own weapons suite to bag the inbound. DDs and CGs are pretty expensive, after all.
If I had to take an inbound vampire strike, I would certainly rather be on a battleship.
Of course, if I were attacking a CVBG, I'd be throwing nuclear vampires. Being in a BB wouldn't do you THAT much good :o)