No not totally obsolete, just unable to operate without aircover.
Battleships did good work as mobile artillery support for amphibious landings as well as massive AA platforms to protect fleets from air attack. They also were excellent protection for aircraft carries against potential surface to surface engagements.
They dropped a LOT of bombs on her while she sat in one spot.
The demonstration wasn’t all that convincing. In fact, it may have had the opposite effect as naval planners concluded that maneuvering ships were unlikely to be destroyed by aerial attacks.
Unfortunately for the Prince of Wales and Repulse, technology advanced in the next 20 years.
These days it looks like flying Tic-Tacs will render our current military obsolete.
Yeah, sure...until the aliens attack,
and you have to pull the USS Missouri out of dry-dock,
and then they get Thunderstruck!
Rest assured that Russia, China and Iran are doing exactly the same thing right now to our equipment, which was left behind in Afghanistan.
Destructive tests...
Two hundred-thirty(230) six hundred pound(600) bombs on a non moving ship that doesn’t shoot back? How many missed? Okayyyyyy
Fact is in this modern technological era virtually all surface combatants are obsolete. However many brave young sailors will have to die before America’s political ,pole climbing battleship admirals are purged from positions of power and influence.
FACT: Despite the alleged fact, US had 23/24 BBs in WWII.
Loved that game
BULL SHIITE!
Sooner or later some genius is going to start a SpaceForce and move our capabilities to the modern era.
BS.
Billy Mitchell was flying against an anchored BB, that wasn’t shooting back, using level bombing techniques. It was as close to shooting fish in a barrel as you could possible get. In WW2 level bombing proved to be all but useless against maneuvering ships.
What General Mitchell proved was that bombers could deliver enough of a payload to damage a BB. That’s about it.
Misleading. Mitchell’s tests were rigged by himself-—he carried more “bombs” than allowed, the ships were stationary, there was no opposing air cover, and no antiaircraft fire.
Moreover, Mitchell thought he proved that ships were sinkable by LAND-BASED air, which proved completely wrong in WW II. The land-based bombers at Midway did not score a single hit on any Japanese ship.
Land-based Japanese planes in Guadalcanal and subsequent Pac Islands campaigns did a little better, but only when armed with torpedoes-—hardly what Mitchell had in mind.
As for rules of engagement and the type of aircraft involved, keep in mind that Mitchell's crews weren't allowed to drop aerial torpedoes.
Even before George Kenney adopted the British and German technique of skip-bombing, the aircraft showed its effectiveness against a ship.
They sure came in handy while island hopping towards Japan. Iwo Jima Okinawa etc
Nothing is unsinkable.
And within sight of a barbarian shore, they cut a fabulous figure.
From the carrier, to the the armored division, gotta have air dominance and in this case, a couple of attack submarines.
5.56mm