I agree with you glorgau. The Tripitz was completely disabled at the end and in a Fjord. The British continued expending resources, men and effort on destroying it even though the Germans knew it would never sail again.
Plus, the air attack on the Bismark was still before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Our Pacific battleships were taken off the board. At the time, only Yamamoto and Halsey understood the extent to which the day of the large capital ships had passed.
“At the time, only Yamamoto and Halsey understood the extent to which the day of the large capital ships had passed.”
There were other aviation admirals, but essentially you’re right. It’s clear in hindsight that the day of the battleship had passed, but the shape of carrier aviation was built in the interwar years where the weapons payload was insufficient, accurate bomb aiming required new dive bombing tactics, and the range of the aircraft was short. Events during the war stripped off quite a few battleships when there already weren’t enough of them to fill all the tactical needs (read Washington Naval Treaty). Carriers, ready or not, had to fill the gaps.
Early carrier actions like Coral Sea are almost inept on both sides. Well, slightly less inept on the Japanese side. Even Midway had a “come as you are” feel to it.