Shipbucket

I mean, they weren't necessarily "bad" ships - they just came far too late for their intended role (countering German raiders in the Atlantic or Japanese "super cruisers" thought to be under construction in 1941). In service, the CBs were "satisfactory" (like all the large surface combatants), but they were too specialized to continue in service post-war. The guns and their associated shells were too expensive, the fuel cost was too high, and moreover there were only two CBs (Alaska and Guam) vs. four BB-61 class ships that could be kept in service. The four BB-61s had interchangeable guns and shells which meant a larger stockpile was available on hand vs. the 12" shells for the CBs.

As for the term "mini Iowas", well that's just nonsense and I'm curious where you heard it or if you just invented it yourself. There were plans to resolve the issue of the large tactical diameter at the next refit (by installing two rudders vs. one), but the ships immediately went into reserve and the work was never carried out. In service, the two CBs primarily escorted carriers in the western Pacific in 1945, and they participated in shore bombardment at Okinawa, where, again, their performance was "satisfactory". By that point in the war the USN was in need of fast carrier escorts that mounted the 5"/38-caliber gun with attendant Mk.37 director - this was a deadly combination that was used to full effect during the kamikaze attacks on the fleet off Okinawa.

The 12"/50 Mark 8 gun was a very good gun system with a lot of hitting power - rivalling the 14" guns on the old battleships. It was just an expensive gun to produce.

In short I wouldn't call them "bad" ships... just ships that were too late to the fight.

_________________
USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

How come they were so expensive?

Were they not the silly semi-automatic super turrets?

_________________
AU Projects: | Banbha et al. | New England: The Divided States
Blood and Fire

How many ships used 12 inch 2? / 16 inch 10?
They probably just didn't share anything with any other ships and had a really small production run (both bad things).

Lets build something that cost 2/3 of an Iowa but only has 1/3(or less) of its usefulness . (if you had cancelled them you might have 6 Iowa's or more CVs ).

JSB

Though only the Iowas used the 16" 50-cal Mk.7. The NoCar and SoDak classes used the 45-cal Mk.6.

Yes but how much of the tools for making Mk6 can you use for MK 7 and I think they can use the same shells ?
Still 4(6+any Montana's 5) v 2(6) .
JSB

The Iowas got to stick around because Missouri was still around at the start of the Korean conflict, and thus they were the large gun ships that were reactivated (better to expand and existing logistics train than start up an all new one).

_________________
𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐍𝐄𝐓- 𝑻𝒐 𝑪𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆

The Mk 6 and mk 7 are not really that closely related. The reason the Iowas got a new gun and turret was because of a communication error. The designers thought it would use the 16"/50 cal Mk 2, the ones to be used on the cancelled South Dakota and Lexington classes. The ones who did the building thought it would use the 16"/45 mk 6. Or was it the other way around? I keep forgetting. The main differance between the two was the batbette ring, the mk 2 triple turret was larger and heavier, and therefore needed a larger ring. The result was a brand new gun design that was lighter, even though the turret was bigger. They did indeed use the same ammunition, the super-heavy shell. In fact, the SoDak and North Carolina was superior at penetrating deck armor at long distances because of the slower muzzle velocity, making the shell fall at a steeper angle.

No, you're thinking of the automatic 8" guns aboard the Des Moines class which were very good in service. The CBs had a very advanced turret (the most advanced large caliber turret in service at the time) that was very similar to the 16" gun turrets aboard the Iowa class. There were some improvements to the method of loading the guns that I can't recall. Do a Google search if you're really interested.

_________________
USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

Right-Oh. I shall do that then.

_________________
AU Projects: | Banbha et al. | New England: The Divided States
Blood and Fire