ABSTRACT
Battleships did prove useful for shore bombardment in support of amphibious operations, as antiaircraft platforms to protect carriers, and less heroically as oilers. Yet the cessation of the global conflict brought the gradual retirement of Americas battleships, until only the Missouri remained in service. The American Battleship Association needed no more prompting, immediately launching a publicity campaign to bring the sacred vessels out of retirement. Significantly, the chief of naval operations and most of the naval hierarchy were opposed on the grounds that carrier aviation was perfectly capable of performing the sort of close support. Psychological impact and sociological compatibility are exceedingly important, as the tale of the battleship should show. The story of the modern battleship is a cautionary tale, chosen precisely because of the wild divergence between performance and reputation. As usual, however, the resurrected battleships proved less versatile and effective in reality than in the naval imagination.
