I have a thing for ships and shipping. Living in a maritime community it comes naturally. There are 34 Coast Guard Cities in the United States, including Sturgeon Bay; the only one in Wisconsin. For more than 150 years Coast Guard members and their families have called this their home.
Shipbuilding is a major industry here in northeast Wisconsin - both commercially and for the department of defense. During WWII the yard in Sturgeon Bay was launching a Liberty Ship in less than five days every month. In nearby Manitowoc the yard built and launched 10 Gato and 18 Balao Class submarines. Fincantieri Bay Ship has begun fabrication and assembly of the the US Navy's latest guided missile frigate. Yes, they're resurrecting the frigate. Bottom line; our naval roots grow deep.
In his recent speech to assembled US military commanders in Quantico, VA the president advanced his desire to return battleships to the US Navy; describing them as heavily armored, gun-centric, ships that are aesthetically impressive. Trump further stated that this notion was under serious consideration and with a nod to their massive 16 inch guns that bullets are a lot less expensive than missiles. The president was critical of the appearance of modern warships sporting stealth technology calling them, ugly. Naturally, none of this is new as a decade ago candidate Trump delivered an address on the USS Iowa where he suggested recommissioning the ship.
What is unclear from the Quantico speech is this: Does the president wish to reactivate old battleships or does he wish to build new ones? Whichever path is taken presents unique challenges. Expensive ones too.
There are four remaining WWII era Iowa-class battleships. Retired decades ago they presently serve as museum ships. To make them operational would take years and cost billions upon billions of dollars. Their oil-fired, steam power plants are antiquated and today's sailors are not trained to operate them. The fire control system is obsolete; besides, 16-inch shells are no longer manufactured.
Build from scratch? Consider the cost; two or three guided missile frigates could be had for the cost of one battleship. And as impressive as a 16 inch gun might be; guided missiles and aircraft can hit further, faster and with deadly accuracy. Smaller ships require smaller crews and large ships of the line are big, fat, high-value targets vulnerable to hypersonic weapons.
Let's face it, president Trump is not a naval architect; and the Navy has a plan to expand the fleet in the decades to come to include both manned and unmanned ships. Moreover, higher-tech guns and missile tubes stand a better chance of dominating a conflict at sea.
My guess? Trump goes off-script most all the time and battleships occupy a memory hole in his vast pothole-ridden brain to emerge in his stream of consciousness like whack-a-mole when triggered.
They're not gonna happen.
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