Although battleships were supplanted by aircraft carriers by the end of World War II, they remain a testament to a bygone era of warfare—and a symbol of their nations’ might.

For nearly half a century, the battleship was the singular symbol of a nation’s composite power: a floating fortress that projected industrial might, military prestige, and political deterrence. Defined by heavy armor, massive guns, and thick-belted silhouettes, battleships dominated the world’s waterways from the early 1900s until World War II.

The battleship’s mission was stark and simple: close with the enemy and destroy them. Yet during the Cold War, with the advent of the aircraft carrier and the guided missile, battleships quickly faded into obsolescence. Still, the legend of the battleship endures as a hulking leviathan of warfare—and some commentators, and even President Donald Trump, have called for their return. 

10. King George V Class (United Kingdom, 1940)

At just over 44,000 tons, the King George V class demonstrated British pragmatism under treaty restrictions. She featured 10 14-inch guns—smaller than the conventional 16-inch gun commonly found on American battleships—but compensated with exceptional fire control and armor. The class was built to fight smart, not heavy.

The class’s defining moment came when the HMS Prince of Wales, one of its members, helped to sink the larger German battleship Bismarck. Though the victory over the Bismarck would be the Prince of Wales’ finest hour, its crew would have little time to celebrate. Six months later, the mighty British battleship would later meet its own ignominious end off the coast of Singapore following a Japanese aerial attack—illustrating that the era of the battleship was drawing to a close, and that of the aircraft carrier had begun.

9. USS South Dakota (BB-57, USA, 1942)

Compact but powerful, the 44,500 ton South Dakota featured nine 16-inch guns, thick armor, and state-of-the-art radar gunnery in a relatively short hull. The South Dakota served heavily in the Pacific, from the Santa Cruz Islands to the brutal night action off Guadalcanal. 

In November 1942, the South Dakota absorbed dozens of hits while her radar-directed salvos crippled Japanese ships, showing how vital electronic fire control would be to the future of warfare. Later, she would serve in the Philippines and at Okinawa, showing that American engineering was world-class.

8. Vittorio Veneto (Italy, 1940)

Italy’s Vittorio Veneto class embodied dictator Benito Mussolini’s ambition to restore Mediterranean dominance. Displacing 45,200 tons and armed with nine 15-inch guns, Veneto could hit 30 knots, which was faster than most contemporaries. With a sleek Pugliese torpedo-defense system and advanced fire-control, she was the most modern European design of her time.

Veneto survived World War I, despite narrowly escaping destruction at Cape Matapan in 1941. In 1943, following Italy’s surrender to the Allies, the battleship was confiscated by the British, and later broken up for scrap. Though never decisive in battle, Veneto demonstrated Italy’s shipbuilding ability and naval ambitions in the early 20th century.

7. HMS Hood (UK, 1920)

At the time of her launch, the HMS Hood was the world’s largest warship, displacing 47,400 tons, measuring 860 feet long. Armed with eight 15-inch guns, and capable of hitting 32 knots, the Hood embodied Britain’s maritime supremacy between the wars, serving as flagship on global cruises that projected imperial power. 

In May 1941, at the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the Hood was abruptly destroyed by the German battleship Bismarck, killing all but three of her crew of 1,418 men. Subsequent investigations determined that a German shell had detonated her aft magazine, annihilating the ship. Her destruction shocked Britain and turned the pursuit of Germany’s Bismarck into a national obsession.

Today, the Hood is remembered for technical prowess—yet also her glaring armor deficiencies. 

6. Richelieu (France, 1940)

France’s Richelieu was an innovative warship, displacing 49,000 tons, boasting eight 15-inch guns in two quadruple turrets forward. Designed as a counter to Italy’s new fleet, Richelieu fled Dakar to avoid German capture in 1940 and later joined the French Free Navy.

After modernization in New York, Richelieu bombarded Japanese positions in the Indian Ocean and escorted Allied convoys. She remained in French service in a variety of roles well past the end of World War II, before she was eventually decommissioned in 1967 and scrapped in the following years. The ship’s contributions to World War II were limited on account of France’s early defeat—but the Richelieu was elegant and lethal nonetheless.

5. Bismarck (Germany, 1940)

The Bismarck was a hulking brute of a warship, displacing 50,000 tons, with eight 15-inch guns—clearly a German attempt to challenge Britain on the high seas.

On the Bismarck’s very first sortie in May 1941, she sank the HMS Hood, Britain’s most powerful battleship. In so doing, she sowed the seeds of her own destruction; enraged by the Hood’s loss, the British launched a relentless pursuit of the German warship, ultimately involving more than 50 ships and dozens of aircraft. Eventually crippled by torpedoes from Britain’s relatively antiquated Fairey Swordfish biplanes, the Bismarck was finished off on May 27, 1941. Her career had lasted just nine days—yet she transcended the war, becoming the most mythologized battleship ever built. 

4. HMS Vanguard (United Kingdom, 1946)

The Royal Navy’s final battleship, and Britain’s largest ever, was the 51,000 ton Vanguard. Built too late for World War II service, she served as the Royal Navy’s flagship into the 1950s, blending wartime lessons with modern amenities.

Installed with recycled 15-inch guns from earlier battleships, the Vanguard featured state-of-the-art radar and fire control. Ultimately, the battleship proved a poor fit for the Royal Navy in the postwar years, and she was decommissioned and scrapped in 1960—a capable and refined bookend to Britain’s battleship era.  

3. Iowa Class (United States, 1943)

At 57,500 tons full load, the Iowa-class battleships were the pinnacle of American battleship design, with nine 16-inch guns, a 33-knot top speed, and radar precision. The class combined firepower and agility on a scale never before realized.

The Iowa-class battleships played an outsized role in America’s naval history. After vigorous service in the Pacific throughout the second half of World War II, the USS Missouri hosted the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. The Missouri, the Iowa, and others of the class returned for the Korean War. Even more remarkably, several in the class were brought back into service in the 1980s—and served in the 1991 Gulf War, where the Missouri actually fired Tomahawk missiles at Iraqi targets.

No other battleship class served with such longevity or symbolic weight. And four of the battleships—Missouri, Iowa, New Jersey, and Wisconsin—survive to this day as museum ships.

2. Yamato (Japan, 1941)

At the time of its construction, Japan’s Yamato was the largest battleship ever built—displacing 72,800 tons, with 18.1-inch guns, and armor up to 16 inches thick. Built to outgun any foe, she represented Japan’s commitment to decisive fleet battles.

Yet as the Pacific War progressed, aircraft carriers came to rule the seas, relegating the Yamato to secondary importance. Though the Yamato was present at the Battle of Midway, it saw no action, with all the fighting conducted between American and Japanese carriers. Yamato also failed to see action during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and played only a marginal role in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944.

In the final days of the war, Japan sent Yamato on a one-way mission to Okinawa, with barely enough fuel to return. Stripped of air cover, she was relentlessly set upon by US carrier aircraft; in April 1945, she exploded and sank with 3,000 sailors aboard. The Yamato’s end essentially marked the end of the battleship era.

1. Musashi (Japan, 1942)

Displacing 72,800 tons, with nine 18.1-inch guns, the Musashi was the largest battleship ever built—slightly edging out the Yamato, her sister ship, in terms of displacement. When first launched into the sea 1940, the behemoth battleship displaced so much water that she flooded the Japanese village opposite the port!

However, things didn’t go as planned for the mighty warship. Although the Musashi was formally commissioned in 1942 and served for most of the Pacific War, she failed to see significant action, suffering a torpedo hit in early 1944 that required a lengthy maintenance period. In October of the same year, she took unsustainable damage from American carrier aircraft during the Battle of Leyte Gulf and sank—an unceremonious end to the mightiest battleship of all time.

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer at The National Interest. Kass is an attorney and former political candidate who joined the US Air Force as a pilot trainee before being medically discharged. He focuses on military strategy, aerospace, and global security affairs. He holds a JD from the University of Oregon and a master’s in Global Journalism and International Relations from NYU.

Image: Shutterstock / JMVaughan.

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