"Iowa vs Tirpitz" Topic

This is a completely fictional scenario I tried for a new computer game I bought.

Iowa and Alaska vs Tirpitz and Scharnhorst.

The Iowa was badly beaten up twice by the Tirpitz. Although the Iowa seems to hit more often, it does little damage, the Tirpitz does a lot more damage when it hits.

It could be a fluke, it could be a mistake in the game, but does anybody know about possible weaknesses in the Iowa class that might leave it open to such pummeling by mere 15" guns ?

The Great Battleship debate.

There are some great essays on Battelships that can be found by googling. Most place the Iowa class above the Bismarck class of battelship.

I believe the distribution of the armour was more efficient on the American ship and the Guns were obviously more powerful and in greater number. In terms of accuracy I believe that in good weather conditions there wouldnt be much to choose between them as German optics were very very good however in poor weather superior Radar technology on teh Iowa would have given it the advantage.

As to the winner in a slug out I would place my money on the Iowa however anythign could happen. A few good hits on the Iowa turrets and the firepower would soon drop away to give the German ship the advantage…..

At what range did the engagement take place?

What game is it? Can it give you a gunnery log to identify the probabilities, hit locations, and damage effects?

'mere' 15" guns….hehe. Did not the German 15" guns have a higher velocity, comparitively speaking, and therefore could have a flatter trajectory to impact the target?

IIRC – The German 15" gun fired a relatively puny 1700lb shell compared to the US super-heavy 16" that weighed in (again IIRC since I'm away from my books) at around 2700lbs. The US shell was significantly more powerful.

Also a flatter trajectory isn't that attractive in naval warfare since hitting the far weaker deck armour is vastly preferable to the far stronger and thicker vertical belts.

I could understand the Scharnhorst whacking the Alaska around. Alaska's shells were heavier, but she was built and armored on cruiser principles, while the German ship was built as a battleship and could probably resist 12" shellfire to some extent.

I would be hesitant about using the results of a wargame to form an opinion on hardware.
A game is only as good as the prejudices of the designer, and there is always luck.

I'd be stunned if Alaska didn't get whacked by Scharnhorst given the great disparity in armour protection but Iowa should significantly ahead of Tirpitz which is essentially just an upgraded WW1 Baden.

What computer game was it?

I would like to know the computer game as well, as there hasn't been anything good for years.

<quote>I would like to know the computer game as well, as there hasn't been anything good for years.</quote>

If the Tirpitz is routinely beating up the Iowa, I'd say there is still hasn't been anything good… <grin>

Check out the following link and scroll down to
"the worlds best battleship" for a discussion of BB features and comparisons.

combinedfleet.com/kaigun.htm

Did you play the Iowa or the Tripitz? If just one switch sides and see if you get the same results. Most computer games I've played always seem to lean to the AI side.

just my 2 cents

It was : "Warship combat Dreadnoughts and Battleships."

Wow, that looks a little fly-by-night.

navalwarfare.net

Not real user friendly.

The Military Channel's Ten Best Series made the USS Iowa #1. I heartily agree. I would rather see an Iowa vs. Yamato or Musashi battle. That would be a good battle.

I had a few issues with the ten best series. I think the secret criteria was actually how much stock footage they posessed.