Because of "revolutionary developments in underwater warfare," the Navy last week drew one light carrier and eight destroyers out of mothballs. To help provide the men to man them, the Navy retired the battleship Iowa to the inactive list.
Of the U.S. Navy's 15 modern battleships, only the Missouri is now in active service, 14 are now assigned to the Zipper Fleet. The big ships still possess some utility as antiaircraft support for carrier forces. But even the Navy's crustiest battleship admirals concede that the day of the battlewagon is all but done.
The...
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