The 10 Largest Battleships Ever Built

Naval warfare is probably one of the oldest forms of warfare in the world and for many years naval weapons were the most important weapon of war

The modern armored ship traces its history to ironclad ships from the 19th century

Battleships reached their peak during World War II and eventually gave way to modern aircraft carriers and naval vessels

This list includes the largest warships of World War II, the largest ever built in history, and the largest modern warships of today

Richelieu Class

Sponsor: French Navy

Current Status: Both ships were completed in 1961 and 1967

FS Richelieu and FS Jean Bart were the last two French battleships

Both warships were the largest ships ever built by the French

Two other ships were planned for the Richelieu Class, the Clemenceau, which was never completed, and the Gascogne, which was never laid down

The Richelieu Class warships were 813 feet 2 inches (24785 meters) in length and had a displacement of 48,180 long tons (48,950 tons)

The French built the Richelieu Class warships to fight the Italian Navy led by dictator Benito Mussolini

Both FMS Richelieu and FMS Jean Bart survived World War II and were decommissioned in the 1960s

FMS Richelieu was under Allied and Axis control during World War II, but surprisingly was unable to sink an enemy ship

HMS Vanguard

Current Status: Removed in 1960

Source: Wikimedia Commons via United Kingdom Government

HMS Vanguard was the last battleship built by the British Royal Navy

Although HMS Vanguard was built for World War II, construction began very late into the war

After the war ended in 1945, the British Royal Navy decided to finish off the warships if the war against the Japanese Empire continued

Although HMS Vanguard was not used during World War II, the battleship had the best anti-aircraft guns of any ship in the Royal Navy

Despite being so powerfully armed, HMS Vanguard did not fire any of her guns

HMS Vanguard was used in a number of NATO missions during the Cold War before being decommissioned

Since HMS Vanguard was never used in war, it became a royal yacht in 1947 and transported the royal family of King George VI to South Africa

Bismarck class

Pilot: Kriegsmarine (Navy of Nazi Germany)

Current Status: Both ships were sunk during World War II

Source: Wikimedia Commons via German Federal Archives

KMS Bismarck and KMS Tripitz, the only two ships in the Bismarck Class, were the two largest warships that Nazi Germany had during World War II

Both ships were approximately 823 feet 6 inches (251 meters) in length and had a displacement of over 49,500 long tons (50,300 tons)

KMS Bismarck is the most famous of the two Bismarck Class ships and was known for its power

It is said that only the KMS Bismarck prevented most of the British Royal Navy, which provided many ships and resources to hunt down Hitler

KMS Bismarck finally went down in 1941

The key to KMS Bismarck’s survival was her armament

Diversity: Unlimited and nuclear power

Operator: Russian Navy

Current Status: Fired

Admiral Ushakov, formerly known as Kirov, was a naval commander in the Kirov Fleet of the Russian Navy

The Kirov class was the largest warship built by the Russian Navy

The Admiral Ushakov was an 827-foot (252-meter) nuclear-powered submarine capable of traveling indefinitely with its nuclear power

Admiral Ushakov is currently out of a job after plans to upgrade the fleet have been scrapped

The Kirov Class warships were active during the Cold War, which forced the United States to restore its Iowa Class warships, which were from World War II

Despite the history of Admiral Ushakov since 2018, the ship is laid and there are plans to turn it into pieces

Length: 8,690 nautical miles (16,093 km; 10,000 mi)

Current Status: Active since 2014

Source: Wikimedia Commons via US Navy

USS America is not the most powerful warship, but it is the largest amphibious/helicopter ship of the United States today

USS America is the first of four planned America Class ships

The modern warship was commissioned on June 4, 2012 and officially launched in 2014

USS America is 844 feet (257 meters) and has a displacement of approximately 44,971 long tons (45,693 tons)

Meanwhile, the USS America was based out of San Diego, California

The USS America is equipped with two Rolling Airframe Missile Systems; two Evolved Sea Sparrows above the air; and seven heavy caliber guns

The cost of HMS

Sponsor: British Royal Navy

Current Status: Sunk during the Battle of Denmark Strait in 1941

HMS Hood was the largest battleship ever built by the British Royal Navy

Construction of HMS Hood began in 1916 during the First World War

HMS Hood was launched two years later and was officially commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1920

In the years before the Second World War, HMS Hood sailed around the world and the ship was forced to return when the Second World War began without the repairs the ship was due to receive

As a result, HMS Hood was not equipped to deal with the new weapons and the ship was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck

It took only about three minutes for HMS Hood to sink and only three of the ship’s 1,418 crew were saved

Yamato Class

Range: 7,200 nautical miles at 16 knots (13,300 km at 30 km/h)

Pilot: Imperial Japanese Navy

Current Status: Both sunk during WWII

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Imperial Japanese Navy’s two Yamato Class battleships are considered the most powerful warships ever built by any nation

Both ships were large and had a displacement of 72,000 long tons (73,000 tons) and were about 263 meters long

Despite their great power, all Yamato Class battleships were sunk during World War II

Both Yamato Class battleships were the most powerful warships ever and the main guns were 181 inches, the largest type ever used

Class of Iowa

Range: 14,890 nautical miles (27,580 km; 17,140 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)

Driver: US Navy

Current Status: Removed; all 4 ships have been saved

Source: Wikimedia Commons via Christopher M

The Iowa Class battleships were the last true warships built by the United States and were the largest warships ever built in terms of length

All warships were approximately 887 feet 3 inches (27043 meters) in length and had a displacement of 57,540 long tons (58,460 tons)

There were four Iowa Class battleships and the lead ship was the class namesake, USS Iowa (BB-61)

The Iowa Class warships were built for World War II and were in service until the 1990s

All four Iowa Class battleships have been decommissioned and are kept in United States naval museums

The Iowa Class warships are the only class of warships preserved for public display