warbird addict

+1, I sailed with the USS New Jersey in Beirut with the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in 83 and 84 and had a Buddy from Bootcamp who served aboard the USS Iowa.
The Demise of the battleship is due to Aircraft Carriers, Electronic counter measures , Smart Bombs and missles etc.
Why Put a couple of billion dollar asset and 2500 men in harms way in a set piece battle when it can effectively be done at a stand off distance over the horizon.
In the 80's when I sailed with the "Jersey" she was used purely for NGFS and had absolutely no ASW capabilities albeit she did have torpedo tubes but had little or no sub detection capability as my ships primary mission was to do ASW screen and detection for her as we were armed with a vast array of sonar and ASROCS to combat subs. I can tell you from experience that She was Impressive as all hell when she fired her 16 inch guns , at a mile the shockwave was like getting punched in the face and you could see the shockwave come across the water, something similar to a semi going past you at 70 mph while you're standing on the white line.
We had a forward observer team of SEALS aboard who went into beirut and directed NGFS for the jersey who told me that each round would leave a crater 20' deep and 100' across.
I've been astern of a battleship many many times and I've seen her fire her guns, nothing in my life thus far has impressed me as much as watching a battleship in action and I doubt anything will.
I feel fortunate to have been a part of and witness to the ERA of the Battleships.