The Senate did not trust the Japanese. The Japanese 8x8 building program at the end of WW1 was meant for domination not defense. The only countries that Japan had less warships than, were the US and UK. They were Japans Allies in WW1. So what did Japan have to fear from those countries? That they would intervene if Japan made the land grab that it would require to become a true Superpower. (see my Introduction to Japan)

The Senate authorised the construction of three 45,000 ton battleships in 1935. That is what they told the world. The actual design would be an improved Commodore Baer type with 12x16" and better armour - 50,000 tons.
They would be the biggest battleships built by Antarctica so far.



These were big ships. Compared to the other '45,000' ton ships being built at around the same time, the extra 5,000 tons the Antarcticans had worked into their ships had put them into another class. The Vanguard/Lion types, (my 12x15" version for Vanguard and 9x16" for Lion) had similar armour but were slower with lesser firepower. The Iowa class were faster, but had weaker armour and armament. Versus the Yamato it was the 8x18" against the 12x16", the Yamato had heavier armour and a few thousand tons bigger.



The more electronics were advanced, the further behind the Axis powers fell. Their ships that were equivalent or better in firepower became even and behind as the electronics made the Allied battleships guns more accurate. The more hits you achieved on your enemy the less chance they had of hitting you back. But. As with all battles, one lucky hit can alter the battle entirely. Bismarck -v- Hood. Fifth salvo - boom, gone. One lucky torpedo hit on Bismarck - two battleships -v- one, Bismarck reduced to a wreck.

For the Franklin class the war was boredom offset by a few days of terror. The Germanic States long range Arado jet bombers, with Fritz-X guided bombs, were a nasty surprise. Several Allied warships from Battleships on down were lost to these weapons. The Mackenzie took a hit and spent six months repairing the damage. There were two ways to stop the Fritz-X bombs. 1. Somehow interfere with the communications between plane and bomb. 2. Shoot down the plane. Which was easy enough when the aircraft was the Dornier Do217, much harder once Fritz-X was fitted to the Arado Ar234.

 

Displacement	51,500 tons standard, 58,000 tons full load
Length	848 ft
Breadth	114 ft
Draught	31 ft
Machinery	4 shaft, steam turbines, 180,000shp
Speed	30 knots
Range	12000 miles at 12 knots
Armour	14" side, 7" deck, 14" turrets
Armament	As completed 12 x 16" (4x3) 20 x 5" (10x2) 88 x 2pd (11x8) 22 x 20mm (22x1)	1941 12 x 16" (4x3) 20 x 5" (10x2) 92 x 40mm (23x4)
Aircraft	4	nil
Complement	2150-2190 as Flagship
Notes	Captain Franklin Captain Mackenzie Captain Philips

Scourge of Allied Shipping in 1944.