Super-Battleships

A **Super-Battleship** refers to a type of battleships encompassing war built designs far exceeding the 35000 tonne limit of the second London Naval Treaty. While no nation formally classified a warship as a "Super-Battleship" the term was coined in a British newspaper commenting on the commissioning of the Triomphant, commonly referred to as the first super battleship.

## Common Definition of a Super Battleship:

In most cases, a Super Battleship was used as a propaganda term to describe any warship commissioned during the war, especially ships exceeding the 35000 tonne battleship limit of the Second London Naval Treaty. However, the term has come more popularly used to describe ships larger then 50,000 tonnes. Another identifying characteristic of Super Battleships is being heavily based off a preceding class of battleship, with the main difference being up-gunned.

This commonly disqualifies the Yamato-class as being a Super Battleship, but does apply the Shinano, the original "Super Battleship".

### Ships Commonly Referred to being Super Battleships:

**Triomphant-class** - A French class composed of 2 massive battleships. Based heavily on the preceding Alsace-class, the Triomphant was the first class referred to as a Super-Battleship. With the lead ship being commissioned in 1939, the Triomphant weighed in at an astonishing 52000 tonnes, the largest European warship at that time.

**Montana-class** - An American Class composed of 6 battleships. The Montana-class was heavily based off the preceding Iowa-class, the main difference being the inclusion of a 4th turret. The Montana had several sub-classes that quickly made the Montana one of the greatest warships of all time. The final Pennsylvania sub-class compromised of 2 warships, were an astronomical 72000 tonnes, and measured just over 1000 ft!

**Trafalgar-class** - A British Class made up of 3 battleships, the Trafalgar was based heavily on the preceding Lion-class. A massive 64,000 tonnes, the Trafalgar was only marginally smaller then the initial versions of the similar Montana-class. While initially designed to carry 4 triple 406 mm turrets identical to those found on the Lion-class, the last 2 ships were equipped with 4 dual 457 mm gun turrets.

**Sovietsky Soyuz** - A Soviet One Off, the Sovietsky Soyuz was a prime example of a Super Battleship. The Sovietsky Soyuz was essentially a clone of the preceding Sovietskaya Rossiya-class battleships. Armed with 4 triple 406mm gun turrets, the Sovietsky Soyuz was a bit of an odd ball compared to the other ships on this list. The Soviet B-37 gun, the first and only big in house gun produced by the Soviets, also fired the lightest round with a weight equivalent of a 15in shell, giving the Sovietsky Soyuz the unfortunate distinction of having the lightest broadside weight of the group.

**Tegetthoff-class** - The Pride of Hitler's Navy, the Tegetthoff-class was possibly the best battleship to have ever been constructed. An 68,000 tonne war machine, the Tegetthoff was the most ambitious naval project possibly ever taken. Equipped with 5 18in turrets, the Tegetthoff had heaviest broadside of any European Battleship.

**Centurio-class** - The Centurio-class was a class of 3 battleships. At an even 50,000 tonnes, the Centurio-class was based off the unique enlarged Littorio-class *Italia*. As such, the Centurio had much of its basic architecture based off the Littorio-class. Using 16.5in guns, the Centurio-class also used the turret setup borrowed directly from the much earlier Andrea Doria-class battleships.

**Shinano** - The Shinano was a one off modified and stretched Yamato-class hull. A comparative oddity on this list, as the Shinano was not a different class but rather a modified version of an existing class (much like the *Italia*). However, due to her massive size, many experts consider the Shinano a Super-Battleship.