[ccoyle]

I'm joining the discussion a bit late, but with regards to the advantages of the Iowa-class relative to the South Dakota-class, you must remember that the South Dakotas were authorized before the start of hostilities, and the American congress was not yet willing to fully turn on the flow of dollars to re-arm the services. In any case, had Congress delayed the building program until the Iowa designs were ready, that would have meant even less firepower for the US Navy at the start of hostilities.