A retained British battleship could have served two useful Falklands roles: providing an amphibious command platform and firing 15-inch guns in support of troops ashore. The guns could have reached much of the required target area from San Carlos Water, although terrain might still have forced the ship to move. The counterfactual is then tested against CVA-01, whose fighters and strike aircraft could have improved air defence and freed the commando carrier HMS Hermes to enter San Carlos Water in support of the helicopter task group. Usefulness alone did not establish the best use of scarce naval funding.
Notable Point · 25:26-27:10
What a battleship could have done in the Falklands
A battleship could have supplied command facilities and heavy gunfire in 1982, but a proper carrier programme would have offered broader value.