Aircraft did not make battleships instantly obsolete. A fleet combining carriers and battleships retained advantages over a force that discarded either arm, and battleships remained efficient ship-killing weapons through the mid-century. Missiles changed the equation by giving many ship types a long-range heavy strike. They appeared in the 1950s, became more important through the 1960s and 1970s, and proved their maturity by the Falklands War. A Soviet battle fleet offered both practical sea control and a visible symbol of modern national power.
Chapter · 51:33-56:01
Battleships, aircraft, and the missile age
Battleships remained viable fleet weapons into the mid-century, and Soviet leaders also valued them as symbols of modern national power.