Why a capital ship must look first-rank

Would older American standard battleships still have been useful after Yamato appeared?

They retained utility, but a visibly outclassed capital ship could not perform the same political role because national prestige demands a first-rank centerpiece.

A navy can justify a lighter cruiser by pointing to the missions and hull numbers it needs. A capital ship, by contrast, visibly stands in for the state itself. That symbolic burden applies whether the centerpiece is a battleship, battlecruiser, or aircraft carrier. Even one such ship must appear capable and first-rank because an obviously inferior centerpiece advertises weakness regardless of its residual utility.