Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:08:57-1:09:51

Mahan's case against coastal battleships

For a major power, a coastal battleship becomes most useful only after the fleet has already lost the initiative.

Alfred Thayer MahanBattleshipsCoastal DefenceSea Control
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Question

Did Mahan favor small coastal battleships?

Short answer

No. He preferred seagoing ships able to fight for sea control before the war reached the home shoreline.

Notes

Mahan preferred decisive, long-range fleet units and saw little strategic value in coastal battleships for a major power. Such a ship becomes essential when fighting has already reached one's own shoreline. The same expenditure on fewer seagoing battleships might instead keep the contest near the enemy coast and preserve initiative. A cheaper local-defense platform cannot provide the mobile sea-control force needed to prevent that defensive emergency. The illustrative tradeoff is four coastal battleships against two or three regular battleships that could keep operations closer to the enemy coast.