Radar fire control as a battleship vulnerability

Could several smaller radar-directed battleships defeat a larger battleship?

Potentially. Damage to a capital ship's radar can cripple its fighting effectiveness, as North Cape demonstrated.

The proposed Soviet concept uses several smaller ships with radar-directed fire against a larger opponent such as Vanguard or an Iowa-class battleship. The Battle of the North Cape supplies the warning that a few fortunate cruiser hits could disable a battleship's radar. Once the larger ship loses that sensor and fire-control advantage, its superiority in armour and gun power may become much harder to use. Sensors, damage tolerance, and coordinated numbers therefore belong alongside gun calibre when judging capital-ship strength.