How much of a burden would Tillman battleships place on the US Navy if they suddenly appeared?
Short answerThe ships would be usable only after an extremely expensive expansion of supporting infrastructure, potentially on both coasts.
NotesOne isolated vessel would pose a different problem from whole squadrons appearing in 1916. The US Navy could eventually use the ships, but first it would have to create infrastructure large enough to berth, maintain, and supply them. The estimate is that this supporting work could effectively double the cost of each ship, especially if facilities were required on both coasts. The watch point turns a super-battleship fantasy into a lesson about the shore establishment hidden behind fleet size.