Germans Called Iowa-Class 'Obsolete' — 16-Inch Guns Hit Targets 24 Miles Away In 90 Seconds

The Kriegsmarine dismissed the American Iowa-class battleships as “obsolete”—massive, slow giants with guns too old to matter in modern naval warfare.

They were wrong.

In combat trials and real wartime operations, the Iowa-class battleships proved they were decades ahead of anything Germany had afloat. Their **16-inch/50 caliber Mark 7 guns** fired **2,700-lb shells** that could strike targets **24 miles away**, guided by advanced radar systems that allowed firing solutions in **under 90 seconds**.

No German battleship—Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, or Gneisenau—came close to the Iowa’s combination of **speed, radar accuracy, fire control, and devastating long-range power**.

This video exposes how the world’s most powerful battleships earned their reputation and why postwar German officers admitted they had **nothing that could match them**.

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Iowa class battleship, 16 inch guns, US Navy battleships, WW2 naval firepower, Bismarck vs Iowa, German navy WW2, naval artillery, long range naval guns, Mark 7 gun, WW2 history, naval warfare, Pacific War ships, battleship comparison, US Navy fire control radar, WW2 naval engineering

* **“Obsolete? Think Again.”**
* **“24 Miles. 90 Seconds.”**
* **“The Guns Germany FEARED”**

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# ⭐ **Suggested Video Chapters**

00:00 — Why Germany Called Iowa “Obsolete”
00:40 — How Iowa-Class Battleships Were Designed
01:25 — Radar Fire Control That Changed Naval Warfare
02:10 — 16-Inch Shells at 24 Miles
03:00 — German Battleships vs Iowa-Class
03:45 — Combat Records and Tests
04:30 — Why Iowa-Class Dominated the Seas
05:20 — The Battleship Legacy