In article <7lgns7$ia...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk>, Clive Burt <clive@burt1
8.freeserve.co.uk> writes

Warspite was in _horrible_ shape by war's end. Belfast was preserved
in, IIRC, 1970 or so, in reasonable overall condition (she was in fine
fettle last time I was aboard) - Warspite was staggering from warzone
to warzone without much secondary armament, one 15" turret gone,
half her machinery spaces ruined, and by war's end she was a
constructive total loss.

If the money had been available, Warspite should have been saved
and kept in Portsmouth :) But she was a _lot_ of steel,  available for
scrapping, in terrible condition, and it was use her or lose her.
Preservation wasn't an option at that point.

Tragic, but true. I wish we had a dreadnought battleship in Pompey
to finish the evolution from Mary Rose to Victory to Warrior to...
whatever we could get. Warspite and Vanguard would be good
choices, but we're missing that last step in the evolution of the line-
of-battleship.

Perhaps we could acquire an Iowa-class BB? ;)

--
There are four kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable and
praiseworthy...            

Paul J. Adam                                  p...@jrwlynch.demon.co.uk