Nelson to Vanguard : Warship Development 1923-1945 by D.K. Brown (RIP ) :
Let's examine some of the evidence with a specific focus on those *hard targets* that are supposedly so vulnerable to 16-inch gunfire.
Page 199 : I was often argued in the second half of the [second world] war that shore bombardment was invaluable and a major role, justifying the battleship. This argument has been accepted by most writers without any detailed consideration of the evidence.
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