Two geographic names are the reason for the demise of BBs and their ilk. The RN attack on Taranto by the Fleet Air Arm (18 obsolete biplanes with torpedoes and bombs) in November of 1940. 3 BBs disabled. Two were later recovered, the third effectively scrapped post-war. Gave the RN the command of the Med until the Luftwaffe arrived 6 months later.The other, Pearl Harbor when the IJN blew away the idea that the Japanese could not fly or see in the dark, and if the third strike had gone forward against the 4.5 Million gallon oil farm as wanted by the IJN flyers, then the Pacific War would have been a bit longer as there were not sufficient oilers to replenish Pearl, so ships would have to have been based on the West Coast, 1800 miles East of Hawaii.
Aside from some of the battles off Savo Island which were BB versus BB and Suragao Strait (spelling) where USN veterans of Pearl Harbor met up with a rump of the IJN, there were no other BBs versus BBs. The CV put paid to them other than as escorts for CVs. The closest was the "Run North" by Willis Lee during the Leyte Gulf battle but the IJN fleet which was there as bait, survived due to the arrival of the main IJN force against the CVEs off of Samar.
The most heavily armed warship afloat at the moment aside from a CVN is the Russian Kirov class Peter the Great which was effectively designed as a CV killer due to a very heavy long-range guided missile outfit. No other surface vessel comes close. Dave_n
