Sakai, I meant no slight to the Japanese Navy. In 1941, I've no doubt that Japanese gunnery was superior to USN gunnery. They'd been training hard for war. Even during the night engagement at Java, where the Allied flotilla should have had the edge with their radar controlled gunnery, the IJN cleaned their chronometers. The same thing happened at Savo. This was due in part to the fact that the Allied commander at Java didn't trust that "new fangled radar," and hence didn't take advantage of the increased engagement range it would have afforded him. The Japanese optics, particularly their night optics were significantly superior to American equipment at the beginning of the war. However, by late in 1944 America had surpassed Japan in pretty much every technological area (with the possible exception of night optics), and had had the time and resources to train their personnel to be the equal of Japanese naval personnel. The Iowa class was the best the US could build at the time, and was a generation ahead in all regards to the Yamoto. Radar fire control was much improved, and it use practiced and accepted. The speed and maneuverability edge of the Iowa would allow it to dictate the fight.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, Halsey missed the one opportunity to test these two behemouths against one another, at Leyte Gulf. By dragging his battle line with his carriers in pursuit of the Japanese Northern Decoy Force, he forever left open the question of which battlewagon was "better."
