These are the last remaining US battleships, now serving as floating museums after modern warfare made them obsolete

The battleship USS Wisconsin fires one of its Mark 7 16-inch guns at an Iraqi shore target during 1991's Operation Desert Storm.CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

• Touting large-caliber guns and torpedos, battleships carried intense firepower and heavy armor.
• With the advancement of military technology, the need for battleships dwindled.

Having large, heavily armored warships was a tactical advantage in the 20th Century.

But as military technology and weaponry advanced, battleships became obsolete. Battleships were the apex of power in the era when gun battles dominated naval fights, and they still proved useful for decades in firing retrofitted missiles and hammering enemy coasts with guns. Each 16-inch gun could fire a round that weighed around 2,000 pounds.

Less than a dozen battleships are still afloat in the world — eight of which once belonged to the US Navy — now serving as museum ships honoring the historic battles they served in.