Something to keep in mind is the role that this ship serves within the Zjentohlauedy Forces. We know, of course, the Zjentohlauedy have different ship types and requirements than our Earthly ships, but they aren't that much different. Despite what is shown in Macross II [for the Mardook], I don't believe that the standard battleship possesses a bow/ship splitting main gun. If you look at the TV series and DYRL, just before the annihilation of Earth's life you will see that only the ships that were firing were the gun destroyers and the Nupetiet-Vergnitzs-class command battleships (which according to the Gold Book were designed to capture mobile fortress-sized ships and that there were no records of it being used for anti-ship warfare). Also, in the TV just after the bombardment we see that screens in the command center at have images (profile and other views) of the gun destroyer up on them. So these ships are primarily used during planetary bombardment and large fleet battles (for heavy medium/long range attack).