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Tennessee-class battleship
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Tennessee-class battleship
The Tennessee class consisted of two dreadnought battleships—Tennessee and California—built for the United States Navy in the late 1910s, part of the "standard" series. The class was in most respects a repeat of the preceding New Mexico class, with the primary improvements being a significantly strengthened underwater protection system, and increased elevation of the main battery guns to allow them to fire at much greater ranges. They carried the same main battery of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns in four triple turrets, and had the same top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Both ships served in the Pacific Fleet for the duration of their careers, which included an extensive training program during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s.
Both ships were present in Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on 7 December 1941; California was torpedoed and sunk but Tennessee was only minimally damaged. California was refloated and both ships were heavily rebuilt between 1942 and 1944. The pair thereafter saw extensive service as bombardment vessels supporting the island-hopping campaign across the central Pacific. Tennessee took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign in mid-1943, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in late 1943 and early 1944, and the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign in mid-1944, by which time California had returned to the fleet as well.
They both took part in the Philippines campaign in late 1944, and were present at the Battle of Surigao Strait on 24 October, the final battleship engagement in history. A refit for Tennessee kept her from participating in the Battle of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945, where California was hit by a kamikaze, which in turn kept her from supporting Marine Corps troops during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Tennessee was heavily engaged in the fighting there and the subsequent Battle of Okinawa, where she, too, was hit by a kamikaze. The two ships spent the rest of the war patrolling the East China Sea until the official Japanese surrender in September. After briefly participating in the occupation of Japan, they were recalled to the United States and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. They remained there until 1959, when they were sold for scrap.
Design work on the Tennessee class, initially referred to as "Battleship 1916", began on 14 January 1915; the design staff used the preceding New Mexico class as a starting point. The General Board wanted to build a battleship that departed from the standard-type battleship series, particularly in terms of armor protection against the latest 15-inch (381 mm) guns being fielded by European navies. They were opposed to simply developing the standard series, which incorporated relatively minor incremental improvements, but Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, overruled them and ordered that "Battleship 1916" would effectively repeat the New Mexico design with limited improvements.
At the same time that European navies had begun to adopt larger guns, they also began to develop longer-ranged torpedoes that could reach well into the expected battle distances of the day, 10,000 to 14,000 yards (9,100 to 12,800 m). Therefore, the new ship's ability to resist underwater attack—naval mines in addition to torpedoes—became a chief concern of the designers. To ensure the ship could survive an underwater explosion, they decided to incorporate four torpedo bulkheads, which created four voids. Of these, the inner pair would be filled with either water or fuel oil, which would absorb the pressure and gas of the explosion. This system proved to be effective and it was used in many subsequent battleship designs.
The ships were authorized on 3 March 1915, while design work was still ongoing; tests on the torpedo bulkhead system were completed only in February 1916. In the meantime, work had already begun on the next class, initially designated "Battleship 1917", which became the Colorado class. This class was essentially a repeat of the Tennessee design, the only major change was the adoption of larger 16 in (406 mm) guns in place of the 14 in (356 mm) guns the Tennessees carried. The turbo-electric drive propulsion system that was developed for the Colorados was retroactively applied to Tennessee and California in December 1915, before construction had begun on either vessel.
The Tennessee-class ships were 600 feet (182.9 m) long at the waterline, 624 ft (190.2 m) long overall, had a beam of 97 ft 5 in (29.7 m), and a draft of 30 ft 2 in (9.2 m). They displaced 32,300 long tons (32,818 t) standard, and 33,190 long tons (33,723 t) at full combat load. Under emergency conditions, additional fuel and ammunition could be stored, which significantly increased displacement to 37,948 long tons (38,557 t), which accordingly deepened draft to 34 feet 9.875 inches (10.6 m). The ships' hulls featured a pronounced clipper bow to handle high seas and reduce spray. A double bottom extended for the full length of the ships, and their hulls featured extensive compartmentalization to reduce the risk of uncontrollable flooding; below the waterline, the hull had 768 compartments and another 180 above the line.
The main deck, the highest deck that extended for the entire length of the ship, contained much of the living space for their crews, which included 57 officers and 1,026 enlisted men. As built, they were fitted with two lattice masts with spotting tops for the main battery. Steering was controlled by a single balanced rudder.
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Tennessee-class battleship
The Tennessee class consisted of two dreadnought battleships—Tennessee and California—built for the United States Navy in the late 1910s, part of the "standard" series. The class was in most respects a repeat of the preceding New Mexico class, with the primary improvements being a significantly strengthened underwater protection system, and increased elevation of the main battery guns to allow them to fire at much greater ranges. They carried the same main battery of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns in four triple turrets, and had the same top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Both ships served in the Pacific Fleet for the duration of their careers, which included an extensive training program during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s.
Both ships were present in Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on 7 December 1941; California was torpedoed and sunk but Tennessee was only minimally damaged. California was refloated and both ships were heavily rebuilt between 1942 and 1944. The pair thereafter saw extensive service as bombardment vessels supporting the island-hopping campaign across the central Pacific. Tennessee took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign in mid-1943, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in late 1943 and early 1944, and the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign in mid-1944, by which time California had returned to the fleet as well.
They both took part in the Philippines campaign in late 1944, and were present at the Battle of Surigao Strait on 24 October, the final battleship engagement in history. A refit for Tennessee kept her from participating in the Battle of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945, where California was hit by a kamikaze, which in turn kept her from supporting Marine Corps troops during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Tennessee was heavily engaged in the fighting there and the subsequent Battle of Okinawa, where she, too, was hit by a kamikaze. The two ships spent the rest of the war patrolling the East China Sea until the official Japanese surrender in September. After briefly participating in the occupation of Japan, they were recalled to the United States and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. They remained there until 1959, when they were sold for scrap.
Design work on the Tennessee class, initially referred to as "Battleship 1916", began on 14 January 1915; the design staff used the preceding New Mexico class as a starting point. The General Board wanted to build a battleship that departed from the standard-type battleship series, particularly in terms of armor protection against the latest 15-inch (381 mm) guns being fielded by European navies. They were opposed to simply developing the standard series, which incorporated relatively minor incremental improvements, but Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, overruled them and ordered that "Battleship 1916" would effectively repeat the New Mexico design with limited improvements.
At the same time that European navies had begun to adopt larger guns, they also began to develop longer-ranged torpedoes that could reach well into the expected battle distances of the day, 10,000 to 14,000 yards (9,100 to 12,800 m). Therefore, the new ship's ability to resist underwater attack—naval mines in addition to torpedoes—became a chief concern of the designers. To ensure the ship could survive an underwater explosion, they decided to incorporate four torpedo bulkheads, which created four voids. Of these, the inner pair would be filled with either water or fuel oil, which would absorb the pressure and gas of the explosion. This system proved to be effective and it was used in many subsequent battleship designs.
The ships were authorized on 3 March 1915, while design work was still ongoing; tests on the torpedo bulkhead system were completed only in February 1916. In the meantime, work had already begun on the next class, initially designated "Battleship 1917", which became the Colorado class. This class was essentially a repeat of the Tennessee design, the only major change was the adoption of larger 16 in (406 mm) guns in place of the 14 in (356 mm) guns the Tennessees carried. The turbo-electric drive propulsion system that was developed for the Colorados was retroactively applied to Tennessee and California in December 1915, before construction had begun on either vessel.
The Tennessee-class ships were 600 feet (182.9 m) long at the waterline, 624 ft (190.2 m) long overall, had a beam of 97 ft 5 in (29.7 m), and a draft of 30 ft 2 in (9.2 m). They displaced 32,300 long tons (32,818 t) standard, and 33,190 long tons (33,723 t) at full combat load. Under emergency conditions, additional fuel and ammunition could be stored, which significantly increased displacement to 37,948 long tons (38,557 t), which accordingly deepened draft to 34 feet 9.875 inches (10.6 m). The ships' hulls featured a pronounced clipper bow to handle high seas and reduce spray. A double bottom extended for the full length of the ships, and their hulls featured extensive compartmentalization to reduce the risk of uncontrollable flooding; below the waterline, the hull had 768 compartments and another 180 above the line.
The main deck, the highest deck that extended for the entire length of the ship, contained much of the living space for their crews, which included 57 officers and 1,026 enlisted men. As built, they were fitted with two lattice masts with spotting tops for the main battery. Steering was controlled by a single balanced rudder.
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