Nevada class battleship
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 The USS Nevada |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Nevada class battleship |
| Operators: |  United States |
| Preceded by: | New York-class battleship |
| Succeeded by: | Pennsylvania-class battleship |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Retired: | 2 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Battleship |
| Displacement: | Standard: 27,500 tons |
| Length: | 583 ft (177.7 m) |
| Beam: | 95 ft 3 in (29 m) |
| Draft: | 28.5 ft (8.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Two propellers Nevada : geared steam turbines 26,500 horsepower (20 MW) Oklahoma : Vertical Triple Expansion reciprocating steam engines 24,800 horsepower (18 MW) |
| Speed: | 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,192 nm @ 12 knots (22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 864 officers and men |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: | Belt:13.5"–8" Bulkheads:13"–8" Barbettes:13" Turrets:18" Decks:5" |
| Notes: | Fuel - 2042 Tons |
The Nevada class battleships were the United States Navy's first battleship design equipped with triple gun turrets (the Colorado class would be the last to carry twin turrets, armed with dual-mounted 16" guns), as well as introducing the so-called "all or nothing" armor scheme, in which protection of vital areas was optimized against heavy caliber guns, leaving other parts of the ship essentially unprotected.
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[edit] Design
The Nevada class was part of the Standard type battleship concept of the US Navy, a design concept which gave the US Navy a homogeneous line of battle (very important, as it allowed the Navy to plan maneuvers for the whole line of battle rather than detaching "fast wings" and "slow wings"). The "Standard" concept included long-range gunnery, moderate speed of 21 knots (39 km/h), a tight tactical radius of ~700 yards (640 m), and improved damage control. The other Standards were the Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Tennessee and Colorado classes.
[edit] Armor Suite
The armor suite was designed by a confluence of design choices rather than an overall scheme. As early as the New York class battleship questions were raised about the earlier more complicated deck armoring scheme of a deck thick enough to set off an armor piercing shell and using a thinner armor deck below to catch the bursting shell splinter. This was driven by the growing range of heavier naval guns being mounted on the world’s newest dreadnoughts and the growing range of fire control capabilities. Now plunging fire from heavy shells on the decks and turret tops had to be accounted for. By combining both armor decks into 1 deck and rising the deck up would simplify construction and raise girder strength for the hull. As a result over 2,000 tons were allocated to deck armor alone in the Nevada Class battleships.[1] It was found that linking the armor deck directly to the armor belts reduced a weak spot on the armor once covered by the mid grade casement armor. As all U.S. battleships already had thick armor end bulkheads this gave one continuous armor box. As taken together this became a design revolution called “all or nothing” where heavy armor would cover what was vital and no armor anywhere else at all. Gunnery tests against the target ship USS San Marcos (ex USS Texas) confirmed the need for a better armor suite. [2] Turret faces were thickened to 18”. This jump in armor protection should not be under estimated, as both sides of the Battle of Jutland would find out as turret roofs were pierced over and over.[3]
[edit] Armament
The 14” naval gun was carried over from the New York-class battleship however triple turrets were introduced for the lower fore and aft pair positions removing the amidships turret that the General Board found “disgusting”.[4] Problems with heating of the amidships magazine by high pressure steam lines and lack of clear fire arcs were deemed unacceptable. By using a 3,2,2,3 turret scheme all the main guns could be moved out to the ends of the ship for better arcs of fire and away from machinery spaces. This move would allow armor to be much heavier than the preceding class New York class battleship. While the primary armament was a success the same would not be said of the secondary armament. The fore and aft most positions were found to be so wet as to cause the positions to be removed and plated over, the 5"/51 having to be moved to the main deck and 01 deck.
[edit] Engineering
These were also the Navy's first to have oil as their primary fuel and the last to use twin-screw propulsion (all subsequent battleships would use four screws). The Nevada marked the switch to the use of oil from coal as a fuel. Oil boasted greater thermal efficiency, allowing greater range per ton of fuel carried. The switch from coal also allowed the use of smaller boilers conserving weight and space on the Nevada class battleships.[5] Oklahoma represented the final use of reciprocating machinery. Oklahoma's Vertical Triple Expansion (VTE) engine equipment made her clankier, less reliable and more vibration-prone than her sister, making her a ship the Navy wished to re-engine.
[edit] Deployment
The Nevadas were active in the Atlantic Ocean before and during World War I, deploying to the European war zone in 1918 to help protect Allied supply lines. Their service continued after the "Great War", though by the early 1920s they were the oldest of the main Battle Fleet units. Both were extensively modernized between 1927 and 1929, receiving greater elevation for their new Mark 10/45 heavy guns, modern gunfire controls in new tripod masts, and two catapults for scouting and observation airplanes. Their 5-inch (127 mm) 51-caliber anti-destroyer guns were moved to drier locations in the superstructure and a battery of 5-inch 25-caliber anti-aircraft guns was added. Protection against shellfire, bombs and torpedoes was improved, increasing their width to nearly 108 feet (33 m) and battle displacement to about 34 000 tons. Nevada's steam turbines, prematurely aging, were replaced with far better, geared steam turbines from the decommissioned USS North Dakota at this time; USS Oklahoma was not re-engined, but both battleships were equiped with modern medium-pressure boilers.
In 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor Oklahoma was sunk and Nevada beached herself with light damage (up to moderate damage, after large fire inside turret no 2 a day later) to prevent blocking a shipping channel. Nevada’s experience proved that the torpedo defence system was very good, but watertight integrity on the upper decks of older warships was unlikely to be satisfactory. USS Oklahoma, being hit by 9 torpedoes within a matter of a few minutes, capsized and was a total loss, but USS Nevada was salvaged and again modernized during 1942, exchanging her old secondary battery for a new one of twin-mounted 5-inch 38-caliber dual-purpose guns, plus many 40 mm and 20 mm anti-aircraft machine guns. Her superstructure was completely reconstructed in modern form, with a much-reduced conning tower. She served in both the European and Pacific theaters, providing gunfire support for amphibious operations. Nevada’s final mission was as a target for nuclear and conventional weapons from 1946 to 1948.
[edit] References
Initially based on the public domain article published by the Department of the Navy's Naval Historical Center
Source: U.S. Battleships An Illustrated Design History Norman Friedman ISBN 0-87021-715-1
- ^ Friedman, Norman:U.S. Battleships an illustrated design history ISBN 0-87021-715-1 P106
- ^ World Battleships List: US Dreadnought Battleships
- ^ Friedman, Norman:U.S. Battleships an illustrated design history ISBN 0-87021-715-1 P107, P111
- ^ Friedman, Norman:U.S. Battleships an illustrated design history ISBN 0-87021-715-1 P111
- ^ Friedman, Norman: U.S. Battleships, an illustrated design ISBN 0-87021-715-1 P105
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