South Dakota class battleship (1920)


Model of the South Dakota class battleship
Class overview
Name: South Dakota class
Builders:
Operators: United States Navy
Preceded by: Colorado class
Succeeded by: North Carolina class
Planned: 6
Cancelled: 6
Preserved: 0
General characteristics [1]
Type: Battleship
Displacement: 43,200 tons
Length: 684 ft (208 m)
Beam: 105 ft (32 m)
Draft: 33 ft (10 m)
Speed: 23 knots (43 km/h)
Armament:
Armor:
  • Belt: 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm)
  • Barbettes: 13 in (330 mm)
  • Turret face: 18 in (457 mm)
  • Turret sides: 9–10 in (229–254 mm)
  • Turret top: 5 in (127 mm)
  • Turret rear 9 in (229 mm)
  • Conning tower: 11.5 in (292 mm)
  • Decks: 3.5 in (89 mm)

The first South Dakota class was a class of six battleships, laid down in 1920 but never completed. These battleships would have been the last dreadnoughts to be commissioned, if the Washington Naval Treaty not caused their cancellation one-third of the way through their construction,[2] they would have been the largest, most heavily armed and armored battleships in the U.S. Navy in the period between the two world wars. Designed to achieve 23 knots, they represented the first attempt made by the US Navy to abandon their 21 knot standardised fleet speed and catch up with the increasing fleet speeds of their main rivals, the British Royal Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy.

The preceding Colorado-class battleships were 624 feet (190 m) long, displaced 32,600 tons, had a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h), and carried a main battery of eight 16-inch (406 mm) guns. Although the Colorados were the largest US battleships of the time, and were the first to carry 16-inch (406 mm) guns, they were the endpoint of the gradual evolution of the "Standard Type" battleships, which also included the Nevada class, Pennsylvania class, New Mexico class, and Tennessee class. The South Dakotas represented a significant increase in size and armament over the Colorados. They would have been 684 feet (208 m) long, displaced 43,200 tons, had a top speed of 23 knots (43 km/h), and carried 12 16-inch (406 mm) guns.[3]

The South Dakotas were authorized 4 March 1917, and keels were laid down in 1920. However, as the Washington Naval Treaty restricted both the total allowable battleship tonnage allowed the U.S. Navy, and limited individual ship size to 35000 tons, construction was halted 8 February 1922, and the unfinished hulls (most over 30% completed) were scrapped in 1923. Some of the material from the uncompleted ships was used in the reconstruction of the remaining U.S. battleships that was allowed under the terms of the treaty. The armor plate in storage that was reserved for Indiana was used to reinforce the defenses and locks at the Panama Canal. The 16" guns were transferred to the US Army as 16"/50 caliber M1919 gun.

The South Dakota class was ordered in the same program that created the Lexington-class battlecruisers, two of which were converted to Lexington class aircraft carriers. The Lexingtons made better conversion hulls than the South Dakotas because they were further along in their construction and were designed for a far higher speed.

Contents

Ships in class

External links

References

  1. ^ Gardiner & Gray (1985), p. 118.
  2. ^ Ireland (1996), p. 168.
  3. ^ [1]

Bibliography

  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073. OCLC 12119866. 
  • Ireland, Bernard, ed (1996). Jane's Battleships of the 20th Century. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-470997-7. 
South Dakota-class battleship
United States naval ship classes of World War I
Dreadnought battleships
Pre-dreadnought battleships
Battlecruisers
Armored cruisers
Light cruisers
Protected cruisers
Destroyers
Submarines
Auxiliaries
  • S — Single ship of class
  • C — Completed after the war
  • X — Cancelled