Florida-class battleship
USS Florida (BB-30)
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Class overview | |
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Name | Florida-class battleship |
Builders |
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Operators | United States Navy |
Preceded by | Delaware class |
Succeeded by | Wyoming class |
Built | 1909–1911 |
In service | 1911–1941 |
Completed | 2 |
Lost | 1 |
Retired | 1 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Dreadnought battleship |
Displacement |
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Length | |
Beam | 88 ft 3 in (26.9 m) |
Draft |
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Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 21 kn (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
Range | |
Capacity |
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Complement | 1,001 officers and men |
Armament |
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Armor |
The Florida-class battleships of the United States Navy comprised two ships: Florida and Utah. Launched in 1910 and 1909 respectively and commissioned in 1911, they were slightly larger than the preceding Delaware class design but were otherwise very similar. This was the first US battleship class in which all ships received steam turbine engines. In the previous Delaware-class, North Dakota received steam turbine propulsion as an experiment while Delaware retained triple-expansion engines.
Both ships were involved in the 1914
Retained under the
Design
The Floridas were the third of 10 separate classes built between 1906 and 1919, a total of 22 battleships being commissioned. The new
These ships were an improvement over the preceding
General characteristics
The Florida-class ships were 510
Florida was fitted experimentally with a larger bridge than was then standard, to house both ship and fire control personnel under armor, while Utah received a heavily armored fire-control tower atop a standard-sized bridge. The former proved especially successful, to the point that when a larger armored fire-control tower and standard bridge was proposed for the Nevada class, it was rejected in favor of a roomier bridge like that of Florida.[9]
The two ships were modernized in 1925–27; among the improvements were the addition of
Propulsion
The ships were propelled by four-shaft
The engine rooms on these ships were lengthened to accommodate the larger Parsons steam turbines, which meant the after boiler room had to be eliminated. Funnel spacing was therefore closer than in the Delawares.
Armament
Main guns
It was intended originally to arm these ships with eight
Unfortunately, the turret layout of the Delawares was also retained, with its respective challenges. Two turrets, Numbers 1 and 2, were mounted fore in a superfiring pair, while the other three were mounted aft of the main superstructure, all on the centerline. The rearmost turret, number 5, was placed on the main deck, facing rearward, the next turret, Number 4, was placed on the main deck facing forward, but could only have fired on either broadside, it could not have fired straight forward or aft. The center turret, Number 3, placed in a superfiring position facing rearward, could not fire astern when the turret directly under it had its guns trained forward. This left only the rearmost turret, with its pair of 12-inch guns, to cover the rear quarter of the ship.[5] Also, since the engine room was situated between the superfiring rear turret and the ones behind it, steam lines ran from the boiler rooms amidships around the ammunition magazine for Number 3 turret to the engine room. These lines, it was later found, had the potential to heat the powder in the magazine and degrade its ballistics. This design flaw was also prevalent in several British dreadnoughts but was considered inescapable by naval designers on structural grounds.[14]
Other weapons
C&R proposed 6-inch (152 mm) secondary guns for these ships, protected by 6.5 in (165 mm) casemate armor. This would have been the only change from the protective scheme carried over from the Delaware class. However, a new 5-inch/51 caliber gun was adopted instead after concerns about inadequate splinter protection for secondary gun casemates and smoke uptakes led to an increase in armor.[15] Sixteen of these weapons were fitted in individual casemates.[7] These guns fired a 50 lb (23 kg) armor-piercing (AP) shell at a muzzle velocity of 3,150 ft/s (960 m/s) and a rate of 8 to 9 rounds per minute. The guns could depress to −10 degrees and elevate to 15 degrees. The guns were manually operated, and had a range of train of about 150 degrees in either direction.[16]
Florida and Utah received two
The ships were also armed with two 21-inch (533 mm) submerged torpedo tubes. The tubes were mounted one on each broadside. The torpedoes were 16.4 ft (5 m) long and carried a 200 lb (91 kg) warhead. They had a range of 4,000 yd (3,658 m) and traveled at a speed of 26 kn (48 km/h; 30 mph).[18]
Armor
The armor layout was largely the same as in the preceding Delaware-class battleships. The armored belt ranged in thickness from 9 to 11 in (229 to 279 mm) in the more important areas of the ship. Casemated guns mounted in the hull had between 8 and 10 in (203 and 254 mm) of armor plate.[19] After modernization, some of the casemated guns were moved to the superstructure;[7] these guns were protected with only 5 in (127 mm) of armor. The barbettes that housed the main gun turrets were armored with between 4 and 10 in (102 and 254 mm) of armor; the side portions more vulnerable to shell fire were thicker, while the front and rear sections of the barbette, which were less likely to be hit, received thinner armor to save weight. The gun turrets themselves were armored with 12 in (305 mm) of armor. The conning tower was 11.5 in (292 mm) thick. The armored deck was slightly reduced in thickness, from 2 to 1.5 in (51 to 38 mm).[19]
Construction
Florida, ordered under hull number "Battleship #30", was laid down at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York on 9 March 1909. She was launched on 12 May 1910, after which fitting out work commenced. She was completed on 15 September 1911, and commissioned into the United States Navy. Utah was ordered under hull number "Battleship #31". She was laid down in Camden, New Jersey, at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, 6 days later on 15 March. Work proceeded faster on Utah than on her sister ship, and she was launched about four and a half months earlier, on 23 December 1909. Her fitting out lasted until 31 August 1911, when she was commissioned into the Navy.[4]
Service history
Ship name | Hull no. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
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Florida | BB-30 | Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York | 8 March 1909 | 12 May 1910 | 15 September 1911 | 16 February 1931 | Broken up at Philadelphia, 1931 |
Utah | BB-31 | New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden | 9 March 1909 | 23 December 1909 | 31 August 1911 | 5 September 1944 | Sunk in air attack, 7 December 1941 |
USS Florida
Florida took part in the Second battle of Vera Cruz in 1914. She and her sister Utah were the first two ships on the scene; the two ships landed some 1,000 sailors and Marines under the command of Florida's captain on 21 April. Fighting lasted for 3 days; the contingent from Florida and Utah suffered a total of 94 casualties.[4][20]
After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Florida was dispatched to Europe; she departed the United States in December 1917. After arriving in the North Sea, she was assigned to the British Grand Fleet.[20] The ship, part of the US Navy's Battleship Division Nine, under the command of Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman, arrived on 7 December and was assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. Following training exercises with the British fleet, 6th Battle Squadron was tasked with convoy protection duty on the route to Scandinavia.[21] Following the end of the war, in December 1918, the ship escorted President Woodrow Wilson on his trip to Europe to participate in the peace negotiations at Versailles. Later in December, Florida returned to the United States to participate in the Victory Fleet Review in New York harbor.[20]
Post-war, Florida returned to the US Navy's
USS Utah
Utah's first assignment was with the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet. During 1913, she took a goodwill voyage to the Mediterranean.[22] Utah was also involved in the Second Battle of Vera Cruz, alongside her sister Florida. The ship also saw front-line duty in the First World War, although she was not attached to the British Grand Fleet. Starting in September 1918, Utah was based in Bantry Bay, Ireland.[4] Here she conducted convoy escort duties on the approach to Europe.[5]
Post-war service saw Utah again in the Atlantic Fleet; during 1921–22, she was stationed in Europe. Utah was also retained under the Washington Naval Treaty. In 1924–1925, the ship sailed on a goodwill cruise to South America. Following her return to the United States, she was taken into dry dock for significant reconstruction. After she rejoined the active fleet, she was assigned to the
According to the London Naval Treaty, the ship was to be removed from front-line service. In 1931 she had her main battery guns removed and was converted into a radio-controlled
Footnotes
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 96.
- ^ Friedman 1986, p. 105.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 71.
- ^ a b c d e f Friedman 1986, p. 114.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hore, p. 57.
- ^ a b Breyer, p. 199.
- ^ a b c d "Florida Class (BB-30 and BB-31), 1909 Building Program". Naval History and Heritage Command. 26 March 2001. Retrieved 29 June 2016 – via HyperWar Foundation.
- ^ a b c Friedman 1985, p. 74.
- ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 72–73.
- ^ a b c Breyer, p. 201.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 72.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony (27 March 2008). "14"/45 (35.6 cm) Marks 1, 2, 3 and 5". Navweaps.com. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 65.
- ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 71–72.
- ^ a b Friedman 1986, pp. 113–114.
- ^ a b c d Havern.
- ^ Halpern, pp. 404–405.
- ^ a b c d DANFS Utah.
References
- Breyer, Siegfried (1973). Battleships and Battle Cruisers 1905–1970. Garden City: Doubleday and Company. ISBN 978-0-385-07247-2.
- Cressman, Robert J. (18 May 2019). "Utah I (Battleship No. 31)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-715-9.
- Friedman, Norman (1986). "United States of America". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 105–133. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-352-7.
- Havern, Christopher B. (8 June 2016). "Florida V (Battleship No. 30)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- Hore, Peter (2006). Battleships of World War I. London: Southwater Books. ISBN 978-1-84476-377-1.
Further reading
- Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Seaforth Publishing. OCLC 751804655.