Indiana-class battleship

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A battleship with a white hull is steaming at sea, men crowd its main deck
USS Indiana – the lead ship of the class
Class overview
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byUSS Texas
Succeeded byUSS Iowa
Cost
  • $6,000,000 Indiana (BB-1) and
  • Massachusetts (BB-2)[1]
  • $6,500,000 Oregon (BB-3)[1]
In commission20 November 1895 – 4 October 1919
Planned3
Completed3
Retired3
Preserved0
General characteristics [3] [4][5][6]
TypePre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement10,288 long tons (10,453 t; 11,523 short tons) (standard)
Length
Beam69 ft 3 in (21.11 m) (wl)
Draft27 ft (8.2 m)
Installed power
  • 4 ×
    Babcock & Wilcox boilers
  • 9,000 ihp (6.7 MW) (design)
  • 9,700–11,000 ihp (7.2–8.2 MW) (trial)
Propulsion
  • 2 sets vertical inverted
    reciprocating steam engines
  • 2 × screws
Speed
  • 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) (design)
  • 15.6–16.8 kn (28.9–31.1 km/h; 18.0–19.3 mph) (trial)
Range
  • 4,900 nmi (9,100 km; 5,600 mi) (BB-1 & 2)[a]
  • 5,600 nmi (10,400 km; 6,400 mi) (BB-3)[a]
Complement32 officers 441 men
Armament
  • 4 ×
    13 in (330 mm)/35 caliber guns
    (2x2)
  • 8 ×
    8 in (203 mm)/35 cal guns
    (4x2)
  • 4 ×
    6 in (152 mm)/40 cal guns
  • 20 ×
    6-pounder 57 mm (2.2 in) guns
  • 6 × 1-pounder 37 mm (1.5 in) guns
  • 6 ×
    torpedo tubes[b]
Armor
  • NS
  • Belt: 4–18 in (102–457 mm)
  • Turrets (main): 15 in (381 mm)
  • Barbettes (main): 17 in (432 mm)
  • Turrets (secondary): 5–8 in (127–203 mm)
  • Barbettes (secondary): 8-in
  • Conning tower: 9 in (229 mm)

The Indiana class was a class of three pre-dreadnought battleships launched in 1893. These were the first battleships built by the United States Navy comparable to contemporary European ships, such as the British HMS Hood. Authorized in 1890 and commissioned between November 1895 and April 1896, these were relatively small battleships with heavy armor and ordnance that pioneered the use of an intermediate battery. Specifically intended for coastal defense, their freeboard was insufficient to deal well with the waves of the open ocean. The turrets lacked counterweights, and the main belt armor was placed too low to be effective under most conditions.

The ships were named

Siberian Intervention
.

In 1919, all three ships were decommissioned for the final time. Indiana was sunk in shallow water as an explosives test target a year later and sold for scrap in 1924. Massachusetts was

Pensacola in 1920 and used as an artillery target. The wreck was never scrapped and is now a Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. Oregon was initially preserved as a museum, but was sold for scrap during World War II. The scrapping was later halted and the stripped hulk was used as an ammunition barge during the battle of Guam
. The hulk was finally sold for scrap in 1956.

Background

The Indiana class was very controversial at the time of its approval by the

Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy came up with an ambitious 15-year naval construction program on 16 July 1889, three years after the Maine and the Texas were authorized. The battleships in their plan would include ten first-rate long-range battleships with a 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) top speed and a steaming radius of 5,400 nmi (10,000 km; 6,200 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)—6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) maximum. These ocean-going ships were envisioned as a possible fleet in being, a fleet capable of raiding an enemy's home ports and intended to deter powerful warships from ranging too far from home. Twenty-five short-range second-rate battleships would provide home defense in both the Atlantic and Pacific and support the faster and larger long-range vessels. With a range of roughly 2,700 nmi (5,000 km; 3,100 mi) at 10 knots and a draft of 23.5 ft (7.2 m), they would roam from the St. Lawrence River in the north to the Windward Islands and Panama in the south and would be able to enter all the ports in the southern United States.[7][8]

It was proposed, probably for cost reasons, that the short-range battleships should have a hierarchy of three subclasses. The first would mount four 13-inch (330 mm) guns each on eight 8,000-long-ton (8,100 t; 9,000-short-ton) ships, the second would mount four 12-inch (305 mm) guns each on ten 7,150-long-ton (7,260 t; 8,010-short-ton) ships, and the third would mount two 12-inch and two 10-inch (254 mm) guns each on five 6,000-long-ton (6,100 t; 6,700-short-ton) ships. The two battleships already under construction, Texas and Maine, were to be grouped under the last class. In addition, 167 smaller ships, including rams, cruisers and torpedo boats, would be built, coming to a total cost of $281.55 million,[8][9] approximately equal to the sum of the entire US Navy budget during the previous 15 years (adjusted for inflation, $6.6 billion in 2009 dollars).[10]

Congress balked at the plan, seeing in it an end to the United States policy of isolationism and the beginning of imperialism. Even some supporters of naval expansion were wary; Senator Eugene Hale feared that because the proposal was so large, the entire bill would be shot down and no money appropriated for any ships. However, in April 1890, the United States House of Representatives approved funding for three 8,000-long ton battleships. Tracy, trying to soothe tensions within Congress, remarked that these ships were so powerful only twelve would be necessary instead of the 35 called for in the original plan. He also slashed the operating costs of the Navy by giving the remaining Civil War-era monitors—which were utterly obsolete by this time—to navy militias operated by the states.[11] The appropriation was also approved by the Senate, and in total three coast-defense battleships (the Indiana class), a cruiser, and a torpedo boat were given official approval and funding on 30 June 1890.[11][12]

The first class of short-range ships as envisioned by the policy board were to mount

13-inch/35 caliber and new 5-inch (127 mm) guns, with 17 in (432 mm) of belt armor, 2.75 in (70 mm) of deck armor and 4 in (102 mm) of armor over the casemates. The Indiana class, as actually built, exceeded the design in displacement by 25 percent, but most other aspects were relatively similar to the original plan. An 18-inch (457 mm) belt and a secondary battery of 8-inch (203 mm) and 6-inch (152 mm) guns were adopted, the latter because the Bureau of Ordnance did not have the capability to construct rapid-firing 5-inch weaponry. The larger weapons were much slower firing and much heavier, but without the bigger guns, the ships would not be able to penetrate the armor of foreign battleships.[13]

Design

drawing schematic, showing two large turrets before and aft and four smaller turrets on wing positions midships
Outboard profile of Oregon, with position and arc of fire of the armament

General characteristics

The Indiana-class ships were designed specifically for coastal defense and were not intended for offensive actions.[14] This design view was reflected in their moderate coal endurance, relatively small displacement and low freeboard, which limited seagoing capability.[12] However, they were heavily armed and armored, so much in fact that Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships describes them as "attempting too much on a very limited displacement."[4] They resembled the British battleship HMS Hood, but were 60 ft (18 m) shorter and featured an intermediate battery consisting of eight 8-inch guns not found in European ships,[12] giving them a very respectable amount of firepower for their time.[8]

The original design of the Indiana class included bilge keels, but with keels they would not fit in any of the American drydocks at the time, so they were omitted during construction. This meant a reduction in stability and caused a serious problem for Indiana, when both main turrets broke loose from their clamps in heavy seas a year after being commissioned. Because the turrets were not centrally balanced, they swung from side to side with the motion of the ship, until they were secured with heavy ropes. When the ship encountered more bad weather four months later, she promptly steamed back to port for fear the clamps would break again.[15] This convinced the navy that bilge keels were necessary and they were subsequently installed on all three ships.[16]

Armament

Given their limited displacement, the Indiana class had formidable armament for the time: four 13-inch guns, an intermediate battery of eight 8-inch guns and a secondary battery of four 6-inch guns, twenty

18 inch (450 mm) tubes.[17]

several men stand on deck next to a large turret, with a smaller one visible in the background
The forecastle of Indiana, showing its fore 13-inch turret and one of the 8-inch turrets

The 13-inch gun was 35

list in the direction the guns were aimed. This reduced the maximum arc of elevation (and thus range) to about five degrees, brought the main armor belt under water on that side, and exposed the unarmored bottom on the other. It was considered in 1901 to replace the turrets with new balanced models used in later ships, but that was decided to be too costly as the ships were already obsolete. Instead, counterweights were added, which partially solved the problem. The hydraulic rammers and turning mechanisms of the 8-inch turrets were also replaced by faster and more efficient electric equivalents, new sights were fitted on Indiana and Massachusetts, and new turret hoists were installed to improve the reloading speed,[20] but the gun mountings never performed in an entirely satisfactory manner.[12]

The eight 8-inch guns were mounted in pairs in four wing turrets placed on the superstructure. Their arc of fire, although big on paper, was in reality limited. Adjacent gun positions and superstructure would be damaged by their muzzle blast if the gun was trained alongside it, a defect also suffered by the 13-inch guns.

3-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber single-purpose guns were added midships and in the fighting tops.[20]

Sources conflict on the number of torpedo tubes originally included in the ships,

berth deck and had above-water ports located on the extreme front and aft and midships. Located too close to the waterline to allow use while moving and vulnerable to gunfire when opened, they were considered useless and were quickly reduced in number, and removed entirely before 1908.[20]

In 1918 there was a proposal to modify the three Indiana-class ships to carry a single 98-caliber 9-inch (229 mm) gun built by lining down a 50-caliber

7-inch (178 mm) gun lined down to 3 inches as a proof of concept, but those tests did not commence until 1922.[21]

Protection

With the exception of the deck armor, 8-inch turrets and conning tower—which consisted of conventional nickel steel—the Indiana class was protected with the new Harvey armor. Its main protection was a belt 18 in (457 mm) thick, placed along two-thirds of the length of the hull from 3 ft (0.91 m) above to 1 ft (0.30 m) under the waterline. Beyond this point, the belt gradually grew thinner until it ended 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) under the waterline, where the belt was only 8.5 in (220 mm) thick. Below the belt the ship had no armor, only a double bottom. On both ends the belt was connected to the barbettes of the main guns with 14-inch (360 mm) armored bulkheads. In the waterline sections outside this central citadel, compartments were filled with compressed cellulose, intended to self-seal when damaged. Between the deck and the main belt, 5-inch hull armor was used. The deck armor was 2.75 in (70 mm) thick inside the citadel and 3 in (76 mm) outside it. The hollow conning tower was a single forging 10 inches thick. The 13-inch gun battery had 15 in (380 mm) of vertical turret plating and 17-inch-thick (430 mm) barbettes, while the 8-inch cannons had only 6 inches of vertical turret plating and 8-inch-thick (200 mm) barbettes. The casemates protecting the 6-inch guns were 5 inches thick and the other casemates, lighter guns, shell hoists and turret crowns were all lightly armored.[c][22]

Two dirty men feeding coal into an oven in a rather gloomy looking room
The fire room (boiler room) of Massachusetts

The placement of the belt armor was based on the draft from the design, which was 24 feet (7.3 m) with a normal load of 400 long tons (406 t; 448 short tons) of coal on board. Her total coal storage capacity was 1,600 long tons (1,626 t; 1,792 short tons), and fully loaded her draft would increase to 27 feet (8.2 m), entirely submerging the armor belt. During actual service, especially at war, the ships were kept fully loaded whenever possible, rendering her belt armor almost useless. That this was not considered in the design outraged the Walker policy board–convened in 1896 to evaluate the existing American battleships and propose a design for the new Illinois-class battleships–and they set a standard that the load of coal and ammunition that future ships were designed for had to be at least two-thirds of the maximum, so similar problems would be prevented in new ships.[23]

Propulsion

Two vertical inverted

Babcock & Wilcox boilers, including four with superheaters, were installed on Indiana in 1904 and the same number on Massachusetts in 1907 to replace the outdated Scotch boilers.[20]

Ships in class

Name Hull Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Fate
Indiana BB-1 William Cramp & Sons 7 May 1891 28 February 1893 20 November 1895 Sunk in explosive tests; hulk sold for scrap 1924
Massachusetts BB-2 William Cramp & Sons 25 June 1891 10 June 1893 10 June 1896 Sunk as gunnery target 1921; now an artificial reef
Oregon BB-3 Union Iron Works 19 November 1891 26 October 1893 16 July 1896 Initially preserved as a museum; sold for scrap 1956

Indiana (BB-1)

Indiana painted wartime gray is anchored. On the background a second ship is visible
Indiana after the Spanish–American War, Iowa in the background
Main article: USS Indiana (BB-1)

Commissioned in 1895, Indiana did not participate in any notable events until the outbreak of the

Pluton and Furor emerged. Together with the battleship Iowa and armed yacht Gloucester she opened fire, destroying the lightly armored enemy ships.[25]

After the war, Indiana returned to training exercises before being decommissioned in 1903. The battleship was recommissioned in January 1906 to function as a training vessel until she was decommissioned again in 1914. Her third commission was in 1917 when Indiana served as a training ship for gun crews during World War I. She was decommissioned for the final time on 31 January 1919, shortly after being reclassified Coast Battleship Number 1 so that the name Indiana could be assigned to the newly authorized—but never completed—battleship Indiana (BB-50). She was sunk in shallow water as a target in underwater explosion and aerial bombing tests in November 1920. Her hulk was sold for scrap on 19 March 1924.[25]

Massachusetts (BB-2)

Main article: USS Massachusetts (BB-2)
Pensacola

Between being commissioned in 1896 and the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898, Massachusetts conducted training exercises off the eastern coast of the United States.[28] During the war, she was placed in the Flying Squadron under Commodore Winfield Scott Schley. Schley went searching for Cervera's Spanish squadron and found it in the port of Santiago. The battleship was part of the blockade fleet until 3 July, but missed the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, because she had steamed to Guantánamo Bay the night before to resupply coal.[29] The next day, the battleship came back to Santiago, where she and Texas fired at the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes, which was being scuttled by the Spanish in a failed attempt to block the harbor entrance channel.[30]

During the next seven years, Massachusetts cruised the Atlantic coast and eastern Caribbean as a member of the North Atlantic Squadron and then served for a year as a training ship for

Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves and serves as an artificial reef.[31]

Oregon (BB-3)

Main article: USS Oregon (BB-3)

Oregon served for a short time with the

Spanish cruiser Cristobal Colon, forcing its surrender.[34] Around this time, she received the nickname "Bulldog of the Navy", most likely because of her high bow wave—known as "having a bone in her teeth" in nautical slang—and perseverance during the cruise around South America and the battle of Santiago.[35]

Oregon seen from behind in drydock
Oregon in drydock in 1898, showing her starboard bilge keel and pudgy underwater shape

After the war, Oregon was refitted in

Siberian Intervention. In June 1919, she was decommissioned, but a month later she was temporarily recommissioned as the reviewing ship for President Woodrow Wilson during the arrival of the Pacific Fleet at Seattle. In October 1919, she was decommissioned for the final time. As a result of the Washington Naval Treaty, Oregon was declared "incapable of further warlike service" in January 1924. In June 1925, she was loaned to the State of Oregon, who used her as a floating monument and museum in Portland.[33]

In February 1941, Oregon was redesignated IX-22. Due to the outbreak of World War II, it was decided that the scrap value of the ship was more important than her historical value, so she was sold. Her stripped hulk was later returned to the Navy and used as an ammunition barge during the battle of Guam, where she remained for several years. During a typhoon in November 1948, she broke loose and drifted out to sea. She was located 500 mi (800 km) southeast of Guam and towed back. She was sold on 15 March 1956 and scrapped in Japan.[33]

See also

Footnotes

Notes

  1. ^ a b Rounded average calculated from the experimental data in this paper, with BB-1 and BB-2 lumped together. See Bryan 1901.
  2. ^
    DANFS claims six tubes on the latter two and no information is given on Indiana. Friedman 1985
    claims the contract called for seven tubes, but two of the ships were completed with five, and only four on Indiana.
  3. ^ The armor of Oregon, built by a different shipyard, had slightly different dimensions: 8 in (200 mm) at the lowest point of the belt, 6.25 in (159 mm) on the hull and 4.5 in (110 mm) on the deck inside the citadel. She also had no double bottom outside the central citadel. See Reilly & Scheina 1980, pp. 56, 58 & 68.

Citations

  1. ^ a b Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 69.
  2. ^ Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 51.
  3. ^ a b Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 68.
  4. ^ a b Chesneau, Koleśnik & Campbell 1979, p. 140.
  5. ^ a b Friedman 1985, p. 425.
  6. ^ Bryan 1901.
  7. ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 23–24, 29.
  8. ^ a b c d Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 52.
  9. ^ Friedman 1985, p. 24.
  10. ^ US Navy Budget: 1794–2004.
  11. ^ a b Friedman 1985, pp. 24–25.
  12. ^ a b c d Gardiner & Lambert 1992, p. 121.
  13. ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 26–27.
  14. ^ Scientific American 1896, p. 297.
  15. ^ Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 59.
  16. ^ a b Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 60.
  17. ^ Reilly & Scheina 1980, pp. 54–55.
  18. ^ NavWeaps 13"/35 (33 cm) Marks 1 and 2.
  19. ^ Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 55.
  20. ^ a b c d Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 62.
  21. ^ Wright 2007, pp. 143–145.
  22. ^ Reilly & Scheina 1980, pp. 56, 58 & 68.
  23. ^ Friedman 1985, p. 29.
  24. ^ Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 58.
  25. ^ a b c d DANFS Indiana (BB-1).
  26. ^ Graham & Schley 1902, p. 203.
  27. ^ Graham & Schley 1902, pp. 304 & 317.
  28. ^ a b DANFS Massachusetts (BB-2).
  29. ^ Graham & Schley 1902, p. 300.
  30. ^ Graham & Schley 1902, pp. 471–472.
  31. ^ Museums in the Sea.
  32. ^ Reilly & Scheina 1980, pp. 66–67.
  33. ^ a b c DANFS Oregon (BB-3).
  34. ^ Graham & Schley 1902, pp. 339 & 345.
  35. ^ Lomax 2005.

Bibliography

Print references

  • Chesneau, Roger; Koleśnik, Eugène M.; Campbell, N.J.M. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905.
    ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5
    .
  • ISBN 978-0-87021-715-9
    .
  • Gardiner, Robert; Lambert, Andrew D. (1992). Steam, Steel & Shellfire: The Steam Warship 1815–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press.
    ISBN 978-0-85177-564-7
    .
  • Graham, George E.;
    OCLC 1866852
    .
  • Reilly, John C.; Scheina, Robert L. (1980). American Battleships 1886–1923: Predreadnought Design and Construction. London: Arms and Armour Press.
    ISBN 978-0-85368-446-6
    .
  • "The Speed Trial of the United States Battleship Massachusetts". Scientific American. 74: 297. 9 May 1896.; cited in Reilly & Scheina 1980, p. 210
  • Wright, Christopher C. (2007). "Question 40/04: Proposed Conversion of Old U.S. Battleships to Monitors". Warship International. XLIV (2): 143–14.
    ISSN 0043-0374
    .

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Other

External links

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