New York-class battleship
New York, the lead ship of the class, shortly after entering service in 1915
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Class overview | |
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Name | New York-class battleship |
Builders |
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Operators | United States Navy |
Preceded by | Wyoming class |
Succeeded by | Nevada class |
Built | 1911–1914 |
In commission | 1914–1946 |
Planned | 2 |
Completed | 2 |
Retired | 2 |
Preserved | 1 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Type | Super-dreadnought battleship |
Displacement | |
Length | |
Beam | 95 ft 2.5 in (29.020 m) |
Draft |
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Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 2 × triple-expansion steam engines |
Speed | 21 kn (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
Range | 7,060 nmi (13,080 km; 8,120 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 1,042 officers and men |
Sensors and processing systems | |
Armament |
|
Armor |
The New York class was a pair of
Designed as a more heavily armed improvement over the previous
Both New York and Texas entered service in 1914 and immediately served in the occupation of Veracruz, and service reinforcing the
Background
The New York class was the fifth of 11 separate classes planned by the United States Navy between 1906 and 1919, a total of 29 battleships and 6 battlecruisers. Virtually the entire American battle line was being designed from
The Newport Conference established a general consensus among leaders that US Navy ships should carry larger batteries in response to the increasing caliber of battleships in other countries, notably the
The class is generally referred to as the New York class,[1][4] but it is also occasionally called the Texas class because New York was completed several months after her sister, Texas.[7]
Design
General characteristics
As designed, the ships had a
Armament
The main battery of the class consisted of ten 14-inch/45 caliber guns, arrayed in five 2-gun turrets designated 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and able to elevate to 15 degrees. The class was the last to feature a turret mounted amidships.[11][12] In 1910 the US Navy's Bureau of Ordnance had successfully designed and tested its 14-inch naval gun.[1] The gun proved to have remarkable accuracy and uniformity of pattern. The New York class was the fifth class of US dreadnought battleship design created, and work had already started on the sixth design, the Nevada class. By 1910 no US dreadnought type battleship had yet hit the water, as all were either at some stage of building or in design. Virtually the entire US Navy battle line was being designed by drawing on experience from pre-dreadnought designs or from observation of foreign battleship designs.[2]
As built, both ships also carried 21
Magazine and machinery spaces were enclosed in the protected hull. Magazine volume was reduced for increased machinery, with each magazine accommodating 75 to 80 shells and charges, while more shells were carried in their turrets and handling rooms.[16]
In 1937 eight
Armor
The ships continued the armor suite of the Wyoming class with minor improvements. The deck armor scheme would continue to remain distinctly inferior to the succeeding Nevada class with their
Armor on the New York class consisted of
Propulsion
The ships were powered by 14
The New York class was the final class of US battleship to be powered by coal. The class was designed to carry 2,850 long tons (2,900 t) of coal, the most of any battleship class. In 1910, the succeeding battleships of the Nevada class were designed with fuel oil in mind.[20] Both ships were converted to carry fuel oil in 1926, and had a capacity of 5,200 long tons (5,300 t) of oil. Six new Bureau Express oil-fired boilers replaced the fourteen older design coal-fired boilers at that time with no loss of power.[10]
Construction
Funding for the battleships was authorized by a 24 June 1910 act, which called for the ships to cost no more than $6,000,000. The act also specified new labor policies for their construction which put strict limits on labor hours and working conditions for shipyard employees.
By 1926, the New York class was considered obsolete compared with other battleships in service, so both ships received a complete refit. While several other battleships in service, including Utah and Florida, were converted to training ships or scrapped, New York and Texas were chosen to be overhauled to increase their speed, armor, and armament, in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.[23]
An additional 3,000 long tons (3,000 t) were added for defense against aerial targets and submarines. Her fourteen coal-fired boilers were replaced by six Bureau Express oil-fired boilers and the twin funnels were trunked into one, aft of the forward superstructure. Tripods were fitted in place of the lattice masts, and atop the forward tripod a control tower was installed. A tower was built amidships that contained additional fire control to backup the system on the foremast. A new aircraft catapult was installed atop turret Number 3, and cranes were installed on either side of the funnel for boat and aircraft handling. Additional deck protection was added, and each ship's beam was widened. The ships were fitted with anti-torpedo bulges, though these made maneuvering harder at low speeds and both rolled badly, and gunfire accuracy was reduced in rough seas.[8]
Service history
USS New York
Shortly after commissioning, New York became flagship for the
She was a part of the Neutrality Patrol following the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, and spent the beginning of the war escorting convoys between New York and Iceland.
USS Texas
Texas also participated in the occupation of Veracruz for several months in 1914,[39] before conducting training and upgrades to become the first ship of the US Navy to mount anti-aircraft weapons.[40] She conducted convoy patrols early in World War I and was the first US ship to fire on a German one during a convoy mission in 1917.[39] She joined other US battleships in reinforcing the British fleet near the end of the war and was present for the German surrender.[39] In the inter-war period she became one of the first battleships to launch and operate aircraft,[41] and frequently alternated her time between the Atlantic and Pacific waters on training exercises.[42]
She was part of the Neutrality Patrol at the beginning of World War II and supported Allied landings at North Africa, and then conducted convoy patrol duty to North African and European ports throughout 1943.
Ships in class
Ship name | Hull no. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York | BB-34 | Brooklyn Navy Yard | 11 September 1911 | 30 October 1912 | 15 May 1914 | 29 August 1946 | Struck 13 July 1948; Sunk as target, 8 July 1948 |
Texas | BB-35 | Newport News Shipbuilding | 17 April 1911 | 18 May 1912 | 12 March 1914 | 21 April 1948 | Struck 30 April 1948; Museum ship undergoing substantial restoration with limited public viewing, new home undetermined. |
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 115.
- ^ a b Friedman 1985, p. 96.
- ^ a b Friedman 1985, p. 85.
- ^ a b Friedman 1985, p. 88.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 93.
- ^ a b c Friedman 1985, p. 95.
- ^ a b Kearns & Morris 1998, p. 414.
- ^ a b Banks 2002, p. 33.
- ^ Powers 1993, p. 133.
- ^ a b Powers 1993, p. 134.
- ^ a b c d Bonner 1996, p. 28.
- ^ Friedman 2008, p. 299.
- ^ Bonner 1996, p. 115.
- ^ Friedman 2008, p. 304.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 436.
- ^ a b c Friedman 1985, p. 93–94.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 97–99.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 102.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 26.
- ^ Banks 2002, p. 10.
- ^ Banks 2002, p. 27.
- ^ Ferguson 2007, p. 35.
- ^ a b Banks 2002, p. 32.
- ^ Bonner 1996, p. 116.
- ^ Bonner 1996, p. 117.
- ^ Bonner 1996, p. 118.
- ^ Banks 2002, p. 31.
- ^ Rodman 1927, p. 271.
- ^ Macintyre 1967, p. 73.
- ^ Bonner 1996, p. 119.
- ^ a b Banks 2002, p. 35.
- ^ Bonner 1996, p. 120.
- ^ Bonner 1996, p. 121.
- ^ a b Banks 2002, p. 37.
- ^ Bonner 1996, p. 122.
- ^ Banks 2002, p. 40.
- ^ Banks 2002, p. 38.
- ^ Kearns & Morris 1998, p. 293.
- ^ a b c Powers 1993, p. 11.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 177.
- ^ Hone & Hone 2006, p. 94–95.
- ^ Powers 1993, p. 17.
- ^ Powers 1993, p. 24.
- ^ Powers 1993, p. 26.
- ^ Harrison 1951, p. 519.
- ^ Powers 1993, p. 31.
- ^ Powers 1993, p. 37.
Sources
- Banks, Herbert C., ed. (2002). USS New York (BB-34): The Old Lady of the Sea. OCLC 55801136.
- Bonner, Kermit H. (1996). Final Voyages. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company. OCLC 37916711.
- Ferguson, John C. (2007). Historic Battleship Texas: The Last Dreadnought. Military History of Texas #4. OCLC 154678508.
- OCLC 154763144.
- Friedman, Norman (1985). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. OCLC 12214729.
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. OCLC 12119866.
- Harrison, Gordon (1951). United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations, The Cross Channel Attack. OCLC 50729081.
- OCLC 62324475.
- Kearns, Patricia M.; Morris, James M. (1998). Historical Dictionary of the United States Navy. OCLC 37903579.
- Powers, Hugh (1993). Battleship Texas. OCLC 49569222.
- Macintyre, Donald (September 1967). Shipborne Radar. Annapolis, Maryland: OCLC 8606400.
- ISBN 978-1-258-18786-6.
External links
- New York class (BB-34 and BB-35): Online Library of Selected Images (US Navy)
- Photo gallery of New York-class battleship at NavSource Naval History
- Photo gallery of New York-class battleship at NavSource Naval History