Tennessee-class battleship

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The U.S. Navy battleship USS Tennessee (BB-43) underway on 12 May 1943. Tennessee was damaged in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941 and was afterwards given a very extensive reconstruction. This gave her the enormous beam apparent in this photograph.
USS Tennessee (BB-43), underway on 12 May 1943.
Class overview
NameTennessee-class battleship
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byNew Mexico class
Succeeded byColorado class
Built1916–1921
In commission1920–1947
Planned2
Completed2
Retired2
General characteristics (as built)
Type
Dreadnought battleship
Displacement
Length
  • 600 ft (182.9 m)
    lwl
  • 624 ft (190.2 m) loa
Beam97 ft 5 in (29.7 m)
Draft30 ft 2 in (9.2 m)
Installed power
  • 8 ×
    Babcock & Wilcox boilers
  • 28,600 
    kW
    )
Propulsion
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement
  • 57 officers
  • 1,026 enlisted
Armament
Armor

The Tennessee class consisted of two

dreadnought battleships—Tennessee and California—built for the United States Navy in the late 1910s, part of the "standard" series. The class was in most respects a repeat of the preceding New Mexico class, with the primary improvements being a significantly strengthened underwater protection system, and increased elevation of the main battery guns to allow them to fire at much greater ranges. They carried the same main battery of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns in four triple turrets, and had the same top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Both ships served in the Pacific Fleet for the duration of their careers, which included an extensive training program during the interwar period
of the 1920s and 1930s.

Both ships were present in

island-hopping campaign across the central Pacific. Tennessee took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign in mid-1943, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in late 1943 and early 1944, and the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
in mid-1944, by which time California had returned to the fleet as well.

They both took part in the

Atlantic Reserve Fleet. They remained there until 1959, when they were sold for scrap
.

Design

New Mexico, the basis for the Tennessee design

Design work on the Tennessee class, initially referred to as "Battleship 1916", began on 14 January 1915; the design staff used the preceding

Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, overruled them and ordered that "Battleship 1916" would effectively repeat the New Mexico design with limited improvements.[1]

At the same time that European navies had begun to adopt larger guns, they also began to develop longer-ranged torpedoes that could reach well into the expected battle distances of the day, 10,000 to 14,000 yards (9,100 to 12,800 m). Therefore, the new ship's ability to resist underwater attack—naval mines in addition to torpedoes—became a chief concern of the designers. To ensure the ship could survive an underwater explosion, they decided to incorporate four torpedo bulkheads, which created four voids. Of these, the inner pair would be filled with either water or fuel oil, which would absorb the pressure and gas of the explosion. This system proved to be effective and it was used in many subsequent battleship designs.[2]

The ships were authorized on 3 March 1915, while design work was still ongoing; tests on the torpedo bulkhead system were completed only in February 1916. In the meantime, work had already begun on the next class, initially designated "Battleship 1917", which became the

turbo-electric drive propulsion system that was developed for the Colorados was retroactively applied to Tennessee and California in December 1915, before construction had begun on either vessel.[3]

General characteristics and machinery

Recognition drawing of Tennessee in her 1943 configuration

The Tennessee-class ships were 600 feet (182.9 m)

compartmentalization to reduce the risk of uncontrollable flooding; below the waterline, the hull had 768 compartments and another 180 above the line.[5]

The

main gun battery.[8] Steering was controlled by a single balanced rudder.[5]

The ships were powered by

turbo-electric drive. Eight oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers generated steam that powered two Westinghouse turbo-electric generators that in turn provided power for four electric motors that drove four 3-bladed, 14-foot (4.3 m) screws. The turbines were in separate watertight compartments, arranged fore and aft, with four boilers apiece; each boiler had its own watertight boiler rooms, with two boilers on either side of the turbines. The motors were arranged in three rooms: a larger, central room for the two engines driving the inboard shafts, and one for each outboard shaft on either side. Each set of four boilers was ducted into its own funnel.[6]

Their propulsion systems were rated at 28,600

kW), generating a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). On speed trials, Tennessee reached a maximum of 21.38 knots (39.60 km/h; 24.60 mph) from 29,609 shp (22,079 kW). Normal oil storage amounted to 1,900 long tons (1,930 t), but voids in the hull could be used to increase maximum emergency fuel capacity to 4,656 long tons (4,731 t). They had a cruising range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), which fell to 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) normally; with full emergency oil their range more than doubled, to 20,500 nautical miles (38,000 km; 23,600 mi) at 10 knots and 9,700 nautical miles (18,000 km; 11,200 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[7][8]

Armament

California's aft turrets

The ships were armed with a

armor-piercing shell, which was fired with a muzzle velocity of 2,625 ft/s (800 m/s). With the lighter 1,275 lb (578 kg) high-capacity shell, the muzzle velocity increased to 2,825 ft/s (861 m/s) for a correspondingly greater range of 36,650 yd (33,510 m).[10] The guns suffered from excessive dispersion of shot, which was eventually discovered to have been caused by overly lengthy chambers, which allowed a gap between the shell and the propellant charges. The problem was eventually corrected with the Mark VII gun.[11]

The

amidships at 01 deck level, one deck higher than the main deck. Six of the guns were arranged to fire forward and four were pointed aft. The remaining four guns were placed in open pivot mounts another deck higher at 02 level; two were placed abreast the conning tower and the others placed on either side of the funnels. Initially, the ships were to have been fitted with twenty-two of the guns, but experiences in the North Sea during World War I demonstrated that the additional guns, which would have been placed in the hull, would have been unusable in anything but calm seas. As a result, the casemates were plated over to prevent flooding.[8][10] The guns were the Mark VIII type, which had a muzzle velocity of 3,150 ft/s (960 m/s) firing a 50 lb (23 kg) shell.[12]

The battleships carried four

saluting guns and a 3-inch Mark XI field gun and several machine guns for use by landing parties.[13][14]

In addition to their gun armament, the Tennessee-class ships were also fitted with a pair of 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, with one mounted submerged in the hull on each broadside.[8] They were supplied with Bliss-Leavitt torpedoes of the Mark VII type; these carried a 321 lb (146 kg) warhead and had a range of 12,500 yd (11,400 m) at a speed of 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph).[15]

Armor

Their main

armored belt was 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm) thick and was approximately 18 ft (5.5 m) wide, half of which was above the waterline. The thicker armor protected the ships' vitals, including the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces, extending from the forwardmost barbette to the aftmost barbette; the stern received lighter armor plating. Both ends of the main belt were capped by armored transverse bulkheads that were 13.5 in thick. The main armored deck was up to 3.5 in (89 mm) thick, and it was connected to the top of the main belt, running between the transverse armored bulkheads. A second armor deck that was 2.5 in (64 mm) thick was placed below the main deck; further aft, where it constituted the only horizontal protection, it increased in thickness to 5 in. On the ships' bows, the lower armor deck was increased to 3 in.[8][16]

The main battery gun turrets had 18 in (457 mm) thick faces, 10 in (254 mm) thick sides, 9 in (229 mm) rears, and 5 in (127 mm) roofs; teak backing was used to cushion the structures from shell impacts. The turrets were mounted atop 13 in (330 mm) barbettes. Their conning towers had 16 in (406 mm) thick sides with 6 in (152 mm) thick roofs. The armored coamings for the funnel uptakes were 9 in thick.[8][17]

Modifications

Vought UO-1s

The Tennessees underwent a series of minor modifications to their secondary and anti-aircraft armament through the 1920s and 1930s. In 1922, Tennessee had the two 5-inch guns abreast the mainmast removed and four more 3-inch guns installed, two of which were placed where the 5-inch guns had been. The other two were placed behind the forward 5-inch mounts. All eight guns were removed in 1928 and replaced with eight

bridge wings.[20]

Other changes included the installation of aircraft-handling equipment. California had an

fantail. In the early 1930s, she received a second catapult on her aft turret, and at some point California also had a catapult fitted to her fantail. During their 1943 reconstruction, the turret-mounted catapults were removed and both ships were fitted with just a catapult on the fantail.[6][21]

Tennessee after 1943 modernization

Both ships were extensively reconstructed and modernized after being damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. New anti-torpedo bulges were installed and their internal compartmentalization was improved to strengthen their resistance to underwater damage. The ships' superstructures were completely revised, with the old heavily armored conning tower being removed and a smaller tower was erected in its place to reduce interference with the anti-aircraft guns' fields of fire. The new towers had been removed from one of the Brooklyn-class cruisers that had recently been rebuilt. The foremast was replaced with a tower mast that housed the bridge and the main battery director, and their second funnels were removed, with those boilers being trunked into an enlarged forward funnel.[22][23] Horizontal protection was considerably strengthened to improve their resistance to air attack; 3 inches of special treatment steel (STS) was added to the deck over the magazines and 2 inches (51 mm) of STS was added elsewhere.[24]

Their weapons suite was also overhauled. Both ships received air-search

fire control radar.[25]

Ships in class

Construction data
Ship name Hull no. Builder [8] Laid Down [8] Launched [8] Commissioned [8] Decommissioned [8] Fate [22][21]
Tennessee BB-43
New York Naval Shipyard
 14 May 1917 30 April 1919 3 June 1920 14 February 1947 Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap 10 July 1959
California BB-44 Mare Island Naval Shipyard 25 October 1916 20 November 1919 10 August 1921 14 February 1947 Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap 10 July 1959

Service history

Prewar careers and Pearl Harbor

California steaming at high speed, 1921

Tennessee and California served in the

island hopping campaign during the Pacific War. In November 1924, Lieutenant Dixie Kiefer took off from California, the first night aircraft launch in history. While in Long Beach, California, the ships sent crewmen ashore to assist with relief after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.[21][22]

During a period of rising tensions with

quay.[6][21][22]

World War II

Anguar during the Battle of Peleliu
in 1944

After being freed from Battleship Row, Tennessee steamed to the

Puget Sound Navy Yard, where the initial modernization program began. California was raised from the harbor bottom in mid-1942 and taken to Puget Sound as well, where she was rebuilt, beginning in October. By that time, Tennessee had returned to service with her upgraded light anti-aircraft battery, but she saw no active operations owing to the crippling fuel shortage in the Pacific at the time.[21][22][26] The Navy decided that she should be rebuilt along the same lines as California, so she returned to Puget Sound to be reconstructed. Tennessee was completed first, returning to the fleet in May 1943 in time to participate in the Aleutian Islands campaign, thus beginning her career as a naval gunfire support vessel during the island-hopping campaign against Japan. In this role, she conducted preparatory bombardments to destroy Japanese defensive positions and provided support to marine and Army ground forces as they fought their way ashore, suppressing Japanese defenders and targeting defensive strongpoints.[22]

Tennessee thereafter deployed to the central Pacific to take part in the

Tinian, and Guam. The two ships collided while en route to the last target in the campaign, Peleliu, which prevented California from participating in the Battle of Peleliu, though Tennessee remained in action. During the fighting on Tinian, Tennessee was hit by Japanese field artillery and slightly damaged.[21][22]

Tennessee bombarding Okinawa with her main battery guns, as LVTs in the foreground carry troops to the invasion beaches

Both ships had been repaired in time to participate in the next major offensive, the

action of Surigao Strait, on the night of 24/25 October. There, the Allied fleet destroyed the Japanese Southern Force consisting of a pair of old battleships, one heavy cruiser, and four destroyers; only one Japanese destroyer escaped the overwhelming Allied fleet. California and Tennessee fired only briefly during the engagement, as a miscommunication between their commanders almost led to another collision, which threw them out of firing position. They were nevertheless present for the last battleship engagement in history.[27][28]

California continued operations off the Philippines, though Tennessee was recalled for a refit at Puget Sound. During the

Okinawa to conduct the preparatory bombardment of this island for the coming invasion. She operated off the island for the next month; during the Battle of Okinawa, where the Japanese made repeated and heavy kamikaze attacks on the Allied fleet, Tennessee was hit by one suicide aircraft on 12 April that did little damage but killed more than twenty and wounded more than a hundred. She was detached to Ulithi for repairs that were completed by early June, when she returned to the fighting off Okinawa. Tennessee was joined shortly thereafter by California, though by then the fighting ashore was in its final stages.[21][22][29]

The two ships were then assigned to

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, based in Philadelphia. Both battleships were stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in March 1959, sold for scrap on 10 July, and thereafter broken up.[21][22]

Footnotes

Notes

  1. ^ A 50 caliber gun has a length 50 times its bore diameter.

Citations

  1. ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 121–122.
  2. ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 122, 134.
  3. ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 135–136.
  4. ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 443–444.
  5. ^ a b Cracknell, p. 200.
  6. ^ a b c d Cracknell, p. 201.
  7. ^ a b Friedman 1985, p. 443.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Friedman 1986, p. 117.
  9. ^ Friedman 1985, p. 135.
  10. ^ a b Cracknell, p. 205.
  11. ^ Friedman 2011, p. 163.
  12. ^ Friedman 2011, p. 185.
  13. ^ Friedman 2011, pp. 193–194.
  14. ^ Cracknell, pp. 205, 207.
  15. ^ Friedman 2011, pp. 342–343.
  16. ^ Cracknell, pp. 201–202.
  17. ^ Cracknell, p. 202.
  18. ^ Cracknell, pp. 205–206.
  19. ^ a b Breyer, p. 226.
  20. ^ Cracknell, p. 206.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i Evans.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DANFS Tennessee.
  23. ^ Friedman 1980, p. 92.
  24. ^ Friedman 1985, p. 444.
  25. ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 358, 444.
  26. ^ Hornfischer, p. 22.
  27. ^ Tully, pp. 152, 195–196, 208–210, 215–216.
  28. ^ Cracknell, p. 217.
  29. ^ Cracknell, p. 219.

References

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