USS Illinois (BB-65)
USS Illinois (BB-65) in July 1945, just weeks before construction was canceled
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Illinois |
Namesake | State of Illinois |
Ordered | 9 September 1940 |
Builder | Philadelphia Naval Shipyard |
Laid down | 6 December 1942 |
Stricken | 12 August 1945 |
Fate | Dismantled on slipway, September 1958 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Iowa-class battleship |
Displacement |
|
Length | 887 feet 3 inches (270.4 m) loa |
Beam | 108 ft 2 in (33 m) |
Draft | 36 ft 2.25 in (11 m) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 32.5 kn (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h) |
Range | 15,000 mi (24,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement |
|
Armament |
|
Armor |
USS
Background
The
The passage of the
Design
Illinois was 887 feet 3 inches (270.4 m)
The ship was to have been powered by four
The ship was to have been armed with a
The main
Construction and cancellation
When BB-65 was redesignated an Iowa-class ship, she was assigned the name Illinois and reconfigured to adhere to the fast battleship designs drawn up in 1938, by the Preliminary Design Branch at the
Illinois's construction was put on hold in 1942, after the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, while the Bureau of Ships considered an aircraft carrier conversion proposal for Illinois and Kentucky. As proposed, the converted Illinois flight deck would have been 864 feet (263 m) long by 108 feet (33 m) wide, with an armament identical to the carriers of the Essex-class's four twin 5-inch gun mounts and four more 5-inch guns in single mounts, along with six 40 mm quadruple mounts. The conversion was abandoned after the design team decided that the converted carriers would carry fewer aircraft than the Essex-class, that more Essex-class carriers could be built in the same amount of time to convert the battleships, and that the project would be significantly more expensive than building new Essex-class carriers. Instead, Illinois and Kentucky were to be completed as battleships, but their construction was given very low priority.[12]
Illinois's keel was laid down at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, on 6 December 1942; her projected completion date was 1 May 1945.[13] Ultimately, the ship was canceled on 11 August 1945, when she was about 22 per cent complete.[9] She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 August 1945.[14][15] Her incomplete hulk initially was retained on the belief that it could be used as a target in nuclear weapons tests. However, the $30 million it would cost to complete the ship enough to be able to launch her proved too great and the plan was abandoned. She remained in the dockyard until September 1958, when she was broken up on the slipway.[9][16]
The
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
- ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 306–307.
- ^ a b c d e f Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 99.
- ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 281, 317.
- ^ a b c Friedman 1985, p. 449.
- ^ Sumrall 1988, p. 132.
- ^ Sumrall 1988, p. 129.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 314.
- ^ Johnston & McAuley 2002, pp. 108–123.
- ^ a b c Dulin & Garzke 1976, p. 137.
- ^ Whitley 1998, p. 310.
- ^ Py-Lieberman 2002.
- ^ Garzke & Dulin 1995, p. 288.
- ^ Whitley 1998, pp. 306, 310.
- ^ DANFS Illinois (Battleship No. 7).
- ^ NVR Illinois (BB 65).
- ^ Whitley 1998, p. 311.
- ^ Herman 2007.
References
- Dulin, Robert O. Jr.; Garzke, William H. (1976). Battleships: United States Battleships in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-099-0.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-715-9.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-913-9.
- Garzke, William H.; Dulin, Robert O. Jr. (1995). Battleships: United States Battleships 1935–1992. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-174-5.
- Herman, Richard, Chancellor (October 2007). "Illinois in Focus". Illinois On Our Watch. Public Affairs for the Office of the Chancellor and the University of Illinois Alumni Association. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - "Illinois". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- Johnston, Ian; McAuley, Rob (2002). The Battleships. London: Channel 4 Books (an imprint of Pan Macmillan). ISBN 978-0-7522-6188-1.
- Py-Lieberman, Beth (February 2002). "Any Bonds Today?". Smithsonian.
- Sumrall, Robert (1988). Iowa Class Battleships: Their Design, Weapons & Equipment. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-298-7.
- "USS Illinois (BB 65)". Naval Vessel Register. United States Navy. 22 July 2002. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-85409-386-8.
External links
- Iowa Class (BB-61 through BB-66), 1940 & 1941 Building Programs
- Photo gallery of Illinois (BB-65) at NavSource Naval History