USS Kentucky (BB-66)
Kentucky under construction; the round barbettes which would have held her 16-inch (406 mm) main battery are prominent
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Namesake | State of Kentucky |
Ordered | 9 September 1940 |
Builder | Norfolk Naval Shipyard |
Laid down | 7 March 1942 |
Launched | 20 January 1950 |
Completed | Not completed |
Reclassified | BBG-1 from BB-66 |
Stricken | 9 June 1958 |
Fate | Sold for scrapping 31 October 1958 |
General characteristics (as planned) | |
Class and type | Iowa-class battleship |
Displacement |
|
Length | 887 ft 3 in (270.43 m) |
Beam | 108 ft 2 in (32.97 m) |
Draft | 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m) (full load) |
Installed power | 212,000 shp (158,000 kW) |
Speed | 33 kn (38 mph; 61 km/h) |
Complement | 151 officers, 2,637 enlisted |
Armament |
|
Armor | |
Aircraft carried | 3 × Vought OS2U Kingfisher/Curtiss SC Seahawk floatplanes |
USS
As such, she was intended to be the sixth and final member of the Iowa-class constructed. At the time of her construction she was the second ship of the United States Navy to be
Background
Kentucky was conceived in 1935, when the United States Navy initiated design studies for the creation of an extended South Dakota class that was not restricted by the Second London Naval Treaty. This resulted in one of the "fast battleship" designs planned in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch at the Bureau of Construction and Repair.
The passage of the
By 1942 the United States Navy shifted its building focus from battleships to aircraft carriers after the successes of carrier combat in both the Battle of the Coral Sea, and to a greater extent, the Battle of Midway.[8] As a result, the construction of the US fleet of Essex-class aircraft carriers had been given the highest priority for completion in the US shipyards by the US Navy.[9] The Essex-class carriers were proving vital to the war effort by enabling the Allies to gain and maintain air supremacy in the Pacific War, and were rapidly becoming the principal striking arm of the United States Navy in the ongoing effort to defeat the Empire of Japan.[10] Accordingly, the United States accepted shortcomings in the armor of their Iowa-class battleships in favor of additional speed, which could steam at a comparable speed with the Essex-class and provide the carriers with the maximum amount of anti-aircraft protection.[10] As a result, construction of the Montana-class was canceled before their keels could be laid.
Construction
Kentucky's main battery would have consisted of nine
Like Iowa-class ships from Missouri (hull number BB-63) onwards, the frontal bulkhead armor was increased from the original 11.3 in (287 mm) to 14.5 in (368 mm) in order to better protect against fire from frontal sectors.[12][13] Because the Iowa-class torpedo defense was virtually the same as the preceding South Dakota-class battleships it was proposed that Illinois's and Kentucky's hull be redesigned to provide a greater degree of torpedo protection for the battleship. Under the original construction schematics for the class each side of the ship was protected below the waterline by two tanks mounted outside the belt armor, and separated by a bulkhead. These tanks were initially planned to be empty, but in practice were filled with water or fuel oil. The armored belt tapered to a thickness of 4 inches (100 mm) below the waterline. Behind the armored belt there was a void, and then another bulkhead. The outer hull was intended to detonate a torpedo, with the outer two compartments absorbing the shock and with any splinters or debris being stopped by the armored belt and the empty compartment behind it. In 1939 the Navy discovered that this system was less effective than the earlier torpedo defense system of the North Carolina-class due to the excessive rigidity of the lower belt armor causing leakage into adjacent compartments.[14][15] Subsequently, the design of the torpedo defense system was modified for Illinois and Kentucky, such as eliminating knuckles along certain holding bulkheads; the intended construction format was estimated to provide up to 20% improvement to the torpedo defense of the battleship while simultaneously reducing flooding in the event of a torpedo strike.[16]
Kentucky's construction was plagued by suspensions. Her
Conversion proposals
While her construction was suspended, the Bureau of Ships considered an
As early as 1946, missile conversion projects for Kentucky (project
Another conversion project in early 1956 called for the installation of two Polaris nuclear ballistic missile launchers with a capacity for sixteen weapons.[5] Also proposed were four RIM-8 Talos SAM launchers with eighty missiles per launcher and twelve RIM-24 Tartar SAM launchers with 504 missiles. A July 1956 estimate projected completing the ship by July 1961, but the cost of the conversion ultimately forced the Navy to abandon the project.[27]
Fate
Kentucky was never completed, instead serving as a
Kentucky's four 600 psi (4.1 MPa) boilers and turbine sets were used to power the first two Sacramento-class fast combat support ships, Sacramento laid down in 1961 and Camden in 1964. When the Navy switched to 1,200 psi (8.3 MPa) boilers, sailors who had served aboard Sacramento and Camden provided the experience to operate the older lower-pressure boilers aboard New Jersey during her combat tour in the Vietnam War and aboard all four of the Iowas when they were recalled and modernized in the 1980s as part of the 600-ship Navy plan.[24] A pair of 150-pound (68 kg) mahogany doors that had been donated by the state of Kentucky while the ship was under construction were removed and used in an officer's club in New York City before eventually being returned to the Kentucky Historical Society in early January 1994.[31][32]
Notes
- ^ Although the Kentucky was never commissioned by the U.S. Navy, and therefore did not officially receive the USS ship prefix, she is conventionally referred to as USS Kentucky.
- RGM-84 Harpoon missiles. (United States General Accounting Office (20 April 1981). "Update of the Issues Concerning the Proposed Reactivation of the Iowa class battleships and the Aircraft Carrier Oriskany"(PDF). United States General Accounting Office. pp. 3–18. Retrieved 7 November 2007.)
References
Footnotes
- ^ Rogers, p. 7.
- ^ Rogers, p. 8.
- ^ Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 99.
- ^ Hore, p. 222.
- ^ a b c d e Whitley, p. 310.
- ^ Gardiner, p. 99.
- ^ Johnston, pp. 108–123.
- ^ Naval Historical Center. Bureau of Ships' "Spring Styles" Book # 3 (1939–1944) – (Naval Historical Center Lot # S-511) – Battleship Preliminary Design Drawings. Retrieved 1 December 2007.
- ^ Minks.
- ^ a b "Top Ten Fighting Ships: Iowa Battleship". Combat Countdown. The Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012.
- ^ Johnston & McAuley, p. 120.
- ^ Sumrall, p. 129.
- ^ Friedman, p. 314.
- ^ Friedman, p. 285.
- ^ Lyon & Moore, p. 240.
- ^ Sumrall, p. 132.
- ^ Kentucky (BB-66), 1942–1958.
- ^ Sumrall, p. 47.
- ^ a b c NVR Kentucky (BB 66).
- ^ Doehring (BB-63).
- ^ DANFS Missouri (BB-63).
- ^ Garzke & Dulin, p. 288.
- ^ Toledo Blade & 9 September 1946.
- ^ a b c d Rogers, p. 13.
- ^ a b Scarpaci, p. 4.
- ^ Friedman, pp. 398–399
- ^ a b Whitley, p. 311.
- ^ Miami Daily News & 16 October 1954.
- ^ The Park City Daily News & 7 August 1957.
- ^ DANFS Kentucky (BB-66).
- ^ Lexington Herald-Leader & 6 January 1994.
- ^ Kentucky New Era & 6 January 1994.
Bibliography
- Print sources
- Friedman, Norman (1985). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. OCLC 12214729.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Garzke, William H.; Dulin, Robert O. Jr. (1995). Battleships: United States Battleships 1935–1992. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. OCLC 29387525.
- Lyon, Hugh; Moore, J. E. (1978). The Encyclopedia of the World's Warships: A technical directory of major fighting ships from 1900 to the present day. London, England: Salamander Books. ISBN 978-0-86101-007-3.
- Johnston, Ian; McAuley, Rob (2002). The Battleships. London: Channel 4 Books (an imprint of Pan Macmillan). ISBN 978-0-7522-6188-1.
- Scarpaci, Wayne (2008). Iowa Class Battleships and Alaska Class Large Cruisers Conversion Projects 1942–1964: A Technical Reference. Nimble Books. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-934840-38-2.
- Sumrall, Robert (1988). Iowa Class Battleships: Their Design, Weapons & Equipment. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. OCLC 19282922.
- Whitley, M.J. (1998). Battleships of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 978-1-85409-386-8.
- Online sources
- Minks, R. L. (1 September 2006). "Montana class battleships end of the line". Sea Classics. 39 (9). Challenge Publications. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- "USS Missouri (BB-63) (subsection: Accidents aboard USS Missouri)". NavySite.de. Thoralf Doehring. Retrieved 15 December 2006.
- "Kentucky". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- "Mississippi". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- "Missouri". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- "Society Gets Ship's Doors". Kentucky New Era. 6 January 1994. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- "Return of Doors Opens Mystery". Lexington Herald-Leader. 6 January 1994. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- "Baby and Battleship Make Hurricane News". Miami Daily News. 16 October 1954. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- "USS Kentucky (BB 66)". Naval Vessel Register. United States Navy. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- "Kentucky (BB-66), 1942–1958". Online Library of Selected Images. Department of the Navy – Naval Historical Center. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- "Natcher Blocks Move to Scuttle Kentucky". The Park City Daily News. 7 August 1957. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- Rogers, J. David. "Development of the World's Fastest Battleships" (PDF). Retrieved 27 September 2011.[when?]
- "Rockets May Be Main Battery For 2 Battleships". Toledo Blade. 9 September 1946. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
Further reading
- DiGiulian, Tony (22 November 2009). "United States of America 16"/50 (40.6 cm) Mark 7". NavWeaps.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- "Iowa Class (BB-61 through BB-66) Drawings". Online Library of Selected Images. Department of the Navy – Naval Historical Center. Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
External links
- Kentucky (BB-66), 1942–1958 Archived 19 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Iowa class (BB-61 through BB-66), 1940 & 1941 Building Programs Archived 1 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- Photo gallery of Kentucky (BB-66) at NavSource Naval History