American Battleships 1886-1923 PREDREADNOUGHT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION By John C. Reilly, Jr. and Robert L. Scheina NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS Annapolis, Maryland Copyright © 1980 by the United States Naval Institute Annapolis, Maryland All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Reilly, John C. American battleships, 1886-1923: predreadnought design and construction Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Battleship United States-History. 2. United States. Navy- History. I. Scheina, Robert L., joint author. II. Title. V815.3.R44 359.3'252'0973 79-91326 ISBN 0-87021-524-8 Frontispiece: the Alabama. Courtesy Library of Congress. 8ayerlsche 8taatsbibliothek Munchen Love for one's own ship and pride in her name is one of the most important traditions of the Navy. - Captain (First Rank) M. Grigor'yev, "The Proud Name of a Ship" Chapter opening photographs Page 18: ·n,e Mni11c is S<.>en here with the shoreline of her names.::tke, the ~tate uf Maine, in the b,JCkground. Mo~t ships' lx•1ts ill this time were pulling lx><lls. (Notice the mrlocks in the gumvdles of the boat han)-,~ng just below the ensign.) 1\ ship the size of the Mni11c would also carry a couple of stmm cutters. This picture shows clmrly how the Mni11c's turrets overhang her sides. NH, NR&L(M)39250. Page 50: Briefly recommissioned in 1919, the Orego11 flew President Woodrow Wilson's flag at Seattle as he reviewed the Pacific Fleet. This photograph illustrates the general arrangement of the turrets and superstructures. Though a cage mast has been added and her main-deck casemates have been plated in since 1896, the Orego11 is basically the same ship that fought at Santiago. NA, SOG-651980. Page 70: The lawn about the time of World War I. Notice the alteration made in her bridge during her 1910 refitting. Only the four casemate 4-inch guns remain, and a range-finder has been mounted on Turret I. The upper foretop has been roofed over and screened to provide a fire control station. The maintop is roughly housed in with canvas. Speed cones on her foremast halyards indicate that she is making slow speed. During the war the lawn trained men for duty with the fleet, and stood guard at Hampton Roads. Although a torpedo tube designed for the bow of the lawn was never installed, the tube's welded housing remained a prominent feature of the ship throughout her life. NA, 19Nl985. Page 82: This stern view of the Kenrsnrse shows her chunky hull form. She carries four large electric boat cranes, and has a simple open after bridge. Six-pounder muzzles protrude from side casemates on the upper deck, and one can be seen just above the heads of the yard workmen clustered near the gangway. Closed in this photo, the casemates for the stern anti-torpedo-boat 6-pounders arc only 6 feet above the painted waterline. These guns were unusable in any kind of heavy seas, but they were not removed for some years. NA, 19Nl-22-3. I'age 96: Thi' view of th.: Wi:.<oiiSill in d1ydnck shows her bridge ,md supcrstructure __ indet,,il. Her 6-pounders, like the 11/nlnllul's, have sm~ll splinter shields while thoSt' in th.: //illltllo' have none. S1x-1nch guns ~nd a 6-pounder protrud.: from their hull c,JSt'miltes, and ,1 Hutch kiss 1-poundL•r is mounted l'll'n.:,1th the luwer b1idge wing. A hmvv brass pl,KJUe bca1ing Lhe arms of Wisconsin with its mot1o, "Forward," and th.: st~lll''s b<Kigc•r svmbol, is mounte~i on the b1idge. A ship's whc'l'l, with <1 m~gnl'tic-comp~s~ binndcle ~nd .1 p,11r of L'ngme-order !.:legr<lplb, Gll1 be "<-'l'n on the r,1ther spMtan open b1idge. A Joul-wmther conning st,ltion i' 111 the clo'l'd bndge lx·lo~v, and b.JttiL• stec•1:ing i.'> dune from the conning tower which is locall'd l'll'low the clo,..•d bndg.: ,~nd ~b.1ft 1 urrl'l I. 1 hL: rcsiiKied Vl"bd1tv of the conning tower "P~'ll''1r' to have received little consider.1tion in the dt•s1gn ul th1s L'iabor;1te bndgewurk. IJ,Jmdgt• to the upper bridge structure would pmb~bly h<~ve brought down enough ddons .to bhnd the conn1ng uff1cer. l·or Lhis rm"'-ll1, predre<1dnuught b!idge' were exten~ivl'ly cut down during 1111>Llcn11/~1t1on ,Iller the rdurn ul the "CrL'.II White FIL>et." NA, 19N3-l-13. Page 1'14: The Mnine is in drydock, early in her service. llcr underwater hull is receiving a fresh coat of paint, intended to retard fouling, but still nut too satisfactory at this time. One of her forw<1rd bilge keels shows below the seafolding. Pairs of these were carried forward and aft as these ships' full midship sections did not allow midship keels to be fitted. Note the arrangement of the ship's bridges and militarv foremast. A small optical rangefinder, shrouded in canvns, is mounted in the lower military top. As th~ smaller guns passed out of usc, these "fighting tops" came to be used less for shooting and more for fire control and other purposes. Nll63509. p,,gL' 134: In thi' 191H photo, the C<lll;«lil lies at picrsidc at IVIMc i'>land. l.X:vond her is the !Vu~l<' f,fwul, then ,1 (OIIIIII<t·fiml-d.l~S ship, with .mother of till' Vi•;o.:i11i11~ in tl1L' di.;t,mce. Masthmd to~o~ h,wL' been modifi,•d to ,1L-ctm1- moddte L'icment,11y gun dirL'Ctor,, ~nd pl~tform~ .1ddcd lowl'r down for bro,1dside-b.1ttcrv control. Qu,KlriJ,1ter,1J '>l',H·chlight pl.1tfom1~. ,,s in~t.11led in thl' n.:wcr drmdnoughh, h,we rcpl,KL'<.i L'arlicr ,,.,.,mgcn1l'nt,. Wurlcl W<~r 1 refit' for the l,1tcr preclrc.ldnought<; were l'l.1sic~llv f,1irly simil.1r, though thcv frequently differed in ,mall dddils. Nll450'i2. Page 160: The UIIIICCiintl transits the Panama nnal on a Naval Academy training cruise to the l'acific after World War I. Like the Nr111 1/niiiJISilirc, she has had her bridge nnd mast platforms modified, and her tops have been enclosed to hold gun directors. Degree graduations can be seen painted on the fnce and starboard side of the after 12-inch turret, as well as on the face and inboard side of the slarboMd quarter 8-inch turret. These graduations were intended to indicate to other ships in company the relative bearing on which the ship's turret guns were being fired, while the "concentration dial" visible mounted low on the mainmast indicated the range. Another dial would be found on the foremast. The graduations on the turrets were adjudged impractical and were removed shortly after this picture was til ken, but the concentration dials remained J conspicuous feature of American battlcshi ps until World War II. NII73818. Page 184: The ldalw is shown here after receiving her new foremast in 1912. A light bridge deck has been installed around a new conning tower, which is oval, r<1ther than round as was the originnl structure. On this deck, as well as just below it, arc pairs of 3-inch guns. Two more of these guns arc mounted on the overheads of the forward 8-inch turrets. The upper-deck cascmJtc gun~ nrc 'till in place, as are the two near the mainmast. This is the original arrangement of the 3-inch 50-caliber b<1ttery, except for lhe two guns mounted on the turret overheads. These guns were shifted to these positions when the bow casemates were removed during moderniz<llion. A platform hns been rJiled off on top of the conning tower, with the navigating bridge just abaft this in the base of the new forem<1st. N/\, 19N4-2-5. Contents Preface IX Acknowledgments XI Abbreviations xm 1 Introduction 3 2 Maine and Texas Classes 18 3 Indiana Class 50 4 Iowa Class 70 5 Kearsarge Class 82 6 Illinois Class 96 7 Maine Class 114 8 Virginia Class 134 9 Connecticut Class 160 10 Mississippi Class 184 Appendix 205 Notes 209 Bibliography 215 Serial Titles 237 Glossary 239 Preface This work is intended to fill a gap in our country's naval history. While the battleship has played, for good or ill, a large part in the story of modem America, we believe it is difficult for the student or researcher to find accurate infonnation on the ships themselves. This book describes the design, modification, and significant technical features of the predreadnought battleships. It is not a history of the activities of the American predreadnought-this has been done elsewhere, and more is sure to be written as time goes on-nor is it an exhaustive technical analysis. Rather, it covers the nuts and-bolts aspects of the ships' technological history, so hard to find in published sources but essential as a foundation to any broader study. We have endeavoured to steer a course between the two shoals of overattention to minutiae, with nothing related to an overall picture, and the use of generalities with only the haziest specific application. Our purpose is to offer an informative introduction to an historic line of great ships, well worth study for their own sakes. We trust that this book will provide information sufficient to fit the predreadnought into its historical context and hope that the reader will be encouraged to delve further into the ship's role in our military, industrial, social, and political history. Acknowledgments An alphabetical listing of the persons who have conbibuted so much to this laLmching hardly seems an appropnate return for the help they have so generously gJven. If Wl' were to itemize their contributions, however, this would be the bulkiest part of thl' volume. We would like to recognize in particular Mrs. Agnes Hoover. Her efforts were tireless, and without her help this project could never have been accomplished. To her, and to the others cited here, our heartfelt thanks and appreciation. Dr. Dean C. Allard, Head, Operational Archives Branch, Naval History Division Dr. Mabel Deutrich, National Archives Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eiler, USN (Ret.), formerly Director of Naval History Dr. Elaine Everly, National Archives Mr. Charles Haberlein, Jr., Naval Hist01y Division Mrs. Agnes Hoover, Naval History Division Mrs. Ccrri K. Judkins, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center Mrs. Frankie Kilcullen, National Archives Dr. Robert W. Krauskopf, National Archives Mrs. Kathleen Lloyd, Naval History Division Mrs.· Patty M. Maddocks, U.S. Naval institute Dr. William J. Morgan, Senior Historian, Naval History Division Dr. Gibson B. Smith, National Archives Ms. Carol Zangara, National Archives Mr. Robert D. Zink, Naval Surface Weapons Center, Dahlgren, Va. Abbreviations AA !\ n tia i rcra fl ADM Admiral BuSh ips Bureau of Ships C &R Bureau of Construction and Repair CAPT Captain COL Colonel COMO ommodore DP Dua 1-pu rpose ed. Editor ENS Ensign GPO United States Government Printing Office (WJshinglon, DC) HMS His/Her Majesty's Ship (Royal N.:wy) j/.ASNE jormrnl of /Ire 1\rncricnrr Society o( Nnunl Crr.o,;incer~ LCDR Lieutenant ommandcr LT Lieutenant LTCOL Lieutenant Colonel LTJG Lieutenant (junior grade) MAJ Major MG Machine Gun MIDN Midshipman Mk Mark mm Millimetcr(s) Mod Modification NA United Stales National Archives (Washington, DC) NI-l Naval History Division (Washington, I) ) NHF Naval Historical f-oundation (Washington, DC) NPC Naval Photographic enter (Washington, DC) RADM Rca r /\elmira I RF Ra picl-fi ring SAS Semiautomatic Sci.!\nr. Scicrrtific Anrcrim1r Sci.!\rn. S11ppl. Scierr tific !\ nrcricn 11 5111'1'/cnrcn I