Kearsarge class battleship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The USS Kearsarge – the lead ship of the class |
| Class overview |
| Operators: |
 United States Navy |
| Preceded by: |
USS Iowa |
| Succeeded by: |
Illinois class |
| Completed: |
2 |
| Retired: |
2 |
| Preserved: |
0 |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Kearsarge-class pre-dreadnought battleships |
| Displacement: |
Standard: 11,540 tons |
| Length: |
375 ft 4 in (114.40 m) (overall) |
| Beam: |
72 ft 3 in (22.02 m) |
| Draft: |
23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) |
| Speed: |
16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Complement: |
553 officers and men |
| Armament: |
- Main guns: 4 × 13-inch (330 mm) guns
- Secondary guns: 4 × 8-inch (203 mm) guns and 14 × 6-inch (152 mm) guns
- Light guns: 20 × 6-pounder guns and 8 × 1-pounder guns
- Machine guns: 4 × .30-caliber machine guns
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| Armor: |
- Belt: 5–16.5 in (127–419 mm)
- Barbettes: 12.5–15 in (318–381 mm)
- Turret (Mains): 15–17 in (381–432 mm)
- Turret (secondary): 6–11 in (152–279 mm)
- Conning tower: 10 in (254 mm)
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The Kearsarge class was a two-ship class of battleships built for the United States Navy at the beginning of the 20th century. Its first ship, the USS Kearsarge, was commissioned in 1900. The lead ship of this class, USS Kearsarge, was the only United States battleship not named for a state.
[edit] Ship history
This class of battleships was the first in the U.S. Navy to carry the unusual double-decker turret layout both forward and aft. This arrangement suffered from firing interference between the 13 inch primary guns and the 8 inch secondary guns, and was not used frequently afterwards. Also, this class is distinguishable as the last to sport so-called "cheesebox" turret shapes. These turrets were descendants of the first-generation USS Monitor design by John Ericsson during the American Civil War. These "cheesebox" turrets mounted their guns far in the back of the turret, requiring a large vulnerable opening to accommodate gun elevation and severely limiting the maximum elevation of the weapons. Subsequent ships used box-shaped "British-style" turrets with canted, rear-sloping fronts, which were far easier to protect and far more efficient and allowed for much higher elevation.
Both ships of this class were removed from the Navy as fighting vessels by the Washington Naval Treaty, after which Kentucky was scrapped, and Kearsarge was converted into a floating shipyard crane.
[edit] Ships in class
- Designation: BB-5 (AB-1 from 5 August 1920)
- Laid down: 30 June 1896
- Launched: 24 March 1898
- Commissioned: 20 February 1900
- Operations: North Atlantic Fleet, Great White Fleet, World War I training operations
- Victories: None
- Fate: Decommissioned 10 May 1920 for conversion to a crane ship, renamed Crane Ship 1 6 November 1941 until struck from the Naval Vessel Register 22 June 1955.
- Designation: BB-6
- Laid down: 30 June 1896
- Launched: 24 March 1898
- Commissioned: 16 May 1900
- Operations: Asiatic Fleet, Great White Fleet, World War I training operations
- Victories: None
- Fate: Decommissioned 29 May 1920 and sold for scrap 23 January 1924
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Chesneau, Roger; Koleśnik, Eugène M.; Campbell, N.J.M. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Kearsarge-class battleship
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United States Navy
