Florida-class battleship

USS Florida (BB-30)
Class overview
Name	Florida class battleship
Builders	New York Naval Shipyard New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Delaware-class battleship
Succeeded by	Wyoming-class battleship
In commission	1911–1941
Completed	2
Lost	1
Retired	1
Preserved	0
General characteristics
Type	Battleship
Displacement	Standard: 21,825 long tons (22,175 t)
Length	521 ft 5 in (158.93 m)
Beam	88 ft 3 in (26.90 m)
Draft	28.3 ft (8.6 m)
Speed	21 kn (24 mph, 39 km/h)
Range	5,776 nmi (6,650 mi; 10,700 km) at 10 kn (12 mph, 19 km/h) and 2,760 nmi (3,180 mi; 5,110 km) at 20 kn (23 mph, 37 km/h) Coal: 2,500 tons (2,268 tonnes)
Complement	1,001 officers and men
Armament	10 × 12 in (30 cm)/45 cal guns 16 × 5 in (127 mm)/51 cal guns 2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

The Florida-class battleships of the United States Navy were its first battleship class to have steam turbine only propulsion, though USS North Dakota of the earlier Delaware class was the first American battleship to have steam turbine propulsion installed. The class comprised two ships: Florida and Utah. They were, in general, similar to the preceding Delaware-class design, but were slightly larger. The two ships of this class were launched in 1910 and 1909, respectively.

Both ships were involved in the 1914 Second battle of Vera Cruz, deploying their Marine contingents as part of the operation. Following the entrance of the United States into World War I in 1917, both ships were deployed to Europe. Florida was assigned to the British Grand Fleet and based in Scapa Flow; in December 1918 she escorted President Woodrow Wilson to France for the peace negotiations. Utah was assigned to convoy escort duty; she was based in Ireland and was tasked with protecting convoys as they approached the European continent.

The two ships were retained under the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, and in the interwar period underwent significant modernization, including the installation of torpedo bulges, oil-fired boilers, and other improvements. The ships were not so lucky at the London Naval Conference. The resulting treaty slated both ships to be demilitarized. Florida was sold for scrapping, while Utah was converted into a radio-controlled target ship. In the mid-1930s, she was again converted, this time into an anti-aircraft gunnery trainer. She served in this role until she was sunk on 7 December 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Her hull was never raised; it remains on the bottom of the harbor.

Design

The Florida class battleships were an improvement over the preceding s. The primary modifications were enlarged engine rooms that were capable of holding four Curtis or Parsons turbines and a redesigned secondary battery. The Florida class ships mounted new 5 in (127 mm) /51 caliber guns for their secondary batteries, which also had increased armor protection. The design, as with other American battleships of the era, was heavily influenced by war games conducted at the US Navy's Naval War College. Captain William Sims led a reform movement that granted the General Board the task of warship design. The class retained the large and fully enclosed conning towers that were adopted for the preceding Delawares. This was done as a result of American studies of the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, and was designed to reduce the vulnerability of the command staff.

General characteristics

The Florida class ships were 510 ft (155.5 m) long at the waterline and 521 ft 8 inches (159 m) overall. They had a beam of 88 ft 3 inches (27 m) and a draft of 28 ft 3 in (8.6 m). They displaced 21,825 tons (22,175 tonnes) at standard displacement and 23,033 tons (22,669 tonnes) at full load. This was an increase of approximately 1,500 tons (1,400 tonnes) over the previous Delaware-class. The ships also had some of their superstructure rearranged, including the lattice masts and the funnels. The Florida class ships had a crew of 1,001 officers and men.

The two ships were modernized in 1925–27; among the improvements were the addition of torpedo bulges, which were designed to increase resistance to underwater damage—this widened the ships to 106 ft (32 m). The ships also had their rear lattice masts removed and replaced with a pole mast. A catapult for launching aircraft was mounted on the center gun turret.

Machinery

The ships were powered by four-shaft Parsons steam turbines; steam was provided by 12 Babcock & Wilcox coal-fired boilers. The engines provided 28,000 shaft horsepower (20,880 kilowatts) and a top speed of 20.75 knots. The engine rooms had been lengthened as compared to the previous Delaware class in order to accommodate the larger Parsons steam turbine. The ships had a range of 6,720 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 10 knots. During their reconstruction in the 1920s, the ships had their coal-fired boilers replaced with newer versions that were oil-fired. They also had their twin funnels trunked into one single larger funnel.

Armament

Three 12 inch gun turrets on the preceding Delaware; the guns were arranged exactly the same on the Florida class ships

The Florida class ships were armed with ten 12 in (30 cm) Mark 5 45-caliber guns in five twin gun turrets. Two turrets were mounted fore in a superfiring pair, while the other three were mounted aft of the main superstructure, all on the centerline. The two rearmost turrets were emplaced on the main deck, facing forward and rearward, while the center turret was placed in a superfiring position, facing rearward. The gun housings were the Mark 8 type, and they allowed for depression to −5 degrees and elevation to 15 degrees. The guns had a rate of fire of 2 to 3 rounds per minute. They fired 870 lb (394.6 kg) shells, of either armor-piercing (AP) or Common types, though the Common type was obsolete by 1915 and put out of production. The propellant charge was 310 lb (140.6 kg) in silk bags, and provided a muzzle velocity of 2,700 fps (823 mps). The guns were expected to fire 175 rounds before the barrels would require replacement. The two ships carried 100 shells per gun, or 1,000 rounds in total. At 15 degrees elevation, the guns could hit targets out to approximately 20,000 yards (18,290 m).

The secondary battery of sixteen 5 in (127 mm) guns was improved to house the 5 in /51 cal instead of the previous classes' 5 in (127 mm)/50 cal armament. The 5 in (127 mm)/51 cal, which offered a higher velocity, was seen as a needed upgrade. These guns were mounted in single casemates, and had a rate of fire of 8 to 9 shells per minute. They fired 50 lb (22.7 kg) AP shells at a muzzle velocity of 3,150 fps (960 mps). The shells were combined with a 24.5 lb (11.1 kg) propellant charge in a brass cartridge, for ease of loading. The guns had an expected barrel life of around 700 rounds. The guns could depress to −10 degrees and elevate to 15 degrees. The guns were manually operated, and had a range of train of about 150 degrees in either direction.

The ships were also armed with two 21 inch (53.3 cm) submerged torpedo tubes. The tubes were mounted one on each broadside. The torpedoes were 197 in (5.004 m) long and carried a 200 lb (91 kg) warhead. They had a range of 4,000 yards (3,660 m) and traveled at a speed of 26 knots.

Armor

The armor layout was largely the same as in the preceding Delaware class battleships. The armored belt ranged in thickness from 9 inches (228 mm) to 11 in (280 mm) in the more important areas of the ship. Casemated guns mounted in the hull had between 8–10 inches of armor plate (203–254 mm). After modernization, some of the casemated guns were moved to the superstructure; these guns were protected with only 5 in (127 mm) of armor. The barbettes that housed the main gun turrets were armored with between 4–10 in (102–254 mm) of armor; the side portions more vulnerable to shell fire were thicker, while the front and rear sections of the barbette, which were less likely to be hit, received thinner armor to save weight. The gun turrets themselves were armored with 12 in (305 mm) of armor. The conning tower was 11.5 in (292 mm) thick. The armored deck was slightly reduced in thickness, from 2 in (51 mm) to 1.5 in (38 mm).

Construction

Florida under construction; the ship is undergoing her final fitting out

Florida, ordered under hull number "Battleship #30", was laid down at the New York Navy Yard on 9 March 1909. She was launched on 12 May 1910, after which fitting out work commenced. Work was finished on 15 September 1911, at which point she was commissioned into the United States Navy. Utah was ordered under hull number "Battleship #31". She was laid down in Camden, New Jersey, at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, 6 days later on 15 March. Work proceeded faster on Utah than on her sister ship, and she was launched about four and a half months earlier, on 23 December 1909. After launching, she underwent fitting out work, which lasted until 31 August 1911, when she was commissioned into the American fleet.

Service history

USS Florida

Main article: USS Florida (BB-30)

Florida took part in the Second battle of Vera Cruz in 1914. She and her sister Utah were the first two ships on the scene; the two ships landed some 1,000 sailors and Marines under the command of Florida's captain on 21 April. Fighting lasted for 3 days; the contingent from Florida and Utah suffered a total of 94 casualties.

Florida during the Naval Review in 1911

After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Florida was dispatched to Europe; she departed the United States in December 1917. After arriving in the North Sea, she was assigned to the Grand Fleet, where she served with her British counterparts. The ship, part of the US Navy's Battleship Division Nine, under the command of Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman, arrived on 7 December and was assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. Following training exercises with the British fleet, 6th Battle Squadron was tasked with convoy protection duty on the route to Scandinavia. Following the end of the war, in December 1918, the ship escorted President Woodrow Wilson on his trip to Europe to participate in the peace negotiations at Versailles. Later in December, Florida returned to the United States to participate in the Victory Fleet Review in New York harbor.

Post-war, Florida returned the US Navy's Atlantic fleet; she operated along the east coast of the United States and into Central America. In July 1920, she was assigned the hull number "BB-30". In the early 1920s, she carried the US Secretary of State on a diplomatic trip around the Caribbean and South America. Florida was the oldest American battleship that was retained under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. She underwent extensive reconstruction and modernization during the mid 1920s. After emerging from the shipyard, she was assigned as the flagship of the Control Force, US Fleet. The ship conducted a series of training cruises for the remainder of the decade. Under the London Naval Treaty of 1930, the ship was to be discarded. She was decommissioned in February 1931 and towed to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she was broken up for scrap.

USS Utah

Main article: USS Utah (BB-31)

Utah capsizing during the attack on Pearl Harbor

Utah's first assignment was with the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet. During 1913, she took a goodwill voyage to the Mediterranean. Utah was also involved in the Second Battle of Vera Cruz, alongside her sister Florida. The ship also saw front-line duty in the First World War, although she was not attached to the British Grand Fleet. Starting in September 1918, Utah was based in Bantry Bay, Ireland. Here she conducted convoy escort duties on the approach to Europe.

Post-war service saw Utah again in the Atlantic Fleet; during 1921–22, she was stationed in Europe. Utah was also retained under the Washington Naval Treaty. In 1924–1925, the ship sailed on a good-will cruise to South America. Following her return to the United States, she was taken into dry dock for significant reconstruction. After she rejoined the active fleet, she was assigned to the US Scouting Fleet. Late in 1928, she steamed to the South Atlantic, where she picked up President-Elect Herbert Hoover, who was returning from an ambassadorial visit to several South American countries.

According to the London Naval Treaty, the ship was to be removed from front-line service. To this end, she had her main battery guns removed and she was converted into a radio-controlled target ship. She was renamed AG-16, and served in this capacity after 1931. In the mid-1930s, she was rebuilt again, as an anti-aircraft gunnery training ship. In 1941, additional anti-aircraft guns were installed to increase her training capacity. Later in 1941, she was transferred to the US Pacific Fleet and based in Pearl Harbor. She was present in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941; after having been hit by two torpedoes, she capsized and sank. A few years later, the hull was partially righted and towed closer to Ford Island, where the wreck remains today.

References

• Friedman, Norman (1986). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870-2-1715-1.
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073.
• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.
• Hore, Peter (2006). Battleships of World War I. London: Southwater Books. ISBN 978-1-84476-377-1.