Delaware class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Delaware-class battleship
s of the United States Navy
were the second class
of American dreadnought
s. They carried a battery of ten 12"/45 caliber Mark 5 gun
s in five turrets, an increase of two guns over the preceding . They were also larger, displacing 25% more than the South Carolinas. The Delawares were capable of 21 knots (41.2 km/h), a significant improvement over the earlier class, which was limited to 18.5 knots (36.3 km/h). The two ships of the class, and , were both launched in 1909.
The ships saw varied service during their careers. As part of Battleship Division Nine
of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Delaware was assigned to the British Grand Fleet after America's entry into World War I, where she escorted convoys and participated in the blockade of the German High Seas Fleet
. In contrast, North Dakota remained on the American coast throughout the war, due in part to worries about her troublesome turbine
engines. Post-war, they conducted training cruises with the US Atlantic Fleet. In 1924, Delaware was broken up for scrap metal in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty
of 1922. North Dakota survived until 1931, when she too was scrapped, under the terms of the 1930 London Naval Treaty
.
faced what they thought was a vastly better battleship than the two battleships that were still under construction. This was the last time the US Congress would impose tonnage limits on a battleship outside of treaty limitations. In fact the South Carolinas were inferior only in speed to Dreadnought. The language of the authorizing act of June 26, 1906 was for a battleship "carrying as heavy armor and as an powerful armament as any known vessel of its class, to have the highest practicable speed and the greatest practicable radius of action."
The Delaware class was the second of 11 distinct US capital ship designs begun from 1906 to 1919. Some 29 battleships and six battlecruiser
s were laid down during this period, though seven of the battleships and all six of the battlecruisers were cancelled. Except for the Lexington-class
battlecruisers, these were all relatively slow ships, designed for no more than 23 knots. They ranged in displacement from 16,000 to 42,000 tons. At this time no U.S. dreadnought class battleship had yet hit the water as all were either at some stage of building or in design. Virtually the entire U.S. Navy battle line was being designed by drawing on experience from pre-dreadnought designs or from observation of foreign battleship design.
placed on the battleship's design was in the fact that the hull and machinery could not exceed 6 Million USD.The Delaware class ships were also significantly larger than the South Carolinas. They were 510 ft (155.5 m) long at the waterline and 519 ft (158.2 m) long overall. By comparison, the South Carolina class ships were 452 ft 9 in (138 m) long overall. The Delawares had a beam of 85 ft 4 in (26 m) and a draft of 27 ft 3 in (8.3 m); the South Carolinas measurements were 80 ft 5 in (24.5 m) and 24 ft 7 in (7.5 m), respectively. The Delaware class ships displaced 20,380 tons at standard displacement and 22,060 tons at full load.
s, while North Dakota was fitted with Curtiss direct drive steam turbine
engines. Both ships had 14 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, both original power plants were rated at 25,000 nbsp, shaft horsepower; and both ships were capable of reaching 21 knots.
However, the turbine engines in the North Dakota failed to meet Navy fuel consumption standards. At a cruising speed of 14 knots the ship had 45% less range than the Delaware. By 1915 more powerful and efficient geared turbines were installed. These provided 31,300 shaft horsepower, some 6,000 shp greater than her original engines.
rated at 31,000 shaft horsepower.
The Delaware class ships were armed with ten 12 in (30 cm)
45-caliber guns in five twin gun turret
s; this was an addition of two guns compared to the preceding South Carolinas. 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 primary anti-destroyer armament was a battery of 5-inch /50 caliber naval cannons mounted in casemate
s. The guns had a rate of fire of 6 to 8 rounds per minute. They fired three types of rounds: a "light" AP shell that weighed 50 lb (22.7 kg) and a "heavy" AP round that weighed 60 lb (27.2 kg). The third type was the Common Mark 15 shell, which also weighed 50 lb. The 50 lb shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of 3,000 fps (914 mps), while the larger 60 lb shells traveled at a slightly slower 2,700 fps (823 mps). The guns were emplaced on both Mark 9 and Mark 12 pedestal mounts; the Mark 9 version limited elevation to 15 degrees, while the Mark 12 allowed for up to 25 degrees. The 5"/50 was able to penetrate most effectively at 5000 yards (4,572 m), which was the deciding factor in the decision to equip the Delaware class with them. Fourteen 5"/50 guns were mounted 2 forward on the main deck, 10 in casemates on the side and 2 aft on the main deck abeam #5 turret, the forward guns were moved into the superstructure after sea trials. The casemate-mounted secondary armament was one deck below the main deck and provided the majority of the complaints from shipping water from the forward positions and breaking the flow of the bow wave imparting extra drag on the design. The 5 in guns were supplied with a total of 240 rounds per barrel.
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).The barbette
s 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. As in the designs of all early dreadnoughts, the deck armor was very thin at 1.5 inches in most areas and 2 inches over machinery and magazine spaces. These ships were expected to do most of their firing at ranges less than 10000 yards (9,144 m). At such distances, deck strikes would be a rare event.
When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Delaware was initially tasked with readiness training off the East Coast. Late in the year, she was deployed to Europe as part of the US Navy's Battleship Division Nine
, under the command of Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman
. The force arrived on 7 December and was assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. In July 1918, Delaware was withdrawn from overseas service and returned to the United States.
In 1920, the US Navy adopted hull numbers for its ships; Delaware was assigned the hull number BB-28. Delaware only made two more cruises, both for midshipmen, under her new identification number: one in 1922 and the second in early 1923. Delaware sailed to Europe on the second trip, and stopped at a number of ports, including Gibraltar. She returned to the US in August of that year, at which point her crew was reassigned to the newer battleship . She was then taken to the Boston Navy Yard
, where her armaments were removed. The ship was decommissioned in November 1923 and sold to shipbreakers in February 1924.
Upon commissioning, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, alongside her sister Delaware. Her first overseas cruise came in November 1910, when she steamed across the Atlantic to visit France and Britain. North Dakota also took part in the invasion of Vera Cruz in 1914. Unlike her sister, North Dakota remained off the American coast for the duration of the United States' involvement in World War I. Hugh Rodman, the commander of the American expeditionary force, specifically requested that North Dakota be kept stateside; he felt her turbine engines were too unreliable for the ship to be deployed to a war zone.
From 1917, she was employed as a training ship for gunners and engineers. Post-war, North Dakota made a second trip to Europe, primarily to ports in the Mediterranean Sea. During the visit, the ship was tasked with the retrieval of the remains of the ambassador to Italy, who had recently died. The ship participated in the aerial bombing demonstrations off the Virginia Capes in 1921. In 1923, a third trip to Europe, this time with midshipmen from the Naval Academy aboard. The ship stopped in Spain, Scotland, and Scandinavia.
Like her sister, she was relegated to the surplus naval forces that had to be dismantled under the Washington Naval Treaty. In November 1923, North Dakota was decommissioned; she had her armaments removed in 1924, after which she was converted into a target ship
. She was redesignated as "unclassified", and served as a target until 1931, when she was scrapped.
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
were the second class
Ship class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
of American dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
s. They carried a battery of ten 12"/45 caliber Mark 5 gun
12"/45 caliber Mark 5 gun
The 12"/45 caliber Mark 5 gun was a US naval gun that first entered service in 1906. Initially designed for use with the Connecticut-class of pre-dreadnought battleships, the Mark 5 continued in service aboard the first generation of American dreadnoughts....
s in five turrets, an increase of two guns over the preceding . They were also larger, displacing 25% more than the South Carolinas. The Delawares were capable of 21 knots (41.2 km/h), a significant improvement over the earlier class, which was limited to 18.5 knots (36.3 km/h). The two ships of the class, and , were both launched in 1909.
The ships saw varied service during their careers. As part of Battleship Division Nine
United States Battleship Division Nine (World War I)
United States Battleship Division Nine was a division of four, later five, dreadnought battleships of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet that constituted the American contribution to the British Grand Fleet during World War I. Although the U.S. entered the war on 6 April 1917, hesitation among...
of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Delaware was assigned to the British Grand Fleet after America's entry into World War I, where she escorted convoys and participated in the blockade of the German High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
. In contrast, North Dakota remained on the American coast throughout the war, due in part to worries about her troublesome turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
engines. Post-war, they conducted training cruises with the US Atlantic Fleet. In 1924, Delaware was broken up for scrap metal in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
of 1922. North Dakota survived until 1931, when she too was scrapped, under the terms of the 1930 London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
.
Design
Prompted by the launch of the , and a lack of correct information, the US Navy and the U.S. CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
faced what they thought was a vastly better battleship than the two battleships that were still under construction. This was the last time the US Congress would impose tonnage limits on a battleship outside of treaty limitations. In fact the South Carolinas were inferior only in speed to Dreadnought. The language of the authorizing act of June 26, 1906 was for a battleship "carrying as heavy armor and as an powerful armament as any known vessel of its class, to have the highest practicable speed and the greatest practicable radius of action."
The Delaware class was the second of 11 distinct US capital ship designs begun from 1906 to 1919. Some 29 battleships and six battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
s were laid down during this period, though seven of the battleships and all six of the battlecruisers were cancelled. Except for the Lexington-class
Lexington class battlecruiser
The Lexington-class battlecruisers were the only class of battlecruiser to ever be ordered by the United States Navy.The Lexington class were the only class of U.S. Navy ships to be officially referred to as battlecruisers. The World War II-era , officially classified as "large cruisers", but some...
battlecruisers, these were all relatively slow ships, designed for no more than 23 knots. They ranged in displacement from 16,000 to 42,000 tons. At this time no U.S. dreadnought class battleship had yet hit the water as all were either at some stage of building or in design. Virtually the entire U.S. Navy battle line was being designed by drawing on experience from pre-dreadnought designs or from observation of foreign battleship design.
General characteristics
The Delawares were significantly more powerful than their predecessors, the South Carolina class; the only limit CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
placed on the battleship's design was in the fact that the hull and machinery could not exceed 6 Million USD.The Delaware class ships were also significantly larger than the South Carolinas. They were 510 ft (155.5 m) long at the waterline and 519 ft (158.2 m) long overall. By comparison, the South Carolina class ships were 452 ft 9 in (138 m) long overall. The Delawares had a beam of 85 ft 4 in (26 m) and a draft of 27 ft 3 in (8.3 m); the South Carolinas measurements were 80 ft 5 in (24.5 m) and 24 ft 7 in (7.5 m), respectively. The Delaware class ships displaced 20,380 tons at standard displacement and 22,060 tons at full load.
Machinery
For reasons including expected hostilities with Japan, requiring travel across the Pacific Ocean, long operational range was a recurrent theme in all US battleship designs. As an experiment, these ships received different powerplants. Delaware received triple-expansion reciprocating engineReciprocating engine
A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all types...
s, while North Dakota was fitted with Curtiss direct drive steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
engines. Both ships had 14 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, both original power plants were rated at 25,000 nbsp, shaft horsepower; and both ships were capable of reaching 21 knots.
However, the turbine engines in the North Dakota failed to meet Navy fuel consumption standards. At a cruising speed of 14 knots the ship had 45% less range than the Delaware. By 1915 more powerful and efficient geared turbines were installed. These provided 31,300 shaft horsepower, some 6,000 shp greater than her original engines.
rated at 31,000 shaft horsepower.
Armament
12"/45 caliber Mark 5 gun
The 12"/45 caliber Mark 5 gun was a US naval gun that first entered service in 1906. Initially designed for use with the Connecticut-class of pre-dreadnought battleships, the Mark 5 continued in service aboard the first generation of American dreadnoughts....
45-caliber guns in five twin gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s; this was an addition of two guns compared to the preceding South Carolinas. Two turrets were mounted fore in a superfiring pair
Superfire
The idea of superfire is to locate two turrets in a row, one behind the other, but with the second turret located above the one in front so that the second turret could fire over the first...
, 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
Rate of fire
Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. It is usually measured in rounds per minute , or per second .-Overview:...
of 2 to 3 rounds per minute. They fired 870 lb (394.6 kg) shells, of either armor-piercing
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
(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
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
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 primary anti-destroyer armament was a battery of 5-inch /50 caliber naval cannons mounted in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s. The guns had a rate of fire of 6 to 8 rounds per minute. They fired three types of rounds: a "light" AP shell that weighed 50 lb (22.7 kg) and a "heavy" AP round that weighed 60 lb (27.2 kg). The third type was the Common Mark 15 shell, which also weighed 50 lb. The 50 lb shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of 3,000 fps (914 mps), while the larger 60 lb shells traveled at a slightly slower 2,700 fps (823 mps). The guns were emplaced on both Mark 9 and Mark 12 pedestal mounts; the Mark 9 version limited elevation to 15 degrees, while the Mark 12 allowed for up to 25 degrees. The 5"/50 was able to penetrate most effectively at 5000 yards (4,572 m), which was the deciding factor in the decision to equip the Delaware class with them. Fourteen 5"/50 guns were mounted 2 forward on the main deck, 10 in casemates on the side and 2 aft on the main deck abeam #5 turret, the forward guns were moved into the superstructure after sea trials. The casemate-mounted secondary armament was one deck below the main deck and provided the majority of the complaints from shipping water from the forward positions and breaking the flow of the bow wave imparting extra drag on the design. The 5 in guns were supplied with a total of 240 rounds per barrel.
Armor
The armored beltBelt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
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).The barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s 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
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
was 11.5 in (292 mm) thick. As in the designs of all early dreadnoughts, the deck armor was very thin at 1.5 inches in most areas and 2 inches over machinery and magazine spaces. These ships were expected to do most of their firing at ranges less than 10000 yards (9,144 m). At such distances, deck strikes would be a rare event.
USS Delaware
During trials, Delaware was run at full speed for 24 hours straight to prove that her machinery could handle the stress. She was the first American battleship to achieve the feat. Late in 1910, Delaware sailed to Europe, followed by a trip to South America early in 1911. She made a further two voyages to Europe in 1912 and 1913, before returning to the US Atlantic Fleet for training exercises that were conducted in the western Atlantic and Caribbean. Delaware took part in the Second battle of Vera Cruz in April–May 1914.When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Delaware was initially tasked with readiness training off the East Coast. Late in the year, she was deployed to Europe as part of the US Navy's Battleship Division Nine
United States Battleship Division Nine (World War I)
United States Battleship Division Nine was a division of four, later five, dreadnought battleships of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet that constituted the American contribution to the British Grand Fleet during World War I. Although the U.S. entered the war on 6 April 1917, hesitation among...
, under the command of Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman
Hugh Rodman
Admiral Hugh Rodman KCB was an officer in the United States Navy who served during the Spanish–American War and World War I, later serving as the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet from 1919 to 1921.-Biography:...
. The force arrived on 7 December and was assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. In July 1918, Delaware was withdrawn from overseas service and returned to the United States.
In 1920, the US Navy adopted hull numbers for its ships; Delaware was assigned the hull number BB-28. Delaware only made two more cruises, both for midshipmen, under her new identification number: one in 1922 and the second in early 1923. Delaware sailed to Europe on the second trip, and stopped at a number of ports, including Gibraltar. She returned to the US in August of that year, at which point her crew was reassigned to the newer battleship . She was then taken to the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
, where her armaments were removed. The ship was decommissioned in November 1923 and sold to shipbreakers in February 1924.
USS North Dakota
From 1917, she was employed as a training ship for gunners and engineers. Post-war, North Dakota made a second trip to Europe, primarily to ports in the Mediterranean Sea. During the visit, the ship was tasked with the retrieval of the remains of the ambassador to Italy, who had recently died. The ship participated in the aerial bombing demonstrations off the Virginia Capes in 1921. In 1923, a third trip to Europe, this time with midshipmen from the Naval Academy aboard. The ship stopped in Spain, Scotland, and Scandinavia.
Like her sister, she was relegated to the surplus naval forces that had to be dismantled under the Washington Naval Treaty. In November 1923, North Dakota was decommissioned; she had her armaments removed in 1924, after which she was converted into a target ship
Target ship
A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing.-Rationale:Sinking redundant warships is an effective way of testing new weapons and warships in as realistic a manner as possible. Whilst practice torpedoes are fired...
. She was redesignated as "unclassified", and served as a target until 1931, when she was scrapped.