Lexington class battlecruiser
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the original battlecruiser class. For information on the two members that were converted to aircraft carriers, see .
The Lexington-class battlecruisers were the only 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 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...
to ever be ordered by 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...
.The Lexington class were the only 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 U.S. Navy ships to be officially referred to as battlecruisers. The World War II-era , officially classified as "large cruisers", but some modern historians have classified them as battlecruisers. The design of the Alaskas owed little to the Lexington class or other true battlecruisers, instead using a scaled-up with the machinery of an . See: Gardiner and Cheasneau (1980), p. 122; Scarpaci (2008), p. 17 Six — given names from notable ships of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
or the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
— were planned as part of the massive 1916 building program, but their construction was repeatedly postponed in favor of escort ships and anti-submarine vessels. During these delays, the class was redesigned several times; they were originally designed to mount ten 14"/50 caliber gun
14"/50 caliber gun
The 14"/50 caliber gun was a naval gun mounted on and s. These ships also featured the first "three-gun" turrets, meaning that each gun in each turret could be "individually sleeved" to elevate separately...
s and eighteen 5"/51 caliber guns on a hull with a maximum speed of 35 knots, but by the time of the definitive design, these specifications had been altered to eight 16"/50 caliber gun
16"/50 caliber Mark 2 gun
The 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 – United States Naval Gun was a gun originally designed and built as the main armament for the South Dakota-class battleships and Lexington-class battlecruisers, neither of which was completed...
s and sixteen 6"/53 caliber gun
6"/53 caliber gun
The 6"/53 caliber gun formed the main battery of United States Navy light cruisers and submarine cruisers built during the 1920s...
s, with a speed of 33.25 knots to improve hitting power and armor (the decrease in speed was mostly attributed to the additions of armor).
While four of the ships were eventually canceled and scrapped on their building ways in 1922 to comply with mandates outlined by 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...
, two ( and ) were converted into the United States' first fleet carrier
Fleet carrier
A fleet carrier is an aircraft carrier that is designed to operate with the main fleet of a nation's navy. The term was developed during the Second World War, to distinguish it from the escort carrier and other lesser types...
s.The U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier was , but she was never more than an experimental ship because she was too slow—at a top speed of 15.5 knots, she was not able to keep pace with any escorts including the slow battleships. See: Friedman (1983), p. 37; Gardiner and Gray, pp. 120–121; and the DANFS entry on Langley. Both saw extensive action in the Second World War, with Lexington conducting many raids before being sunk after the Battle of Coral Sea and Saratoga battling in the Pacific and the Far East. Though she was hit by torpedoes on two different occasions, Saratoga survived the war only to be sunk as 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...
during Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
.For more information, see the entries for Saratoga and Lexington in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy...
: "Lexington" and "Saratoga".
Genesis
As early as 1912, the U.S. Navy (USN) was considering the construction of battlecruiserBattlecruiser
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 to combat the four new ships currently building for the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
. However, when it was thought that Congress would not approve any battlecruisers without reducing the number of battleships, the Navy decided that battleship
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, such as the new "super-dreadnought" whose construction had just begun, were more important since Congress—in the Navy's eyes—was not approving enough battleships. In 1903 the General Board assumed that the U.S. would build two battleships per year, but Congress "balked", approving just one ship in 1904 (fiscal year 1905), two ships in 1905 (FY 1906), one ship in both 1906 and 1907 (FY 1907–1908), and one ship in both 1912 and 1913 (FY 1913–1914). The approval of two ships in 1910 (FY 1911) instead of just one was apparently "something of a personal triumph for Secretary of the Navy von Lengerke Meyer
George von Lengerke Meyer
George von Lengerke Meyer was a Massachusetts businessman and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, as United States ambassador to Italy and Russia, as United States Postmaster General from 1907 to 1909 during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt and...
."
However, five years later—with the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
raging in Europe—the political climate had changed. A tentative five-year program put together in October and supported by President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
called for ten battleships, six battlecruisers and ten destroyers to be completed by 1922. This was submitted to Congress
United 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....
in December 1915. On 2 June 1916, the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
passed the bill in a modified form, replacing five of the battleships with battlecruisers. On 29 August 1916, the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
also passed an altered bill, keeping the original number of ships but stipulating that the program be completed for in three years (FY 1917–19). The first four ships were paid for in FY 1917, the fifth in FY 1918, and the last in FY 1919.
The Lexingtons, along with the and classes, were intended to be part of a 35-knot (40 mph) scouting force that would support a large battle fleet. However, the battlecruisers' keel laying was delayed, as capital ship construction had been suspended to facilitate construction of needed merchant ships and anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
destroyers.
The six Lexington-class ships were named Lexington, Constellation, Saratoga, Ranger, Constitution, and United States and were designated CC-1 through CC-6,This would be similar to the U.S.'s use of "BB" for battleship
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 and "CV" for aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s, among many other designations. See Hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...
. with "CC" signifying their status as battlecruisers.The designation "CC" was later revived for the "command ship
Command ship
Command ships serve as the flagships of the Commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and his staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities....
" . Although the class was planned to be the U.S.'s first battlecruisers, it was not of a new design; instead, it expanded upon already-existing 10,000–14,000 ton cruiser designs.
Original and subsequent redesigns
In their original 1916 configuration, the battlecruisers were designed to go at a maximum of 35 knots with ten 14"/50 caliber gun14"/50 caliber gun
The 14"/50 caliber gun was a naval gun mounted on and s. These ships also featured the first "three-gun" turrets, meaning that each gun in each turret could be "individually sleeved" to elevate separately...
s in four turrets (two triple superfiring
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...
over two dual) for their main armament and eighteen 5"/51 caliber guns as secondary armament. All of this would have been on a displacement of 34300 long tons (34,850.5 t) 34,300 or 34,800 tons; however, these high specifications were tempered by their sparse armor compared with contemporary battleships. To obtain this planned speed, the ships needed to produce 180,000 shaft horsepower, which would require 24 boilers. This large number caused many problems in the design. First, there was simply not enough room to house all these boilers below the armored deck, which was the normal practice. The solution for this was "very unusual": half of the boilers would be placed above the deck on the centerline with armored boxes fitted around each one. Second, the many exhaust uptakes that these boilers would require had to be addressed, so the Lexingtons were designed to mount "no less than" seven funnels, with four of them side-by-side.
However, in 1917, the class was placed on hold so that higher-priority anti-submarine warfare vessels and merchant ships, needed to ensure the safe passage of men and materiel to Europe during Germany's U-boat campaign
U-boat Campaign (World War I)
The U-boat Campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the World War I naval campaign fought by German U-boats against the trade routes of the Entente Powers...
, could be built, and the opportunity to redesign the ships was not allowed to pass. The main armament was upped to 16"/50 caliber gun
16"/50 caliber Mark 2 gun
The 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 – United States Naval Gun was a gun originally designed and built as the main armament for the South Dakota-class battleships and Lexington-class battlecruisers, neither of which was completed...
s due to the plans for new British and Japanese battlecruisers with 15" and 16" inch guns (respectively) and the number of boilers was reduced to 20, allowing all of them to be moved below the armored deck; with the lower number of exhaust intakes, the number of funnels was reduced from seven to five. The secondary armament was increased from the eighteen 5" guns to fourteen 6"/53 caliber gun
6"/53 caliber gun
The 6"/53 caliber gun formed the main battery of United States Navy light cruisers and submarine cruisers built during the 1920s...
s.
Around 1918, the U.S. naval staff in Great Britain became extremely impressed by the British's newest battlecruiser, of the . Because this ship was described as a "fast battleship
Fast battleship
Historically, a fast battleship was a battleship which emphasized speed without - in concept - undo compromise of either armor or armament. The term is especially appropriate when applied to a design which was not only faster than the preceding battleship class, but faster than subsequent classes...
", the staff advocated that the United States should develop a fast battleship of its own. While several sketches were prepared, the General Board thought that they would make any existing capital ship obsolete, so they soldiered on with the more conventional South Dakota class
South Dakota class battleship (1920)
The first South Dakota class was a class of six battleships, laid down in 1920 but never completed. These battleships would have been the last dreadnoughts to be commissioned, if the Washington Naval Treaty not caused their cancellation one-third of the way through their construction, they would...
. However, ideas from Hood were quickly adopted and incorporated into the Lexington class, beginning the final redesign of the class. Influences from Hood showed with the reducing of the main armor belt, the change to "sloped armor
Sloped armour
Sloped armour is armour that is neither in a vertical nor a horizontal position. Such "angled" armour is often mounted on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles...
", and the addition of four above-water torpedo tubes that were added to the four underwater tubes that had been included in the original design. Other changes included a widening of the ship to allow for a torpedo protection system, and the vertical belt armor was increased to 7 inches. A new type of boiler allowed the number of boilers to be reduced to 16. Again, with the fewer number of exhaust intakes, the number of funnels was able to be reduced, this time to just two. These improvements, however, increased the normal displacement of the ship to 43,500 tons, which was 300 tons more than the South Dakota-class battleship then being built and 10,900 tons greater than the previous battleship class, the .
General characteristics
The Lexington-class ships had an overall length of 874 feet (266.4 m), a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 105 in 4 in (32.11 m), and a draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 31 feet (9.4 m). They displaced 43500 long tons (44,198.2 t) at normal load and 44638 long tons (45,354.4 MT) at deep load.
Propulsion
Turbo-electricTurbo-electric
A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine into electric energy and electric motors to convert it back into mechanical energy to power the driveshafts....
propulsion had been selected for the battlecruisers because American companies struggled to produce the very large geared 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....
s necessary for such big ships. First used in the s, it also had several other advantages. The turbines could run at their optimum speed, without regard to propeller speed, which was economical on fuel and the machinery could be easily sub-divided which increased the ships' ability to withstand torpedo hits.
Each propeller was 14 in 9 in (4.5 m) in diameter and each of the four propeller shafts was powered by two 22500 shp electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
s acting in tandem. These motors were about five times the size of any earlier electric motor. Four General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
turbo generator
Turbo generator
A turbo generator is a turbine directly connected to an electric generator for the generation of electric power. Large steam powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also used by steam powered turbo-electric ships.Smaller turbo-generators with gas turbines...
s powered each propeller shaft and each was rated at 35200 kW, 5000 volt
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
s and 4620 amp
Ampere
The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...
s of direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
(DC). Each of the four AC
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
alternator
Alternator
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...
s produced 40,000 KVA
Volt-ampere
A volt-ampere is the unit used for the apparent power in an electrical circuit, equal to the product of root-mean-square voltage and RMS current. In direct current circuits, this product is equal to the real power in watts...
. Sixteen water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s, each in their own individual compartment, provided steam for the generators at a working pressure of 295 pound per square inch and a temperature of 460 °F (237.8 °C). Two other advantages of the turbo-electric drive were that the substitution of flexible electric cables for bulky steam-lines meant that the motors could be mounted further to the rear of the ship, which reduced both vibration and weight by shortening the propeller shafts and that the ship could go astern at full power simply by reversing the electrical polarity
Electrical polarity
Electrical polarity is present in every electrical circuit. Electrons flow from the negative pole to the positive pole. In a direct current circuit, one pole is always negative, the other pole is always positive and the electrons flow in one direction only...
of the motors. The turbo-electric machinery of the Lexington-class ships was designed to produce a total of 180000 shp and propel the ships at 33.25 knots (18.1 m/s), but each ship reached over 202000 shp and 34.5 knots during sea trial
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
s in 1928. Six 750 kW DC turbo generators were installed in the upper levels of the two main turbine compartments.
The estimated range would have been 10000 nautical miles (18,520 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s).
Armament
The original design of the Lexington class called for ten 14"/50 caliber gun14"/50 caliber gun
The 14"/50 caliber gun was a naval gun mounted on and s. These ships also featured the first "three-gun" turrets, meaning that each gun in each turret could be "individually sleeved" to elevate separately...
s of either the Mark 4, 5, or 6 variety to be mounted in four turrets (two triple superfiring
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...
over two double turrets) for the main armament.Though no source states what Mark was used, the only three versions of the 14" U.S. gun that were 50 caliber were Marks 4, 5 and 6. Designed in 1916 and put into service by 1918, these guns were installed on the - and New Mexico-class battleships.
Later designs called for the 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 and Mark 3 guns that were also to have been used on the South Dakota-class
South Dakota class battleship (1920)
The first South Dakota class was a class of six battleships, laid down in 1920 but never completed. These battleships would have been the last dreadnoughts to be commissioned, if the Washington Naval Treaty not caused their cancellation one-third of the way through their construction, they would...
battleship of 1920. Like the 14"/50 caliber gun, the 16" gun was designed in 1916. A prototype was tested and proven on 8 April 1918, and the gun was scheduled to go into service in 1923. However, with the cancellation of both the Lexington and the South Dakota classes, no guns were installed on any ships even though 71 had been built and 44 were under construction. In 1922–24, twenty of the guns were given to the Army for use as coastal defense guns along with the Army's 16"/50 caliber M1919 guns. Later planning called for the use of these guns in the s, but miscommunication between design bureaus led to the 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun being used instead. As a result, all but three of the Navy's remaining Mark 2 and 3 guns were sent to the Army to also be used as coastal defense guns.
For secondary armament in their original design, the Lexington class was to have mounted eighteen 5"/51 caliber guns. These guns were originally mounted on the - and s, but they found their way into the secondary armament of every U.S. battleship that was built prior to the Washington Naval Treaty. Also, many of the destroyers, submarines, and auxiliaries that were built during this time mounted this gun as their main gun. The secondary armament was later upped to fourteen 6"/53 caliber gun
6"/53 caliber gun
The 6"/53 caliber gun formed the main battery of United States Navy light cruisers and submarine cruisers built during the 1920s...
s 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 during one of the redesigns. These guns were the main armament on the s, , , and , and they were going to be the secondary armament on the South Dakota-class battleships.
Armor
The waterline 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....
of the Lexington-class ships tapered 7–5 in (17.8–12.7 ) in thickness from top to bottom and angled 11° outwards at the top. This angle increased the armor's relative thickness to horizontal, close-range fire, albeit at the cost of reducing its relative height which increased the chance of plunging shellfire going over or under it. It covered the middle 530 feet (161.5 m) of the ships. Forward, the belt ended in a bulkhead
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
that also tapered from seven to five inches in thickness. Aft, it terminated at a seven-inch bulkhead. This belt had a height of 9 in 4 in (2.84 m). The upper deck
Deck (ship)
A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
was 2.25 inches (57 mm) thick in two layers. The third deck over the ships' machinery and magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
was armored with two layers of Special treatment steel
Special treatment steel
Special Treatment Steel , also known as Protective Deck Plate. Originally developed by Carnegie Steel around 1910, it became the U.S. Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair standard form of high-percentage nickel steel used on all portions of a warship needing homogeneous direct impact protection...
(STS) totaling 2 inches (5.1 cm) in thickness. The steering gear, however, was protected by two layers of STS that totaled 3 inches (8 cm) on the slope and 4.5 inches (11 cm) on the slope.
The turret faces were 11 inches (28 cm) thick while their sides were 6 inches (15 cm) in thickness, and the roof was five inches thick. 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 had a maximum of 9 inches (23 cm) of armor, but were reduced in thickness in stages below decks to a minimum thickness of five inches. 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....
armor was 12 inches (30 cm) thick, and it had a communications tube with 10 inches (25 cm) sides ran from the conning tower down to the lower conning position on the 1st platform deck. The torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
defense system of the Lexington-class ships consisted of three to six medium steel protective bulkheads
Torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of armor common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull was struck underneath the belt armor by a shell or by a torpedo...
that ranged from 0.375 to 0.75 in (0.9525 to 1.9 ) in thickness. The spaces between them could be left empty or used as fuel tanks to absorb the detonation of a torpedo's warhead
Warhead
The term warhead refers to the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.- Etymology :During the early development of naval torpedoes, they could be equipped with an inert payload that was intended for use during training, test firing and exercises. This...
.
Conversion for two
Construction finally began upon the battlecruisers in 1920 and 1921, after a delay of almost five months. However, that July, U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans HughesCharles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and...
called for a conference in Washington D.C.
Washington Naval Conference
The Washington Naval Conference also called the Washington Arms Conference, was a military conference called by President Warren G. Harding and held in Washington from 12 November 1921 to 6 February 1922. Conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations, it was attended by nine nations...
to be held that November. The stated goal was to curb the rapidly growing and extremely expensive naval construction programs. It was obvious to the General Board that the expensive new battlecruisers, which some thought were already obsolete, would be very attractive targets for cancellation. Accordingly, studies were done exploring the possibilities of converting one or more of the battlecruisers to different uses: one looked at a conversion to an aircraft carrier, while another contemplated a conversion to an Atlantic ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
.
Conversion of a Lexington to an aircraft carrier had both positive and negative aspects when compared with a "specifically designed carrier". While the conversion would have better anti-torpedo protection, larger magazines for aircraft bombs than a keel-up carrier and a more room for aircraft landings (the after elevator would be 28 feet farther up), it would also be a half-knot slower with less hangar space (about 16 percent less), less emergency fuel and "narrower lines" aft (pilots landing on the converted battlecruiser would not have as wide of a runway to aim for). Comparing costs, a brand-new aircraft carrier would cost $27.1 million, while a conversion of one of the Lexington class, not counting the $6.7 million already sunk into them, would cost $22.4 million.Both of these figures (the $6.7 and $22.4) are estimates for one of the lesser-advanced ships like Ranger. The former cost would be higher and the second lower for one of the more-advanced ships.
Any debate over converting them was quelled by the signing of 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...
. Under the terms of the treaty, any capital ships that were under construction by the five signatories (the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan) had to be canceled and scrapped. For battlecruisers, this encompassed the United States' Lexington class, Japan's , and Great Britain's G3 battlecruiser
G3 battlecruiser
The G3 battlecruisers were a class of battlecruisers planned by the Royal Navy after the end of World War I in response to naval expansion programs by the United States and Japan. The four ships of this class would have been larger, faster and more heavily-armed than any existing battleship...
s. However, the treaty did allow the participating nations to take two of the capital ships they had under construction and convert them to aircraft carriers; the U.S. Navy decided to complete the two Lexingtons that were closest to completion, and .
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy....
Theodore Roosevelt Jr., was added to the treaty. This gave the five nations the option to convert no more than two capital ships that were under construction to 33,000 ton aircraft carriers. But even that increase of 6,000 tons (from 27,000 to 33,000) was almost not enough for a conversion—it took creative interpreting of a clause in the treaty to allow for the conversion without removing half of the power plant, which the General Board did not want to do. The clause (Chapter II, Part III, Section I, (d)):
(1) in the case of France and Italy, which countries within the limits allowed for bulge may increase their armor protection and the calibre of the guns now carried on their existing capital ships so as not to exceed 16 inches (406 millimeters) and
(2) the British Empire shall be permitted to complete, in the case of the Renown
HMS Renown (1916)HMS Renown was the lead ship of her class of battlecruisers of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...
, the alterations to armor that have already been commenced but temporarily suspended.
Without this clause, the two carriers would have likely been in serious trouble—1928 estimates for the two ships put Lexington at an actual tonnage of 35,689 tons and Saratoga at 35,544, though on official lists the number given was 33,000 tons with a footnote that stated "[this number] does not include weight allowance under Ch. 11, pt. 3, Sec. 1, art. (d) of Washington Treaty for providing means against air and submarine attack". This tonnage number was actually carried for their entire careers.
Ships
Following adoption of the Washington Naval TreatyWashington 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...
, construction on all the ships was stopped in February 1922. Two of the battlecruiser hulls were reordered as the s and under the terms of the Treaty, while the other four ships were formally canceled in August 1923 and were scrapped on their building ways.
The Lexington class consisted of six ships, under construction at four locations:
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- Lexington (CV-2, ex-CC-1)USS Lexington (CV-2)USS Lexington , nicknamed the "Gray Lady" or "Lady Lex," was an early aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the lead ship of the , though her sister ship was commissioned a month earlier...
was laid down in Quincy, MassachusettsQuincy, MassachusettsQuincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
at the Fore River ShipyardFore River ShipyardThe Fore River Shipyard of Quincy, Massachusetts, more formally known as the Fore River Ship and Engine Building Company, was a shipyard in the United States from 1883 until 1986. Located on the Weymouth Fore River, the yard began operations in 1883 in Braintree, Massachusetts before being moved...
on 1 January 1921. Became the aircraft carrier CV-2. Served as an aircraft carrier throughout her lifespan, sunk at the Battle of Coral Sea in 1942. - Constellation (CC-2) was laid down in Newport News, VirginiaNewport News, VirginiaNewport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
by Newport News Shipbuilding on 18 August 1920. Construction was halted in February 1922 and canceled in August 1923, when the ship was only 22.7% complete, and was scrapped. - Saratoga (CV-3, ex-CC-3)USS Saratoga (CV-3)USS Saratoga was the second aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the fifth ship to bear her name. She was commissioned one month earlier than her sister and class leader, , which is the third actually commissioned after and Saratoga...
was laid down in Camden, New JerseyCamden, New JerseyThe city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
by New York ShipbuildingNew York ShipbuildingThe New York Shipbuilding Corporation was founded in 1899 and opened its first shipyard in 1900. Located in Camden, New Jersey on the east shore of the Delaware River, New York Ship built more than 500 vessels for the U.S...
on 25 September 1920. She was converted to the aircraft carrier CV-3; because more progress had been made on her construction (35.4% versus 22.7%), she was converted instead of Constellation. Saratoga served as an aircraft carrier throughout her lifespan; she was expended in Operation CrossroadsOperation CrossroadsOperation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
as a target shipTarget shipA 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...
in 1946. - Ranger (CC-4) was originally named Lexington, but was renamed on 10 December 1917. The keel was laid in Newport News, Virginia, by Newport News Shipbuilding on 23 June 1921. Construction was halted in February 1922 and cancelled on 17 August 1923, and the unfinished hull, only 4% complete, was sold for scrap on 8 November 1923.
- Constitution (CC-5) was laid down in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, by the Philadelphia Naval ShipyardPhiladelphia Naval ShipyardThe Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
on 25 September 1920. Her construction was suspended in February 1922 and formally cancelled in August 1923, when the ship was 13.4% complete. The hull was then scrapped on the building ways. - United States (CC-6) was laid down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 25 September 1920. Construction was halted on 8 February 1922 when the ship was 12.1% complete, and she was sold for scrap on 25 October 1923.