Wyoming class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Wyoming class battleship was the fourth series of two battleship
s built for the United States Navy
. The class comprised two ships: and . At the time of the design of this pair of dreadnoughts, not a single one of the previous designs had yet gone to sea. While somewhat larger than their predecessors they retained all the features that were common to American battleships to date with centerline turrets, low freeboard, long service ranges, and very thick side armor.
The two ships served during both World War I
and World War II
. In the First World War, both ships were assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet, and saw limited action in the North Sea from 1917 to 1918. Wyoming and Arkansas were both rebuilt in the mid-1920s, as was the case for all of the American battleships of the era. Wyoming was reduced to a training ship after 1931, while Arkansas saw convoy escort duty during World War II. She also conducted shore bombardment in support of the invasion of Normandy, as well as in Southern France during Operation Dragoon
, both of which were conducted in mid-1944. She was then transferred to the Pacific theater, where she bombarded Iwo Jima
and Okinawa during the amphibious invasions of those islands. Both ships were struck from the Navy after the end of the war; Wyoming was scrapped in 1947, while Arkansas was expended as a target during the Operation Crossroads
nuclear tests in 1946.
—of some 20% in size.
The Wyoming class was the fourth class of 11 separate designs begun from 1906 to 1919, Some 29 battleships and 6 battle-cruisers would laid down during this period, though seven of the battleships and all six of the battle-cruisers would be cancelled. All except the Lexington Class Battle-cruisers would be 21 knots (41.2 km/h) designs and would range in weight 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.
two classes after the Wyoming class. The main armor belt remained at 11" tapering to 9" enough to protect against 12" naval guns of the period.
s for power. Geared turbines, triple expansion steam engines, and turbo-electric drive were all found to give better range for fuel expended.
giving them broader beams, greater displacement and thicker deck armor. Oil-burning boilers were added with a single smoke stack and reduction to a single cage mast. Both were outfitted with newer gunfire controls. Some of the 5" secondary was moved to the superstructure. Arkansas was used as a gunnery training ship while Wyoming had all her 12" guns removed and had more 5" dual purpose guns added becoming an urgently needed anti-aircraft training platform.
during World War I. Before the war, they served in the Atlantic Fleet and afterwards in both the Atlantic and Pacific, with modernization following in 1925-27. Both ships served in both world wars, and like many older American ships were quickly retired at the end of the second. Wyoming marked the end of the class' nearly 35 years of service when decommissioned 1 August 1947 for scrapping. Arkansas had already been sunk during nuclear testing in the Pacific.
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 built for 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 class comprised two ships: and . At the time of the design of this pair of dreadnoughts, not a single one of the previous designs had yet gone to sea. While somewhat larger than their predecessors they retained all the features that were common to American battleships to date with centerline turrets, low freeboard, long service ranges, and very thick side armor.
The two ships served during both World War I
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...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the First World War, both ships were assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet, and saw limited action in the North Sea from 1917 to 1918. Wyoming and Arkansas were both rebuilt in the mid-1920s, as was the case for all of the American battleships of the era. Wyoming was reduced to a training ship after 1931, while Arkansas saw convoy escort duty during World War II. She also conducted shore bombardment in support of the invasion of Normandy, as well as in Southern France during Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
, both of which were conducted in mid-1944. She was then transferred to the Pacific theater, where she bombarded Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
and Okinawa during the amphibious invasions of those islands. Both ships were struck from the Navy after the end of the war; Wyoming was scrapped in 1947, while Arkansas was expended as a target during the 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...
nuclear tests in 1946.
Design
The requirements for this class arose from the very general requirements of the Newport Conference. This designed marked the end of the Board on Construction and the rise of the General Board in US ship design. The class marked a significant growth over its predecessor—the Florida classFlorida class battleship
The Florida-class battleships of the United States Navy comprised two ships: and . 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, and both were commissioned in 1911. This was...
—of some 20% in size.
The Wyoming class was the fourth class of 11 separate designs begun from 1906 to 1919, Some 29 battleships and 6 battle-cruisers would laid down during this period, though seven of the battleships and all six of the battle-cruisers would be cancelled. All except the Lexington Class Battle-cruisers would be 21 knots (41.2 km/h) designs and would range in weight 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.
Armament
This growth was caused by a concern that the next class of battleships would see a departure from the 12" naval gun that had dominated all dreadnought designs up to this time. This allowed the addition of a sixth main turret and increased armor. This brought the class' main armament up to twelve 12 inches (305 mm) guns in their twin mounts. Much of the discussion with this battleship's designed went to the argument that the U.S. should move to the 14" naval gun; however, there was little development on the 14" naval gun at that point and the existing port facilities would be mostly inadequate for a larger 14" armed ship. Developing both systems was a huge gamble given the pace of battleship design amongst the naval powers. The midships turret in both this and the following s proved problematic; the turrets and magazines were both located near the boiler spaces with high pressure steam piping surrounding the magazines. This produced a marked temperature difference in the powder charges and contributed to excessive dispersions in the pattern of shell fall from the two classes. Attempts to cool the 12" midship magazines were only moderately successful. The General Board estimated that battle ranges for the main armament would be 8,000 to 8500 yards (7,772.4 m). The secondary battery would again be placed in a gallery deck below the main deck. This limited the use of the secondary battery as it was so wet at speed as to keep 1/3 of it useless.Armor suite
Fire control limitations also explain the lack of deck armor that continued onward in this design. The armor suite also displayed other signs of transition with a heavy belt, and mid-grade 6.5" casement armor for the secondary battery and internal partitions to limit damage. The entire horozontal armor scheme was designed to stop shells at very shallow angles of attack. The idea being to cause the armor-piercing shells to burst on the thin deck armor and have the splinters of the shell caught on the even thinner 1" STS steel plate deck below the decapping armor above. The idea of plunging fire would not be addressed until the all or nothing scheme of the Nevada-class battleshipsNevada class battleship
The Nevada class battleships were the United States Navy's first battleship design equipped with triple gun turrets , as well as introducing the so-called "all or nothing" armor scheme, in which protection of vital areas was optimized against heavy caliber guns, leaving other parts...
two classes after the Wyoming class. The main armor belt remained at 11" tapering to 9" enough to protect against 12" naval guns of the period.
Engine design
Wyoming was the final battleship class in the United States to employ direct drive steam turbineSteam 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 for power. Geared turbines, triple expansion steam engines, and turbo-electric drive were all found to give better range for fuel expended.
Upgrades
Modernization began in 1925 finishing 1927. This included anti-torpedo blistersAnti-torpedo bulge
The anti-torpedo bulge is a form of passive defence against naval torpedoes that featured in warship construction in the period between the First and Second World Wars.-Theory and form:...
giving them broader beams, greater displacement and thicker deck armor. Oil-burning boilers were added with a single smoke stack and reduction to a single cage mast. Both were outfitted with newer gunfire controls. Some of the 5" secondary was moved to the superstructure. Arkansas was used as a gunnery training ship while Wyoming had all her 12" guns removed and had more 5" dual purpose guns added becoming an urgently needed anti-aircraft training platform.
History
Despite the class name, Arkansas preceded Wyoming both in construction and commissioning, although both were commissioned during September 1912. As the class was fitted with coal-fired boilers, both Wyoming and Arkansas were able to operate with the British Grand Fleet in the then-oil-deprived North SeaNorth Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
during World War I. Before the war, they served in the Atlantic Fleet and afterwards in both the Atlantic and Pacific, with modernization following in 1925-27. Both ships served in both world wars, and like many older American ships were quickly retired at the end of the second. Wyoming marked the end of the class' nearly 35 years of service when decommissioned 1 August 1947 for scrapping. Arkansas had already been sunk during nuclear testing in the Pacific.
USS Wyoming
- Designation: Battleship No. 32, BB-32, AG-17
- Builder: William Cramp and SonsWilliam Cramp and Sonsthumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...
in Philadelphia - Laid down: 9 February 1910
- Launched: 25 May 1911
- Commissioned: 25 September 1912
- Operations: World War I convoy escort in the North SeaNorth SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, interwar and World War II gunnery trainer - Victories:
- Fate: Decommissioned 1 August 1947 and scrapped
USS Arkansas
- Designation: Battleship No. 33, BB-33
- Builder: New York Shipbuilding Corporation 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...
- Laid down: 25 January 1910
- Launched: 14 January 1911
- Commissioned: 17 September 1912
- Operations: Tampico AffairTampico AffairThe Tampico Affair started off as a minor incident involving U.S. sailors and Mexican land forces loyal to General Victoriano Huerta during the guerra de las facciones phase of the Mexican Revolution...
, Operation TorchOperation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
, D-DayD-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, Operation AnvilOperation DragoonOperation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
, Iwo JimaIwo JimaIwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
, Okinawa, Operation Magic Carpet, 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... - Victories:
- Fate: Decommissioned 29 July 1946 and sunk at Bikini AtollBikini AtollBikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
in nuclear tests