User talk:Kevin Murray/USS Connecticut

The Connecticut-class battleships were among the last United States Navy pre-dreadnought battleships to be built, and considered to be the ultimate U.S. pre-dreadnought design. They were well armed, well protected, with good performance and range, along with superior sea keeping attributes.

The six ships of the class were authorized over three budget years (1902-1904), with the latter three ships being built at the same time and after the two smaller Mississippi class ships. While Missipppi class ships were the last US pre-dreadnought class to be designed, the USS New Hampshire, of the Connecticut class was the last US pre-dreadnought to be built.

These ships were similar to the preceding Virginia class but fifteen feet longer, slightly wider, and 1,000 tons heavier. The main batteries remained as four 12 inch rifles, but guns were slightly longer for better range and penetration. The intermediate batteries remained as eight 8 inch rifles, but the controversial superimposed turret system was dropped, and all these guns were mounted in twin turrets on the side of the ships. The secondary guns were increased from the 6 inch guns used in the prior three classes to a new rapid-fire 7 inch gun. Armor was increased while engine size and horsepower was decreased, thus the ships were one knot slower than the Virginia class, but consistent with the prior Maine class, and faster than all other previous U.S. battleships.

Five of the six ships participated in the cruise of the Great White Fleet, After the cruise, the ships were stripped of their fancywork, their bridges were cut down to reduce their target profile and their hulls were repainted from the attractive (but militarily useless) white-and-buff paint scheme to a dull but functional haze gray. Despite being outdated against modern dreadnoughts, they were kept on in the fleet as force levels rose over the early 1910s in the build-up to World War I. In this form, they served the fleet until they were discarded following the Washington Naval Treaty in 1921.

Design
The Connecticut class battleships were the second to the last pre-dreadnought U.S. battleship class to be designed; however, USS New Hampshire (BB-25), was authorized and completed after the Mississippi class ships, and was thus the last U.S. pre-dreadnought ship to be built. However, the Connecticut design represented the ultimate in U.S. pre-dreadnought design, because the Mississippi class was a step-down in size and function, mainly as a cost savings measure.

While Congress had authorized three vessels in the 13,000-ton range, the design was not specified in the 1903 naval budget. Three approaches were initially considered: a scaled down version of the preceding 16,000-ton Connecticut class, five of which had been approved with the 1902 and 1903 budgets; a scaled-up version of the 12,500-ton Maine class, an 1898 design, three of which were commissioned from 1902 to 1904; and a completely new design which might incorporate new ideas and technology. Interesting adaptations were considered for new designs,

and weight-saving technology could allow increased efficiencies to be achieved from the older Maine class design,

which was closest to the weight goal.

As with most U.S. naval designs, coal storage and engine efficiency were more important than in European designs. U.S. ships might have to fight far from their home shores, especially in the Pacific. Even in the Caribbean, U.S. forces might be farther from their coaling stations than a European power with colonial bases. Draft was a concern, since southern U.S. harbors tended to have shallow entrances, and some proponents felt that all ships should be able to egress all major harbors. Beams were typically limited by the width of dry docks.

Armament
In 1902, there were differing concepts of the ultimate combination of guns, with many ideas based on various experiences and interpretations from recent naval battles. Recent U.S. battleship designs had included primary guns, intermediate guns, secondary guns, and tertiary guns. The U.S. Navy had pioneered the use of intermediate guns, but had not used these consistently in their previous designs because opinions and experiences varied. The quality of guns, armor, ordnance, and design was changing rapidly, so experience could quickly become irrelevant. Combat experience in the Spanish–American War had shown the value of many smaller guns at close range, where the larger guns had been inaccurate. In the Russo Japanese War of 1904–1905, just six years later, decisive effects were obtained at long ranges, well beyond the limits of 8 in ordnance. However, by this point the designs were established for the Connecticut class and the keels had already been laid down.

Main batteries
Recent American designs had continued to use large primary batteries of either 12 in or 13 in guns, along with several intermediate 8 in guns for faster fire in close combat with armored vessels. The lighter intermediate guns were considered valuable for penetrating upper level armor, where the heavy guns were more effective on the main belt and heavy turrets. The former was likely to diminish the fighting ability of the opponent, while the latter was more likely to sink her.

Earlier U.S. battleships had used 13 in guns with black powder propellant; the 1898 design of the Maine class had shifted to more powerful but smaller 12 in guns using smokeless powder, giving a greater velocity and flatter trajectory. The 12 in rifles available in 1903 had a range of 9,000 yards, about double the range of the black powder main armament used in the Spanish–American War. These were considered an excellent compromise between weight and firepower since limitations in gunnery control made longer range guns impractical. The contemporary consideration was not whether to go larger, but whether to go with more. In 1902 naval officers, with the backing of President Theodore Roosevelt, began to develop superior fire control techniques and equipment. The development of better spotting and range finders led to improvements in range capacity and accuracy. At the same time, superior training and systems significantly reduced the time required to load and fire the large guns, from three minutes to one minute.

Intermediate 8 in guns had been discontinued in the Illinois class, but based on experience in the Spanish–American War, 8 in 45-caliber guns were included in the Virginia class and continued in the Connecticut class. Typically these were carried in two-gun turrets, but the placement of the turrets had been inconsistent in prior designs; in two prior designs the turrets for the 8 in guns were superimposed over the turrets for the 12 in guns (see Kearsarge and Virginia classes). Some designers felt that 8 in guns were redundant to the new faster firing 7 in 45-caliber guns carried in casemates. Others argued that increases in the rate of fire and accuracy of the 12 in guns eliminated the need for any smaller guns in the main battery.

Secondary batteries
In 1903 secondary batteries were typically considered to be a combination of torpedo defense—defense against smaller boats armed with torpedoes, such as torpedo boats or destroyers—and weapons to attack the lightly armored upper structures of capital ships.

Recent U.S. warships had mounted a combination of a few 7 in or 6 in guns and many smaller guns in the 2 in to 3 in range (6 pounder to 12 pounder in the traditional terms). The larger of these guns were typically protected in casemates and the smaller ones open on the deck or in lightly protected casemates.

A fast-firing 7 in 45-caliber gun had been designed and was available to replace earlier 6 in guns; these brought a significant improvement in ballistics, expanding the potential beyond torpedo defense, but came with drawbacks. There were various opinions on the best combination of guns: all 8 in, all 7 in, or a mix of 7 in and 8 in. Though considered to be quick firing, the propellant for 7 in guns was loaded in bags, making them slower than contemporary 6 in guns. The Navy considered these to be excellent for the intended role; however, in WW I North Atlantic convoy duty the disadvantages in seakeeping outweighed the utility; they were removed from battleships remaining in U.S. service in 1918.

Beginning with the Maine class vessels, commissioned in 1902, the 3 in 50-caliber gun (12-pounder) was used on most U.S. battleships as an anti-torpedo-boat weapon. These and smaller weapons are frequently referred to as tertiary guns. This role was filled back to the earliest U.S. battleships, including the Texas and first Maine, by the 6-pounder 2.24 in. Most 3 in guns were removed from U.S. battleships, before combat operations in World War I.

Competing designs
The future of battleship weaponry was at a crossroads. There were varied opinions among top naval leaders; some U.S. naval leaders were discussing the all-big-gun concept in parallel with the British HMS Dreadnought (1906), while other designers felt that the torpedo would completely replace the gun, and battleships should become heavily armored launch platforms. Other proposals included even more but smaller primary guns, in the 11 in size to save on weight. In 1903, analysis of war games had determined that one battleship with twelve 11 in or 12 in guns, in a hexagonal turret placement, could be superior to three conventional battleships in individual actions.

Other analysis suggested that in fleet actions, only broadsides were effective, thus maximizing the number of centerline guns was the most efficient approach. While neither approach was incorporated in the Connecticut class or its derivitave the Mississippi class, the centerline maximum broadside concept was followed in all subsequent U.S. battleship designs.

Final design
In the end, these ships were built with main batteries similar to the Virginia class, while reconfiguring the location of the imntermediate 8 inch guns and replacing 6 inch guns of the secondary batteries with 7 in guns, The 12 3 in guns. The first four ships were not built with torpedo tubes; however, four tubes were added later, and included in the USS New Hampshire. The 7 in guns and most of the 3 in guns were removed before combat in WW I

The main battery consisted of four 12 in 45-caliber guns, meaning that the gun is 45 times as long as it is in diameter. These were considered quick-firing guns and were arranged in two twin turrets, one forward and one to the rear of the main superstructure. There were eight 8 in 45-caliber guns arranged in four twin turrets outboard of the main superstructure on each side of the ship.

The remaining eight 7 in 45-caliber guns were distributed four per side, in casemates on the side of the ship, below the main deck.

Four 3 in 50-caliber guns were mounted in the upper casemates (on the main deck), two per side, behind 2 in of armor plate. Another two, one per side, were mounted in blister casemates on the gun deck, near the bow. The remaining eight guns were on open mounts on the upper deck, the bridge, and other deck spaces. Two submerged torpedo tubes were fitted on the broadside.

Armor
Prior to the mid 1870s armor was made of wrought iron plate, sometime backed with wood. In the 1870s compound armor was developed, where a hardened steel face was cemented to a softer iron backing, which prevented cracking. During the late 1880s nickel-steel armor was devised and in 1890 the Harvey process was developed, where a nickel-steel plate was treated with carbon and hardened in cold water. This process allowed one homogeneous steel plate to have both a hard surface and a softer back which was less likely to crack. During the 1890s Krupp armor further refined the process by including additional metals in the alloy and developing a system where the hardening process penetrated more deeply into the plates. Test showed that 5.75 in of Krupp armor was equal to 7.75 in of Harvey armor, 12 in of compound armor, and 12 in of wrought iron plate, while in thinner plates Harvey armor was basically equal to Krupp.

The Mississippi class ships used a combination of Harvey and Krupp style armor (American-made), with much of the side armor backed with teak wood, consistent with other U.S. capital ships of the decade. The amount of armor and its strength was consistent with the preceding Connecticut class and in some cases was more complete in coverage and was thicker, especially compared to the earliest ships in that series. The belt armor was thinner, 9 in compared to 11 in but longer, 244 ft compared to 200 ft, despite the Mississippi class being shorter, 382 ft compared to 456 ft. The primary turret armor was thicker by an inch—12 in thick—as opposed to 11 in on the USS Connecticut.

Machinery
When these ships were designed the older technology of reciprocating steam engines was slowly being replaced by the newer technology of steam turbine propulsion. While turbines generally meant more speed, they were less efficient and limited the range of the ships unless more fuel could be stored. Early Dreadnought designs, which were in simultaneous development with the Mississippi, used primitive direct drive turbines. The U.S. Navy was slow to fully adopt turbines, and only used them exclusively in battleship production when indirect transmissions became refined (gear reduction or turbo-electric). Several subsequent battleship classes were built where otherwise identical vessels had different types of engines (for example, the Delaware class and Nevada class).

Mississippi and Idaho were equipped with two-shaft vertical triple expansion steam engines, which drove two propellers. These were reciprocating engines where the steam was used multiple times (triple expansion) for greater efficiency. Steam was provided by eight Babcock and Wilcox boilers. Their engines were rated at 10000 ihp, which produced a top speed of 17 kn. On trials Mississippi reached 13607 ihp and a maximum speed of 17.11 kn. In terms of speed this class of ships was inferior to several preceding classes, and was only slightly superior to the Illinois class which was laid down in 1896.

The ships carried 600 LT of coal in purpose-designed coal bunkers and up to another 1200 LT of coal could be stored in voids in the sides of the hull. This provided the ships with a range of 5800 nmi at a cruising speed of 10 kn. The range was less than the previous class.

General characteristics
The final design was a scaled-down version of the preceding Connecticut class. By comparison, these ships were a knot slower and had a lower freeboard, so they did not perform as well in heavy seas. The two Mississippi class ships were 382 ft long overall, had a beam of 77 ft and a draft of 24 ft. The ships were designed to displace 13000 LT at normal displacement and up to 14465 LT at full combat load. Each ship had a crew of 34 officers and 710 enlisted men.

The World Cruise of 1907–1909 tested the seakeeping of the U.S. designs. Even the earlier designs, including the Connecticut class with their higher freeboard, carried their secondary armament too close to the waterline. The ships initially carried a pole mast above the conning tower, though shortly after commissioning, both ships had lattice masts added aft. In 1910, the forward masts were also replaced with lattice masts. After the successful trials, the ships were refitted with cage masts.

The reduced length while retaining the same beam as the prior Connecticut class resulted in a disadvantageous length-to-beam ratio, causing reduced performance relative to that class. Not only was their top sped a knot slower, but their economical speed was reduced by one and half knots. They also had 25% less coal storage, further reducing their operating range.

The Mississippi ships had poor seakeeping qualities making them poor gunnery platforms underway in Atlantic waters. Their motion was irregular, and their low length-to-beam ratio caused excessive rolling and pitching, which made it difficult to keep the guns on-target. The reduced length, significantly cut-away from the aft, made it difficult to keep the ships on a consistent course, even in smoother waters.

List of Connecticut-class battleships

 * USS Connecticut (BB-18)
 * USS Louisiana (BB-19)
 * USS Vermont (BB-20)
 * USS Kansas (BB-21)
 * USS Minnesota (BB-22)
 * USS New Hampshire (BB-25)