I have a fascination with battleships, this started with my military history back when I was in the 5th grade when while my Dad was stationed in Frankfurt got interested in WWII especially the Pacific War.
This is the cover pic on the "American Heritage" book I kept checked out from the library.
I have also posted some stories on "Battleships" on my Blog several times. I saw this article on another blog and I thought it was pretty good, I added some extra pictures and my belief that besides the IJN Kongo class, there were stories of an 18 inch gun "super battleships" that turned out to be the "Yamato" class.
The four vessels of the Iowa class were the last
battleships put to sea by the United States. In many ways, they
incorporated all of the lessons learned by the US Navy throughout the
dreadnaught age. They were powerfully armed, decently armored, and very
fast. It is no doubt due to their excellent design that they were able
to provide five decades of service to the Navy. However, for all of
their qualities, they actually represented a radical departure from the
traditional battleship designs that the US Navy had followed since the
start of the 1900s.
At the most basic level of design, a
battleship is designed around three primary aspects: firepower, armor,
and speed. On a given displacement, when one aspect is pursued, it often
comes at the expense of the others. For instance, if a battleship needs
to carry additional protection (armor), it will have to sacrifice
either weapons (firepower) or its power plant (speed). Most nations
tended to favor a particular combination of the three main aspects.
Traditionally,
the US Navy had long favored firepower and armor at the expense of
speed. This was a result of their adoption of the “standard-type”
battleships. The US wanted battleships that could easily operate with
one another in battleship divisions. Therefore, they designed all of
their ships to operate at a speed of 21 knots. With so little
displacement devoted to the powerplant, the battleships could devote
more to armor and firepower. This method of thinking dominated US
battleship design from 1911 to 1923 with five classes of battleships
being designed.
U.S.S Texas in initial form
While the US was working on the
“standard-type” battleships, other navies had been experimenting with
the so-called “fast” battleships thanks to the introduction of more
powerful power plants. These ships, starting with the British Queen
Elizabeth class, were capable of reaching speeds of up to 25 knots. Soon
designers were now looking at faster battleships to chase down and
engage the older, slower battleships. A problem with this idea was that
fast battleships were incapable of operating with slower battleships.
Battlegroups had to be broken into smaller, less effective units based
on speed. The US was aware of this and it no doubt reinforced their idea
of standard battleships as subsequent designs still remained at around
21 knots.
HMS Warspite, one of the Queen Elizabeth
class “fast” battleships. While being the first class of battleships to
achieve speeds of 25 knots, this was the result of more powerful
machinery rather than design.
During
the 1930s, the US Navy began designing a new series of battleship that
would eventually evolve into the North Carolina class battleships. Some
would argue that the 27-knot speeds of these battleships would classify
them as fast battleships. However, it must be noted that the ideals of
the Standard-type battleship still lingered in a majority of the naval
staff. For instance, during the design process, it was repeatedly asked
why the ships had to be faster than the 21 knot limit of other
battleships. While the ships were eventually allowed a 27-knot speed, it
must be noted that this was actually the slowest of the final designs
proposed for the North Carolina class. Once again, the designers opted
for the more heavily armed and armored version. The following South
Dakota class battleships were essentially redesigns of the North
Carolinas, maintaining the same level of protection and firepower, but
in a shorter hull.
Compared to thirty years of
battleship design before them, the Iowa class was a puzzling design.
Despite being the largest and most powerful class of battleship launched
by the United States, they were basically 33-knot replicas of the South
Dakota class before them. In the words of naval historian Norman
Friedman, “Ten thousand tons was a very great deal to pay for 6 knots”.
So what motivated a such a change?
During
the 1930s, the US Navy decided that the best way to win a war with
Japan was to make a strong push through the central Pacific. However,
such an operation would require a large chain of supply vessels. It was
thought that Japan would use its cruiser and carrier forces to harass
these supply ships, potentially stalling a US advance. The US believed
that it could counter these forces with its own cruiser and carrier
forces. However, one element of the Japanese Navy was a major cause for
concern. These were the Kongo class battleships, 30-knot vessels with
decent armor and potent 14″ guns. It was thought that the Japanese would
use these warships to smash through the US cruiser screens, allowing
attacks on the vulnerable supply ships. Not only were US cruisers at a
disadvantage against them, but the slow speed of the standard
battleships would be insufficient to bring the Kongo class to battle. To
counter this threat, the US Navy decided that it needed to create a
faster battleship.
This idea was the founding principle
behind the Iowa class. A series of design schemes were introduced
before eventually evolving into two competing designs. The first design
was drawn up by members of the Naval Board that still believed in the
armor and firepower elements. This was a larger South Dakota class
vessel with either twelve 16″ weapons or nine 18″ weapons. Like the
South Dakota class before it, it would travel at the same speed of 27
knots. The second design was a 50,000-ton fast battleship created with
the intention of being a “cruiser killer”. It was to be armed with
twelve 16″ guns and be protected from 8″ shells only. The second design
was chosen and modified into the final design of the Iowa class.
The
need for speed was a source of considerable controversy among many in
the naval board. While the armor was good compared to many battleships
used by other navies, some felt that it should have been much stronger
for a ship of 45,000 tons. The long, fine hull form needed to achieve
high speeds was also thought of as a weakness as it reduced volume
around the magazines. Lastly, the introduction of the super heavy 16″
shell was seen as problematic. Against such a powerful shell, the Iowa
class had only a 5000-yard immunity zone against its own shells, much
lower compared to other battleships. For an American battleship, the
Iowa class went into action with a level of armor protection below the
standard of typical American construction for a given weight.
Conclusions
While
the armor of the Iowa class might have been lacking for a ship of its
large displacement, this is not to say that the ship was weakly armored.
It was just a departure from how the US traditionally designed their
battleships. The ship simply sacrificed armor for higher speed. In many
ways, this makes them the first and only true fast battleship. They
weren’t faster simply due to more powerful machinery, but because they
were designed from the onset to be fast. This preference for speed in no
way diminished their use as battleships. In fact, the reason why the
Iowa class lasted so long in US Naval service was due to their high
speed. They could bombard targets and fight capital ships like any
battleship, while also having the speed to easily keep pace with
carriers, providing them with valuable escorts. While the ship might
have been a niche design, overall the US was immensely pleased with the
Iowa class. The fact that the class saw service up until the Gulf War,
long past the age of the battleship, is a testament to their
effectiveness.
Great post, Mr G! Did not know any of that. And since it's impossible now to get any of the battleships next to one another, the size difference is difficult to detect. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteNice post, lots of research there. And absolutely correct on the 'reduced' armor of the Iowa class.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post.
ReplyDelete