Pennsylvania class battleship
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| Pennsylvania class battleship | |
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| Missing image USS_Pennsy_BB-38_1934.jpg | |
| Class Overview | |
| Class Type | Battleship |
| Class Name | Pennsylvania |
| Preceded By | Nevada-class |
| Succeded By | New Mexico-class |
| Ships of the Class: | Pennsylvania, Arizona |
The Pennsylvania-class battleships, of the United States Navy, were an enlargement of the Nevada class; having two additional 14 in (356 mm) 45 caliber main battery guns, greater length and displacement, four propellers and slightly higher speed. They also had a relatively large secondary battery of 5 in (127 mm) 51 caliber guns, which was soon reduced when many of the guns' locations proved prone to wetness.
Serving in the western Atlantic in 1916-18, these ships visited Europe just after the November 1918 Armistice and were thereafter stalwart members of the Navy's Battle Fleet. Reconstructed in 1929-31, they received greater main battery gun elevation, tripod masts to support improved gun directors and modern aircraft catapults. The ships' secondary gun batteries were updated, as was protection against gunfire, aircraft bombs and torpedoes. Pennsylvania, assigned to duty as a fleet flagship, was given a greatly enlarged armored conning tower. Now capable of long-range gunfire in an age when the role of aircraft was steadily growing, the ships spent another decade in the Nation's battle line.
The Pennsylvanias were both present during Japan's December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Arizona blew up in action, the most dramatic and costly casualty of the raid. Pennsylvania was only lightly damaged, and she served in the Pacific throughout World War II. Fitted with a new secondary battery of twin-mounted 5 in (127 mm) 38 caliber guns in late 1942, she supported many amphibious invasions and was present during the world's last battle between big-gun warships, the Battle of Surigao Strait on October 25, 1944. A torpedo hit in August 1945 proved that her watertight integrity, like that of other old warships, could not be relied upon. With other obsolete battleships, Pennsylvania was an atomic bomb target in 1946 and was scuttled at sea two years later.
The Pennsylvania class included two ships, both built on the east coast:
Pennsylvania (BB-38), built by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia. Keel laid in October 1913; launched in March 1915; completed in June 1916.
Arizona (BB-39), built by the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York. Keel laid in March 1914; launched in June 1915; completed in October 1916.
The Pennsylvania class was part of the "Standard type battleship" concept of the US Navy, a design concept which gave the US Navy a homogenous line of battle (very important, as it allowed the Navy to plan maneuvers for the whole line of battle rather than detaching "fast wing"s and "slow wing"s). The "Standard" concept included long-range gunnery, moderate speed (21 knots), a tight tactical radius (~700 yards) and improved damage control. The other Standards were the Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee and Colorado classes.
General Characteristics
- Displacement: 31,400 tons (normal)
- Length: 608 ft (185 m)
- Beam: 97 ft (29.6 m)
- Powerplant: 31,500 to 34,000 horsepower (23 to 25 MW) geared turbines, driving four propellers
- Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h)
- Armament (Main Battery): Twelve 14 (356 mm) 45 caliber guns in four triple turrets
- Armament (Secondary Battery): Twenty-two 5 in (127 mm) 51 caliber guns in single casemate mountings (eleven guns on each side of the ship); soon reduced to fourteen 5 in (127 mm) 51 caliber guns. When modernized in the early 1930s, two more 5 in (127 mm) 51 caliber guns were removed and eight 5 in (127 mm) 25 caliber anti-aircraft guns were added.
| Pennsylvania-class battleship |
| Pennsylvania | Arizona |
| List of battleships of the United States Navy |