Brooklyn class
_in_the_Hudson_River,_in_1939_(80-G-1023215).jpg) The Brooklyn
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The Brooklyn class was a ship class light cruiser of the United States Navy . The ships developed in the 1930s, which were in service with the US Navy from 1937, were the first modern light cruisers and laid the basis for many subsequent classes of ship. Five of the seven ships built were sold to other nations after their decommissioning with the US Navy, the most famous ship here was the Phoenix , which was used in the Argentine Navy as General Belgrano and was sunk by the British submarine Conqueror in 1982 during the Falklands War .
history
Development and construction
The Brooklyn- class light cruisers were developed in 1930 after the London Fleet Treaty was signed as an answer to the Japanese Mogami- class . By restricting the number of heavy cruisers , the American naval planners concentrated on designing light cruisers that could be at least equal to a heavy cruiser thanks to their strong armor and a large number of 15.2 cm guns. The Brooklyn- class were the first ships of a new naval architecture that was used for all other warship newbuildings before and during the Second World War .
Compared to older classes of ship, weight was saved in the hull and superstructure through the use of new, lightweight materials and modern manufacturing techniques such as electric welding and longitudinal frame girders, which in turn benefited the protection of the ship. Due to the reinforced armor, the Brooklyn- class cruisers had a very large so-called immunity range against 20.3 cm projectiles. Within this range, which extended to combat distances between 13,700 and 20,100 meters, 20.3 cm grenades of heavy cruisers were unable to penetrate either side or top armor due to the angle of impact and the penetration power.
On behalf of the Bureau of Ships, the Naval War College examined the differences between armament with twelve and fifteen six-inch guns, particularly with regard to the new Japanese cruisers. Arming the light cruisers with 15 guns in five turrets turned out to be optimal in terms of rate of fire and penetration power and was incorporated into the final design.
The construction contract for the first four ships was awarded in 1933, and three more units followed in the following year. Two more cruisers, which were originally to be built according to this design, were approved as the St. Louis- class in 1935 , which included some improvements over the Brooklyn- class. Two cruisers were built in the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn , three ships were built by New York Shipbuilding in Camden , New Jersey , and one cruiser each was laid down in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Newport News Shipbuilding . All seven ships were laid down between May 1934 and September 1935, the launching took place between November 1936 and March 1938. By mid-1938, all ships were in service with the US Navy.
units
| Identification number | Surname | In service | Off-duty | Whereabouts / fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL-40 | USS Brooklyn | September 30, 1937 | January 30, 1947 | 1951 to Chile as O'Higgins |
| CL-41 | USS Philadelphia | September 23, 1937 | February 3, 1947 | 1951 to Brazil as Barroso |
| CL-42 | USS Savannah | March 10, 1938 | February 3, 1947 | scrapped |
| CL-43 | USS Nashville | June 6, 1938 | June 24, 1946 | 1951 to Chile as Capitán Prat |
| CL-46 | USS Phoenix | October 3, 1938 | July 3, 1946 | 1951 to Argentina as General Belgrano |
| CL-47 | USS Boise | August 12, 1938 | July 1, 1946 | 1951 to Argentina as Nueve de Julio |
| CL-48 | USS Honolulu | June 15, 1938 | February 3, 1947 | scrapped |
Modifications
Based on the Brooklyn class two cruiser classes were developed: the St. Louis class that in the arrangement of the structures and the use of modern 12.7-cm guns with 38 instead of 25 caliber lengths as a means artillery from Brooklyn - Class differed as well as the USS Wichita , which received nine 20.3 cm guns as a single ship with a main armament.
Damage
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None of the seven ships of the class was lost during the Second World War, but four ships were partially badly damaged. The Boise was hit by Japanese artillery and badly damaged on October 11, 1942 during the Battle of Cape Esperance .
On September 11, 1943, a Fritz X glide bomb hit the Savannah off the coast of Salerno and destroyed the central turret and parts of the ship's hull. However, the sinking of the ship could be prevented.
The Nashville was hit by a kamikaze aircraft off Mindoro on December 13, 1944, injuring or killing 319 crew members.
On July 13, 1943, the Honolulu was hit by a Japanese torpedo during the Battle of Kolombangara , and her bow was almost torn off. After the damage was repaired, it was used again and hit by an aircraft torpedo off Leyte on October 20, 1944.
Whereabouts
All seven cruisers in the class were decommissioned between June 1946 and February 1947. After the deletion from the US Navy ship lists, five ships were sold in 1951, two each to Chile and Argentina, one to Brazil, where some of them were used until 1990. Except for the former Phoenix , which sank in the Falklands War, all ships were scrapped after their service life.
technology
Hull and armor
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The hull of a Brooklyn- class cruiser was 185.4 meters long and the greatest width was 18.8 meters. With a draft of 6.9 meters, the standard displacement was 9,767 tons , the operational displacement was 12,207 standard tons . The deck superstructures extended over the middle third of the ship's length and were characterized by the bridge tower with the main mast and fire control systems, the two chimneys and the rear deckhouse with the fire control systems for the aft towers. When they were put into service, the ships still had portholes on the first and second lower decks, but these were closed before the start of the Second World War. The bow was 8.2 meters above the waterline, the stern 7.0 meters. The chimney towered 20.4 meters, the ships measured 35.4 meters to the top of the mast.
The maximum thickness of the vertical armor was 127 mm at the level of the vital machinery, the rest of the hull armor was 102 mm thick. The decks were 76 mm thick, the turrets were protected by 127 mm armor, the command tower by 165 mm.
drive
The cruisers were powered by four Westinghouse - geared turbines with a total of 100,000 shaft horsepower performance. These drove a total of four propellers. The steam was generated in eight Babcock & Wilcox Express Type steam boilers . The maximum speed was 32.5 knots , the fuel supply of a maximum of 1,982 tons enabled a range of 10,000 nautical miles at 15 knots cruising speed .
Armament
Main artillery
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The main armament of the cruisers consisted of five turrets , each with three guns in caliber 15.2 cm (6 inches ), caliber length 47. Three turrets were in front of the superstructure, with the third turret on the main deck level "backwards" between the second turret and the Bridge superstructures were built in, which severely restricted the fire area. Aft there were two more triple towers. The gun turrets, each weighing around 170 tons, had a crew of three officers and 53 men. All turrets originally had an optical rangefinder, but these were partially removed in the course of the service life.
The semi-automatic guns loaded with a tube weight of 6.6 tons had a cadence of eight to ten rounds per minute. The maximum range was almost 24 kilometers, depending on the type of shell and the tube elevation. The muzzle velocity was, depending on the size of the propellant charges, between 625 and 812 m / s. The maximum pipe elevation was 60 degrees, the minimum minus five degrees. The swivel range of the towers was 300 degrees, the swivel rate 10 degrees per second.
The ship's guns were capable of firing super- heavy armor-piercing shells, which had twice the penetration effect of the shells in the Omaha- class guns . The 59 kg grenades could penetrate 20 cm of armor at a distance of up to five kilometers, and up to 80 mm of deck armor in the case of steep fire at great distances.
Medium artillery and light armament
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When the cruiser went into service, the middle artillery consisted of eight guns, caliber 12.7 cm (5 inches), caliber length 25, which were housed in open single mounts on both sides of the superstructure. The guns had a maximum range of 13 km and a peak height of 8,352 m. The grenades, which weigh between 23 and 28 kg, depending on the type, could be fired at a rate of 14 to 20 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 657 m / s.
At the Savannah and Honolulu in 1944 eight guns of 12.7 cm caliber with 38 caliber lengths were installed instead of the shorter guns. The new guns were housed in four Mark 32 twin turrets, with two turrets on each side of the superstructure on port and starboard.
The gun turrets, which weighed 47 tons, were electrically operated and had a crew of 27 men. The cadence was usually 15 to 20 rounds per minute, well-rehearsed teams achieved up to 30 rounds per minute. Either Mark 49 fragmentation grenades for air defense or armor-piercing Mark 46 grenades were fired. At a distance of 10 km, the 24.5 kg armor-piercing shells, which left the gun barrel at 792 m / s, could penetrate up to 51 mm of hull armor, the maximum range was at 45 ° barrel elevation over eight nautical miles. The 25 kg anti-aircraft grenades had a muzzle velocity of 762 m / s and a peak height of almost 12 km. When fired, the pipe ran back up to 38 cm before it was hydraulically dampened.
At the beginning of the Second World War, some ships were equipped with two to four quadruple guns of 2.8 cm (1.1 inch) caliber, which were used as anti-aircraft guns. These guns had a rate of around 100 rounds per minute and the maximum range was around 4 nm. The quadruple carriage could be rotated 360 ° and swiveled up to 110 ° upwards and 15 ° downwards. Because of their low effectiveness, they were supplemented by 40 mm cannons from 1942 and later replaced entirely.
In the course of the war, up to 28 40-mm Bofors guns , 70 caliber length, in twin and quadruple mounts came on board. The 900 gram grenades of the 40 mm guns had a peak height of 6,797 meters, the maximum range at 45 ° cant was 10,180 meters. The cadence was around 120 rounds per minute, depending on the speed of the operating team, the muzzle velocity was 881 meters per second.
In addition, the cruisers were equipped with up to 24 20 mm guns in single mounts. Due to the low projectile weight of only 120 grams, the light automatic cannons proved to be not particularly effective against approaching aircraft, as they could not completely destroy kamikaze aircraft.
electronics
The radar equipment of the cruisers was never standardized, the ships were given the latest radar equipment when they were put into service or when they were in the shipyard. Below are the radar systems used in the Brooklyn class and the resulting modifications:
- SK / SK-2 radar
Due to its square shape (5.2 × 5.2 m) and the exposed wires known as "bedspring" (bed spring), the radar system was able to locate an approaching bomber at an altitude of 3,000 meters at 185 kilometers. The successor SK-2, introduced in 1944, had a 5.2 meter round antenna that improved the lateral detection field.
- SC-2 radar
Intended as a reserve system for the SK radar, the SC-2 radar with its 4.6 by 1.4 meter antenna was able to locate aircraft at an altitude of 3,000 meters over 150 kilometers, and large ships over almost 40 kilometers.
- SG radar
Mostly used in pairs above water location systems with a detection range of up to 40 kilometers for surface targets and 27 kilometers for air targets.
- Fire control
The fire control of the heavy artillery was carried out by two Mark 31 fire control systems, which were located at the top of the superstructure. The middle artillery was directed by Mark 33 systems, these were partially replaced in the course of the war by the more modern and more powerful Mark 34 version, which allowed a higher pursuit speed.
Aircraft
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In contrast to earlier cruiser classes, in which the on-board flight system was located in the middle of the ship, these were relocated to the aft deck in the Brooklyn class. A lower deck hangar offered space for up to four seaplanes. Two catapults accelerated the aircraft to take off, and two cranes took them back on board after landing. Most of the time there were Curtiss SOC Seagull biplanes on board, but towards the end of the war these were partially replaced by Vought OS2U Kingfisher .
Brazil, Chile and Argentina removed the on-board flight systems after taking over the ships and used the hangars to accommodate dinghies.
literature
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch : US Navy cruiser. From the Omaha class to Long Beach . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg, 1997. ISBN 978-3-86047-588-1
- Al Adcock: US Light Cruisers in action (Warships No. 12) . Squadron / signal publications, Carrollton (Texas) 1999, ISBN 978-0-89747-407-8
Web links
Footnotes
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: US Navy cruiser. From the Omaha Class to Long Beach , p. 133
- ↑ globalsecurity.org: CL-40 Brooklyn , as of December 11, 2009
- ↑ globalsecurity.org: CL-40 Brooklyn Design , as of December 11, 2009
- ↑ a b c d e f Terzibaschitsch: Cruiser of the US Navy. From the Omaha class to Long Beach . P. 324ff
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: US Navy cruiser. From the Omaha Class to Long Beach , p. 145
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: US Navy cruiser. From the Omaha Class to Long Beach , p. 137
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: US Navy cruiser. From the Omaha Class to Long Beach , pp. 140–141
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: US Navy cruiser. From the Omaha Class to Long Beach , pp. 146–148
- ↑ a b c Terzibaschitsch: Cruiser of the US Navy. From the Omaha class to Long Beach . P. 320
- ↑ navweaps.com 6 "/ 47 (15.2 cm) Mark 16 ; As of December 11, 2009
- ↑ navweaps.com 5 "/ 25 (12.7 cm) Marks 10, 11, 13 and 17 ; As of December 11, 2009
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . Koehler Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg, 2001, ISBN 3-7822-0806-4 . P. 16ff
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 33f
- ↑ navweaps.com, 40 mm / 56 (1.57 ″) Mark 1, Mark 2 and M1 , as of December 11, 2009
- ↑ navweaps.com, 20 mm / 70 (0.79 ″) Marks 2, 3 & 4 , as of December 11, 2009
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: US Navy cruiser. From the Omaha class to Long Beach . P. 337f
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 99
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 94
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 97