Colorado class
.jpg) The West Virginia after its reconstruction
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The Colorado- class (alternatively Maryland- class after the first completed ship) was a class of battleships of the United States Navy that was built in the years after the First World War and was used during the Second World War .
The Colorado class was part of the US “Standard Type Battleship” concept, which provided for a relative uniformity of battleships in order to facilitate maneuvers. For example, different tactics and configurations did not have to be developed in order to adapt them to different armaments and speeds. In addition, the tactics could be standardized and transferred to other classes.
The construction of these battleships had already been decided in 1916 and the start of construction was planned for 1917. However, when the USA entered the First World War in 1917, priorities shifted, the Entente had enough battleships, and destroyers for anti -submarine defense were needed more urgently. In addition, the many years of construction time for battleships made timely completion of the ships for the current war unlikely. With the exception of Maryland , construction work on the ships did not begin until after the end of the war in 1919.
The Colorado class was practically a replica of the previous Tennessee class , the only major difference being that the main battery was switched from 35.6 cm guns to the larger and more modern 16 inch guns . The switch to the larger guns led to fierce debates in the development of the ships: Since the larger guns needed more space, instead of the four 35.6-cm triple towers, only 40.6-cm twin towers could be built into the hull. However, it was doubted that the advantages of the larger gun could offset the disadvantages of reducing it from twelve to just eight guns. Although the superiority of the 40.6 cm gun over the 35.6 cm gun was recognized in terms of range and explosive power, it was also undisputed that these were not critical advantages. Both advocates and opponents of the new guns assumed that the penetration of the 35.6 cm gun was more than sufficient to penetrate any armor that could be penetrated by a 40.6 cm gun, and that the greater range of the new guns would not bring any significant advantage, since the 35.6 cm guns already had such a large range that the effective range was no longer determined by the gun, but by other factors such as visibility, especially the ability to see beyond the horizon. In fact, it is now believed that the Colorado- class ships were neither stronger nor weaker than the Tennessee- class. The subsequent South Dakota- class battleships should therefore be larger and again have twelve 16-inch guns in triplet turrets.
However, due to the Washington Fleet Agreement , the construction of these ships was canceled. Only three ships of the Colorado class were allowed to be built, so the Washington was not completed, although 75.9% of it had already been completed. Instead, it was towed out to sea and sunk by the Texas with gunfire as a training target , with the Navy also trying to gain knowledge about possible weaknesses of the ships.
Like the Tennessee class, the ships were equipped with reinforced torpedo protection, heavy armor and effective fire control stations. They are representative of American battleships of the time, heavily armored, heavily armed, but also comparatively slow. From the outside of the two Tennessee- class ships only by the number of guns (therefore not at all in the side view), the three Colorados were known to the population along with them as the Big Five .
In the early 1930s , the ships were to be modernized, but due to budget cuts only a few anti-aircraft guns were installed.
During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , both the Maryland and the West Virginia were in port. The latter was sunk because the mass of at least six, but possibly up to eight torpedo hits was too much even for its excellent torpedo protection. But it could be recovered and brought to the west coast, where it was practically completely rebuilt. Only the hull, the machinery and the towers of the main artillery remained. While West Virginia lay in the Puget Sound Navy Yard for restoration , the Colorado and Maryland were modernized and upgraded to a lesser extent in response to the aircraft threat. The rear of the characteristic lattice masts of the ships was initially shortened to about half and later replaced by a tower-like structure to give the flak a larger field of fire.
Badly damaged West Virginia was lifted and rebuilt from 1942 to 1943. She got the same modernizations as the two Tennessee- class ships : improved protection against aircraft, better armor and new guns, and a more modern look.
After a kamikaze attack at the end of 1944, the Maryland, as in the repair of the West Virginia, 16 new 12.7 cm guns were installed in twin turrets, which replaced the other smaller guns on the side of the ship. A total renovation as with West Virginia was waived. The kamikaze hit had done far less damage than the West Virginia hit, and the aim was to get the ship back into action as soon as possible. With the new multi-purpose twin turrets, all of the ship's side guns could now attack both air and sea targets, a tactical advantage that should not be underestimated. The Colorado, on the other hand, retained its original mixed battery of 12.7 cm cannons throughout the war, each of which could only fire at sea or air targets. The end of the war had anticipated the modernization planned for 1945 based on the Maryland model .
During the war, the ships were usually involved in the conquest of many islands with artillery support. Only the Maryland and West Virginia saw the anticipated major battles with other battleships in the battle on Surigao Strait , the last battle of its kind, in 1944.
After the war, the three ships were assigned to the reserve, in which they remained until 1959. Then they were scrapped.