Iowa class
_underway_at_sea,_circa_1988-1991_(NH_97206-KN).jpg) USS Wisconsin at sea around 1990 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | Battleship |
| units | 6 planned, 4 built, 0 active |
| Namesake | US state of Iowa |
| period of service |
1943 to 1992 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
approx. 45,000 ts (standard); |
| length |
270.43 meters |
| width |
32.98 meters |
| Draft |
11.6 meters |
| crew |
between 1500 and 2800 |
| drive |
4 propellers, driven by 4 steam turbines; 212,000 wave horsepower (158 MW ); 8 steam boilers |
| speed |
31 knots (57 km / h) |
| Range |
9,600 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 25 knots |
| Armament |
Originally 3 × triple towers 406 mm, 10 × twin mounts 127 mm, flak. Later partially replaced by 32 cruise missiles and 16 anti-ship missiles |
The Iowa- class is a class of battleships entered into service by the US Navy during World War II .
The Iowas are among the last representatives of this genus, only the British HMS Vanguard and the French Jean Bart were later put into service. Six ships were laid down , but only four actually completed. The units took part in the Pacific , Korea , Vietnam and, after extensive modernization, the Second Gulf War , but were repeatedly assigned to the reserve fleet due to the high personnel requirements in times of peace . In March 2006, the ships were presumably finally deleted from the ship register.
history
Planning and construction
Planning for the Iowa- class began in early 1938 when fast escort ships with powerful guns were needed for the aircraft carriers ; this type was known as a fast battleship . The class could be developed without any practical restrictions on tonnage and armament. In the Washington Agreement and the fleet conferences of London stipulated limits (45,000 t displacement) at that time were still in force, but were observed only on paper. The official displacement adds up to around 45,500 t, in fact it was over 57,000 t.
The Iowa class was planned on the hull of the previous class, the South Dakota class , as a study awarded the hull the ability to reach speeds of up to 33 knots. The Iowas were to carry the same main armament as the South Dakotas, the Mark II gun for 406 millimeter projectiles of 45 caliber length . However, in order to keep up with the guns of the Japanese Yamato class , the newly developed Mark VII with 50 caliber length was developed installed that could fire heavier projectiles of the same caliber. However, it was already too late to adapt the armor of the ships to the strength of the new Japanese battleships, as this would have reduced the speed again. Nevertheless, the planning process was completed in 1939, the first three ships were to be built as quickly as possible as planned, while the next three were supposed to carry one more Mark VII tower, but would be slower. This project was abandoned at the end of 1939, because the need for fast battleships was greater than that for ships with even more powerful armament. Financing came from the 1940 and 1941 budgets; a unit, as approved by the US Congress , was allowed to cost 125 million US dollars, the actual costs were still a little below this limit.
The Iowa- class ships were built at three shipyards: BB-61 and BB-63 were laid down on the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn , New York , BB-62, BB-64 and BB-65 on the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . The final unit, BB-66, was built at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard , Portsmouth , Virginia . BB-65 and BB-66 were no longer completed and ultimately dismantled. There were two to three years between the keel-laying and launch of the four completed ships, and the four Iowas then each spent around four to five months at the equipment pier before they were put into service.
units
All six planned units were named after US states. This is a tradition in the US Navy, which has named all of its battleships after states. The units served during World War II , the Korean War , the Vietnam War (one unit) and the Second Gulf War (two units). In peacetime, the units were repeatedly assigned to the reserve fleet. The reason for this was the high costs (especially personnel costs) that the operation of the ships generated, but also the conservation of the ships' firepower.
USS Iowa (BB-61)
The USS Iowa (BB-61) was the first of the ships. She was laid down on June 27, 1940 and put into service on February 22, 1943. She served in the Pacific War , where she took part, among other things, in the Battle of the Philippine Sea . After a short membership in the reserve fleet , the Iowa was put back into service during the Korean War, where it carried out coastal bombardments. In 1958, Iowa was reassigned to the reserve, to which it was a member until 1984. At that time, the battleship was put back into service as part of Reagan's Navy of 600 ships . During this period of service she served, among other places, in Nicaragua and in the Persian Gulf . On April 19, 1989, during a target practice off Puerto Rico, an explosion occurred in turret number 2 , killing 47 crew members. The last decommissioning took place in 1990, in 1995 the ship was deleted from the shipping register, but a short time later it was reintegrated into the reserve fleet, to which it belonged until 2006. It is located in the Port of Los Angeles , California (San Pedro) where it can be visited as a museum ship. The Iowa spent from 1943 to 1990 18 years and eleven months in active service.
USS New Jersey (BB-62)
The USS New Jersey (BB-62) was laid down on September 16, 1940 and commissioned on May 23, 1943. During World War II, she took part in the bombardment of Saipan , and later defended several aircraft carriers off Okinawa . After a short time in the reserve fleet called Mothball Fleet , the New Jersey bombarded the coasts of Wŏnsan and other cities in North Korea from 1951 , but was then decommissioned in 1957. As the only ship of the class, the New Jersey took part in the Vietnam War. There she fired 5,688 projectiles from her main guns. From 1969 to 1982 she was again in the reserve, then served in front of Lebanon , where she destroyed the Syrian command post on the Bekaa plain . She then took part in several maneuvers and was decommissioned in 1991 and deleted from the ship register in 1995. Today the New Jersey is located in Camden , New Jersey , where it can be viewed. The New Jersey had been in active service for 21 years and five months.
USS Missouri (BB-63)
The USS Missouri (BB-63) was laid down on January 6, 1941 and entered service on June 11, 1944. During the Second World War, she took part in the Battle of Iwo Jima , among other things , and shortly before the end of the war she shot at industrial plants in Hichiti , Japan. On September 2, 1945, the Japanese surrender was signed by Mamoru Shigemitsu on board the Missouri in the presence of Naval Admiral Chester Nimitz and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur . From 1950 the Missouri also took part in bombardments of the Korean coast and was decommissioned in 1955. It was not returned to active service until 1986 and took part in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, where, in addition to the guns, it also fired cruise missiles . The Missouri was decommissioned in 1992 and deleted from the shipping register in 1995. Today she is a museum ship in Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . In total, the Missouri had been on active service for 16 years and four months.
USS Wisconsin (BB-64)
The USS Wisconsin (BB-64) was laid down on January 25, 1941, and entered service on April 16, 1943. During World War II she served off Iwo Jima and the main Japanese islands. The first decommissioning took place in 1948, but it was reactivated in 1951 to take part in the Korean War. In 1958 she was again assigned to the reserve. In 1988 the Wisconsin began their third term of service, during which they also took part in the 1991 Gulf War. In addition to the guns, it also fired 24 cruise missiles at Iraq. She was decommissioned in 1991 and deleted from the register of ships in 1995, but added again in 1998. Until 2006, the Wisconsin was part of the reserve fleet and is located at the Nauticus National Maritime Center in Norfolk , Virginia , where their weather decks can be viewed. The ship spent 13 years and 11 months in active service.
USS Illinois (BB-65)
The USS Illinois (BB-65) was laid down on January 15, 1945, but construction stopped on August 12 of the same year. At this point the manufacturing process had progressed to around 22 percent. The hull was sold for dismantling in 1948.
USS Kentucky (BB-66)
The USS Kentucky (BB-66) was laid down on December 6, 1944 and built until February 17, 1947, when construction was abandoned when the rate of completion was 72 percent. The ship lay unfinished in dry dock until 1950, then at the Newport News piers . When the Navy had no further plans for the hull, it was sold to the Boston Metals Company in 1958 , which dismantled it.
Reconstruction plans after the Second World War
Already after the first decommissioning of the ships after the Second World War, there were conversion plans that related in particular to the unfinished USS Kentucky , but also had model character for the four other units in the class. Even after the Vietnam War, there were extensive plans that would have significantly shifted the operational profile of the ships in their execution.
As a guided weapon carrier
1956
From 1956 there were two basic concepts: Either the conversion to a BB (AA), i.e. an anti-aircraft battleship, or to a guided missile battleship.
In the first alternative, the 406 mm guns would have been removed and instead double or quadruple turrets with 203 mm tubes would have been installed, which were supposed to fire rocket-propelled sub-caliber ammunition against aircraft at a rate of fire of seven rounds per minute.
In the case of the missile designs, the conversion should go much further. In 1956 the US Navy designed two alternatives. The first draft was supposed to cost $ 280 million per ship, with an average inflation rate of 2.5 percent today that would be almost a billion dollars. This should all gun be removed from the aircraft, the main armament had 16 Polaris - intercontinental ballistic missiles have been, should be built for the amidships a launch tower, for which the chimneys should give way to the deck edge. The defensive armament should consist primarily of anti-aircraft missiles, along the sides of the ships a total of twelve double starters for RIM-24 Tartar medium-range missiles with a total of 504 missiles on board and two double starters for long-range RIM-8 Talos missiles with 320 missiles in the magazines at the bow and stern . In the end, only the hull would have remained unchanged, even the superstructures would have had to be rebuilt, since the massive launch tower would have taken up the entire center of the ship.
In the second alternative - the price for this was quoted at 130 million US dollars - parts of the propulsion system would have been removed so that twelve Polaris FKs could be accommodated in the fuselage, the air defense should be ensured by four Tartar starters and two Talos starters become. In addition, four 76 mm guns were to be installed on board.
1958
In 1958, after the dismantling of the Kentucky, plans were made for the remaining four ships assigned to the reserve that year. In alternative design 1, the front 406 mm turrets were retained, while the rear should be replaced by missiles type Talos. 16 Polaris ballistic missiles were to be installed amidships.
Alternative 2 was to do without the large guns completely, instead two of the 127 mm turrets were left, two Tartar and two Talos systems were added, and an eight-time ASROC amidships against submarines . The main armament should be 16 Polaris. The price should be $ 193 million.
Conclusion
The fact that none of the suggestions were actually implemented was primarily due to the costs, which were very high for the time, sometimes higher than the construction price for a new ship. But practical problems also played a role: the ships would have had to be extremely stabilized around their longitudinal axis in order to ensure the safe launch of the ICBMs. Obviously these problems were never fully resolved, the Polaris was ultimately only put into service as a submarine-supported missile .
As a helicopter or aircraft carrier
In 1962 there were plans to refurbish the ships for the cost of around $ 64 million for amphibious warfare . To this end, they should be converted into combinations of helicopter carriers and mother ships for landing craft . A raised landing deck would have been set up behind the superstructures instead of tower 3, including hangars for helicopters, and the landing craft itself should be able to be lowered into the water on davits on the rails . There should be about 1,800 US Marines on board, and at the same time the planned ships could provide fire protection for the landing units using the two front 406 mm towers.
In the 1980s, there were also several designs that would have turned the battleships into small aircraft carriers. According to the plan baptized in Phase II, the aft deck would have been increased so that around 90 to 100 meters of flight deck would have been available. To the left and right of the aft chimney, there would have been a small ski jump that high-flyers could use to take off, 12 Harrier embarked were planned . A vertical launching system would also have been installed directly behind the aft chimney . Other, private drawings also show a flight deck in the angled style, as it was realized on the carriers of the Nimitz-class . The non-fiction author Stefan Terzibaschitsch quotes in his book The Last Giants of the Sea, in which the reconstruction plans are described and supported with drawings, from a conversation with the Minister of the Navy John Lehman on April 10, 1984: “... we will get them (from the Congress - note d. author.) ... all four ... "and meant the conversion after phase II. The Navy rejected the plans only days later.
Modernization in the early 1980s
In the early 1980s, the four Iowas were ordered back from the reserve fleet to the active fleet. The reasons for this are primarily the advent of Soviet battle cruiser the Kirov class to see. Also with a view to Ronald Reagan's recently launched Navy program of 600 ships , the Iowas were rated as the most powerful and cheapest answer to the Kirovs . In total, the modernization of the four ships cost 1.7 billion US dollars.
In the course of the modernization, the weapons intended for air defense were removed and missile systems for use against land and sea targets were installed instead. Since the ships could no longer fight aircraft, a new system was to be installed with the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow , but the associated radar could not be stored in a shock-resistant manner, so that it would have been damaged by shots from the main cannons. As a result, the Iowas remained defenseless against aircraft after the modernization, only a close-in-weapon system was installed against approaching missiles.
In the course of these innovations, a modern radar for the targeting of the missiles was installed on a new lattice mast on the front funnel, while the mast on the aft funnel was removed. The deck looked a lot tidier after the modernization, especially by removing the many small weapons.
A quote from a speech by Sergei Georgievich Gorshkov , commander in chief of the Soviet Navy , to US Navy personnel at the United States Surface Fire shows that these modernizations have increased the combat value of the ships enormously and adapted the ships to the requirements of the changed threat situation Support Association (an organization dedicated to preserving guns on ships) from 1985. He gave the speech after watching a NATO exercise with the USS Iowa :
- "You Americans do not realize what formidable warships you have in these four battleships. We have concluded after careful analysis that these magnificent vessels are in fact the most to be feared in your entire naval arsenal. When engaged in combat we could throw everything we have at those ships and all our firepower would just bounce off or be of little effect. Then we are exhausted, we will detect you coming over the horizon and then you will sink us. "
- German translation:
- You Americans don't even know what kind of impressive warships you have in these four battleships. From careful analysis, we have concluded that these great ships are the most feared ships in your arsenal. In combat we could use everything we have against these ships, all of our firepower would roll off them or have little effect. Then when we are exhausted, we will see you appear on the horizon, and then you will sink us.
Last years and whereabouts
Reserve fleet until 2006
Even the final deletion of the four Iowa- class ships from the shipping register in 1995 was not without controversy, as the United States Marine Corps in particular feared that future landing companies would not get enough firepower to support the US Marines. In particular, the question of whether - as announced - the future destroyer generation of the Zumwalt class can provide this firepower was hotly debated, also from the point of view that the class will only be available after 2016 [obsolete] . On the other hand, the need for massive coastal bombardments was disputed, since there are hardly any real coastal fortifications and these can be fought in the run-up to an amphibious operation with alternative means such as cruise missiles.
In 1996, Congress therefore decided that two ships should be re-entered into the shipping register. This was done in Section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act 1996:
- SEC. 1011. IOWA CLASS BATTLESHIPS.
- (a) Return to Naval Vessel Register .-- The Secretary of the Navy shall list on the Naval Vessel Register, and maintain on such register, at least two of the Iowa-class battleships that were stricken from the register in February 1995.
- (b) Support - The Secretary shall retain the existing logistical support necessary for support of at least two operational Iowa class battleships in active service, including technical manuals, repair and replacement parts, and ordnance.
- (c) Selection of Ships .-- The Secretary shall select for listing on the Naval Vessel Register under subsection (a) Iowa class battleships that are in good material condition and can provide adequate fire support for an amphibious assault.
- German:
- (a) Return to Naval Vessel Register - The Secretary of the Navy should add and retain at least two of the Iowa-class battleships that were withdrawn in February 1995 from the Naval Vessel Register.
- (b) Support - The Secretary shall maintain the logistical support needed to support at least two active Iowa-class battleships. This includes technical manuals, repair and replacement parts and ammunition.
- (c) Selection of Ships - The Secretary shall select Iowa-class battleships for inclusion on the Naval Vessel Register under Section (a) that are in good condition and capable of providing adequate fire support for amphibious operations. )
The National Defense Authorization Act was passed by the US Congress after it was passed when the ships were decommissioned. Based on this instruction, the Navy reintegrated the USS Iowa and the USS Wisconsin into the reserve fleet and maintained them in this context. The cost of maintaining them was $ 250,000 a year. Since the ships all have been in service for less than 20 years - around half of their intended service life - nothing stood in the way of reactivation from this point of view. It is also certain that 34 tubes for the main artillery and several thousand shells are still stored in the Navy magazines. However, the supply of Tomahawk cruise missiles is likely to become more difficult, as today's models are no longer compatible with the launch system used.
According to the US Government Accountability Office report from November 2004, the cost of reactivation in 1999 was estimated at $ 430 million for both ships, but the gunpowder for the main guns would have to be newly manufactured, the costs for this were estimated at $ 110 million, in addition would have to pay for shipyard time as well as training of personnel for propulsion and armament. According to the 1999 study, reactivation would take 14 months; in the 2004 GAO report, this time was extended to 20 to 40 months due to the loss of knowledge at the shipyards and the decline in shipyard capacities.
The ships had to remain mothballed until the Navy could provide the same firepower to support landing operations from other ships. Whether this was the case at the time of the later deletion in 2006 is controversial.
Last decommissioned in 2006
On March 17, 2006, Iowa and Wisconsin were removed from the register. Like the New Jersey and the Missouri , the two are to be preserved as museum ships . However, politicians again expressed concern that the firepower of the Iowas could be completely lost and therefore stipulated in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 that the Iowa and Wisconsin must continue to be treated and serviced by the Navy in such a way that they would " national emergency ”can be used in combat. The conditions are similar to those of 1996, especially it is made clear that the use as a museum must not result in demilitarization and that spare parts and projectiles must continue to be stored.
In order to meet the requirements of the congress regarding the provision of ship artillery, it is planned to equip the destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class with long-range ammunition from 2007 onwards . This did not happen until 2011.
The Iowa has been open to the public as a museum ship in the Port of Los Angeles since July 2012 . The New Jersey is in Camden , New Jersey , the Missouri is in Pearl Harbor , Hawaii and the Wisconsin is in Norfolk , Virginia ; these three ships are also accessible.
Photo details
_at_anchor,_30_May_1944_(80-G-453313).jpg)
To see above: Wisconsin in 1944, below New Jersey 1985, here with a partly occupied crew. The differences between the ships as a result of the modernization can be clearly seen. So the differences between the masts: In 1944 there were still small masts on both chimneys (the SK-2 radar dish on the front), while in 1985 a large lattice mast was installed on the front chimney, with radar type SPS-49. In 1944 there was anti-aircraft armament between the chimneys, in 1985 the ABL for the Tomahawk cruise missiles were set up there. Further differences in armament: in 1944 there were flak tubs on tower 2 and 3 and, difficult to see here, automatic cannons and flak around the superstructure and on the fore and aft deck. On the aft deck in 1944 catapults with airplanes and the crane for the recovery of the watered airplanes, while in 1985 the helicopter landing pad is located there. Also note the small bow number 1944 and, in contrast, the clearly recognizable number 1985.
technology
hull
Outer hull
The hull of an Iowa class is approximately 270 meters long and 33 meters wide, the draft is approximately 11 meters. The displacement is 45,000 tons standard and around 58,000 tons fully loaded, the empty weight is around 12,000 tons. The dimensions of the fuselage were chosen according to the so-called Panamax specification , which means that it was important that the units could still pass through the Panama Canal , which was possible with around 30 cm clearance on both long sides. The height of the bow above the waterline is 11 meters, that of the stern 6.7 meters. The chimneys are about 29 meters above the water, the highest mast 40 m. Characteristic of the Iowa class is the long foredeck with a slight bulbous bow (so-called Taylor pear ) and a strongly concave profile, as well as reaching the greatest width of the hull after about two thirds of the length, due to the arrangement of the propulsion systems.
The armor of the ships is 307 mm at the belt, i.e. in the waterline, from about the first to the last gun turret, and continues thinning down to the bottom of the ship. Behind it there are 4 parallel torpedo bulkheads. The turrets and the command tower in the bridge structure have 500 mm of armor, the so-called barbette , i.e. the part of the tower below deck on which the tower rests, consists of 295 to 339 mm thick steel plates up to the armored deck. The bulkheads are around 287 mm thick. The ships have 2 armored decks, of which only the upper one runs the entire length, the lower one is missing over the boiler rooms. All of the armor increases the displacement by over 18,000 tons, more than a third of the total displacement.
The hull and the superstructure are made of steel, while a large part of the deck consists of an inner layer of steel, which is planked with an outer layer of around 5000 m² of teak - a relic from the times of the Second World War (even if hardly since the construction a plank on board should be original). The advantage of teak is, among other things, that it does not become slippery even when wet, is also very resistant to salt water and when loading the gunpowder, no spark from the deck can cause an explosion. For camouflage reasons, the deck was painted blue or gray for a long time. In the meantime, visual camouflage no longer plays a role for ships of this size, which is why the planks are now kept in their original brown. The helicopter landing pad on the aft deck has been made of sheet steel without planking since its inception.
Deck arrangement
Decks 2 and 3 are connected below the main deck; there are sleeping and leisure rooms for the crew over the entire length. Under these decks there are three so-called platforms. Storage rooms are located in the bow up to the first tower, then the two towers with the elevators for ammunition delivery reach down to platform 3. Further aft, the four engine rooms are connected across all platforms, above which the pipes to the chimneys run. Behind it is tower 3, and storage rooms follow below the aft deck.
Above the main deck, the superstructures extend over six decks. On the first two there are, among other things, the captain's cabins and for an admiral who may use the ship as a flagship . Further up - directly above or behind Tower 2 - are the command center and fire control. In addition to the possibility of steering the ship, the course was drawn there, and the radar monitoring and radio room are also located there. Among other things, the trajectory of the projectiles had to be plotted there to ensure that no air traffic crosses the planned trajectory. The navigation bridge is located on the mast at a height of about 20 meters above the waterline, further above the command rooms.
drive
_starboard_propeller_shaft.jpg)
The Iowa class is the fastest battleship class ever built, with a top speed of 33 knots. The ships have four screws each, the two outboard four-bladed with a diameter of 5.5 meters and the inner five blades with a diameter of 5.3 meters. The total output is 212,000 PS (156 MW ) forwards and 44,000 PS (32 MW ) backwards. A ship can carry around 2.5 million gallons or 9.5 million liters of Distillate Fuel, Marine (DFM), the standard oil of the US Navy. The most economical speed is 16 knots, at which the ship can travel around 18,000 nautical miles. For comparison: at 30 knots, an Iowa class can only make a good 8,000 nautical miles.
The screws are each driven by their own drive system. Water is heated in two M-Type boilers from Babcock & Wilcox to over 850 ° F (~ 454 ° C) at a steam pressure of 4500 kilopascals (45 bar ). This steam is first in a high pressure steam turbine from General Electric passed which thereby rotates, depending on the desired speed, with up to 5000 revolutions per minute. The steam, which is still under around 300 kPa (3 bar ) pressure, is then fed into a low-pressure turbine, in which the steam is expanded to condenser pressure (well below 1 bar, the exact value depends on the seawater temperature). The turbine speed is reduced with a gear to the propeller speed of less than 250 revolutions per minute. Due to the lower speed, the propellers work much more efficiently. Thereafter, the expanded steam is in a condenser condenses and the resulting condensate (water) is conveyed from the boiler feed pump into the boiler. Since this closed process still loses water, the three fresh water generators on board the ship must continuously produce fresh water, a total of up to 225 t per day are produced.
Armament
Guns
406 mm triple towers
_RIMPAC-90.jpg)
The main armament of the Iowa class consists of three turrets , each with three barrels for projectiles with a diameter of 406 millimeters (16 inches) and 50 calibers (20.3 m) core length. Two of the triplet towers (number 1 and 2) are in front of the superstructure, one behind it (tower 3), which is why the towers can only be rotated by 300 °. The towers are only races in the barbettes stored, so would, if rush out a capsize. Each of them weighs around 1700 tons. At least 77 men were needed to operate one of the towers to handle ammunition and propellant charges.
Each of the tubes can be fired individually and must then be brought into an elevation of 5 ° for reloading. For firing, the barrel elevation can be -5 ° to 45 °, the movement occurs at 12 ° per second. The cannons have a freedom of movement of 300 ° horizontally, so they can also shoot over the shoulder, i.e. more than 90 ° backwards. The front towers cannot fire directly forward, as there has been an antenna there since 1980, and before that the shock wave from the projectiles would have caused damage to the forecastle. Analogous to the situation of the aft tower. The movement speed is 4 ° per second.
Several types of grenades can be fired, the magazines of a ship hold around 1200 rounds. The Mk. 8 APC ( armor piercing, capped ) can be used against armored targets . It has a range of approximately 24 miles (39 kilometers) and weighs 2,700 pounds (1200 kg). The APC is shot down at 820 meters / second, leaving it in the air for up to 90 seconds. Over 18 km it can penetrate 50 cm of steel armor or 6.4 meters of reinforced concrete. Only a good 40 pounds (18 kg) were explosives, the remaining weight of the 1.67 meter long projectile consists of the shell and ignition and the steel cap. In addition, there were paint bags in the projectiles in order to color the rising water column in the event of missed hits and thus to be able to see more clearly.
The 1900 pound (850 kg) Mk. 13 HC ( High-Capacity ) is used against unarmored targets and for coastal bombardment . If it explodes on the ground, the grenade creates a crater up to 15 meters in diameter and six meters deep, depending on the type of soil; the pressure wave defoliates trees within a radius of 360 meters.
The Mk. 23 Katie is a nuclear projectile developed in the 1950s in the strictest of secrecy with an explosive effect of around 15 to 20 kilotons of TNT equivalent . It was intended to be used on the best sea-based artillery platform available , which was what the four Iowas were at the time . It is unclear whether such projectiles were ever on board the ships, as the Navy does not comment on the existence of nuclear weapons on their ships.
127 mm multipurpose guns
As a secondary weapon, each ship had ten double mounts with fragmentation shields, each with two tubes for 127 mm (5 inch) shells, 38 caliber. The guns are on both sides of the superstructure, but since the modernization only three per side.
These were still intended as air defenses during World War II, but thanks to the development of proximity fuses in the Gulf War, they were also used for coastal bombardment. The range is around 14 kilometers, you can fire as fast as the crew can reload, the maximum is 16 to 23 rounds per minute.
40 millimeter anti-aircraft gun
When commissioned, each ship had 20 quadruple anti-aircraft guns of the Bofors type . These were located in flak tubs to the side of the superstructure, on the bow, on the stern and on towers 2 and 3. These weapons were removed in the course of modernization, as they were ineffective against modern jet aircraft.
20 millimeter MK
Also the sides of the superstructures and at the stern and bow were a total of 49 machine guns from Oerlikon Contraves , these were also used for air defense. Since the MK were no longer effective enough against the Kamikaze pilots , a large part of the weapons was removed in 1950, the few remaining followed in the early 1980s.
Phalanx CIWS close-range air defense system
Since the modernization, four phalanx CIWS intended for missile defense have been located amidships. These Gatling cannons with 20 mm barrels are intended to destroy approaching missiles on their final approach and achieve a rate of fire of 3000 rounds per minute.
Missile
Since the modernization, there are also missiles on board. Amidships between the two funnels are on a platform on which there were previously 40-millimeter FLAKs, four armored box launchers , each with four BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles for use against land targets, as well as four starters for four AGM-84 harpoon - Anti-ship missiles. Aft of the rear chimney are another four ABL for four tomahawks each. These systems have the disadvantage that they cannot be reloaded at sea, so that the entire FK armament of a ship consists of 32 tomahawks and 16 harpoons.
electronics
Radars and fire control systems
During the Second World War, a radar type SK, later also SK-2 and SC-2, was installed on the main mast . These search radars had a range of up to 120 nautical miles against high-flying aircraft. From the Korean War onwards, an SPS-6 was used by Westinghouse Electric Corporation for air surveillance , which has a range of 140 nautical miles. The height finding of aerial targets was ensured by the SPS-8A. From the beginning of the Korean War, the Raytheon SPS-10 served as a navigation radar .
The retrofitting with missiles also meant that modern radar systems had to be installed. As the main air surveillance radar is on a lattice mast at the front chimney PLC 49 by Raytheon installed, which has a range of about 250 nautical miles on the D-band broadcasting and a peak power of 360 kilowatts achieved. The URN-25- TACAN system, the highest point on the ship, is located directly behind the antenna . The Norden Systems / EDO Corporation SPS-67 is used as the surface search radar, which emits up to 28 kW on the G-band and has a range of 100 km.
Directly in front of the forecourt is the spherical SPQ-9A from Northrop Grumman , a radar with a range of 20 nautical miles on the I-band, which, together with the four Mk. 37 fire control systems located around the superstructure, for the fire control of the 127 mm towers is responsible. The fire control for the 406 mm turrets is provided by the Mk. 38; one of these systems is on the deck superstructure, another behind the aft chimney. It is not known whether the SPQ-9A was modified for use with the 406 mm guns. The radome, with which the connection to reconnaissance drones launched from the ship is responsible, is also in spherical shape; it is located on the front edge of the aft funnel.
Self-defense systems
Numerous defensive protection systems have also been on board since the modernization. For electronic warfare that was SLQ-32 (V) 3 installed. The antennas on the superstructures can be used for telecommunications and electronic reconnaissance and as jammers . The SLQ-32 package also includes the Mark 36 SRBOC , which shoots chaffs and flares into the air that are intended to deflect approaching missiles away from the ship with both radar and infrared seekers. The SLQ-25 Nixie was brought on board against torpedo attacks . This is a decoys towed behind the ship, which imitates the noise of a ship's propellers in order to lure torpedoes away from the actual target.
Power generation
The power to operate the electrical systems on the Iowa- class battleships is provided by eight Ship's Service Turbine Generators (SSTGs) manufactured by Westinghouse. These steam turbines are also operated by the steam from the boilers of the drive system, each SSTG delivers 1.25 megawatts, so that a total of 10 MW is available on the ship. As an emergency system, each unit has two diesel generators with an output of 250 kW each.
In order to be able to bridge circuits damaged in combat, there is a so-called casualty power system on the lower decks . This consists of long cables and connectors on the walls. These can be used to bridge any damaged sections and ensure the electrical supply in all areas of the ship.
Aircraft
Planes
The US Navy used seaplanes on its battleships and cruisers for reconnaissance and targeting for the main armament . The same goes for the Iowa- class ships . These could be launched from the on-board flight systems, each consisting of two catapults , on the aft decks of the ships.
At the beginning the two-seater Vought OS2U Kingfisher was used, from 1945 the single-seater SC Seahawk from Curtiss . The aircraft were launched at a slight angle to the outboard in the direction of travel, as this creates a somewhat stronger air flow under the wings. The planes themselves were unarmed. After the mission, the pilots watered their machines near the ship and were then lifted on deck with a special aircraft crane, which later put the aircraft back on the catapult. Since the ocean is usually too restless for a small airplane to enter, the battleship had to travel a semicircle beforehand, thus shielding an area from the waves on which the airplane could touch down. Usually there was one aircraft on each of the two catapults and one on the deck as a replacement.
helicopter
From 1949 helicopters were used for the first time for reconnaissance, with which the dangerous water landing of the aircraft could be avoided. Since the catapults and the automatic cannons were still on the aft deck at this time, the helicopters were started from tower 1; the first models were of the Bell 47 type . After the New Jersey was deployed in Vietnam and the ships were returned to service in the mid-1980s, a helipad was also available on the aft deck, but there were still no hangars for the aircraft. From the 1980s onwards, there were up to four Kaman SH-2 Seasprite , Sikorsky SH-3 Seaking , Boeing CH-46 Sea Knight or Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk , which were used not only for reconnaissance, but also for the transport of supplies and, in some cases, for Submarine hunting can be used.
Drones
From the early 1990s, it was possible the ships to educate RQ-2 Pioneer - drones to launch and control. These are launched from the aft deck by means of a rocket booster , which is dropped a short time later. The drones can be controlled from on board the ship for several hours. For this purpose, a video image from the camera on board the drone is transmitted to the ship in real time. Since the drone has a chassis, but landing on the small deck of an Iowa would be too dangerous, a different technique is used: A large net is stretched across the ship into which the drone is flown at low speed. Up to eight drones were carried on the journeys in the Persian Gulf and were used intensively by the two units.
crew
A ship of the Iowa class had at the beginning of the service about 2800 crew members, including 134 officers, as well as a delegation was part of the US Marine Corps to do so. After the ship was modernized, the number of men required could be reduced to around 1500; This is mainly due to the fact that the anti-aircraft weapons were no longer on board, which previously had to be staff-intensive. Each seaman had his own bunk. So-called hot bunking, the alternating sharing of a bunk, did not have to be practiced. The crew quarters are almost the entire length on deck two and three.
Everything that seafarers need on longer voyages is also on board. Among other things, several on-board doctors of various specialties, hairdressers , the on-board laundry and facilities where seafarers can buy everyday items. In addition to galleys , there is also a separate bakery for the supply of food , the food is served in the mess, separated according to team ranks and officers. For meals, the crew could choose between the fast food line, where hamburgers , French fries and hot dogs were served, and the Truman line, where there were healthier meals with vegetables, potatoes, stews and the like.
There were three evaporators on board each ship, which together could produce up to 225,000 liters of fresh water per day. Most of this water was required as boiler feed water for the drive system. The rest was used for cooking, washing and showering. The toilets, however, were flushed with salt water. This applied to all toilets on board except the one in the brig , the on-board prison. Fresh water was used there to prevent prisoners from deliberately pouring salt water into them and thereby forcing the transfer to Sick Bay, the infirmary.
commitment
Mission profile
The Iowa- class battleships were fast enough to keep up with the carrier battle groups ; often they were in such a group. Among other things, it was their job to prevent other battleships from approaching their own group. However, such a battle of the titans never happened for the units of the Iowa class, as both Yamato and Musashi , the last Japanese battleships in World War II, were barely able to act and hardly protected after the Iowas were commissioned due to a lack of fuel were. They were damaged and sunk by carrier aircraft on the way to the battles in which the Iowas were involved. Instead, the main guns of the ships were mainly used in preparation for the storming of the Japanese Pacific islands by shooting the beaches ready for storm , and the battleships with their 406 mm guns could shoot far beyond the coastline and thus military facilities and industrial sites on the Japanese Destroy main islands. As escort ships, the units of the Iowa class were also able to prevent the Japanese torpedo bombers and later the Kamikazes from attacking the aircraft carriers thanks to their powerful anti-aircraft armament . Both the role as mobile artillery and air defense were also the areas of application of the ships in the Korean War.
Already on the short mission of the New Jersey off Vietnam, the ship was only used for land bombardments, the jet aircraft that were mainly used were too fast for the ship's flak. In the last period of the Iowas mission , the operational profile had shifted significantly. The ships now also served as a launch platform for cruise missiles, the two units that served in the Gulf War fired 24 and 28 Tomahawks, respectively, at Iraq. However, the main guns could not be used as the battleships could no longer drive close to the coast. The reason for this is the lack of sonar to detect sea mines and the inadequate protection of ships against these weapons, which the Iraqis had laid in large numbers in the coastal waters.
Accidents and war damage
Only the Missouri was damaged in the war, it was hit twice by Kamikaze planes. The first hit the ship on April 11, 1945 just below the main deck near Tower 3. Parts of the aircraft and the pilot's body were thrown onto the deck while the explosives in the aircraft did not explode and fell into the sea. The fire that broke out on board was extinguished after a few minutes. There were no victims on the American side. In a second attack, a kamikaze missed the ship, but hit the crane, which is used to recover the aircraft, with a wing. The aircraft then crashed into the stern waters of the Missouri, where it exploded and splinters spread over the quarterdeck up to the shield of Tower 3, injuring several crew members.
During the 1950s, the Missouri ran aground once and the Wisconsin three times off the east coast of the United States. The Missouri was bogged down near Hampton Roads , Virginia and could not be freed from tugs until two weeks later, whereupon a stay of several days in dry dock became necessary. The Wisconsin was not damaged in any of the ground hits. Much worse for the Wisconsin was a collision with the USS Eaton (DDE-510) , which damaged the bow so badly in 1956 that in a 16-day stay in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard the entire bow section was exchanged over a distance of 20 meters had to. For this, the bow of the unfinished sixth unit of the class, the USS Kentucky , was towed into the shipyard and welded to the Wisconsin .
The largest accident on board an Iowa- class ship occurred in 1989 on board the USS Iowa when an explosion struck Tower 2, killing 47 sailors. The cause is unclear; Originally a suicide bombing by a sailor was suspected, today it is believed that electrostatic energy ignited gunpowder. Since the ship was taken out of service a short time later, the damage remained unrepaired.
In the Gulf War there was damage from friendly fire , also on the USS Missouri. The Missouri had fired Chaff after an SS-N-2 anti-ship missile had been fired at the combat group from the Iraqi mainland . According to the Navy, the phalanx CIWS of the USS Jarrett (FFG-33) now attacked the Missouri radar jammers , with some projectiles hitting the battleship.
literature
- Chris Bishop: Battleships and Weapon Systems in Sea War. Tosa Verlag, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-85492-433-X .
- Robert F. Sumrall: Iowa Class Battleships - Their Design, Weapons and Equipment. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis Md 1988, ISBN 0-87021-298-2 .
- Malcolm Muir: The Iowa Class Battleships: Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri & Wisconsin. Blandford Press, Poole 1987, ISBN 0-7137-1732-7 .
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch : Comeback of the IOWA class. The American battleships from 1941 to the present day. Bernard & Graefe, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7637-5862-3 .
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch: The last giants of the seas. Bernard & Graefe, Munich 1997. ISBN 3-7637-5961-1 .
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch: battleships of the US Navy 1941–1981. Bernard & Graefe, Munich 1982. ISBN 3-7637-5268-4 .
- Siegfried Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers from 1905 to 1970. Lehmanns, Munich 1970, Pawlak, Herrsching 1988 ?, Bernard and Graefe, Koblenz 1990, ISBN 3-88199-474-2 , ISBN 3-7637-5877-1 .
- Robert Gardiner (Ed.): Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 . Conway Maritime Press Ltd, London 1980, ISBN 0-85177-146-7 , pp. 99 .
- Robert Gardiner (Ed.): Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 . Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 1996, ISBN 978-1-55750-132-5 , pp. 559 .
Web links
- Iowa class on globalsecurity.org (English)
- Iowa class on waffenhq.de
- Losing the battleships : Report from cnn.com (English)
- Detailed deck plans from the USS Missouri Memorial Association ( Memento of December 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English, PDF; 7.18 MB)
Footnotes
- ^ Norman Friedman: US Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1986, ISBN 0-87021-715-1 . P.317
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: The last giants of the seas. P. 22.
- ↑ The Iowa Class Battleships BB-61 to BB-64 on comcast.net (Eng.)
- ↑ NDAA from 1996 (English; PDF; 1.8 MB)
- ↑ Information on Options for Naval Surface Fire Support , GAO (Eng.)
- ↑ National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 ( Memento of February 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), page 68 (PDF)
- ↑ National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 ( Memento of December 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), pages 193f (PDF)
- ↑ Missouri's Fuel Consumption on ussmissouri.org ( Memento from June 17, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (English, via archive.org )
- ^ Bill Yenne: Secret Weapons of the Cold War. From the H-Bomb to SDI. Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley 2005. ISBN 0-425-20149-X '
- ↑ From: The Warfighters Encyclopedia of the US Navy ( Memento of November 5, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (Eng.)
- ↑ The Warfighters Encyclopedia of the US Navy ( Memento of November 5, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (Eng.)
- ↑ The Warfighters Encyclopedia of the US Navy ( Memento of November 5, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (Eng.)
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: The last giants of the seas. P. VI, illustrated part.
- ↑ USS Missouri (BB-63) FAQ from factplace.com (Eng.)
- ↑ USS Missouri (BB-63) FAQ from factplace.com (Eng.)
- ↑ Report on the incident on gulflink.osd.mil ( Memento from December 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
