Lexington class
| Lexington- class | |
|---|---|
_and_USS_Lexington_(CV-2)_off_Diamond_Head_on_2_February_1933.jpg) USS Saratoga (front) and USS Lexington |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Aircraft carrier |
| units | Lexington , Saratoga |
| Namesake | Lexington , Massachusetts |
| period of service |
1927-1946 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
36,000 standard tons |
| length |
270.7 m |
| width |
32.31 m |
| Draft |
7.39 m |
| crew |
2,950 men |
| drive |
turbo-electric, 4 screws, 180,000 hp (134 MW) |
| speed |
33.25 knots |
| Range |
9,500 NM at 15 kn |
The Lexington-class was a class of two aircraft carriers in the United States Navy . The early 1920s, originally as a battle cruiser in Kiel set ships were the first fully operational fleet carriers of the US Navy and to the commissioning of Midway in 1945, the largest aircraft carrier fleet. Both ships were used in World War II , the lead ship, the Lexington , sank on May 8, 1942 after torpedo and bomb hits, the Saratoga was sunk as a target ship in 1946 as part of Operation Crossroads .
history
Planning and construction as a battle cruiser
In 1917, six Lexington-class heavy battlecruisers were approved, the first ships of this type for the US Navy. The first preliminary plans, which were already available in 1916, saw a displacement of 34,400 tn.l. and an armament of ten 14-inch guns (356 mm) in two triple and two double turrets. The armor should be rather weak, but the speed should be 35 knots . In the following years the plans were revised, in 1919 the final plans provided for a displacement of 43,500 standard tons, the armament should consist of eight 16-inch guns (406 mm) in four twin turrets , 16 6-inch guns (152 mm), There are four 3-inch guns (76 mm) and eight 21-inch torpedo tubes . The turbo-electric propulsion with a planned output of 184,000 shaft horsepower should accelerate the cruiser to up to 33.25 knots. From August 1920, six cruisers were laid down at four shipyards on the east coast . The final agreement of the Washington Fleet Conference on February 6, 1922 limited the tonnage for cruisers, so that the six ships of the class could not be further built.
_on_building_ways,_1925.jpg)
Completion as an aircraft carrier
However, the contract allowed two of the cruisers to be converted into aircraft carriers. The construction of the other four ships was stopped, in August 1923 the building contract was finally canceled and the unfinished hulls scrapped. On July 1, 1922, new construction contracts for the Lexington and Saratoga were issued, they should now be completed as an aircraft carrier. The work was completed in 1925, the Saratoga was on April 7, the Lexington on 3 October by the stack . With a displacement of 36,000 standard tons, they were 3000 tons above the maximum displacement prescribed by the Washington Fleet Treaty, but this breach of contract was tacitly accepted. The construction costs were put by the Bureau of Ships in August 1952 at 43,856,492.59 US dollars for the Saratoga and 45,952,644.83 US dollars for the Lexington .
_sinking_in_Bikini_Atoll_lagoon_on_25_July_1946_(SC_259372).jpg)
Period of service and modifications
The two Lexington-class aircraft carriers entered service in 1927. They were assigned to the US Pacific Fleet and until the beginning of the war took part in various exercises with the US fleet, including in the Atlantic, which demonstrated the value of the new carriers. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , they took part in all major operations against the Imperial Japanese fleet. Both ships of the class were modernized with the beginning of the Second World War, the shape of the flight deck was changed, in addition, the heavy ship artillery was removed and replaced by lighter guns for anti-aircraft defense. The Lexington was hit by several bombs and torpedoes during the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 8, 1942 , she had to be abandoned during the day and sank.
The number of light and medium anti-aircraft guns on the Saratoga was massively increased in the course of the war, and in 1942 its flight deck was extended by a few meters. It remained in service until the end of the war and took part in all major operations in the Pacific until early 1945. After repairing damage from kamikaze attacks she suffered on February 21, 1945, she was used almost exclusively as a training porter as newer Essex-class porters replaced her on the front lines. She was badly damaged as a target ship on July 25, 1946 during the Crossroad Baker nuclear weapons test in Bikini Atoll and sank a little later.
technology
_underway,_May_1945.jpg)
Hull and armor
The hull of the girders was 259.3 meters long when it was put into service on the construction waterline, the overall length was 270.8 meters, and the Saratoga after the renovation in 1942 was 277.2 meters. The width in the waterline was 32.2 meters (34.1 meters after conversion), the maximum width at the height of the flight deck was 39.7 meters. The empty displacement of the ships was 36,000 standard tonnes, the operational displacement between 41,000 and 48,550 standard tonnes, depending on the load and modifications. The draft was between 7.4 and 9.9 meters, depending on the load. The armor was relatively strong due to its history as a battle cruiser, it was 152 mm at the waterline. The bulkheads were each 178 mm thick, the armor on the lower decks was between 25 and 76 mm. The flight deck was 25 mm thick, the hangar deck 51 mm. The turrets had up to 76 mm of armor, the barbeds over 152 mm.
drive
Lexington-class aircraft carriers had turbo-electric propulsion. The steam was generated with 16 water tube boilers, each installed in a separate section in the hull. The steam had a pressure of 295 lb f · in −2 (2 MPa) and a temperature of 460 ° F (238 ° C). He drove about four steam turbine generators from General Electric , which produced an electrical power output of 35.2 MW. The operating voltage was 5 kV, the current 4.62 kA. The direct current from the turbo generators was converted into 40 MVA alternating current using inverters. Lexington class ships had a total of four propeller shafts, each driven by two electric motors in a tandem configuration. The total indicated shaft power of these motors is 180,000 hp (134 MW); the calculated speed is 33.25 kn (61.58 km / h). In fact, a speed of 34.5 kn (63.9 km / h) was determined in the test run in 1928, which corresponds to an effective total shaft power of 202,000 hp (151 MW). In addition, six turbo generators with an indicated output of 750 kW each were installed to generate alternating current for the ship's power supply.
133,760 cwt (6795 t) of fuel oil were carried as fuel, of which 108,000 cwt (5500 t) could be used; the rest served as ballast on the port side. With 90,800 cwt (4610 t) of fuel oil, an aircraft carrier of the Lexington class could cover a distance of 9910 NM (18,350 km) at a speed of 10.7 kn (19.8 km / h).
,_1928.jpg)
Flight deck, island and hangar
The flight deck and hangar were an integral part of the hull of the Lexington-class carriers. The superstructures on the flight deck were on the starboard side and consisted of the narrow but long smoke outlet for the 16 boilers, which was characteristic of the shape of the two ships, and the bridge in front of it, which also carried the mast with the electronic systems . The flight deck was made of steel and was planked with hardwood; it was 266.7 meters long and 27.4 meters wide. Two elevators connected it to the very large and high hangar deck below, which originally could accommodate up to 90 aircraft. When the Saratoga was rebuilt in 1942, the flight deck was extended to 277 meters.
The start of the aircraft was supported by an electrically powered catapult, which was later replaced on the Saratoga by a hydraulic H-4C catapult with 7.2 tons of thrust. The first safety cable system with eight steel cables was installed on board in 1931.
Armament and Electronics
When commissioned, both carriers were equipped with eight 8-inch guns, caliber length 55, in four twin turrets, two each in front of and behind the island. These were some of the heaviest guns ever used on aircraft carriers. They should give the porters the opportunity to defend themselves against cruisers that could not be outmaneuvered due to their high speed. The guns were never used, however, as their shock wave would most likely have destroyed the flight deck. In addition to the heavy guns, there were twelve 5-inch guns, 25 caliber length, in single mounts and 48 1.1-inch guns in quadruple mounts for air defense. The heavy 8-inch guns were removed from both carriers after the attack on Pearl Harbor and used as coastal defense guns in Hawaii; the Saratoga received four 5-inch twin turrets in place of the old gun turrets from mid-1942, and from 1944 the 1.1-inch anti-aircraft guns replaced with 96 40-mm Bofors guns .
From 1941, the electronic location equipment consisted of a CXAM-1 radar that could locate ships at up to 16 nautical miles and aircraft, depending on the altitude, at up to 70 nautical miles. In the case of the Saratoga , it was replaced from 1945 by the SK radar, which had a greater detection range (up to 100 nautical miles). In addition, she received an SC-3 radar with a range of 80 nautical miles as a backup.
Air group
The Lexingtons Carrier Air Wing consisted of up to 90 aircraft. At the beginning of the service, double-deckers like the Boeing F3B , the Curtiss F6C or the Grumman F2F were still used on board. The first monoplane on board was the Brewster F2A , which came on board in 1939, but was soon replaced by more modern aircraft such as the Grumman F4F . The Grumman F6F was used on the Saratoga from 1943 . The Douglas TBD , the Grumman TBF and the Douglas SBD were used as bombers and torpedo aircraft .
Additional information
literature
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch : aircraft carrier of the US Navy. 3rd expanded edition, Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 2001, ISBN 3-7637-6200-0 .
- Mark Stille: US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45. Pre-war classes. (= New Vanguard 114) Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2005, ISBN 1-84176-890-1 .
Web links
- Lexington- class at globalsecurity.org (English)
- Story of the battle cruiser of the Lexington class in the Naval Historical Center (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b USS Lexington in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships , as of October 10, 2007
- ↑ globalsecurity.org, CC-1 Lexington Class , as of October 10, 2007
- ↑ Lexington Class (CC-1 through CC-6), history.navy.mil , as of October 10, 2007
- ↑ globalsecurity.org , as of October 10, 2007
- ^ Saratoga in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships , as of October 10, 2007
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: aircraft carrier of the US Navy. Bonn 2001, p. 342.
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: aircraft carrier of the US Navy. Bonn 2001, p. 39.
- ↑ Richard M. Anderson, Arthur D. Baker III: CV-2 Lex and CV-3 Sara . Warship International, Toledo 1977, in: International Naval Research Organization . XIV (4), ISSN 0043-0374 , p. 312
- ↑ Richard M. Anderson, Arthur D. Baker III: CV-2 Lex and CV-3 Sara . Warship International, Toledo 1977, in: International Naval Research Organization . XIV (4), ISSN 0043-0374 , p. 313
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: aircraft carrier of the US Navy. Bonn 2001, p. 343.
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: aircraft carrier of the US Navy. Bonn 2001, p. 361f.
Remarks
- ↑ Fleet carrier is the term used in German-language literature for large, fully-fledged aircraft carriers that are primarily designed for use in the fleet association.
