Nevada class
_during_running_trials.jpg) USS Nevada
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The Nevada class was a class of battleships of the US Navy , which from the USS Nevada and USS Oklahoma was. It came into use towards the end of the First World War and in the Second World War .
technology
The Nevada- class battleships were the first US Navy ships to be armed with triple gun turrets. These towers were also in the subsequent Pennsylvania - and New Mexico classes maintained. It was not until the Colorado class that twin turrets were used, as their 406 mm guns required more space inside the turret.
With this class, the so-called “all or nothing” armor was introduced. Ship parts that were not absolutely necessary for survival in combat were deliberately left unarmoured in order to use the saved weight for even stronger armoring of the vital parts of the ship. This was the consequence of the improved fire control procedures , which led to an increase in the combat distance between the battle fleets. At these distances, the smaller guns were only used to repel torpedo boats and aircraft.
They were also the first ships to use oil-only steam boilers and the last battleships to have only two propellers. The Oklahoma was the last US battleship with piston steam engines . They were originally built with a very large battery of 127mm cannons , which were used to repel enemy destroyers . However, some of these guns could hardly be used in rough seas . In particular, those that were placed close to the bow and stern were therefore removed again in the first years of service.
Calls
The Nevada- class ships were assigned to the Atlantic fleet after their commissioning . During the First World War , they were sent to the European theater of war in 1918 to help protect the Allied supply lines. Both ships were therefore thoroughly modernized between 1927 and 1929. They were given a larger target area for their heavy guns , advanced fire control in new tripod masts and two catapults for observation and reconnaissance aircraft . Their 127 mm L / 51 cannons were moved one deck higher into the superstructure , from where they could also be used in heavy seas. A battery of 127 mm L / 25 anti-aircraft guns was also installed. In order to increase the resistance to hits below the waterline , the hull was widened to 33 meters by lateral torpedo bulges .
Both ships were badly hit in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 . The Oklahoma capsized and was a total loss, the Nevada was beached, salvaged and in 1942 overhauled and modernized. The outdated casemates and anti-aircraft batteries were removed. They were replaced by 127 mm L / 38 multi-purpose cannons mounted in armored twin turrets . In addition, were 40-mm Bofors guns and 20-mm - anti-aircraft guns of the company Oerlikon installed. The Nevada was used in the European theater of war, including the landing in Normandy , in order to use its heavy artillery to defeat the German defensive positions on the Atlantic Wall . Then she moved to the Pacific and supported the landing operations with her gunfire.
After the war, the Nevada was worn out as a target ship for nuclear and conventional weapons between 1946 and 1948 . The two atom bomb tests in Bikini Atoll ( Operation Crossroads ) were the dubious highlights of this last mission.
Standard battleship concept
The Nevada- class was the first class of the U.S. Navy's standard battleship concept. The aim of the concept was to create a fleet of uniform battleships with a speed of 21 knots, a tight tactical turning circle with a radius of 640 meters and guns with the greatest possible range. This should make it easier to maneuver the fleet by making a division of the fleet into a fast and a slow battle squadron unnecessary. In addition, the commanding officers did not have to consider different rudder angles for different classes when calculating maneuvers. The other classes of the standard battleship concept were the Pennsylvania class, New Mexico class, Tennessee class , Colorado class and the first South Dakota class, which was stopped shortly after construction began due to the new construction moratorium agreed in the Washington Naval Agreement .
literature
- Siegfried Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1905–1970 . JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1970, ISBN 3-88199-474-2 , p. 229-232 .
