New Mexico class
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| New Mexico class | |
| Type: | Battleship |
| Identification numbers: | BB-40 to BB-42 |
| Predecessor: | Pennsylvania class |
| Successor: | Tennessee class |
| Ships: |
USS New Mexico (BB-40) USS Mississippi (BB-41) USS Idaho (BB-42) |
| career | |
| Keel laying |
BB-40 : October 14, 1915 BB-41 : April 5, 1914 BB-42 : January 20, 1915 |
| Commissioning |
BB-40 : May 20, 1918 BB-41 : December 18, 1917 BB-42 : March 24, 1919 |
| Decommissioning |
BB-40 : July 19, 1946 BB-42 : July 3, 1946 |
| Removal from register |
BB-40 : February 25, 1947 BB-41 : September 17, 1959 BB-42 : September 6, 1947 |
| Whereabouts: | Scrapped |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement | 32,000 tons |
| length | 190.00 m |
| width | 29.6 meters |
| Draft: | 9.1 m |
| Power/: | 27,500 hp |
| Top speed: | 21 kn |
| Crew: | 1084 |
| Armament: | 12 × 14 in (356 mm) 50 cal. In four treble towers 25 × 5 in (127 mm) 51 cal. (Eleven on each side) reduced to: 14 × 5 in (127 mm) 51 cal. |
The New Mexico class was a class of American battleships before and during World War II . They were improved versions of the Nevada class and were built from 1915.
Like the Pennsylvania class , the New Mexico class ships were equipped with triple gun turrets, which enabled the main armament of twelve 14-inch guns. Thus the ships had an impressive firepower and were superior to most battleships of the time. Several of the small guns on the side of the ships, which were in awkward positions, were soon removed.
The design of the ships was also revised and enabled a more stable position in heavy seas and higher speeds. One ship was also equipped with a state-of-the-art turbo-electric drive, an absolute innovation. The steam turbines and propellers were no longer rigid or connected via gears , but the turbines drove generators and the electricity generated in this way supplied electric motors that were connected to the screws.
The New Mexico class was part of the "standard type battleship" concept of the USA , which provided for a relative uniformity of the battleships in order to simplify maneuvers. For example, different tactics and configurations did not have to be developed in order to adapt them to different armaments and speeds. The tactics could be standardized and transferred to other classes.
After the ships were completed at the end of World War I , they served as part of the battle fleet between the wars. All were modernized in the early 1930s and equipped with a completely new structure and drive. A new torpedo protection increased its width to 32.4 meters. Defense against air attacks and armor in general have also been improved.
In 1941 the ships were withdrawn from the Pacific to reinforce the American neutrality patrol in the Atlantic . This weakened the Pacific fleet considerably, in purely mathematical terms it was now inferior to the Japanese Navy . However, they were sent back soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor to make up for the losses suffered there. The ships were involved in important battles until the end of the war and provided valuable support in numerous landing operations that were typical of this conflict. One ship, the Mississippi , took part in the final battle between battleship fleets in the battle of the Surigao Straits .
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Shortly after the end of the war, the New Mexico and Idaho were scrapped, and the Mississippi continued to serve as a training ship and for weapon tests for a decade . Among other things, the first guided missiles of the Navy were shot down from this ship. These guided missiles soon replaced the large guns on modern warships.
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