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As a result of all of these design modifications from previous battleships, the ''Nevada'' class were the first of the so-called "Standard" type of battleship.<ref>Worth, 289–290.</ref> "Standards" were characterized by the use of oil fuel, the "all or nothing" armor scheme, and the arrangement of the main armament in four triple or twin turrets without any turrets located in the middle of the ship.<ref>Friedman, 101.</ref> |
As a result of all of these design modifications from previous battleships, the ''Nevada'' class were the first of the so-called "Standard" type of battleship.<ref>Worth, 289–290.</ref> "Standards" were characterized by the use of oil fuel, the "all or nothing" armor scheme, and the arrangement of the main armament in four triple or twin turrets without any turrets located in the middle of the ship.<ref>Friedman, 101.</ref> |
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A |
A problem not realized until World War II with the ''Nevada'' class was that they were designed without a substantial amount of deck armor. This was due to the prevailing belief—at the time of her construction—that the submarine was the greatest threat to battleships.<ref name="Global Security"/> However, later on the greatest threat became airplanes,<ref name="bonner102"/> and "the results of this [lack of deck armor] were later [...] realized at Pearl Harbor, with ''Nevada''{{'}}s experience proving that the watertight integrity of older warships was unlikely to be satisfactory."<ref name="Global Security"/><ref name="USN Ship Types"/> |
||
The two ''Nevadas'' were virtually identical except in their propulsion. ''Nevada'' and her sister were fitted with different engines to compare the two, putting them 'head-to-head': ''Oklahoma'' received older [[vertical triple expansion]] engines, while ''Nevada'' received Curtis [[steam turbines]].<ref name="Naval Engineers"/><ref name=Quincy/><ref group=A><!--Did not find a link on Wikipedia for a "Curtis turbine"-->See this book for more information on Curtis turbines (Scroll down to the bottom of the page): {{cite book |title=The Steam-engine and Other Heat-engines |last=Ewing |first=James Alfred |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1910 |publisher=University Press (University of California) |location= |isbn= |page=232 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8FdDAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA236&lpg=PA236&dq=#PPA234,M1 }}</ref> |
The two ''Nevadas'' were virtually identical except in their propulsion. ''Nevada'' and her sister were fitted with different engines to compare the two, putting them 'head-to-head': ''Oklahoma'' received older [[vertical triple expansion]] engines, while ''Nevada'' received Curtis [[steam turbines]].<ref name="Naval Engineers"/><ref name=Quincy/><ref group=A><!--Did not find a link on Wikipedia for a "Curtis turbine"-->See this book for more information on Curtis turbines (Scroll down to the bottom of the page): {{cite book |title=The Steam-engine and Other Heat-engines |last=Ewing |first=James Alfred |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1910 |publisher=University Press (University of California) |location= |isbn= |page=232 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8FdDAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA236&lpg=PA236&dq=#PPA234,M1 }}</ref> |
Revision as of 04:53, 10 November 2008
Nevada underway off the Atlantic coast of the United States on 17 September 1944
| |
History | |
---|---|
US | |
Name | USS Nevada (BB-36)[4] |
Namesake | Nevada[4] |
Ordered | 4 March 1911[3] |
Awarded | 22 January 1912[3] |
Builder | Fore River Shipbuilding Company[3] |
Cost | $5,895,000[3] |
Laid down | 4 November 1912[4] |
Launched | 11 July 1914[2] |
Commissioned | 11 March 1916[4] |
Decommissioned | 29 August 1946[4] |
Refit | list error: <br /> list (help) February 1942–April 1943 July 1943–unknown (finished in time for Normandy invasion) |
Stricken | 12 August 1948[5] |
Nickname(s) | "Cheer Up Ship"[1] |
Honors and awards | 7 battle stars, World War II[4] |
Fate | Sunk as a target 31 July 1948[5] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Nevada-class battleship |
Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) (in 1916) 27,500 t[8][9] (after WWII overhaul) 30,500 t[6] |
Length | 583 ft (178 m)[8] |
Beam | 95 ft 2.5[9]–3 in[8] (26 m) |
Draft | 28 ft 6 in[4][9] (8.7 m) |
Propulsion | Geared[8] Curtis turbines[3][9] |
Speed | (designed) 20.5 knots (24 mph; 38 km/h)[8] |
Endurance | 5,195 miles (8,361 km) at 12 knots (14 mph); 1,980 miles (3,187 km) at 10 knots (12 mph)[6] |
Capacity | slightly less than 600,000 gallons of fuel[11] |
Complement | list error: <br /> list (help) (as built) 864 officers and men[10] (1929) 1,398[7] (1945) 2,220[7] |
Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) (as built): 10 × 14-inch (356 mm)/45-caliber guns (2 × 3, 2 × 2 superfiring)[6][10][7] 21 × 5-inch (127 mm)/51-caliber guns in single casemate mountings (21 × 1; ten each beam, one in the stern)[6][10][7][A 1] 2 or 4 × 21 inch (53 cm) torpedo tubes (beam, submerged) (true number is unknown; see [A 2]) |
Armour | list error: <br /> list (help) Belt: 13.5–8 in[6][7] Bulkheads: 13–8 in[6][7] Barbettes: 13 in[6][7] Turrets: 18 in[6][7] Decks: 5 in[6][7] |
Aircraft carried | list error: <br /> list (help) (as built) 3 floatplanes, 2 catapults[7] (1942) 2 floatplanes, 1 catapult[7] |
USS Nevada (BB-36), the second United States Navy ship to be named after the 36th state, was a World War I-era battleship and the lead ship of her class of two; her sister ship was Oklahoma. The ship was a giant leap forward in dreadnought technology, as she showcased four new features that would be included on almost every subsequent U.S. battleship: gun turrets with three guns,[A 3] anti-aircraft guns, oil in place of coal, and the "all or nothing" armor principle. As a result of all of these advances, and Nevada was named as the first U.S. "super-dreadnought".
Nevada served in both World Wars: during World War I, she served for the last few months as a convoy escort and deterrent to any thought of a "break-out" by the German surface fleet. In World War II, she was one of the battleships that was trapped when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. While she was the only battleship to get underway during the attack, making the ship "the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal and depressing morning",[12] the ship was hit by one torpedo and at least six bombs while steaming away from Battleship Row, forcing her to be beached. Subsequently salvaged and modernized at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Nevada served as a fire-support ship and convoy escort for the rest of the war. She provided support for the Normandy Landings and the invasions of Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. She was the only battleship to see both the attack on Pearl Harbor and the invasion of Normandy.
At the end of World War II, the Navy deemed Nevada too old for retention and designated her a target ship to be used in the Bikini atomic experiments of July 1946. Two atomic bomb detonations later, she was still afloat but heavily damaged and radioactive. She was decommissioned on 29 August 1946 and sunk as a target ship on 31 July 1948.
Design
Nevada was the first "super-dreadnought" built for the U.S. Navy; as such, she was described as "revolutionary"[13] and "as radical as Dreadnought was in her day".[14] When Nevada was built, The New York Times remarked that the new warship was "the greatest [battleship] afloat"[11] because she was so much larger than other contemporary American battleships: her tonnage was nearly three times greater than the obsolete 1890 pre-dreadnought Oregon, almost two times greater than the 1904 battleship Connecticut, and almost 8,000 tons greater than one of the first American dreadnoughts, Delaware, which had been built just seven years before.[11]
The new battleships of the Nevada class were the first two in the U.S. Navy to have triple gun turrets,[15][A 4] single funnels,[16] anti-aircraft guns,[11] and oil-fired power plants.[11][17] In particular, using oil gave the new class an engineering advantage over the earlier coal-fired plants,[12] as oil is much more efficient than coal.[18] Also, oil allowed for a "reduction in the engine room complement," which increased space and decreased costs.[19] Although previous battleships had armor of varying thickness—depending on the importance of the area it was protecting—the Nevadas had maximum armor over critical areas, such as the magazines and engines, and none over less-important places. This become known as the "all or nothing" principle, which most major navies later adopted for their own battleships.[15][17][20] With this new armor scheme, the armor on the battleship was increased to 40% of the displacement.[14]
As a result of all of these design modifications from previous battleships, the Nevada class were the first of the so-called "Standard" type of battleship.[21] "Standards" were characterized by the use of oil fuel, the "all or nothing" armor scheme, and the arrangement of the main armament in four triple or twin turrets without any turrets located in the middle of the ship.[22]
A problem not realized until World War II with the Nevada class was that they were designed without a substantial amount of deck armor. This was due to the prevailing belief—at the time of her construction—that the submarine was the greatest threat to battleships.[15] However, later on the greatest threat became airplanes,[20] and "the results of this [lack of deck armor] were later [...] realized at Pearl Harbor, with Nevada's experience proving that the watertight integrity of older warships was unlikely to be satisfactory."[15][17]
The two Nevadas were virtually identical except in their propulsion. Nevada and her sister were fitted with different engines to compare the two, putting them 'head-to-head': Oklahoma received older vertical triple expansion engines, while Nevada received Curtis steam turbines.[3][9][A 5]
Construction and trials
Nevada's construction was authorized by an Act of Congress on 4 March 1911. The contract went to Fore River Shipbuilding Company on 22 January 1912. The contract was for a total of $5,895,000[A 6](not including the armor and armament), and the time of construction was originally to be 36 months. A secondary contract was signed on 31 July 1912 for $50,000[A 7] to cover the additional cost of a geared cruising unit on each propeller shaft; this also extended the planned construction time by five months.[3] Her keel was laid down on 4 November 1912, and by 12 August 1914, the ship was 72.4% complete.[23] Nevada was launched on 11 July 1914; she was sponsored by Miss Eleanor Anne Seibert, who was the niece of Governor Tasker Oddie of Nevada and a descendant of the first Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert.[4][2] The launch was attended by several prominent members of the government, including Governor Oddie, Governor David I. Walsh of Massachusetts, Senator Key Pittman of Nevada, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt,[2] who would later become President.
Nevada then had to undergo many different tests and trials prior to her commissioning to ensure that she met the terms of the original contract. These began on 4 November 1915, when the ship conducted a twelve-hour endurance run "up and down the New England coast", reaching a top speed of 21.4 knots (24.6 mph).[24] Though her "acceptance trials" were interrupted on 5 November because of a gale and rough seas, they were continued on the 6th with a test of her fuel economy; this consisted of a twenty-four hour run where the Nevada steamed at 10 knots (12 mph).[25] The test results were positive: the oil consumption of the battlewagon was 6 pounds per knot lower than the contract had demanded. Another test was conducted for twelve hours at 15 knots (17 mph), with an even better result of 10 pounds per knot lower than the contract specifications.[26] After completing all of these tests and her running trials off Rockland, Maine,[16] Nevada sailed to the Boston and New York Navy Yards for equipment, torpedo tubes and ammunition hoists.[27] When all of the preliminaries were completed, Nevada was commissioned on 11 March 1916 at the Charlestown Navy Yard with Capt. William S. Sims becoming the first captain of the new super-dreadnought.[28]
World War I
Nevada joined the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in Newport, Rhode Island on 26 May 1916. Prior to the United States' entry into World War I, she conducted many training cruises and underwent many exercises out of her base in Norfolk, Virginia, sailing as far south as the Caribbean on these cruises.[20] The U.S. entered the war in 1917, but the new battleship was not wanted on the other side of the Atlantic because there was a shortage of fuel oil in Britain at the time. As a result, the five battleships that departed in December 1917 to join the British Grand Fleet were all coal burners: USS Delaware, USS Florida, USS Wyoming, USS New York, and USS Texas.[29] It was not until 13 August 1918 that she left the U.S. for Britain.[4]
After a ten-day voyage, she arrived in Berehaven, Ireland, on 23 August.[4] Along with Utah and her sister Oklahoma, the three became the "Bantry Bay Squadron"[30] under the command of Rear Admiral Thomas S. Rodgers. Rodgers took Utah as his flagship, and for the rest of WWI, the three ships operated out from the bay, covering the "valuable" large convoys that were heading towards the British Isles to ensure that no German heavy surface ships could slip past the British Grand Fleet and annihilate the merchant ships.[31][32] However, this never came to pass, and World War I ended on November 11, 1918 without Nevada engaging a single enemy during the war.[20][A 8]
On 13 December, Nevada, along with nine other battleships and several divisions of destroyers,[33] escorted the transport George Washington, with President Woodrow Wilson embarked, during the last day of that ship's passage into Brest, France.[4] Nevada sailed for home on the next day, 14 December.[4][33]
Interwar years
Between the two World Wars, Nevada served in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets.[4] Though she had originally been equipped with twenty-one 5"/51 caliber guns to defend against enemy destroyers,[17] this number was reduced to twelve in 1918,[34] due to the overly wet bow and stern positions of the other nine.[17]
Along with USS Arizona, Nevada represented the United States at the Peruvian Centennial Exposition in July 1921;[35] a year later, she returned to South America with USS Maryland, this time for the Centennial of Brazilian Independence, celebrated in September 1922.[4][35] Three years later, from July to September 1925, Nevada took part in the U.S. Fleet's "goodwill cruise" to Australia and New Zealand. During this cruise, the ships had only limited replenishment opportunities, but they still made it to Australia and back without undue difficulty.[36] This demonstrated to those allies and Japan that the U.S. Navy had the ability to conduct transpacific operations[4] and meet the Imperial Japanese Navy in their home waters,[36] where both Japanese and American war plans expected the "decisive battle" to be fought, if it should come.[37]
After the cruise, Nevada was modernized at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard between August 1927 and January 1930, with the exchanges of her "basket" masts for tripod masts[38] and her steam turbines for those from the recently stricken battleship North Dakota.[15] Additionally, eight 5"/25 caliber guns were added,[39] a new superstructure was installed, and her five-inch secondary battery was relocated.[38] Nevada served in the Pacific Fleet for the next eleven years.[38]
World War II
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Just as the Nevada's band had begun to play "Morning Colors", planes appeared on the horizon; the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor had begun.[40]
During the attack, Nevada was not moored side-by-side with another battleship off Ford Island, and therefore was able to maneuver, an ability that was denied to the other seven battleships that were present.[4][A 9] As her gunners opened fire and her engineers started to raise steam, a single 18 in (46 cm) Type 91 Mod 2[41] torpedo exploded against frame 41 about 14 feet above the keel at 0810.[42] The torpedo bulkhead held, but leaking through joints caused flooding and a list of 4 to 5 degrees.[42] Nevada corrected the list through counter-flooding and got underway at 0840,[42] her gunners already having shot down four planes.[43]
As she steamed past Ten-Ten Dock[A 10] at about 0950, Nevada was struck by five bombs. One exploded over the crew's galley at frame 80. Another struck the port director platform and exploded at the base of the stack on the upper deck. Yet another hit near number 1 turret inboard from the port waterway and blew large holes in the upper and main decks. Two struck the forecastle near frame 15; one passed out through the side of the second deck before exploding, but the other exploded within the ship near the gasoline tank; leakage and vapors from this tank caused intense fires around the ship.[42]
The gasoline fires that flared up around Turret 1 might have caused more critical damage if the main magazines had not been empty. For several days prior to the attack, all of the 14-inch gun battleships had been replacing their standard-weight, main-battery projectiles with a new heavier projectile that offered greater penetration and a larger explosive charge in exchange for a slight decrease in range. All of the older projectiles and powder charges had been removed from the magazines of Nevada, and the crew had taken a break after loading the new projectiles in anticipation of loading the new powder charges on Sunday.[44]
As bomb damage became evident, Nevada was ordered to proceed to the west side of Ford Island to prevent her from being sunk in the channel which would "effectively cork the rest of the fleet in a bottle."[45] Instead, she was grounded off Hospital Point at 1030,[46] with the help of Hoga and another tugboat,[47] though she managed to force down three planes before she hit bottom.[43]
Over the course of the morning, Nevada suffered a total of 60 killed and 109 wounded.[4] Two more men died aboard during salvage operations on 7 February 1942 when they were overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas from decomposing paper and meat.[48] The ship suffered a minimum of six bomb hits and one torpedo hit, but "it is possible that as many as ten bomb hits may have been received, [...] as certain damaged areas [were] of sufficient size to indicate that they were struck by more than one bomb."[43]
The day after the attack, the crewmen ran "repel boarders" drills with "broomsticks, baseball bats and the few small arms that were available" to practice for the expected Japanese invasion of Hawaii. During this time, they were "virtually homeless": their records were lost in the shambles left after the attack, and they were effectively reduced to begging for essentials such as food, shelter, and uniforms.[45]
Attu and D-Day
Nevada was refloated on 12 February 1942 and underwent temporary repairs at Pearl Harbor so she could get to Puget Sound Navy Yard for a complete overhaul.[49] This overhaul lasted for the rest of 1942, and it changed the old battleship's appearance such that she resembled the South Dakota-class battleships.[50] Her 5"/51s and 5"/25s were replaced with sixteen 5"/38 caliber guns in new twin mounts.[51] Nevada then sailed for Alaska, where she provided fire support from 11–18 May 1943 for the capture of Attu.[4]
Nevada then departed for the Norfolk Navy Yard in June for further modernization.[4] After this was completed, Nevada went on Atlantic convoy duty.[52] Battleships were attached to many convoys that were going across the Atlantic to guard against the chance that a German capital ship might head out to sea on a convoy raiding mission. One such convoy was troop convoy UT-2. UT-2 was composed of 20 transports and troopships and was escorted by 9 destroyers, 4 fast minesweepers, a destroyer escort and Nevada. Nevada was also Rear Admiral Carleton F. Bryant's flagship for the trip. Departing New York on 5 September, they traveled to the North Channel, reaching it after a ten day odyssey that saw no contacts made with any enemy. The same ships journeyed back to the United States in late September as Convoy TU-2.[53]
After completing convoy runs, Nevada set sail for the United Kingdom to prepare for the Normandy Invasion, arriving in April 1944. Designated as Rear Admiral Morton Deyo's flagship,[54] she supported forces ashore from 6–17 June, and again on 25 June; during this time, she employed her guns to hit permanent shore defenses on the Cherbourg Peninsula,[4] "[seeming] to lean back as [she] hurled salvo after salvo at the shore batteries."[55] Shells from her guns ranged as far as 17 miles (27 km) inland in attempts to break up German concentrations and counterattacks, even though she was straddled by counterbattery fire 27 times (though never hit).[4] Nevada was later praised for her "incredibly accurate"[56] fire in support of beleaguered troops, as some of the targets she hit were just 600 yards from the front lines of the Allies.[56] Nevada was the only battleship present at both Pearl Harbor and the Normandy landings.[57]
Southern France and Iwo Jima
After Normandy, the Allies decided to invade Toulon in an operation that was codenamed Operation Dragoon. To support this new invasion, many ships were sent from the beaches of Normandy to the Mediterranean, including five battleships (the U.S.'s Nevada, Texas, Arkansas, the British Ramillies, and the French Lorraine), three U.S. heavy cruisers (Augusta, Tuscaloosa and Quincy), and many destroyers and landing craft were transferred south.[58]
Nevada supported this operation between 15 August and 25 September 1944, "dueling"[4] with "Big Willie": a heavy reinforced fortress that had four "formidable" 340-millimetre (13.4 in) guns in two dual turrets. These "giant rifles" had been salvaged from the French battleship Provence after the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon; the guns had a range of nearly 22 miles and they commanded every approach to the port of Toulon. In addition, they were fortified with heavy armor plate bedded into the "rocky sides" of the island of Saint Mandrier. Due to these dangers, the fire-support ships assigned to the operation were ordered to "demolish" it.[59] Beginning on 19 August, and continuing on every subsequent day, one or more heavy warships bombarded these guns in conjunction with low-level bomber strikes. On the 23rd, a bombardment force headed by Nevada struck the "most damaging" blow to the fort during a six and a half hour battle, which saw 354 salvos fired by the old battleship. Toulon fell on the 25th, and the fort, though it was "coming apart at the seams", held out for three more days, falling on the 28th.[60]
Nevada then headed to New York to have her gun barrels relined[4] and her 14"/45 caliber guns from Turret #1 replaced with the Mark 8 guns from turret #2 of USS Arizona; these new guns were relined to Mark 12 specifications.[61][62] After that was completed, she sailed for the Pacific, arriving off Iwo Jima on 16 February 1945[4] to "[prepare] the island for invasion with heavy bombardment";[63] which she did through 7 March.[4] During the invasion, she moved to be within 600 yards from shore to provide maximum firepower for the troops that were advancing.[56]
Okinawa and Japan
On 24 March 1945, Nevada joined the "mightiest naval force ever seen in the Pacific"[4] off Okinawa as pre-invasion bombardment began. She shelled Japanese airfields, shore defenses, supply dumps, and troop concentrations. Eleven men were killed and one of her main turrets was damaged by a kamikaze on 27 March. Another two men were lost to fire from a shore battery on 5 April. Until 30 June, she was stationed off Okinawa; she then departed to join the Third Fleet from 10 July to 7 August, which allowed the Nevada's guns to hit the Japanese home islands during the closing days of the war.[4]
Post-war
Nevada then returned to Pearl Harbor after a brief stint of occupation duty in Tokyo Bay. Nevada was surveyed and, at 32.3 years old, she was deemed too old to be kept in the post-war fleet.[5][38] As a result, she was assigned to be a target ship for the Bikini atomic experiments ('Operation Crossroads') of July 1946.[4] The experiment consisted of dropping two atomic bombs to test their effectiveness against ships.[64] She was designated to be "ground zero"[65] for the first test, which was codenamed 'Able'. For the test, Nevada was painted an "ugly"[66] reddish-orange to help the bombardier's aim—but the bomb was still dropped about 1,700 yards off target, and exploded above the light carrier Independence.[66] Nevada also survived a second test—'Baker'—but the bombs left her damaged and radioactive.[38] As a result, she was returned to Pearl Harbor and decommissioned on 29 August 1946.[4]
After she was thoroughly examined at Pearl Harbor, her final sortie came on 31 July 1948, when the battleship Iowa and two other vessels[A 11] used her as a gunnery target. Nevada was then finished off by an aerial torpedo hit amidships. She sank 60[66]–65 miles (97–105 km) off Pearl Harbor.[5]
See also
Notes
- ^ The 5-inch (127 mm)/51-caliber guns were soon reduced to only 12 because of their overly wet positions. In the late 1920s, 8 × 5-inch/25-caliber anti-aircraft guns (8 x 1) were added. In 1942, all were removed and replaced by 16 × 5"/38-caliber DP mounts (8×2), and 32 × 40 mm AA (8×4) and 40 × 20 mm AA (40×1) were added. See Fitzsimons, 1982.
- ^ All of the sources agree that the torpedo tubes were 21 in. tubes, they conflict as to whether Nevada had 2 or 4 torpedo tubes. For more information, see a list of the conflicting sources.
- ^ The only U.S. battleship class after Nevada that did not feature these "triple turrets" was the Colorado class, which carried eight 16-inch guns in dual turrets to combat the new Japanese Nagato class.
- ^ The idea for turrets with more than two guns each came from the French, as they were planning to use quadruple turrets for their planned Normandie-s and Lyon-class battleships. Only one of these ships was completed, Béarn, but she was converted to an aircraft carrier while she was being built. See: "Sea Fighter Nevada Ready For Her Test" (PDF). The New York Times. October 16, 1915. p. 12.
- ^ See this book for more information on Curtis turbines (Scroll down to the bottom of the page): Ewing, James Alfred (1910). The Steam-engine and Other Heat-engines. University Press (University of California). p. 232.
{{cite book}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ $5,895,000.00 would be about $130,029,903.19 today. See Measuring Worth.
- ^ $50,000 would be about $1,102,882.98 today. See Measuring Worth.
- ^ Also, at some point during her time on the eastern side of the Atlantic, Nevada apparently made a patrol through the North Sea, but sources do give any date. See Nevada's DANFS article and Bonner, 102.
- ^ Pennsylvania was in drydock at the time of the attack. Of the anchored ships on Battleship Row (in order, north to south), Nevada was moored singly; Arizona had Vestal moored outboard of her; Tennessee and West Virginia were moored together; and Maryland and Oklahoma were moored together. California was moored singly at the bottom of the "row", similar to Nevada, and should have had the ability to maneuver like Nevada did. However, California, as "she was about to undergo a material inspection [and] watertight integrity was not at its maximum" (California's DANFS entry), started sinking as soon as she was hit by Japanese bombs and torpedoes. As a result, she sank just 17 minutes into the attack after being hit with just two bombs and two torpedoes. By comparison, Nevada took at least six bombs and one torpedo, and was still afloat when she was ordered to be beached by Hospital Point.
- ^ Named for its length, 1010 feet.
- ^ The NVR entry on Nevada only states that Iowa, a heavy cruiser and a destroyer used her as a gunnery target. No further details are known.
References
- ^ Bonner, 100.
- ^ a b c "Launch New Dreadnought; Named the Nevada — Plans announced for Two Still Greater Ships" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 July 1914. p. C5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "Nevada". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d Nevada. Naval Vessel Register. Department of Defense. Retrieved on 1 September 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Friedman, 438.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fitzsimons, 1982.
- ^ a b c d e "The Nevada Leaves Quincy" (PDF). The New York Times. 23 October 1915. p. 5.
- ^ a b c d e "Sea Fighter Nevada Ready For Her Test" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 October 1915. p. 12.
- ^ a b Bonner, 101.
- ^ Gardiner, Gray and Budzbon, 115.
- ^ a b Worth, 290.
- ^ a b c d e Pike, John (2008). "BB-36 Nevada class". GlobalSecurity.org.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Mightiest U.S. Ship Coming" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 September 1915. p. 9.
- ^ a b c d e "Nevada Class (BB-36 and BB-37), 1912 Building Program". Naval Historical Center. 2000.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Friedman, 106.
- ^ Gardiner, Gray and Budzbon, 116.
- ^ a b c d Bonner, 102.
- ^ Worth, 289–290.
- ^ Friedman, 101.
- ^ "Warships Near Completion; The Nevada and the Oklahoma almost Three-fourths built" (PDF). The New York Times. November 5, 1915. p. 8.
- ^ "Nevada Test a Success" (PDF). The New York Times. 5 November 1915. p. 14.
- ^ "The Nevada Out Again" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 November 1915. p. 6.
- ^ "Nevada saves fuel" (PDF). The New York Times. 10 November 1915. p. 8.
- ^ "Nevada Meets Tests; New Superdreadnought easily fills contract requirements" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 November 1915. p. 6.
- ^ "The Nevada in Commission" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 September 1915. p. 12.
- ^ Miller, 185.
- ^ Venzon and Miles, 755
- ^ Russell and Moore, 97.
- ^ "Utah". DANFS.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b "George Washington". DANFS.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
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ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Breyer, 210.
- ^ a b Bonner, 102–103.
- ^ a b Bonner, 103.
- ^ Miller, Edward S. (1991). War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan, 1897–1945. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN ISBN 0870217593.
{{cite book}}
: Check|isbn=
value: invalid character (help) - ^ a b c d e "USS Nevada (Battleship # 36, later BB-36), 1916-1948". Naval Historical Center. 2007.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
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ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Breyer, 210.
- ^ "History of the Pacific Fleet Band". U.S. Navy (Pacific Fleet). 2001.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Fitzsimons, 1982.
- ^ a b c d Wallin, 212
- ^ a b c Scanland, F.W. (1941). "USS Nevada, Report of Pearl Harbor Attack". Naval Historical Center.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Sabin, L. A., Vice Admiral, USN. "Comment and Discussion", United States Naval Institute Proceedings, September 1973, 97.
- ^ a b Bonner, 105.
- ^ Wallin, 212–213.
- ^ Prange, Goldstein, and Dillon, 237-238, 264.
- ^ Wallin, 218.
- ^ Bonner, 106.
- ^ "BB-36—Nevada (Nevada–class)". Naval Recognition Manual. Division of Naval Intelligence; Identification and Characteristics Section. 1943.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Breyer, 210.
- ^ The Battleship in the United States Navy, 51.
- ^ Morison, 134.
- ^ Morison, Volume III, 145.
- ^ Ryan, 198.
- ^ a b c Pike, John (2008). "SSBN 733 Nevada; BB 36". Global Security.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Ryan, 90.
- ^ Morison, The Two-Ocean War, 414.
- ^ Karig, Burton and Freeland, 386.
- ^ Karig, Burton and Freeland, 387.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony (27 March 2008). "14"/45 (35.6 cm) Marks 8, 9, 10 and 12". Navweaps.com.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Campbell, 123.
- ^ "CINCPOA Communique No. 264, 19 February 1945". HyperWar. 1945.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Operation Crossroads: Bikini Atoll". Naval Historical Center. 2001.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=
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ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Bonner, 107.
- ^ a b c Bonner, 108.
Bibliography
- Bonner, Kermit (1996). Final Voyages. Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 1563-1-1289-2. (Google books link)
- Breyer, Siegfried (1973). Battleships and Battle Cruisers 1905–1970. Doubleday and Company. ISBN 0385-0-7247-0.
- The Battleship in the United States Navy. Washington D.C.: Naval History Division. 1970.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|in=
ignored (help) - Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- Fitzsimons, Bernard, editor. "Nevada", in Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare. London: Phoebus, 1978. Volume 18, p. 1982.
- Friedman, Norman (1986). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870-2-1715-1. (Google books links for: Page 101 and Page 438.)
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal; Budzbon, Przemyslaw (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1946. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870-2-1907-3.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Google Books link - Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870-2-1913-8.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Google Books link - Karig, Commander Walter; Burton, Lieutenant Earl; Freeland, Lieutenant Stephen L. (1946). Battle Report (Volume 2); The Atlantic War. New York and Toronto: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Russell, James Clayton; Moore, William Emmet (1921). The United States Navy in the World War. Pictorial Bureau.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (Google books link) - Miller, Nathan (1997). U.S. Navy: A History. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557-5-0595-0. (Google books link)
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1963). The Two-Ocean War; A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War. Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Company.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1948). Volume III, The Rising Sun in the Pacific. Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Company.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1956). Volume X, The Atlantic Battle Won. Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Company.
- Prange, Gordon W.; Goldstein, Donald M.; and Dillon, Katherine V. (1988). 7 December 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. ISBN 0070-5-0682-5.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Ryan, Cornelius (1959). The Longest Day; June 6, 1944. New York: Simon and Schuster. 671-20814-1.
- Venzon, Anne Cipriano; Miles, Paul L. (1999). The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0815-3-3353-6.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (Google books link) - Wallin, Homer N. (1968). Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal. United States Government Printing Office.
- Worth, Richard (2002). Fleets of World War II. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306-8-1116-2. (Google books link)
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
Further reading
- Barry, James H. (1946). William S. Wyatt (ed.). USS Nevada 1916-1946. San Francisco: The James H. Barry Company.
- Madsen, Daniel (2003). Resurrection-Salvaging the Battle Fleet at Pearl Harbor. U. S. Naval Institute Press.
- USNR (Ret), Charles LCDR L. Peter Wren (2008). Battle Born. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 1425-7-9872-1.
External links
- Navy photos of Nevada (BB-36)
- Navy photos of Nevada during the Pearl Harbor attack
- Maritimequest USS Nevada BB-36 Photo Gallery
- NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive BB-36 USS NEVADA 1912 - 1926