Colorado-class battleship

Colorado-class battleship
U.S. Navy[2] · Public domain · source
Name	Colorado-class battleship
Caption	USS Colorado (BB-45) underway, 1930s
Class	Colorado class
Type	Battleship
Service	1923–1947
Displacement	~32,600–33,400 long tons (standard)
Length	624 ft (190 m)
Beam	97 ft 6 in (29.7 m)
Draft	30 ft 6 in (9.3 m)
Propulsion	Geared steam turbines, oil-fired boilers
Speed	21 kn (39 km/h)
Complement	1,170 officers and men
Armor	Belt up to 13.5 in, turrets up to 18 in
Armament	8 × 16 in/45 cal, 16 × 5 in/51 cal, AA, torpedoes (early)
Built	United States Navy
Builders	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Bethlehem Steel (Fore River), Philadelphia Navy Yard
Launched	1920–1923
Commissioned	1923–1924
Fate	All scrapped or sunk as targets by 1948–1959

Colorado-class battleship The Colorado-class battleship comprised the final and most heavily armed class of US pre–Washington Naval Treaty dreadnoughts, built for the United States Navy in the early 1920s. Intended as a culmination of lessons from World War I, Battleship design trends, and the experience of the Pennsylvania-class battleship and Tennessee-class battleship, the class featured the US Navy's last standard-type battleship layout before treaty-imposed limits. The four completed ships—USS Colorado (BB-45), USS Maryland (BB-46), USS West Virginia (BB-48), and USS Washington (BB-47) (cancelled hulls noted)—served through the interwar period and were modernized for World War II service.

Design and development

Design work for the Colorado class was influenced by naval architects at the Bureau of Construction and Repair, the Naval War College, and wartime analyses from Admiral William S. Sims and Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman. The class sought to carry the largest main battery then permitted by domestic practice, adopting eight 16-inch guns in four twin turrets—a direct development from studies following the Battle of Jutland and North Sea operations that informed gunnery and armor philosophies. Political factors including the Washington Naval Conference and the Washington Naval Treaty affected displacement, armament choices, and construction schedules overseen by the United States Congress and the Secretary of the Navy. Industrial partners such as New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, and the Philadelphia Navy Yard executed the designs amid postwar budget constraints and changing strategic guidance from the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Chief of Naval Operations.

Description and armament

The Colorado-class ships featured a conventional all-or-nothing armor scheme refined by inputs from BuShips engineers and influenced by armor trials involving Harvey armor and Krupp cemented armor evaluations. Hull form and metacentric considerations drew on trials with USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) and USS New Mexico (BB-40). Main battery comprised 8 × 16 in/45 caliber guns in four twin turrets manufactured under contract by Bethlehem Steel, with secondary batteries of 16 × 5 in/51 caliber guns for surface action and early anti-destroyer defense—later augmented for anti-aircraft duties by weapons from Bofors and Oerlikon programs. Fire-control systems integrated rangefinders and directors developed by Mark I Fire Control teams and components from Ford Instrument Company, while propulsion plants used geared turbines influenced by installations on USS California (BB-44) and USS Tennessee (BB-43). Armor protection included belt, deck, turret, and conning tower protection designed to counter 14 in–16 in shells tested in trials at Naval Proving Ground facilities.

Construction and ships

Four hulls were authorized: BB-45 through BB-48. Three were completed: USS Colorado (BB-45), USS Maryland (BB-46), and USS West Virginia (BB-48). The fourth, intended as USS Washington (BB-47), was cancelled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty with partial material used elsewhere. Keel-laying, launching, and commissioning events involved shipyards tied to regional industrial hubs such as Camden, New Jersey and Quincy, Massachusetts. Construction schedules were affected by labor actions involving American Federation of Labor affiliates and procurement changes directed by the Bureau of Steam Engineering. Hull numbers, sponsor ceremonies, and commissioning parades connected the ships to civic institutions including state governments of Colorado, Maryland, West Virginia, and Washington.

Operational history

In peacetime, the Colorado-class ships participated in Fleet Problem exercises, goodwill tours, and training cruises organized by the United States Fleet and the Battle Force. They operated in the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean theaters, visiting Panama Canal Zone, Pearl Harbor, and Guam while conducting gunnery trials with units of the Scouting Force and the Battle Fleet. The ships' activities reflected interwar naval doctrine debates among proponents like Admiral William V. Pratt and Admiral William S. Sims and interacted with treaty diplomacy such as the London Naval Treaty discussions.

Modernizations and interwar service

During the 1930s, modernization plans responded to developments in naval aviation from USS Langley (CV-1) experiments, carrier tactics advanced by Admiral Ernest J. King, and updates in naval engineering promoted by Admiral Harold Rainsford Stark. Upgrades included improved fire-control systems, anti-aircraft batteries influenced by lessons from Spanish Civil War observations, and limited machinery overhauls guided by the General Board. Refits at Naval Shipyards incorporated advances from contractors such as Bethlehem Steel and Sperry Gyroscope Company, and the ships resumed roles in fleet exercises like Fleet Problems that informed prewar readiness under commands of officers including Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher and Admiral William S. Pye.

World War II service and modifications

Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, surviving Colorado-class ships underwent emergency repairs and extensive wartime refits influenced by combat experience in the Pacific War and allied intelligence from British Royal Navy operations. USS West Virginia (BB-48) was heavily damaged at Pearl Harbor and rebuilt with improved anti-aircraft suites, torpedo protection modifications inspired by studies of HMS Rodney and HMS Nelson, and radar installations from Radio Corporation of America and MIT Radiation Laboratory programs. The ships provided naval gunfire support during amphibious campaigns such as the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, Marianas campaign, and operations supporting Leyte Gulf preparations, coordinating with Amphibious Forces and carrier task forces under commanders like Chester W. Nimitz and William F. Halsey Jr.. Wartime modifications expanded light AA arrays with weapons from Bofors and Oerlikon and added modern fire control using SG radar and Mk 37 Gun Fire Control System derivatives.

Decommissioning and disposition

After World War II hostilities ceased following Surrender of Japan, Colorado-class units were evaluated during postwar demobilization overseen by the Chief of Naval Operations and the United States Navy Department. Changing strategic priorities reflected in policies from President Harry S. Truman and reports by the Morgenthau-era advisers led to decommissioning and use of some hulls as target ships during weapons tests involving Operation Crossroads–era planners and ordnance trials. By the late 1940s and 1950s the remaining hulls were struck from the Naval Vessel Register and broken up at commercial yards associated with Bethlehem Steel and other scrapping contractors, concluding the service lives of America's last interwar all-big-gun dreadnoughts.

Category:Battleships of the United States Navy Category:Colorado-class battleship