Indiana-Klasse

Vorlage:Infobox ship imageVorlage:Infobox Ship Class OverviewVorlage:Infobox ship characteristics

The three Indiana-class battleships were the first battleships to be built by the United States Navy which were equivalent to contemporary European ships, such as the British Hood. Authorized in 1890 and commissioned between November 1895 and April 1896 they were relatively small battleships with heavy armor and ordenance which pioneered the use of an intermediate battery. Specifically intended for coastal defense their freeboard was too low in the water to deal well with the waves of the open ocean. They also lacked counterweights to their turrets and the main armor belt was placed too low to be effective under most conditions.

The ships were named Indiana, Massachusetts and Oregon and designated Battleship Number 1 through 3. All three served in the Spanish-American War, although the Oregon—who was stationed on the West Coast—had to make a 14,000 mile (26,000 km) cruise around South-America to the East Coast first. After the war the Oregon returned to the Pacific and participated in the Philippine–American War and Boxer rebellion, while her sister ships were restricted to training missions in the Atlantic ocean. After 1903 the obsolete battleships were de- and recommissioned several times, the last time during World War I when Indiana and Massachusetts served as a training ships, while the Oregon was an transport escort for the Siberian Intervention.

In 1919 all three ships were decommisioned for the final time. Indiana was sunk as an explosives test target a year later and sold for scrap in 1924. Massachusetts was scuttled off the coast of Pensacola in 1920 and used as an artillery target. The wreck was never scrapped and is now an Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. Oregon was initially preserved as a museum, but sold for scrap during World War II. The scrapping was later halted and the stripped hulk was used as an ammunition barge during the battle of Guam. The hulk was finally sold for scrap in 1956.

Background

The Indiana class was very controversial at the time of their approval by the United States Congress. A policy board convened by the Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy on 16 July 1889—three years after the Vorlage:USS and the Vorlage:USS were authorized—came up with an ambitious 15-year naval construction program. The battleships in their plan would include ten first rate long range battleships with a 17-knot (20 mph; 31 km/h) top speed and a steaming radius of 5,400 nautical miles (10,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)—6,500 nmi (12,000 km) maximum. These ships, with the ability to travel overseas and take the fight into an enemy's home waters, were envisioned as a possible fleet in being, where enemies would be forced to keep powerful warships at home—as opposed to off the coast of the United States—to counter a possible raiding mission. 25 short range second rate battleships would provide home defense in both the Atlantic and Pacific and support for the faster and larger long range vessels. With a range of roughly 2,700 nautical miles (3,100 mi; 5,000 km) at 10 knots and a draft of 23.5 feet (7 m), they would roam from the St. Lawrence River in the north to the Windward Islands and Panama in the south and be able to enter all of the ports in the southern United States.

It was proposed, probably for cost reasons, that the short range battleships had a hierarchy of three subclasses. The first would mount four 13-inch (330 mm) guns each on eight 8,000-long-ton (8,100 t) ships; the second would mount four 12-inch (305 mm) guns each on ten 7,150-long-ton (7,260 t) ships, and the third would mount two 12-inch and two 10-inch (254 mm) guns each on five 6,000-long-ton (6,100 t) ships. The two battleships already under construction, Texas and Maine, were to be grouped under the last class. In addition, 167 smaller ships, including rams, cruisers and torpedo boats, would be built, coming to a staggering total cost of $281.55 million, approximately equal to the sum of the entire US navy budget during the previous fifteen years.

Congress balked at the plan, seeing in it an end to the United States' policy of isolationism and the beginning of imperialism. Even some supporters of a naval expansion were wary; Senator Eugene Hale feared that because the proposal was so large, the entire bill would be shot down and no money appropriated for any ships. However, in April 1890, the House of Representatives approved funding for three 8,500-long ton (8,600 t) battleships. Tracy, trying to soothe tensions within Congress, remarked that these ships were so powerful that only twelve total capital ships would be necessary. He also slashed the operating costs of the Navy by giving the remaining Civil War-era monitors—which were utterly obsolete by this time—to navy militias operated by the states.

Outboard profile of the Oregon, with position and arc of fire of the armament

The appropriation was also approved by the Senate, and in total three coast-defense battleships (the "Indianas"), a cruiser, and a torpedo boat were given official approval and funding on 30 June 1890.

The first class of short range ships were projected to mount 13-inch/35 caliber and new 5-inch (127 mm) guns, with 17 inches (432 mm) of belt armor, 2.75 inches (70 mm) of deck armor and 4 inches (102 mm) of armor over the casemates. The Indianas, as actually built, exceeded the this design in displacement by 25 percent, but most other aspects were relatively similar. An 18-inch (457 mm) belt and a secondary battery of 8- and 6-inch (203 and 152 mm) guns were adopted, the latter because the Bureau of Ordnance did not have the capability to construct rapid-firing 5-inch weaponry. As the larger weapons were much slower firing and much heavier, this was not seen as a great compromise, but without the heavier guns, the ships would not be able to penetrate the armor of foreign battleships.

Design

General characteristics

The Massachusetts in drydock, showing one of her bilge keels

The Indiana class was designed specifically for coastal defense and not intended for offensive actions This design view was reflected in their low freeboard, which limited sea going capability, moderate coal endurance and relatively small displacement. They were however heavily armed and armored, so much in fact that Conway describes them as "attempting too much on a very limited displacement.". They resembled the contemporary British HMS Hood, but were Vorlage:Convert shorter, had 4000 tons less displacement and featured an intermediate battery consisting of eight Vorlage:Convert guns not found in European ships, giving it a very respectable amount of firepower for its time.

The original design of the "Indianas" included bilge keels, but this was considered problematic for placing the ship in a drydock and they were not included during construction. This meant a reduction in stability and caused a serious problem for the Indiana when both main turrets broke loose from their clamps in heavy sea during a voyage in October 1896. Because the turrets were not centrally balanced they swung from side to side with the motion of the ship, until they were secured with heavy ropes. When the ship encountered more bad weather four months later, she promptly steamed back to port for fear the clamps would break again. This convinced the navy that bilge keels were necessary and they were subsequently installed on all three ships.

Armament

Given its limited displacement, the Indianas had a formidable armament for its time: four 13 inch (330 mm) guns, an intermediate battery of eight 8 inch (208 mm) guns and a secondary battery of four 6 inch (152 mm) guns, twenty Hotchkiss 6-pounders, six Maxim-Nordenfelt 1-pounders as well as six 18 inch (460 mm) Whitehead torpedo tubes

The forecastle of Indiana, showing its fore 13-inch turret and one of the 8-inch turrets

The 13-inch gun was 35 calibres long, using black powder propellant giving a range of about 12,000 yards at 15 degrees of elevation. At 6,000 yards a shell was expected to penetrate 10 to 12 inches of side armour. The four guns were mounted in two centerline turrets, located fore and aft. The turrets were originally designed to feature sloping side armor, but space requirements made this impossible without using significantly larger gun turrets or redesigning the gun mounts (which was later done for the Illinois class battleships). The ships low freeboard greatly hindered the use of the main battery in rough weather conditions, because the deck would become awash. Also, because the ship lacked a counterweight to offset the weight of the gun barrels, the ship would list in the direction the guns were aimed. This reduced the maximum arc of elevation (and thus range) to about 5 degrees, brought the main armor belt under water on that side and exposed the unarmored bottom on the other side. It was considered in 1901 to replace the turrets with new balanced models used in later ships, but that was decided too costly since the ships were already obsolete at that time. Instead counterweights were added, which partially solved the problem. The hydraulic rammers and 8-inch turrets turning mechanisms were also replaced by faster and more efficient electric equivalents at that time, new sights were fitted and on "Indiana" and "Massachusetts" new turret hoists were installed to improve the reloading speed, but the gun mountings never performed entirely satisfactory.

The eight 8 inch (208 mm) guns were mounted in pairs in four wing turrets placed on the superstructure. Their arc of fire, although big on paper, was in reality limited. Adjacent gun positions and superstructure would be damaged by their muzzle blast if the gun was trained alongside it, a defect also suffered by the 13 inch (330 mm) guns. The smaller 6 inch guns were mounted in twin wing casemates midships on the main deck level, with a 6-pounder in between. The other Hotchkiss 6-pounders lined the superstructure and bridge decks. Four of the 1-pounders were placed in hull casemates at the bow and stern of the ship and two more in the masts fighting top. In the 1908 the 6 inch and most of the lighter guns were removed to compensate for the counterweights added to the main battery and because ammunition supply to the guns was considered problematic. A year later twelve 3 inch (76mm) 50 caliber single-purpose guns were added midships and on fighting top mounts.

Sources conflict on the number of torpedo tubes originally included in the ships, but it is clear they were located on the Berth deck and had above water ports located on the extreme front and aft and possibly midships. Located too close too the waterline to allow use while moving and vulnerable to gunfire when opened they were considered useless and quickly reduced in number, being completely removed before 1908.

Protection

With the exception of the deck armor, 8-inch turrets and conning tower—which consisted of conventional nickel steel—the Indiana class was protected with modern Harvey armor. Its main protection was an 18 inch (460 mm) thick belt, placed along two thirds of the length of the hull from 3 ft (0.9 m) above to 1 ft (0.3 m) under the waterline. Beyond this point the belt gradually grew thinner until it ended 4 ft 3 inch (1.3 m) under the waterline, where the belt was only 8.5 inch (220 mm) thick. Below the belt the ship had no armor, only a double bottom. On both ends the belt was connected the to the barbettes of the main guns with 14 inch (360 mm) armored bulkheads. In the waterline sections outside this central citadel compartments filled with compressed cellulose were placed, intended to "self seal" when damaged. Between the deck and the main belt 5 inch (130 mm) hull armor was used. The deck armor was 2.75 inch (70 mm) thick inside the citadel and 3 inch (76 mm) outside it. The hollow conning tower was a 10 inch (250 mm) thick single forging. The 13 inch gun battery had 15 inch (380 mm) vertical turret plating and 17 inch (430 mm) thick barbettes, while the 8 inch cannons only had 6 inch (150 mm) vertical turret plating and 8 inch (200 mm) thick barbettes. The casemates protecting the 6 inch guns were 5 inch (130 mm) and the other casemates, lighter guns, shell hoists and turret crowns were all lightly armored.

A close up view of the fire room (boiler room) of the Massachusetts

The belt armor for the Indiana class was designed based on the nominal draft, which was 24 ft (8 m) with a normal load of 400 tons of coal. Her total storage capacity was however 1600 tons of coal and fully loaded loaded with additional ammunition her draft would increase to 27 ft (9 m), entirely submerging the armor belt. These findings outraged the Walker board, responsible for the design of the Illinois class, causing them to set a standard for future ships in 1896, namely that the normal load of coal and ammunitions had to be at least two-thirds of the maximum.

Propulsion

Two vertical inverted triple expansion reciprocating steam engines—driven by four double ended Scotch boilers—powered the Indianas twin propellers, while two single ended Scotch boilers supplied steam for auxiliary machinery. The engines were designed to provide 9000 indicated horsepower (6700 kW), giving the ship a top speed of Vorlage:Convert During sea trials—which were conducted with limited amounts of coal, ammunition and supplies on board—it was found that the indicated horsepower and top speed exceeded design values and a significant variation between the three ships existed. The engines of the Indiana delivered Vorlage:Convert, giving a top speed of Vorlage:Convert. Massachusetts had a top speed of Vorlage:Convert with Vorlage:Convert and the Oregon reached a speed of Vorlage:Convert with Vorlage:Convert. On the Indiana and Massachusetts eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers, including four with superheaters, were installed in respectively 1904 and 1907 to replace the outdated Scotch boilers

Ships

Name	Hull	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
Vorlage:USS	BB-1	William Cramp and Sons	7 May 1891	28 February 1893	20 November 1895	Sunk in explosive tests, hulk sold for scrap 19 March 1924
Vorlage:USS	BB-2	William Cramp and Sons	25 June 1891	10 June 1893	10 June 1896	Sunk as gunnery target 1921, is now an artificial reef
Vorlage:USS	BB-3	Union Iron Works	19 November 1891	26 October 1893	16 July 1896	Used as ammunition hulk in WWII. Sold for scrap 1956

Indiana (BB-1)

USS Indiana after the Spanish-American war. The ship in the background is likely Massachusetts

Commissioned in 1895, the Indiana did not participate in any notable events until the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, when Indiana was part of the North Atlantic Squadron under Rear admiral William T. Sampson. His squadron was ordered to the Spanish port of San Juan in an attempt to intercept and destroy Admiral Cevera's Spanish squadron, which was on route to the Caribbean from Spain. The harbor was empty, but Indiana and the rest of the squadron bombarded it for two hours before realizing their mistake. Three weeks later news arrived that Commodore Schley's Flying Squadron had found Cervera and was now blockading him in the port of Santiago. Sampson was quick to reinforce Schley and assume overall command. Cervera saw that his situation was desperate and attempted to run the blockade on 3 July 1898. Indiana did not join in the chase of the fast Spanish cruisers because of her extreme eastern position on the blockade and low speed caused by engine problems, but was near the harbor entrance when the Spanish destroyers Pluton and Furor emerged. Together with battleship Iowa and armed yacht Gloucester she opened fire, quickly destroying the lightly armored enemy ships.

After the war the Indiana returned to training exercises before decommissioning in 1903. The battleship recommissioned in January 1906 to function as a training vessel until she was decommissioned again in 1914. Her third commission was in 1917 when Indiana served as a training ship for gun crews during World War I. She decommissioned for the final time on 31 January 1919, shortly after being reclassified Coast Battleship Number 1 so that the name Indiana could be assigned to the newly authorized—but never completed—battleship USS Indiana (BB-50). She was sunk as a target in under water explosion and aerial bombing tests in November 1920. Her hulk was sold for scrap on 19 March 1924.

Massachusetts (BB-2)

The Massachusetts being scuttled off the coast of Pensacola

Between commissioning in 1896 and the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898 Massachusetts conducted training exercises of the eastern coast of the United States. During the war she was placed in the Flying Squadron under Commodore Winfield Scott Schley. Schley went searching for Cervera's Spanish squadron and found it in the port of Santiago. The battleship was part of the blockade fleet until 3 July, but missed the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, because she had steamed to Guantánamo Bay the night before to resupply coal. The next day the battleship came back to Santiago, where she and Texas fired at the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes, which was being scuttled by the Spanish in a failed attempt to block the harbor entrance channel.

During the next 7 years, Massachusetts cruised the Atlantic coast and eastern Caribbean as a member of the North Atlantic Squadron and then a year more as a training ship for Naval Academy midshipmen until she was decommissioned in January 1906. May 1910 she was placed in reduced commission as a training ship again before entering the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in September 1912, where she stayed until decommissioning in May 1914. Massachusetts recommissioned in June 1917 to serve as a training ship for guncrews during World War I. She decommissioned for the final time on 31 march 1919, after being re-designated Coast Battleship Number 2 two days earlier so her name could be reused for the USS Massachusetts (BB-54). On 6 January 1921 she was scuttled off the coast of Pensacola and used as an artillery target for Fort Pickens. The navy attempted to sell her for scrap, but no buyer could be found and in 1956 the ship was declared property of the state of Florida. The wreck is currently one of the Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves and serves as an artificial reef.

Oregon (BB-3)

Oregon served for a short time on the Pacific Station before being ordered on a voyage around South America to the East Coast in march 1898 to serve in a possible war with Spain. She departed from San Francisco on 19 March, and reached Jupiter Inlet on 24 May, stopping several times for additional coal on the way. A journey of over 14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km) completed in 66 days, which was considered a remarkable achievement at that time. The DANFS describe the effect of the journey on the American public and government as follows: "On one hand the feat had demonstrated the many capabilities of a heavy battleship in all conditions of wind and sea. On the other it swept away all opposition for the construction of the Panama Canal, for it was then made clear that the country could not afford to take two months to send warships from one coast to the other each time an emergency arose."After completing her journey Oregon was ordered to join the blockade at Santiago as part of the North Atlantic Squadron under Rear Admiral Sampson. She took part in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, where she was the only ship fast enough to chase down the Spanish cruiser Cristobal Colon and forcing it surrender. The American cruisers had higher maximum speeds, but had half of their engines uncoupled. This fuel-saving measure had the side effect of halving speed, making them unable to keep up with the fast Spanish cruisers. Her journey around South-America and performance during the battle of Santiago earned her the nickname "Mc Kinley's Bulldog" or "Bulldog of the Navy".

USS Oregon in New York Harbor during the Spanish-American War victory naval review

After the war the Oregon was refitted in New York before she was sent back to the Pacific, where she served as a guard ship for two years. First a year in the Philippines during Philippine–American War and then another year in China at Wusong during the Boxer Rebellion until May 1901, when she was ordered back to the United States for an overhaul. In March 1903 Oregon returned to Asiatic waters and the battleship remained in the Far East, returning only shortly before decommissioning in April 1906. Oregon recommissioned in August 1911, but saw little activity and on went officially into a reserve status in 1914. On 2 January 1915 was placed in full commission again and sailed to San Francisco for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. A year later she was back to reserve status, only to be returned to full commission in April 1917 when the United States joined World War I. Oregon acted as one of the escorts for transports of the Siberian Intervention. In June 1919 she decommissioned, only to be temporarily recommissioned from August to October to be the reviewing ship for President Woodrow Wilson during the arrival of the Pacific Fleet at Seattle. As a result of the Washington Naval Treaty, Oregon was declared "incapable of further warlike service" in January 1924. In June 1925 she was loaned to the State of Oregon, who used her as floating monument and museum in Portland.

In February 1941, Oregon was re-designated IX–22. Shortly after it was decided that—because of World War II—the scrap value of the ship was more important then her historical value and she was sold. Her stripped hulk was later returned to the Navy and used as an ammunition barge during the battle of Guam, where she remained for several years. During a typhoon in November 1948, she broke loose and drifted out to sea. She was relocated in December 500 miles southeast of Guam and towed back. She was sold on 15 March 1956 and scrapped in Japan.

See also

• Battleship Illinois (replica)

Bibliography

• Norman Friedman: U.S. Battleships, An Illustrated design history. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 1985, ISBN 0-87021-715-1. 
• Robert Gardiner: Conway's, All the worlds fighting ships 1860-1905. Conway Maritime Press, London 1979, ISBN 0-85177-133-5. 
• Robert Gardiner: Steam, steel & shellfire: The steam warship 1815-1905. Conway Maritime Press, London 1992, ISBN 0-85177-564-0. 
• John C. Reilly, Scheina Robert L.: American Battleships 1886-1923. Arms and Armour press, London & Melbourne 1980, ISBN 0-85368-446-4. 

External links

• Navsource.org photos of the "Indiana","Massachusetts" and "Oregon"
• U.S. National Park Service photos of BB-2 wreckage off Fort Pickens, Florida