Shipbucket

Thomas Jefferson class (US):


The first fleet aircraft carriers to enter service with the US Navy were in many respects just as experimental as the George Washington had been and were intended from the outset to carry more aircraft and have greater operational flexibility. They were to have been designed from the keel up as carriers but the design process would have taken at least a year, possibly two, and that was unacceptable to the Navy Department, who were also rethinking the Navy’s relationship to the battlecruiser concept. Thus, the design work already underway would instead lead to the second fleet carrier class (what would become the John Adams class) and the last two Essex class battlecruisers; President and Cumberland, which were already under construction, would be converted to carriers. Work on the ships stopped on September 24, 1920, while the design for the conversion was drawn up. Construction resumed six months later with the two new carriers launched in 1923 and commissioned in late 1924. They were Thomas Jefferson (ex-President), and Theodore Roosevelt (ex-Cumberland). They carried hull numbers CV-2 and CV-3 respectively.

The Thomas Jeffersons’ were among the largest carriers of their time, and were 820 feet long overall, had a 102 foot beam, and a nominal draft of 31 feet. They displaced 32,448 tons normal and 33,817 tons full load. They could carry up to 90 aircraft and were armed with eight 8”/50 Mk.9 guns in four twin turrets mounted ahead and astern of the island. Secondary guns were twelve 5”/50 Mk.7 in single mounts and eight 3”/50 Mk.8 AA guns. A four-shaft turbo-electric propulsion system rated at 136,270 shp (101,660 Kw) propelled these ships to a design speed of 31 knots and a range of 9,000 nautical miles. Armor was paired down from that of Essex and consisted of a 7” belt, a 2” hanger deck (the flight deck had splinter protection only), and 1” main turrets. In addition, a 1” torpedo bulkhead was fitted for the first time in a major US warship. Normal crew complement was 1,390.

As the first fleet carriers commissioned by the US Navy, the new ships were heavily involved in the War of the Americas. Thomas Jefferson was lost at the Battle of Subic Bay in 1926 when several bombs penetrated the flight deck to detonate in the hangers – causing considerable damage. What was unknown was that one of the bombs had in fact penetrated the hanger deck as well and ruptured several aviation gas lines. As damage-control parties worked to repair the ship vapors were building up below deck which led to a massive explosion and fire gutting the ship which eventually slowly sank on almost an even keel allowing most of the crew to escape. Her wreck was discovered in 2018 in around 2,500 feet of water and has been designated a protected historic site by the US in cooperation with the Philippine government.
Theodore Roosevelt survived the war and was refit in 1938-39 with 5” duel-purpose twin mounts replacing the 8” turrets as well as additional AA guns and improved protection for her hangers. Serving during the Great Pacific War, Roosevelt saw considerable action but escaped serious damage. After the war ended in 1948, the carrier remained in service only another year before being decommissioned and scrapped. Her legacy lives on however in the current USS Theodore Roosevelt (CSGN-15) a member of the James Madison class of nuclear-powered strike cruisers.

Next: Another carrier class, then the first true US heavy cruisers

Cheers!
Stealthjester

John Adams class (US):


The second class of US fleet carriers and the first designed as such from the keel up, the John Adams class were among the most advanced of their day. They were the product of the design program originally begun in 1921, and were able to operate almost as many aircraft as the Thomas Jefferson class, and also much more efficiently. Laid down between 1922 and 1923, none were even launched by the outbreak of war with the Confederacy but all were given priority and were launched in 1924-25 and commissioned by the end of 1926. A total of six were built; John Adams, Samuel Tilden, Thomas Bayard, James Madison, Matthew Quay, and James Blaine. Hull numbers ran from CV-4 to CV-9.

The John Adams class was 740 feet long overall, had a 90 foot beam (100 foot including flight deck), and a nominal draft of 25 feet. They displaced 24,119 tons normal and 25,123 tons full load. They could carry up to 80 aircraft and were armed with eight 5”/50 Mk.7’s in single mounts and sixteen 3”/50 Mk.8 AA guns. They reverted to a four-shaft geared turbine propulsion system to reduce costs and hasten production; the first three using Avondale units, the last three Kellar-Morrison. The turbines were rated at 121,200 shp which could propel these ships to 31 knots and beyond (USS James Madison reached 32.2 knots during trials) and range was 8,000 nautical miles. Armor consisted of a 2” belt and a 2” hanger deck (the flight deck had splinter protection only). Normal crew complement was 1,112.

During the War of the Americas, the new carriers showed what naval air power could really do – beginning with the hunt for the Havana Squadron during the Confederate’s Operation Citadel and continuing with every major battle afterward, these ships were responsible for not only sinking many CS ships and damaging bases and shipyards, but also protecting the fleet from air attack by Confederate carriers. The class paid a high price for these achievements, however, as half the class were lost to enemy action. Samuel Tilden in 1926, Thomas Bayard in 1927, and Matthew Quay to the Confederate submarine H.VII in 1926. Postwar, these ships continued as front-line units through the middle of the Great Pacific War, with the class ship lost to Japanese bombers while moored in Subic Bay in 1942. By late 1944, enough new carriers of the Abraham Lincoln and Gideon Welles classes had entered service to allow the remaining John Adams class ships to be assigned second-line duties. They spent the remainder of the war providing air cover for amphibious operations and escorting high-priority convoys. Retired within a year of the end of the war, the two surviving ships remained in ordinary until 1956, when they were sold off and scrapped.

Next up: US heavy cruisers

Cheers!
Stealthjester

Very nice work!

_________________

MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Hi!
Couldn't find which CSA battleship had number B-8?
Best regards!

Greetings!

In answer to your question Karlik, B-8 was an unnamed Confederate pre-dreadnought of the Florida class that was cancelled in 1900 before construction began.

Cheers!
Stealthjester

Thank you!

Quincy class (US):


The need for a “heavy” cruiser in the US Navy grew from the growing disparity between armored and protected cruisers in the early 1900’s. By 1907, the latest armored cruisers were armed with 10” guns while protected cruisers mounted 8” weapons. This was partly rectified by the introduction of scout and light cruiser classes armed with 6” guns while armored cruisers were soon abandoned in favor of battlecruisers. The resulting gap was finally filled when the keel for USS Quincy was laid down in the Philadelphia Navy Yard in early 1919. A complete break from both protected and armored cruiser designs, the new ship was intended to be an 8” gunned version of the light cruisers then in service. Four of these ships were built; Quincy, Baltimore, Portland, and Grand Rapids. They were originally designated as armored cruisers (hull numbers ACR-24 to ACR-27) but this was changed to a new heavy cruiser designation “CA” while building, being assigned hull numbers CA-1 to CA-4. They were launched during 1921 and commissioned by the end of 1922.

The Quincy class was 590 feet long overall, had a 65 foot beam, and a nominal draft of 20 feet. They displaced 12,623 tons normal and 13,388 tons full load. They were armed with eight 8”/50 Mk.9 guns in four twin turrets, eight 5”/50 Mk.7’s in single unshielded mounts and four 3”/50 Mk.8 AA guns. They also carried two twin 21” torpedo tubes in swivel mounts on the main deck. Powered by a 69,020 shp four-shaft geared turbine propulsion system the ships could reach 29 knots. As the new ships were envisioned as undertaking independent patrols they had an impressive range of 9,000 nautical miles. They were well armored with a 6” belt that tapered to 3” at bow and stern, a 3” deck, 8” main turrets, 4’ barbettes, and an 8” conning tower. Crew complement stood at 685.

During the War of the Americas, the new cruisers performed well and only one; Grand Rapids, was lost – sunk during the Battle of the Caribbean Sea in 1925. Despite this, the design itself was not completely successful, as it was somewhat cramped and the secondary guns had restricted firing arcs. These issues would persist in the next class of heavy cruiser – the San Diego class. After the war ended in 1927 the three surviving ships continued to serve in the postwar navy and were modernized during 1937-28 where among other improvements, they gained shields for their 5” guns. They served during the Great Pacific War where Baltimore was sunk by a Japanese submarine in 1943. Postwar, the two remaining members of this class were retired in 1952 and scrapped soon after.

San Diego class (US):


The second class of US heavy cruisers; the San Diego class, were improvements on the preceding Quincy class in several respects, but continued the troubling faults the earlier ships displayed. They were more heavily armed, but the inclusion of a fifth 8” turret aft resulted in an awkward arrangement where C turret had a severely restricted firing arc and D turret’s barbette was situated too far below the turret due to stability concerns to be effective. How this flaw managed to get past design review is a mystery to this day but other problems existed. The arrangement of the secondary guns was also awkward and congested as well. This design was ultimately deemed a failure and led to a shakeup at BuC&R during the early 1930’s as a result. Four ships of this class were built; San Diego, Ogden, Butte, and Yakima. They were laid down in 1921 and commissioned during 1924. Hull numbers ran from CA-5 to CA-8.

The San Diego class was 605 feet long overall, had a 70 foot beam, and a nominal draft of 22 feet. They displaced 14,242 tons normal and 15,029 tons full load. They were armed with ten 8”/50 Mk.9 guns in five twin turrets, two superfiring forward, and three aft with D turret superfiring over both C and E turrets which proved to be problematic in combat as mentioned above. Secondary guns were ten 5”/50 Mk.7’s in single unshielded mounts, while six 3”/50 Mk.8 AA guns and two triple 21” torpedo launchers completed the weapons suite.. Four Keller-Morrison geared turbines rated at 82,280 shp gave these ships a top speed of 30 knots. Range remained 9,000 nautical miles. The armor scheme was identical to the Quincy class. Normal complement was 749.

Commissioned during the War of the Americas, the new cruisers were immediately thrown into combat where their shortcomings became apparent. All but one of these ships was lost during the conflict; San Diego and Butte during the Philippines Campaign and Yakima at Mobile Bay. After the war, Ogden continued in service but was relegated to second-line duties during the Great Pacific War. She was converted to a target ship in 1951 and was sunk in a live fire exercise in 1954.

Aspen class (US):


The final class of US heavy cruisers to see action during the War of the Americas were authorized in late 1921, but were not laid down until after the conflict started in 1923. They represented a quantum leap forward and were very successful, popular with their crews and respected by the CSN. They were such an improvement over earlier heavy cruisers in fact, that many of their features found their way into the first postwar class – the New Rochelle class of 1935. Five ships of this class were built; Aspen, Salem, Bellevue, Akron, and Medford. They were launched between 1925 and 1926 and all were in commission by early summer of 1927. Hull numbers ran from CA-9 to CA-13.

The Aspen class was 622 feet long overall, had a 72 foot beam, and a nominal draft of 22 feet. They displaced 14,779 tons normal and 15,571 tons full load. They were armed with ten 8”/50 Mk.10 guns in two two-gun and two triple turrets. Secondary armament consisted of twelve 5”/50 Mk.7 guns in six twin semi-shielded mounts allowing a much more effective layout of these weapons. Eight 3”/50 Mk.8 AA guns and two triple 21” torpedo launchers completed the weapons suite.. Four geared turbines (Avondale in the first three ships, Kellar-Morrison in the last two) rated at 83,940 shp allowed these ships to retain a 30 knot design speed. Range was again 9,000 nautical miles. The armor scheme was identical to the San Diego class save the belt armor increased to 7” and the armor as a whole was distributed more efficiently. Normal complement was 770.

Aspen, Salem, and Bellevue entered service in 1926 and Akron and Medford the following year, but saw considerable action during the fierce fighting that occurred toward the end of the War of the Americas. Despite this, none of the new ships were lost – a testament to their design. Postwar, the ships were refit during 1939-1940 and again during in 1943-1944 during the Great Pacific War. Two were lost during this conflict; Aspen in 1945 and Bellevue in 1947. Afterward, the three surviving ships served in the postwar navy until 1960, when Salem and Medford were decommissioned and scrapped. Akron, however, was retained as a war memorial and museum ship and was permanently moored in Boston Harbor where she can be visited today.

Next up: US wartime destroyers

Cheers!
Stealthjester

Very nice work!

_________________

MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Gates class (US):




With the threat of war looming by the early 1920’s, it quickly became apparent to the US Navy that intelligence reports of Confederate submarine numbers and capabilities had been significantly underestimated and that the sixty-three destroyers then in active service – over half of which had been commissioned before 1910 – would be inadequate to both perform escort functions and anti-submarine work. Thus, in September of 1922, the decision was made to mass-produce a large number of destroyers based on the prewar Atkinson class.
A total of eighty-five were planned originally with the keels for the first five laid down in January of 1923, to be followed by twenty-five more laid down by year’s end, and an additional thirty were started during 1924. Construction began on the last twenty-five of this class during 1925, but the changing strategic situation following the Confederate failure of Operation Citadel led to the decision to halt construction in October of 1925 with many of these ships only between 10-15% complete. They stayed on the stocks until August of the following July when they were formally cancelled and scrapped.
Although considered one class by the US Navy, because of a series of improvements – most intended to speed production – the new Gates class actually consisted of three distinct sub-classes. The first sub-group – the Gates class itself – consisted of twenty ships; Gates, Johnson, Anderson, Walker, Harris, Young, King, Wright, Stewart, Rogers, Morgan, Bell, Ward, Peterson, Watson, Sanders, Bennett, Ross, Henderson, and Coleman, and were effectively identical to the Atkinson’s save for the addition of two depth charge racks, a Mk.1 Y-gun depth charge projector, and hydrophones when commissioned. They entered service between 1925 and 1926 and carried hull numbers DD-91 to DD-110.
The next twenty ships constituted the Fuller sub-class. They differed in many details from the Gates class, most of which were internal, with the most obvious change being the adoption of “stacked” triple launchers for their Mk.9 21” torpedoes – replacing the earlier side by side launchers which suffered from restricted firing arcs in the tight quarters of US destroyers of the time. This sub-class comprised Fuller, Ambrose, Welch, Frazier, Holland, Bryant, Myers, Graham, Foster, Jenkins, Douglas, Caldwell, Jensen, Lowe, Holt, McKinney, Dawson, Parks, Steele, and Harrison. They were commissioned between late 1925 and early 1927 and carried hull numbers DD-111 and DD-130.
The next group was the Gibson sub-class. Again, differences were minor but did see the single 3” AA gun of the earlier ships replaced with six Mk.3 1”/50 guns – two twin mounts replacing the 3” gun and two single mounts installed on top of the forward superstructure aft of the bridge. This group consisted of; Gibson, Murray, Hunter, Dixon, Reyes, Palmer, Nichols, Eaton, Snyder, Harper, Blankenship, Wagner, Olson, Duncan, Newman, Vance, Riley, Armstrong, Schmidt, and Banks. They commissioned between late 1926 and early 1928 – seven; Snyder, Harper, Wagner, Olson, Newman, Schmidt, and Banks, were still under construction when the war ended but were far enough along to warrant completion. They carried hull numbers DD-131 to DD-150.
The final group of twenty-five ships of this class was laid down beginning in early 1925. They were unnamed at the time of their cancellation. This group did include some minor refinements but were otherwise identical to the Gibson sub-class and carried hull numbers DD-151 to DD-175.

Immediately sent into action after commissioning and abbreviated trials, these destroyers proved successful, although their rougher, less “polished” construction led to them being referred to by their crews as “tin cans”. Despite this, they were well-liked for their durable construction and sea-worthiness and performed superbly during the War of the Americas although eighteen; Anderson, Wright, Sanders, Ross, Henderson, Ambrose, Douglas, Caldwell, Lowe, Dawson, Parks, Gibson, Hunter, Dixon, Reyes, Blankenship, Duncan, and Armstrong, were sunk in combat, and one; Steele, was lost to a grounding incident late in the war.
After the conflict ended in 1927, the surviving ships continued in front-line service. In 1940; Gates, Walker, Harris, King, Rogers, Bell, Fuller, Graham, Foster, and Jenkins were all decommissioned, but the rest of the class served throughout the Great Pacific War where nine were lost; Peterson and Olson in 1942, Johnson and Newman in 1943, Wagner in 1944, Bennett in 1945, Coleman and Eaton in 1946, and Vance in 1947. Declared surplus in 1949, the remaining ships were decommissioned and scrapped.

Next up: US war-built submarines

Cheers!
Stealthjester

Awesome! So DD-94 (Walker) didn't get lost in a storm and end up battling the Grik, then?

_________________

MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB