Kearsarge class battleship

Kearsarge-class battleships were battleships built for the United States Navy at the beginning of the 20th century. Its first ship, the USS|Kearsarge|BB-5|6, was commissioned in 1900. The lead ship of this class, USS "Kearsarge", was the only United States battleship not named for a state.

hip history

This class of battleships was the first in the U.S. Navy to carry the unusual double-decker turret layout both forward and aft. This arrangement suffered from firing interference between the 13 inch primary guns and the 8 inch secondary guns, and was not used frequently afterwards. Also, this class is distinguishable as the last to sport so-called "cheesebox" turret shapes. These turrets were descendants of the first-generation USS|Monitor| design by John Ericsson during the American Civil War. These "cheesebox" turrets mounted their guns far in the back of the turret, requiring a large vulnerable opening to accommodate gun elevation and severely limiting the maximum elevation of the weapons. Subsequent ships used box-shaped "British-style" turrets, which were far easier to protect and far more efficient.

Both ships of this class were removed from the Navy as fighting vessels by the Washington Naval Treaty, after which USS|Kentucky|BB-6|2 was scrapped, and "Kearsarge" was converted into a floating shipyard crane.

Ships in class

USS|Kearsarge|BB-5|6

* Designation: BB-5 (AB-1 from 5 August 1920)
* Laid down: 30 June 1896
* Launched: 24 March 1898
* Commissioned: 20 February 1900
* Operations: North Atlantic Fleet, Great White Fleet, World War I training operations
* Victories: None
* Fate: Decommissioned 10 May 1920 for conversion to a crane ship, renamed "Crane Ship 1" 6 November 1941

USS|Kentucky|BB-6|6

* Designation: BB-6
* Laid down: 30 June 1896
* Launched: 24 March 1898
* Commissioned: 16 May 1900
* Operations: Asiatic Fleet, Great White Fleet, World War I training operations
* Victories: None
* Fate: Decommissioned 29 May 1920 and sold for scrap 23 January 1924

See also

* List of battleships of the United States Navy
* List of ship launches in 1898
* List of ship commissionings in 1900
* List of ship decommissionings in 1920