Standard-type battleship

Group of US Navy battleship classes

The Standard-type battleship was a series of thirteen battleships across five classes ordered for the United States Navy between 1911 and 1916 and commissioned between 1916 and 1923.[1] These were considered super-dreadnoughts, with the ships of the final two classes incorporating many lessons from the Battle of Jutland.

Each vessel was produced with a series of progressive innovations, which contributed to the pre–World War I arms race.[1] The twelve[a] vessels constituted the US Navy's main battle line in the interwar period, while many of the ten earlier dreadnoughts were scrapped or relegated to secondary duties. Restrictions under the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty limited total numbers and size of battleships and had required some under construction to be cancelled, so it was not until the onset of World War II that new battleships were constructed. On December 7, 1941, eight were at Pearl Harbor, one at Bremerton, Washington, and three were assigned to the Atlantic Fleet.

Doctrine

The Standard type, by specifying common tactical operational characteristics between classes, allowed battleships of different classes to operate together as a tactical unit (BatDiv) against enemy battleships. By contrast, other navies had fast and slow battleship classes that could not operate together unless limited to the performance of the ship with slowest speed and widest turning circle. Otherwise the battle line would be split into separate "fast" and "slow" wings. The Standard type was optimized for the battleship-centric naval strategy of the era of their design.

The next US battleship classes, beginning with the North Carolina class designed in the late 1930s and commissioned in 1941, marked a departure from the Standard type, introducing the fast battleships needed to escort the aircraft carriers that came to dominate naval strategy.

List of Standard-type battleships

Ship name Class Hull No. Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
Nevada Nevada BB-36 Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts 4 November 1912 11 July 1914 11 March 1916 29 August 1946 Struck 12 August 1948; sunk as a target, 31 July 1948
Oklahoma BB-37 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey 26 October 1912 23 March 1914 2 May 1916 1 September 1944 Struck 1 September 1944; hulk sank while under tow, 17 May 1947
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania BB-38 Newport News Shipbuilding Company, Newport News, Virginia 27 October 1913 16 March 1915 12 June 1916 29 August 1946 Target ship, Operation Crossroads; scuttled, 10 February 1948
Arizona BB-39 New York Naval Shipyard 16 March 1914 19 June 1915 17 October 1916 29 December 1941 Sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941
New Mexico New Mexico BB-40 Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York City 14 October 1915 13 April 1917 20 May 1918 19 July 1946 Struck 25 February 1947; broken up at Newark, 1947
Mississippi BB-41 Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News 5 April 1915 25 January 1917 18 December 1917 17 September 1956 Struck 17 September 1956; broken up at Baltimore, 1956
Idaho BB-42 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden 20 January 1915 30 June 1917 24 March 1919 3 July 1946 Broken up at Newark, 1947
Tennessee Tennessee BB-43 New York Naval Shipyard 14 May 1917 30 April 1919 3 June 1920 14 February 1947 Struck 1 March 1959; sold for scrap, 10 July 1959
California BB-44 Mare Island Naval Shipyard 25 October 1916 20 November 1919 10 August 1921 14 February 1947 Struck 1 March 1959; sold for scrap, 10 July 1959
Colorado Colorado BB-45 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey 29 May 1919 22 March 1921 30 August 1923 7 January 1947 Struck 1 March 1959; sold for scrap, 23 July 1959
Maryland BB-46 Newport News Shipbuilding Company, Newport News, Virginia 24 April 1917 20 March 1920 21 July 1921 3 April 1947 Struck 1 March 1959; sold for scrap, 8 July 1959
Washington BB-47 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey 30 June 1919 1 September 1921 — Cancelled after signing of Washington Naval Treaty; sunk as target, 25 November 1924
West Virginia BB-48 Newport News Shipbuilding Company, Newport News, Virginia 12 April 1920 17 November 1921 1 December 1923 9 January 1947 Struck 1 March 1959; sold for scrap, 24 August 1959

Characteristics

Characteristics of the Standard type included:

  • all-or-nothing armor scheme
  • All main guns on the centerline in fore and aft turrets with no amidships guns
  • designed range of about 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at economical cruising speed
  • top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h)
  • tactical turn radius of 700 yards

The Colorado-class, the first US battleships to mount 16-inch (406 mm) guns, represented the endpoint of the gradual evolution of the "Standard Type" battleships. The Colorado-class battleships were 624 feet (190 m) long, displaced 32,600 tons, had a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h), and carried a main battery of eight 16-inch (406 mm) guns.[1]

The next planned class of Standard battleships, the never-completed South Dakotas, represented a significant increase in size and armament over the Colorados. They would have been 684 feet (208 m) long, displaced 43,200 tons, had a top speed of 23 knots (43 km/h), and carried 12 16-inch (406 mm) guns. Nonetheless, the design characteristics of the South Dakotas closely followed the standard-type battleship, albeit at a greater scale. Like the Tennessees and Colorados, they were designed with the same bridges, lattice masts and turbo-electric propulsion system and they used the same torpedo protection system as the latter class. Naval historian Norman Friedman described the South Dakotas as the ultimate development of the series of U.S. battleships that began with the Nevada class, despite the increase in size, speed and intermediate armament from the standard type that characterized the Nevada through Colorado classes.[2]

Service history

World War I

All the Standard Type were oil-burning. Since oil was scarce in the British Isles, only Nevada and Oklahoma actively participated in World War I by escorting convoys across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Britain.

Interwar years

All the Standard Types were modernized during the 1920s and 1930s. The cage masts of all but the Tennessee and Colorado classes were replaced with tripod masts topped with fire-control directors, torpedo tubes were removed and anti-aircraft guns were upgraded. Main battery elevation in the older ships was increased to 30 degrees for greater range. Most of the Standards received anti-torpedo bulges. Each ship received one or two catapults and recovery cranes for operating floatplanes for scouting and gunnery spotting.

World War II

On December 7, 1941, Colorado was undergoing a refit to install new torpedo bulges at Puget Sound Navy Yard, while the three ships of the New Mexico class were assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. The remaining eight Standard Type battleships were at Pearl Harbor forming Battleship Row.

During the Pearl Harbor Attack, Arizona's forward magazine exploded from a bomb hit and Oklahoma capsized after multiple torpedo strikes, both with significant losses of life. West Virginia and California were also sunk, while Nevada managed to get underway and was beached shortly afterward. Tennessee and Maryland each received two bomb hits.

Arizona and Oklahoma were considered permanent losses, but the other damaged and sunk battleships were salvaged and sent to the West Coast for repairs and reconstruction. Nevada and Pennsylvania received entirely new superstructures with revised secondary armaments of 5"/38 DP guns in twin mounts, as well as numerous new 20mm and 40mm AA guns. Tennessee, California and West Virginia were even more thoroughly rebuilt, incorporating not just changes similar to Nevada but increased deck armour, torpedo bulges and improved subdivision and a modern radar and electronics suite, though their widened beam exceeded the Panama Canal restrictions which limited their operations to the Pacific. Maryland, Colorado, and the three New Mexico class ships were too urgently needed in 1942 to undergo similar rebuilds. Most changes to these ships focused on updating their radar suites and expanding their light AA armaments, though Idaho would receive an updated secondary battery of 5in/38 guns in late 1944 and Maryland received a partial rebuild that was completed in August 1945 just as Japan surrendered.

The ten surviving Standard Type battleships served throughout World War II primarily as fire support for amphibious landings. Their low speed relegated them to second line duties as they were too slow to accompany the fleet carriers that had become the dominant combatant. Six of them participated in the last battleship versus battleship engagement in naval history, the Battle of Surigao Strait, where none of them were hit.

Fates

Arizona and Oklahoma were sunk during the Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Their sister ships Pennsylvania and Nevada were used as targets in the Operation Crossroads atomic tests in 1946; Pennsylvania was not fully repaired after being severely damaged by a air-launched torpedo in the closing days of the Pacific War. In 1946 Mississippi was converted to a test vessel for new gun and missile systems and served until 1956. Most other Standard-type battleships were decommissioned in 1946 or 1947 and placed in the reserve fleet; ultimately all were scrapped by 1959.

Footnotes

Notes

  1. ^ The thirteenth, USS Washington, was scrapped as a result of the Washington Naval Treaty.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Czarnecki, Joseph (February 1, 2001). "A Survey of the American 'Standard Type' Battleship". NavyWeapons.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-04. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  2. ^ Friedman (1985b), pp. 156.

Sources

  • Friedman, Norman (1985b). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-715-1.

Further reading

  • Burton, Earl; Pincus, JH (September 2004). "The Other D-Day: The Invasion of Southern France". Sea Classics. 37 (9): 60–70. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  • Bonner, Kermit (1996). Final Voyages. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-56311-289-8.
  • Breyer, Siegfried (1973). Battleships and Battle Cruisers 1905–1970. Doubleday and Company. ISBN 978-0-385-07247-2.
  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-459-2.
  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Battleships". The Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 32. London and New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica, Company Ltd.
  • Cox, Ormund L. (1916). "U.S.S. Nevada; Description and Trials". Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers. 28: 20–54. doi:10.1111/j.1559-3584.1916.tb00598.x. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  • Cressman, Robert (2016). The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Annapolis: US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-68247-154-8.
  • Driscoll, John C. (2009). USS New Mexico (BB-40): The Queen's Story in the Words of Her Men. Agincourt Research Services. ISBN 978-0-9840784-0-0.
  • Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. (1978). "Nevada". Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare. Vol. 18. London: Phoebus. p. 1982.
  • Frank, Richard B. (1999). Downfall; The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-100146-3.
  • Friedman, Norman (1978). Battleship Design and Development 1905–1945. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-135-9.
  • Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8. OCLC 12119866.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. ISBN 978-0-8317-0303-5.
  • Gregory, Eric (7 December 1995). "16 days to die at Pearl Harbor: Families weren't told about sailors trapped inside sunken battleship". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  • Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-352-7.
  • Hone, Thomas C. (1977). "The Destruction of the Battle Line at Pearl Harbor". Proceedings. 103 (12). United States Naval Institute: 56.
  • Johnson, Shauna (6 December 2016). "USS West Virginia the Focus of New Culture Center Exhibit Opening for 75th Pearl Harbor Anniversary". MetroNews. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  • Karig, Walter; Burton, Earl; Freeland, Stephen L (1946). Battle Report (Volume 2); The Atlantic War. New York/Toronto: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc.
  • Lord, Walter (2001). Day of Infamy. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-8050-6803-0.
  • Miller, Edward S. (1991). War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan, 1897–1945. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-759-3.
  • Miller, Nathan (1997). U.S. Navy: A History. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-595-8.
  • Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001). "Nevada". History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II (series). Champaign: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07065-5.
  • Morison, Samuel Eliot (1963). The Two-Ocean War; A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
  • Morison, Samuel Eliot (1948). The Rising Sun in the Pacific; 1931 – April 1942. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II (series). Boston: Little, Brown and Company. OCLC 7361008.
  • Morison, Samuel Eliot (1956). Volume X, The Atlantic Battle Won. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
  • Morison, Samuel Eliot (2002). Victory in the Pacific (reprint ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. ISBN 978-0-252-07065-5.
  • Morison, Samuel Loring; Polmar, Norman (2003). The American Battleship. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 978-0-7603-0989-6.
  • Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001) [1958]. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. XII. Edison: Castle. ISBN 978-0-7858-1313-2.
  • Morison, Samuel E. (1947). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: The Battle of the Atlantic, September 1939-May 1943. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. OCLC 768913264.
  • Prange, Gordon W.; Goldstein, Donald M.; Dillon, Katherine V. (1988). December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. ISBN 978-0-07-050682-4.
  • Prange, Gordon W.; Goldstein, Donald M.; Dillon, Katherine V. (1991). At Dawn We Slept. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-015734-5.
  • Russell, James Clayton; Moore, William Emmet (1921). The United States Navy in the World War. Pictorial Bureau.
  • Ryan, Cornelius (1959). The Longest Day; 6 June 1944. New York: Simon and Schuster. 671-20814-1.
  • US Naval History Division (1970). The Battleship in the United States Navy. Washington D.C.: Naval History Division. OCLC 298306. 72-604171.
  • Venzon, Anne Cipriano; Miles, Paul L. (1999). The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-8153-3353-1.
  • Wallin, Homer N. (1968). Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal. Washington, D.C: Department of the Navy. ISBN 978-0-89875-565-7. OCLC 51673398. Archived from the original on 2023-06-11. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  • Wiles, Sunshine (6 December 2016). "History of USS West Virginia Recounted for 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack". MetroNews. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  • Worth, Richard (2002). Fleets of World War II. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81116-6.
  • Zimm, Alan D. (2011). Attack on Pearl Harbor: Strategy, Combat, Myths, Deceptions. Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-61200-010-7. Archived from the original on 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  • Delgado, James P. (1991). The Archeology of the Atomic Bomb: A Submerged Cultural Resources Assessment of the Sunken Fleet of Operation Crossroads at Bikini and Kwajalein Atoll Lagoons, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Santa Fe: Submerged Cultural Resources Unit, National Maritime Initiative. OCLC 214771149.
  • Jordan, John (2011). Warships after Washington: The Development of Five Major Fleets 1922-1930. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-973-6.
  • Arroyo, Ernest (2001). Pearl Harbor. Metro Books. ISBN 978-1-58663-149-9.
  • La Forte, Robert S.; Marcello, Ronald E (1991). Remembering Pearl Harbor: Eyewitness Accounts by US Military Men and Women. Wilmington, DE: SR Books. ISBN 0-8420-2371-2. OCLC 645772276.
  • Madsen, Daniel (2003). Resurrection: Salvaging the Battle Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-488-1.
  • Newell, Gordon (1957). Pacific Tugboats. Seattle, WA: Superior Publishing.
  • Phister, Jeff; Hone, Thomas; Goodyear, Paul (2008). Battleship Oklahoma: BB-37. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3936-4.
  • Young, Stephen Bower (1991). Trapped at Pearl Harbor: Escape for Battleship Oklahoma. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-975-1. OCLC 555364424. Archived from the original on 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  • Smith, Myron J. Jr. (1983). Keystone Battlewagon U.S.S. Pennsylvania (BB-38). Charleston: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-933126-27-1.
  • Stillwell, Paul (1991). Battleship Arizona: An Illustrated History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-023-8.
  • Tully, Anthony P. (2009). Battle of Surigao Strait. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35242-2.
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
  • Wohlstetter, Roberta (1962). Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. OCLC 269470.
  • "USS Nevada (BB 36)". Naval Vessel Register. United States Navy. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  • "Nevada Class (BB-36 and BB-37), 1912 Building Program". Naval Historical Center. US Navy Department. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  • "USS Nevada (Battleship # 36, later BB-36), 1916–1948". Naval Historical Center. US Navy Department. 2007. Archived from the original on 16 April 2003. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  • Scanland, F.W. (1941). "USS Nevada, Report of Pearl Harbor Attack". Naval Historical Center. US Navy Department. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  • "USS Nevada during the Pearl Harbor Attack (Part II)". Naval History & Heritage Command. US Navy Department. 20 December 2000. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  • "Operation Crossroads: Bikini Atoll". Naval Historical Center. US Navy Department. 2001. Archived from the original on 21 May 2000. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  • "CINCPOA Communique No. 264, 19 February 1945". HyperWar. 1945. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  • Pike, John. "BB-36 Nevada Class". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  • Pike, John. "SSBN 733 Nevada". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  • "Chronology Of The Attack From The Deck Logs Of The Vessels Moored At Pearl Harbor December 7 1941 Compiled For The Pearl Harbor Court Of Inquiry Hearings". NavSource Naval History. Archived from the original on 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  • "Bell of the Battleship U.S.S. Pennsylvania". Penn State Historical Markers. Pennsylvania State University. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  • "USS Pennsylvania". pamilmuseum.org. Pennsylvania Military Museum. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  • "BB-40 USS New Mexico 1915–20". Battleship Photo Archive. NavSource. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  • "Launch New Dreadnought; Named the Nevada – Plans announced for Two Still Greater Ships" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 July 1914. p. C5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "The Nevada Leaves Quincy" (PDF). The New York Times. 23 October 1915. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Sea Fighter Nevada Ready For Her Test" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 October 1915. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Mightiest U.S. Ship Coming" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 September 1915. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Warships Near Completion; The Nevada and the Oklahoma almost Three-fourths built" (PDF). The New York Times. 5 November 1915. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Nevada Test a Success" (PDF). The New York Times. 5 November 1915. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "The Nevada Out Again" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 November 1915. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Nevada saves fuel" (PDF). The New York Times. 10 November 1915. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Nevada Meets Tests; New Superdreadnought easily fills contract requirements" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 November 1915. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "The Nevada in Commission" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 September 1915. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Ovation to Sea Fighters; Harbor Echoes With Greetings as Our Ships Steam In" (PDF). The New York Times. 27 December 1918. p. 1 and 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Pichon to Welcome Wilson; Will Head Delegation Aboard Warships to Meet Him Off Brest" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 December 1918. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Battleship Fleet sails for New York; Ten Dreadnoughts Homebound from Brest to Join in Christmas Celebration" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 December 1918. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "War Radio Service For Hughes on Trip" (PDF). The New York Times. 23 August 1922. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Hughes Arrives at Rio" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 September 1922. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "Baseball in Rio a Regular Sport" (PDF). The New York Times. 31 December 1922. p. 83. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • Hone, T.; Friedman, N. (April 1981). "Innovation and Administration in the Navy Department: The Case of the Nevada Design". Military Affairs. 45 (2): 57–62. doi:10.2307/1986962. JSTOR 1986962.
  • Wright, Christopher C, ed. (Mar 2002). "The US Navy's Study of the Loss of the Battleship Arizona". Warship International. XXXIX–XL (3–4, 1). Toledo: International Naval Research Organization: 44–105, 247–99, 360–80. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Bennett, Stuart (June 1986). A History of Control Engineering, 1800–1930. IET. ISBN 978-0-86341-047-5.
  • Nofi, Albert (2010). To Train The Fleet For War: The U.S. Navy Fleet Problems, 1923–40. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-1-884733-87-1.
  • Rowher, Jurgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War II. Washington D.C.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8.
  • Staff Writer (13 November 1947). "Pact To Stave Off Battle in Newark Sought". Ellensburg Daily Record. Ellensburg, Washington. OCLC 17308766. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  • Staff Writer (13 November 1947). "Two Tugs Lose, Then Find New Mexico En Route. City Would Stop Salvage of Vessel in City's Harbor". The Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. OCLC 2720408. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  • Turner Publishing (2002). USS New York. Nashville, Tennessee: Turner Publishing. ISBN 1-56311-809-2.
  • Wiper, Steve (2003). Warship Pictorial 18: USS New Mexico BB-40. Tucson: Classic Warship Publishing. ISBN 0-9710687-8-X.
  • Boslaugh, David L. (2003). When Computers Went to Sea: The Digitization of the United States Navy. Los Alamitos: IEEE Computer Society. ISBN 0-471-47220-4.
  • Stille, Mark (2015). US Standard-type Battleships 1941–45 (1): Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Mexico Classes. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-0697-0.
  • Wiper, Steve (2003). Warship Pictorial 18: USS New Mexico BB-40. Tucson: Classic Warship Publishing. ISBN 0-9710687-8-X.
  • "Battleship Pennsylvania." Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers 27, no. 2 (1915): 519.
  • Barber, G.H. "Launching of the Battleship Arizona," International Marine Engineering 20, no. 8 (1915): 334–36.
  • Cates Junior, Clifton B. War History of the USS Pennsylvania BB (38). N.p.: Ship's Welfare Fund, 1946. OCLC 6479199.
  • Gill, C.C. "'Pennsylvania' Trials." Proceedings 42, no. 2 (1916): 584.
  • Jones, Jerry W. US Battleship Operations in World War I. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1998. ISBN 1-55750-411-3. OCLC 37935228.
  • McCarthy, J. Crosby. "Launching a Giant Battleship a Long-planned and Risky Job." Popular Mechanics 14, no. 5 (1915): 673–76.
  • "Recent Launches." International Marine Engineering 20, no. 4 (1915): 180.
  • Tillman, Benjamin Ryan and William Adger Moffett. Construction of Battleships: Remarks of Hon. Benjamin R. Tillman ... United States Navy Archived 2023-11-08 at the Wayback Machine. 64th Cong., 1st sess., 20 June 1916. S. Doc 465.
  • "Trials of the Battleship Pennsylvania." International Marine Engineering 21, no. 4 (1916): 189.
  • "The Tillman Maximum Battleship." Advocate of Peace 74, no. 7 (1912): 182–83.
  • "The United States Battleship 'Pennsylvania' and Class." Scientific American 111, no. 13 (1911): 244, 254.
  • "Trials of Our Latest Dreadnought." Scientific American 114, no. 12 (1916): 297.
  • Whitley, M.J. Battleships of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998. ISBN 1-55750-184-X. OCLC 40834665.
  • Anon (1946). Man of War: Log of the United States Heavy Cruiser Louisville. Philadelphia: Dunlap Printing Co.
  • Beitler, Stu (13 June 1924). "Battleship Mississippi Disaster". Indiana: Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  • Moore, Molly (2 May 1989). "USS Iowa Investigation Focuses on Gunpowder". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  • Polmar, Norman (2011). Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events, Volume I: 1909-1945. Dulles: Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1-59797-344-1.
  • Thompson, Shanna (12 June 2004). "SP's Grief Etched in Stone". San Pedro Daily Breeze. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  • Willmott, H. P. (2005). The Battle of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-00351-2.
  • Cracknell, William H. (1972). "USS Tennessee (BB-43)". Warship Profile 21. Windsor: Profile Publications. pp. 197–220. OCLC 249112905.
  • Hornfischer, James D. (2011). Neptunes Inferno. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-80670-0.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945 – The Naval History of World War Two. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8.
  • Utley, Jonathan G. (1991). An American Battleship at Peace and War: The U.S.S. Tennessee. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-0492-0.
  • Smith, Peter C. (2014). Kamikaze: To Die for the Emperor. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78159-313-4.
  • "Update on Pearl Harbor Identifications". dpaa.mil. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  • "America's Biggest Warship Launched". The Washington Times. Washington D.C. 20 November 1919. Archived from the original on 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  • Wright, Christopher C. (September 2019). "Question 7/56: Concerning What Radar Systems Were Installed on U.S. Asiatic Fleet Ships in December 1941". Warship International. LVI (3): 192–198. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Dye, Ira (1997). "Liberty Lost Pursuing a Legend". Naval History. 11 (3). United States Naval Institute: 42–45.
  • Goldstein, Donald M. & Dillon, Katherine V. (1997). Amelia: The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's Publishing. ISBN 1-57488-134-5.
  • Martin, Robert J. (1997). USS West Virginia (BB-48). Nashville, Tennessee: Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-56311-341-3.
  • Schaefer, Scott (7 February 2014). "Ceremony held for transfer of the USS Colorado's teak decking". The SeaTac Blog. SeaTac, Washington: South King Media. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  • Ferguson, John C. (2007). Historic Battleship Texas: The Last Dreadnought. Military History of Texas #4. Abilene, Texas: State House Press. ISBN 978-1-933337-07-4.
  • Newhart, Max (1995). American Battleships: A Pictorial History of BB-1 to BB-71. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co. ISBN 978-1-57510-004-3.
  • DiGiulian, Tony (7 February 2008). "United States of America 16"/45 (40.6 cm) Mark 5 and Mark 8". NavWeaps.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  • DiGiulian, Tony (27 March 2008). "United States of America 14"/45 (35.6 cm) Marks 8, 9, 10 and 12". NavWeaps.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  • DiGiulian, Tony (31 May 2008). "United States of America 16"/45 (40.6 cm) Mark 1". NavWeaps.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  • DiGiulian, Tony (12 February 2012). "United States of America 5"/51 (12.7 cm) Marks 7, 8, 9, 14 and 15". NavWeaps.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  • DiGiulian, Tony (2 May 2012). "United States of America 5"/38 (12.7 cm) Mark 12". NavWeaps.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  • DiGiulian, Tony (14 January 2011). "United States of America 3"/23 (7.62 cm) Marks 4 and 14, 3"/23 (7.62 cm) Marks 7, 9, 11 and 13". NavWeaps.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  • DiGiulian, Tony (20 January 2011). "United States of America 5"/25 (12.7 cm) Marks 10, 11, 13 and 17". NavWeaps.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  • DiGiulian, Tony (14 July 2011). "United States of America 40 mm/56 (1.57") Mark 1, Mark 2 and M1". NavWeaps.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  • DiGiulian, Tony (28 January 2012). "United States of America 20 mm/70 (0.79") Marks 2, 3 & 4". NavWeaps.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  • Vreeken, Fred R. (1997). USS Maryland (BB-46). Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company.
  • Graff, Cory (2010). The Navy at Puget Sound. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing. OCLC 700503123.
  • Kearns, Patricia M.; Morris, James M. (2011). Historical dictionary of the United States Navy (Second ed.). Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7229-5.
  • "Veterans lead remembrances of Pearl Harbor: Interstate named to commemorate USS West Virginia". Charleston Daily Mail. Associated Press. 8 December 2000. ProQuest 331936842.

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships