A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats , ships , and submarines ). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise " by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and it can last from a few hours to many days.
185-700: USS Wisconsin (BB-64) is an Iowa -class battleship built for the United States Navy (USN) in the 1940s and is currently a museum ship . Completed in 1944, the ship was assigned to the Pacific Theater during World War II , where she participated in the Philippines campaign and the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa . The battleship shelled the Japanese home islands shortly before
370-561: A broadside of all nine. The fire control was performed by the Mark 38 Gun Fire Control System (GFCS); the firing solutions were computed with the Mark 8 rangekeeper, an analog computer that automatically receives information from the director and Mark 8/13 fire control radar, stable vertical, ship pitometer log and gyrocompass, and anemometer. The GFCS uses remote power control ( RPC ) for automatic gun laying . The large-caliber guns were designed to fire two different conventional 16-inch shells:
555-482: A draft of 37 ft 9 in (11.5 m) at her full combat load of 57,540 long tons (58,460 t). The Iowa -class ships are powered by four General Electric geared steam turbines , each driving one screw propeller using steam provided by eight oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers . Rated at 212,000 shaft horsepower (158,000 kW ), the turbines were designed to give a top speed of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph), but were built to handle
740-506: A 1935 empirical formula for predicting a ship's maximum speed based on scale-model studies in flumes of various hull forms and propellers and a newly developed empirical theorem that related waterline length to maximum beam, the Navy drafted plans for a battleship class with a maximum beam of 108 ft 2 in (32.97 m) which, when multiplied by 7.96, produced a waterline length of 860 ft (262 m). The Navy also called for
925-678: A 20 percent overload. None of the Iowa s ever ran speed trials in deep water, but the Bureau of Ships estimated that they could reach a speed of about 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) from 225,000 shp (168,000 kW) at a light displacement of 51,209 long tons (52,031 t). The ships had a designed cruising range of 15,000 nautical miles (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), although Wisconsin ' s half sister New Jersey 's fuel consumption figures during her sea trials suggest that her range
1110-444: A Japanese aircraft flew between the ships at low level. Wisconsin and Missouri were transferred to TG 58.4 afterwards and they resumed their primary duty of protecting the aircraft carriers. The ships returned to Ulithi on 14 May where they replenished their supplies and ammunition before setting off for Okinawa again on 24 May. Halsey relieved Spruance on 28 May and the units switched designations accordingly. The task group avoided
1295-592: A Korean tour over the Christmas holidays, helicoptered aboard the ship to celebrate Mass for Catholic crew members. He left as he came, off Pohang . On New Year's Eve day, Wisconsin put into Yokosuka. Wisconsin departed that port on 8 January 1952 and returned to Korean waters. She reached Pusan the following day and entertained the president of South Korea , Syngman Rhee , and his wife, on 10 January. The couple received full military honors as they came aboard, which Rhee reciprocated by awarding Vice Admiral Martin
1480-424: A bore length of 190 inches (4,800 mm), and a rifling length of 157.2 inches (3,990 mm). The gun could fire shells at about 2,500–2,600 ft/s (760–790 m/s); about 4,600 could be fired before the barrel needed to be replaced. Minimum and maximum elevations were −15 and 85 degrees, respectively. The guns' elevation could be raised or lowered at about 15 degrees per second. The mounts closest to
1665-399: A displacement greater than that of most battleships, its armor would have protected it only against the 8-inch (200 mm) weapons carried by heavy cruisers . Three improved plans – "A", "B", and "C" – were designed at the end of January. An increase in draft , vast additions to the armor, and the substitution of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns in the secondary battery were common among
1850-641: A few days later, she returned to the Kosong area and resumed gunfire support. During that time, she destroyed railway bridges and a small shipyard while conducting call-fire missions on enemy command posts, bunkers, and personnel shelters, making numerous cuts on enemy trench lines in the process. On 26 February, Wisconsin arrived at Pusan, where Vice Admiral Shon, the ROK chief of naval operations, United States Ambassador J.J. Muccio and Rear Admiral Scott-Montcrief, Royal Navy , Commander, Task Group 95.12 (TG 95.12) visited
2035-402: A high-tensile structural steel with armor properties comparable to Class B, was extensively used in the hull plating to increase protection. The citadel consisting of the magazines and engine rooms was protected by an STS outer hull plating 1.5 inches (38 mm) thick and a Class A armor belt 12.1 inches (307 mm) thick mounted on 0.875-inch (22.2 mm) STS backing plate; the armor belt
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#17327832028552220-616: A maximum superheater outlet temperature of 850 °F (454 °C). The double-expansion engines consist of a high-pressure (HP) turbine and a low-pressure (LP) turbine. The steam is first passed through the HP turbine which turns at up to 2,100 rpm. The steam, largely depleted at this point, is then passed through a large conduit to the LP turbine. By the time it reaches the LP turbine, it has no more than 50 psi (340 kPa) of pressure left. The LP turbine increases efficiency and power by extracting
2405-629: A month of routine maintenance Wisconsin departed Norfolk on 9 September 1953, bound for the Far East. Sailing via the Panama Canal to Japan, Wisconsin relieved New Jersey as 7th Fleet flagship on 12 October. During the months that followed, Wisconsin visited the Japanese ports of Kobe , Sasebo , Yokosuka, Otaru , and Nagasaki . She spent Christmas at Hong Kong and was ultimately relieved of flagship duties on 1 April 1954 and returned to
2590-538: A number of trials to determine the maneuverability and directional stability of the ship may be conducted. These include a direct and reverse spiral manoeuvres, zig-zag, and lateral thruster use. Seakeeping trials were originally used exclusively for passenger ships, but are now used in a variety of vessels. They involve measurements of ship motions in various sea states , followed by a series of analyses to determine comfort levels, likelihood of sea sickness and hull damage. Trials are usually protracted in nature due to
2775-411: A reasonable degree of success. However, this did not mean that it possessed inferior anti-air abilities. As proven during 1941 gunnery tests conducted aboard North Carolina the gun could consistently shoot down aircraft flying at 12,000–13,000 feet (2.3–2.5 mi; 3.7–4.0 km), twice the effective range of the earlier single-purpose 5-inch/25 caliber AA gun. As Japanese airplanes became faster,
2960-472: A significant accuracy advantage over earlier ships with optical rangefinders; this was demonstrated off Truk Atoll on 16 February 1944, when the New Jersey engaged the Japanese destroyer Nowaki at a range of 35,700 yards (32.6 km; 17.6 nmi) and straddled her, setting the record for the longest-ranged straddle in history. In World War II, the electronic countermeasures (ECM) included
3145-426: A slight advantage over the 16-inch/50 caliber Mark 7 gun when hitting deck armor – a shell from a 45 cal gun would be slower, meaning that it would have a steeper trajectory as it descended. At 35,000 yards (20 mi; 32 km), a shell from a 45 cal would strike a ship at an angle of 45.2 degrees, as opposed to 36 degrees with the 50 cal. The Mark 7 had a greater maximum range over
3330-544: A small detachment of Marines aboard, the Marines would man one of the 5-inch gun mounts. At the time of their commissioning, all four of the Iowa -class battleships were equipped with 20 quad 40 mm mounts and 49 single 20 mm mounts. These guns were respectively augmented with the Mk ;14 range sight and Mk 51 fire control system to improve accuracy. The Oerlikon 20-millimeter (0.8 in) gun, one of
3515-537: A speed trial the vessel is ballasted or loaded to a predetermined draft and the propulsion machinery is set to the contracted maximum service setting, usually some percentage of the machinery's maximum continuous rating (ex: 90% MCR ). The ship's heading is adjusted to have the wind and tide as close to bow-on as possible. The vessel is allowed to come to speed and the speed is continuously recorded using differential GPS . The trial will be executed with different speeds including service (design) and maximum speed. The ship
3700-405: A tank, two gun emplacements, and a building. She continued her gunfire support task for the 1st Marine Division and 1st ROK Corps through 6 December, accounting for enemy bunkers, artillery positions, and troop concentrations. On one occasion during that time, the battleship received a request for call-fire support and provided three star-shells for the 1st ROK Corps, illuminating an enemy attack that
3885-402: A top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) and a range of 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km; 23,000 mi) when traveling at the more economical speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their plan fulfilled these requirements with a ship of 50,940 long tons (51,760 t) standard displacement, but Chantry believed that more could be done if the ship were to be this large; with
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#17327832028554070-739: A total of 14 years in active service. In that time, the ship earned six battle stars for service in World War II and Korea, as well as a Navy Unit Commendation for service during the January/February 1991 Gulf War . Wisconsin was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 March 2006, and was later donated for permanent use as a museum ship . As of 2024, Wisconsin is a museum ship operated by Nauticus in Norfolk, Virginia . The Iowa class of fast battleships
4255-594: A training ship, taking midshipmen to Greenock , Scotland; Brest, France ; and Guantánamo Bay, before returning to Norfolk. She departed Hampton Roads on 25 August and participated in the NATO exercise Operation Mainbrace , which was held out of Greenock, Scotland. After her return to Norfolk, Wisconsin underwent an overhaul in the naval shipyard there. Wisconsin remained in the Atlantic fleet throughout 1952 and into 1953, training midshipmen and conducting exercises. After
4440-715: A typhoon that shut down air operations from 4 to 7 June. The following day the carriers' aircraft attacked targets on Kyūshū , southernmost of the Japanese Home Islands . One of Wisconsin ' s floatplanes rescued a pilot from the carrier Shangri-La that day. TF 38 headed to Leyte , Philippines, on 11 June and arrived there two days later. The battleship received repairs over the following three weeks while restocking ammunition and supplies. Accompanied by her sisters Iowa and Missouri in TG 38.4, Wisconsin departed on 1 July for operations in Japanese home waters and
4625-791: A vessel's performance and general seaworthiness . Testing of a vessel's speed, maneuverability, equipment and safety features are usually conducted. Usually in attendance are technical representatives from the builder (and from builders of major systems), governing and certification officials, and representatives of the owners. Successful sea trials subsequently lead to a vessel's certification for commissioning and acceptance by its owner. Although sea trials are commonly thought to be conducted only on new-built vessels (referred by shipbuilders as 'builders trials'), they are regularly conducted on commissioned vessels as well. In new vessels, they are used to determine conformance to construction specifications. On commissioned vessels, they are generally used to confirm
4810-469: Is sloped at 19 degrees, equivalent to 17.3 in (439 mm) of vertical class B armor at 19,000 yards. The armor belt extends to the triple bottom, where the Class B lower portion tapers to 1.62 inches (41 mm). The ends of the armored citadel are closed by 11.3-inch (287 mm) vertical Class A transverse bulkheads for Iowa and New Jersey . The transverse bulkhead armor on Missouri and Wisconsin
4995-454: Is then turned through 180° and the procedure is followed again. This reduces the impact of wind and tide. The final "Trials Speed" is determined by averaging all of the measured speeds during each of the runs. This process may be repeated in various sea states. To test a crash stop, the vessel is ballasted or loaded to a predetermined draft and the propulsion machinery is set to the contracted maximum service setting, usually some percentage of
5180-496: The AN/SPY-1 Aegis Combat System radar on the battleships – were suggested in 1962, 1974, and 1977, but as before, these proposals failed to gain the needed authorization. This was due, in part, to the possibility that sensitive electronics within 200 ft (61 m) of any 16-inch gun muzzle may be damaged from overpressure. In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected president on a promise to build up
5365-595: The East River in New York Harbor, Wisconsin was accidentally grounded, but the ship was freed in about an hour without any serious damage. In April and the beginning of May 1956, Wisconsin operated in the Virginia Capes area. On 6 May, in heavy fog, the battleship collided with the destroyer Eaton . Wisconsin suffered extensive bow damage, and Eaton was also badly damaged. The battleship
5550-677: The Fast Carrier Task Force and also shelled Japanese positions. During the Korean War , the battleships provided naval gunfire support (NGFS) for United Nations forces , and in 1968, New Jersey shelled Viet Cong and Vietnam People's Army forces in the Vietnam War . All four were reactivated and modernized at the direction of the United States Congress in 1981, and armed with missiles during
5735-656: The Governor of Wisconsin , and commissioned on 16 April 1944, with Captain Earl E. Stone in command. Wisconsin is numerically the highest-numbered US battleship built. Although her keel was laid after Missouri ' s, she was commissioned before Missouri ' s commissioning date. Wisconsin was commissioned on 16 April 1944, while Missouri was commissioned on 11 June of the same year. Thus, Wisconsin ' s construction began after Missouri ' s, and finished earlier. Iowa and Wisconsin were finally stricken from
USS Wisconsin (BB-64) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5920-400: The Iowa class was to consist of only four battleships with hull numbers BB-61 to BB-64: Iowa , New Jersey , Missouri , and Wisconsin . However, changing priorities during World War II resulted in the battleship hull numbers BB-65 Montana and BB-66 Ohio being reordered as Illinois and Kentucky , respectively; Montana and Ohio were reassigned to hull numbers BB-67 and BB-68. At
6105-440: The Iowa -class ships is 12.1 in (307 mm) thick and has a height of 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m). Below it is a strake of Class B homogeneous armor plate that tapers in thickness from 12.1 inches at the top to 1.62 in (41 mm) at the bottom and is 28 ft (8.5 m) high. The two strakes of armor are inclined outwards at the top 19 degrees to improve the armor's resistance to horizontal fire. In general
6290-740: The Iowa s carried the Vought OS2U Kingfisher and Curtiss SC Seahawk , both of which were employed to spot for the battleship's main gun batteries – and, in a secondary capacity, perform search-and-rescue missions. By the time of the Korean War, helicopters had replaced floatplanes and the Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter was employed. New Jersey made use of the Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH drone for her Vietnam War deployment in 1968–69. The Iowa class were
6475-579: The Iowa s have a double bottom hull that becomes a triple bottom under the armored citadel and armored skegs around the inboard shafts. The dimensions of the Iowa s were strongly influenced by speed. When the Second Vinson Act was passed by the United States Congress in 1938, the U.S. Navy moved quickly to develop a 45,000-ton-standard battleship that would pass through the 110 ft (34 m) wide Panama Canal . Drawing on
6660-549: The Mark 7 , that was both lighter and smaller in outside diameter; this allowed it to be placed in a turret that would fit in the smaller barbette. The redesigned 3-gun turret, equipped as it was with the Mark 7 naval gun, provided an overall weight saving of nearly 850 long tons (864 t) to the overall design of the Iowa class. The contract design displacement subsequently stood at 45,155 long tons (45,880 t) standard and 56,088 long tons (56,988 t) full load. In May 1938,
6845-831: The New Jersey was reactivated in 1968 for the Vietnam War, she was outfitted with the ULQ-6 ECM system. Like all battleships, the Iowa s carried heavy armor protection against shellfire and bombs with significant underwater protection against torpedoes. The Iowa s' " all-or-nothing " armor scheme was largely modeled on that of the preceding South Dakota class, and designed to give a zone of immunity against fire from 16-inch/45-caliber guns between 18,000 and 30,000 yards (16,000 and 27,000 m; 10 and 17 mi) away. The protection system consists of Class A face-hardened Krupp cemented (K.C.) armor and Class B homogeneous Krupp-type armor; furthermore, special treatment steel (STS),
7030-539: The New York Naval Shipyard , Wisconsin headed south for refresher training in the Caribbean Sea , later taking part in another Springboard exercise. During that cruise, she again visited Port-au-Prince and added Tampico, Mexico , and Cartagena, Colombia , to her list of ports of call. She returned to Norfolk on the last day of March 1955 for local operations. On 18 October, while operating in
7215-500: The New York Navy Yard , the lead shipyard, conducted the final detail design. These revisions included changing the design of the foremast, replacing the original 1.1-inch (27.9 mm)/75-caliber guns that were to be used for anti-aircraft (AA) work with 20 mm (0.79 in)/70 caliber Oerlikon cannons and 40 mm (1.57 in)/56 caliber Bofors guns , and moving the combat information center into
7400-554: The Norden bombsight further fueled these concerns. While the design of the Iowa s was too far along to adequately address this issue, experience in the Pacific theater eventually demonstrated that high-altitude unguided bombing was ineffective against maneuvering warships. When they were commissioned during World War II, the Iowa -class battleships came equipped with two aircraft catapults designed to launch floatplanes . Initially,
7585-431: The Pacific Theater of World War II , and accounted for roughly half of all Japanese aircraft shot down between 1 October 1944 and 1 February 1945. Although successful in this role against WWII aircraft, the 40 mm guns were stripped from the battleships in the jet age – initially from New Jersey when reactivated in 1968 and later from Iowa , Missouri, and Wisconsin when they were reactivated for service in
USS Wisconsin (BB-64) - Misplaced Pages Continue
7770-537: The Philippine Sea . The task force was struck by Typhoon Cobra the following day. The small but violent typhoon surprised the task force while many of the ships were attempting to refuel. Three destroyers capsized while nine other ships were seriously damaged. Wisconsin was not damaged, but reported two injured sailors as a result of the typhoon. TF 38 attacked Japanese airfields in Formosa , Okinawa , and
7955-637: The RIM-2 Terrier missile after World War II. One such proposal came from Rear Admiral W.K. Mendenhall, Chairman of the Ship Characteristics Board (SCB) ; Mendenhall proposed a plan that called for $ 15–30 million to be spent to allow Kentucky to be completed as a guided-missile battleship (BBG) carrying eight SSM-N-8 Regulus II guided missiles with a range of 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi). He also suggested Terrier or RIM-8 Talos launchers to supplement
8140-589: The Sakishima Islands with TG 38.2 tasked to cover southern Formosa and the Pescadore Islands beginning on 3 January 1945 to destroy aircraft that the Japanese had concentrated there to attack any amphibious landings on Luzon Island . The Americans caught the Japanese by surprise and claimed to have destroyed 170 aircraft that had been unable to take-off due to bad weather in two days of airstrikes . TF 38 withdrew to refuel on 5 January while
8325-502: The Second London Naval Treaty of 1936 allowed an increase from 35,000 long tons (36,000 t ) to 45,000 long tons (46,000 t) in the event that any member nation refused to sign the treaty, which Japan refused to do. Wisconsin is 887 feet 3 inches (270.4 m) long overall and is 860 feet (262.1 m) long at the waterline . The ship has a beam of 108 ft 2 in (33 m) and
8510-788: The United States Navy in 1939 and 1940. They were initially intended to intercept fast capital ships such as the Japanese Kongō class and serve as the "fast wing" of the U.S. battle line . The Iowa class was designed to meet the Second London Naval Treaty 's "escalator clause" limit of 45,000-long-ton (45,700 t) standard displacement. Beginning in August 1942, four vessels, Iowa , New Jersey , Missouri , and Wisconsin , were completed; two more, Illinois and Kentucky , were laid down but canceled in 1945 and 1958, respectively, before completion, and both hulls were scrapped in 1958–1959. The four Iowa -class ships were
8695-809: The West Coast , transiting the Panama Canal , and reporting for duty with the Pacific Fleet on 2 October. The battleship later steamed to Hawaiian waters for training exercises and then headed for the Western Caroline Islands . Rear Admiral Edward Hanson , commander of Battleship Division 9, hoisted his flag aboard Wisconsin on 25 November. Shortly after reaching Ulithi , she was assigned to Task Group (TG) 38.2, part of Admiral William F. Halsey 's 3rd Fleet 's Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38), on 11 December. Her primary duty
8880-442: The centerline , two of which were placed in a superfiring pair forward of the superstructure , with the third aft. Going from bow to stern , the turrets were designated I, II, and III. Their secondary battery consisted of twenty 5 in (127 mm)/38-caliber dual-purpose guns mounted in twin-gun turrets clustered amidships , five turrets on each broadside . Unlike their half sisters Iowa and New Jersey that were
9065-418: The "escalator clause" that would permit maximum standard capital ship displacement of 45,000 long tons (45,700 t). Using the additional 10,000 long tons (10,200 t) over previous designs, the studies included schemes for 27-knot (50 km/h; 31 mph) "slow" battleships that increased armament and protection as well as "fast" battleships capable of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) or more. One of
9250-514: The "slow" designs was an expanded South Dakota class carrying either twelve 16-inch/45 caliber Mark 6 guns or nine 18-inch (457 mm)/48 guns and with more armor and a power plant large enough to drive the larger ship through the water at the same 27-knot maximum speed as the South Dakota s. While the "fast" studies would result in the Iowa class, the "slow" design studies would eventually settle on twelve 16-inch guns and evolve into
9435-401: The 15th North Korean Division during call-fire missions for the 1st Marine Division. Returning to Wonsan at the end of January, Wisconsin bombarded enemy guns at Hodo Pando before she was rearmed at Sasebo. The battleship rejoined TF 77 on 2 February, and the next day blasted railway buildings and marshaling yards at Hodo Pando and Kojo before rejoining TF 77. After replenishment at Yokosuka
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#17327832028559620-454: The 16-inch guns and a quartet of Mk 37 gun fire control systems with Mark 12 fire control radar and Mark 22 height finding radar to direct the 5-inch gun batteries. These systems were upgraded over time with the Mark 13 replacing the Mark 8 and the Mark 25 replacing the Mark 12/22, but they remained the cornerstones of the combat radar systems on the Iowa class during their careers. The range estimation of these gunfire control systems provided
9805-408: The 1980s, as part of the 600-ship Navy initiative. During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Missouri and Wisconsin fired missiles and 16-inch (406 mm) guns at Iraqi targets. Costly to maintain, the battleships were decommissioned during the post- Cold War drawdown in the early 1990s. All four were initially removed from the Naval Vessel Register , but the United States Congress compelled
9990-467: The 1980s. The powerplant of the Iowa s consists of eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers and four sets of double reduction cross-compound geared turbines , with each turbine set driving a single shaft. Specifically, the geared turbines on Iowa and Missouri were provided by General Electric , while the equivalent machinery on New Jersey and Wisconsin was provided by Westinghouse . The plant produced 212,000 shp (158,000 kW) and propelled
10175-477: The 2,700-pound (1,225 kg) Mk 8 "Super-heavy" APC (Armor Piercing, Capped) shell for anti-ship and anti-structure work, and the 1,900-pound (862 kg) Mk 13 high-explosive round designed for use against unarmored targets and shore bombardment. When firing the same conventional shell, the 16-inch/45 caliber Mark 6 used by the fast battleships of the North Carolina and South Dakota classes had
10360-408: The 35,000-long-ton (36,000 t) South Dakota class. The first plans made for this indicated that 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) was possible on a standard displacement of about 37,600 long tons (38,200 t). 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) could be bought with 220,000 shp (160,000 kW) and a standard displacement of around 39,230 long tons (39,860 t), which was well below
10545-424: The 45,000-long-ton (46,000 t) limit. An apparent savior appeared in a Bureau of Ordnance preliminary design for a turret that could carry the 50-caliber guns and also fit in the smaller barbette of the 45-caliber gun turret. Other weight savings were achieved by thinning some armor elements and substituting construction steel with armor-grade Special Treatment Steel (STS) in certain areas. The net savings reduced
10730-624: The AA guns and proposed nuclear (instead of conventional) shells for the 16-inch guns. This never materialized, and Kentucky was ultimately sold for scrap in 1958, although her bow was used to repair her sister Wisconsin after a collision on 6 May 1956, earning her the nickname WisKy . In 1954, the Long Range Objectives Group of the United States Navy suggested converting the Iowa -class ships to BBGs. In 1958,
10915-590: The Bureau of Ships offered a proposal based on this idea. This replaced the 5- and 16-inch gun batteries with "two Talos twin missile systems, two RIM-24 Tartar twin missile systems, an RUR-5 ASROC antisubmarine missile launcher, and a Regulus II installation with four missiles", as well as flagship facilities, sonar, helicopters, and fire-control systems for the Talos and Tartar missiles. In addition to these upgrades, 8,600 long tons (8,700 t) of additional fuel oil
11100-674: The Canton oil refineries , the Hong Kong Naval Station, and Okinawa . Wisconsin was assigned to the 5th Fleet when Admiral Raymond A. Spruance relieved Admiral Halsey as commander of the fleet while it was anchored in Ulithi. She moved northward with the redesignated TG 58.2 as the carriers departed for the Tokyo area on 10 February. The ship was transferred to TF 59 under Vice Admiral Willis Lee three days later, covering
11285-615: The East Coast of the United States soon after the start of the new year, 1946, Wisconsin transited the Panama Canal from 11 to 13 January and reached Hampton Roads , Virginia, on 18 January. Following a cruise south to Guantánamo Bay , Cuba, the battleship entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for overhaul. After repairs and alterations that consumed the summer, Wisconsin sailed for South American waters. Over
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#173278320285511470-450: The Far East. Wisconsin continued her naval gunfire-support duties on the bombline, shelling enemy bunkers, command posts, artillery positions, and trench systems through 14 December. She departed the "bombline" on that day to render special gunfire support duties in the Kojo area shelling coastal targets in support of United Nations (UN) troops ashore. That same day, Wisconsin returned to
11655-475: The Indochinese coast on 12 January while the rest of TF 38 supported TG 38.2 and attacked other targets further north. Halsey also formed a surface action group from TG 38.2 with Wisconsin and New Jersey and five cruisers to bombard Cam Ranh Bay under cover of the morning's airstrikes, but night reconnaissance aircraft revealed well before dawn that the two hybrids were no longer there and their mission
11840-517: The Japanese Kamikaze attacks used during the latter half of World War II and were subsequently phased out in favor of the heavier Bofors 40-millimeter (1.6 in) AA gun. When the Iowa -class battleships were commissioned in 1943 and 1944, they carried twenty quad 40 mm AA gun mounts, which they used for defense against enemy aircraft. These heavy AA guns were also employed in the protection of Allied aircraft carriers operating in
12025-475: The Japanese aircraft based on Luzon were attacking the ships of the 7th Fleet with some effect. The 7th Fleet was approaching Lingayen Gulf to conduct an amphibious landing of Luzon . TF 38 was able to so thoroughly suppress the airfields on Luzon on 6–7 January that the landings were undisrupted by Japanese aircraft when they began on 9 January. The ships refueled on 8 January while moving northwards for another round of attacks on Formosa and Okinawa that began
12210-589: The Japanese battle line was therefore a major driving force in setting the design criteria for the new ships, as was the restricting width of the Panama Canal. For "fast" battleships, one such design, pursued by the Design Division section of the Bureau of Construction and Repair , was a "cruiser-killer". Beginning on 17 January 1938, under Captain A.J. Chantry , the group drew up plans for ships with twelve 16-inch and twenty 5-inch (127 mm) guns, Panamax capability but otherwise unlimited displacement,
12395-491: The Japanese fleet into battle. Even the new standard battle line speed of 27 knots, as the preceding North Carolina -class and South Dakota -class battleships were designed for, was not considered enough and during their development processes, designs that could achieve over 30 knots in order to counter the threat of fast "big gun" ships were seriously considered. At the same time, a special strike force consisting of fast battleships operating alongside carriers and destroyers
12580-466: The Kasong-Kosong area. On 15 December, she disembarked Admiral Thurber by helicopter. The next day, Wisconsin departed Korean waters, heading for Sasebo to rearm. Returning to the combat zone on 17 December, Wisconsin embarked United States Senator Homer Ferguson of Michigan on 18 December. That day, the battleship supported the 11th ROK invasion with night illumination fire that enabled
12765-561: The London Treaty's "escalator clause" maximum limit of 45,000 long tons (45,700 t). These designs were able to convince the General Board that a reasonably well-designed and balanced 33-knot "fast" battleship was possible within the terms of the "escalator clause". However, further studies revealed major problems with the estimates. The speed of the ships meant that more freeboard would be needed both fore and amidships,
12950-496: The Mark 6: 23.64 miles (38.04 km) vs 22.829 miles (36.740 km). In the 1950s, the W23, an adaptation of the W19 nuclear artillery shell , was developed specifically for the 16-inch guns. The shell weighed 1,900 pounds (862 kg), had an estimated yield of 15 to 20 kilotons of TNT (63,000 to 84,000 GJ), and its introduction made the Iowa -class battleships' 16-inch guns
13135-528: The Mk 8 armor-piercing shell due to the weapon's increased muzzle velocity and improved shell penetration; increasing the armor would have increased weight and reduced speed, a compromise that the General Board was not willing to make. The Iowa s' torpedo defense was based on the South Dakota s' design, with modifications to address shortcomings discovered during caisson tests. The system is an internal "bulge" that consists of four longitudinal torpedo bulkheads behind
13320-642: The Naval Vessel Register on 17 March 2006, making them the last battleships in service in the world. After the ship's trials and initial training in the Chesapeake Bay , Wisconsin departed Norfolk, Virginia , on 7 July 1944, bound for the British West Indies . Following her shakedown cruise (conducted out of Trinidad ), she returned to the builder's yard for alterations and repairs. On 24 September, Wisconsin sailed for
13505-479: The Navy to reinstate two of them on the grounds that existing shore bombardment capability would be inadequate for amphibious operations . This resulted in a lengthy debate over whether battleships should have a role in the modern navy. Ultimately, all four ships were stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and released for donation to non-profit organizations. With the transfer of Iowa in 2012, all four are museum ships part of non-profit maritime museums across
13690-597: The Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Repair personnel completed the operation that grafted on the new bow in 16 days. On 28 June 1956, the ship was ready for sea. Wisconsin resumed her midshipman training on 9 July 1956. That autumn, Wisconsin participated in Atlantic Fleet exercises off the coast of the Carolinas, returning to port on 8 November 1956. Entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard a week later,
13875-426: The Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal on 29 October and reached Yokosuka, Japan on 21 November. There she relieved New Jersey as flagship for Vice Admiral Harold M. Martin , Commander 7th Fleet . On 26 November, with Martin and Rear Admiral Francis Denebrink , Commander, Service Force Pacific embarked, Wisconsin departed Yokosuka for Korean waters to support the fast carrier operations of TF 77. She left
14060-583: The Panama Canal Zone. While underway at sea, the ship would perform various drills and exercises before the cruise would end where it had started, at Bayonne. During June and July 1947, Wisconsin took United States Naval Academy midshipmen on cruises to northern European waters. In January 1948, Wisconsin reported to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk for inactivation. Placed out of commission, in reserve on 1 July, Wisconsin
14245-527: The ROK Order of the Military Merit. Wisconsin returned to the bombline on 11 January, and over the ensuing days, delivered heavy gunfire support for the 1st Marine Division and the 1st ROK Corps. As before, her primary targets were command posts, shelters, bunkers, troop concentrations, and mortar positions. As before, she stood ready to deliver call-fire support as needed, shelling enemy troops in
14430-452: The ROK troops to repulse a North Korean assault with heavy enemy casualties. Departing the "bombline" on 19 December, the battleship transferred Ferguson by helicopter to the carrier Valley Forge . On 20 December, Wisconsin participated in a coordinated air-surface bombardment of Wonsan to neutralize selected targets in its area. The ship shifted its bombardment station to the western end of Wonsan harbor, hitting boats and small craft in
14615-546: The SK-2 air-search radar and SG surface-search radar; the Iowa class was updated to make use of these systems between 1945 and 1952. At the same time, the ships' radar systems were augmented with the installation of the SP height finder on the main mast. In 1952, AN/SPS-10 surface-search radar and AN/SPS-6 air-search radar replaced the SK and SG radar systems, respectively. Two years later
14800-482: The SP height finder was replaced by the AN/SPS-8 height finder, which was installed on the main mast of the battleships. In addition to these search and navigational radars, the Iowa class were also outfitted with a variety of fire control radars for their gun systems. Beginning with their commissioning, the battleships made use of a pair of Mk 38 gun fire control systems with Mark 8 fire control radar to direct
14985-592: The SPT-1 and SPT-4 equipment; passive electronic support measures (ESM) were a pair of DBM radar direction finders and three intercept receiving antennas, while the active components were the TDY-1 jammers located on the sides of the fire control tower. The ships were also equipped with the identification, friend or foe (IFF) Mark III system, which was replaced by the IFF Mark X when the ships were overhauled in 1955. When
15170-481: The Second World War, including every major ship type and many smaller warships constructed between 1934 and 1945. They were considered to be "highly reliable, robust and accurate" by the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance. Each 5-inch/38 gun weighed almost 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) without the breech; the entire mount weighed 156,295 pounds (70,894 kg). It was 223.8 inches (5,680 mm) long overall, had
15355-487: The U.S. Navy's traditional 21-knot battle line of "Standard-type" battleships would be too slow to force these Japanese task forces into battle, while faster aircraft carriers and their cruiser escorts would be outmatched by the Japanese Kongō -class battlecruisers, which had been upgraded in the 1930s to fast battleships . As a result, the U.S. Navy envisioned a fast detachment of the battle line that could bring
15540-464: The US Navy had consistently advocated armor and firepower at the expense of speed. Even in adopting fast battleships of the North Carolina class, it had preferred the slower of two alternative designs. Great and expensive improvements in machinery design had been used to minimize the increased power on the designs rather than make extraordinary powerful machinery (hence much higher speed) practical. Yet
15725-667: The US military as a response to the increasing military power of the Soviet Union . The Soviet Navy was commissioning the Kirov class of missile cruisers, the largest type of surface combatant since World War II . As part of Reagan's 600-ship Navy policy and as a counter to the Kirov class, the US Navy began reactivating the four Iowa -class units and modernizing them for service. Sea trials Sea trials are conducted to measure
15910-467: The US. The vessels that eventually became the Iowa -class battleships were born from the U.S. Navy's War Plan Orange , a Pacific war plan against Japan. War planners anticipated that the U.S. fleet would engage and advance in the Central Pacific, with a long line of communication and logistics that would be vulnerable to high-speed Japanese cruisers and capital ships. The chief concern was that
16095-687: The United States Congress passed the Second Vinson Act , which "mandated a 20% increase in strength of the United States Navy ". The act was sponsored by Carl Vinson , a Democratic Congressman from Georgia who was Chairman of the House Naval Affairs and Armed Services Committee. The Second Vinson Act updated the provisions of the Vinson-Trammell Act of 1934 and the Naval Act of 1936, which had "authorized
16280-447: The United States soon thereafter, reaching Norfolk, via Long Beach and the Panama Canal, on 4 May. Entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 11 June, Wisconsin underwent a brief overhaul and commenced a midshipman training cruise on 12 July. After revisiting Greenock, Brest, and Guantánamo Bay, the ship returned to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for repairs. Shortly thereafter, Wisconsin participated in Atlantic Fleet exercises as flagship for
16465-463: The United States unilaterally withdrew all of its nuclear artillery shells from service, and the dismantling of the US nuclear artillery inventory is said to have been completed in 2004. The Iowa s carried twenty 5-inch (127 mm)/38 caliber Mark 12 guns in ten Mark 28 Mod 2 enclosed base ring mounts. Originally designed to be mounted upon destroyers built in the 1930s, these guns were so successful that they were added to many American ships during
16650-409: The addition of 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) over the South Dakota s. Rather than retaining the 16-inch/45 caliber Mark 6 guns used in the South Dakota s, they ordered that the preliminary design would have to include the more powerful but significantly heavier 16-inch/50 caliber Mark 2 guns left over from the canceled Lexington -class battlecruisers and South Dakota -class battleships of
16835-421: The armored conning tower at the front of the superstructure that used the Mark 27 fire-control radar positioned on the top of the conning tower. Each turret is fitted with a rangefinder 46 feet (14 m) long and can act as a director for the other turrets. Four Mark 37 gunnery directors, two on the centerline at the ends of the superstructure and one on each broadside, control the five-inch guns. Each director
17020-400: The armored deck above it. The armor deck extends aft and the roof of the steering gear compartment is 6.2 in (160 mm) thick. The underwater protection system of the Iowa -class battleships consists of three watertight compartments outboard of the lower armor belt and another behind it. The two outermost compartment are kept loaded with fuel oil or seawater to absorb the energy of
17205-552: The armored hull. Additionally, in November 1939, the New York Navy Yard greatly modified the internal subdivision of the machinery rooms, as tests had shown the underwater protection in these rooms to be inadequate. The longitudinal subdivision of these rooms was doubled, and the result of this was clearly beneficial: "The prospective effect of flooding was roughly halved and the number of uptakes and hence of openings in
17390-443: The armored third deck protecting the shafts and steering gears; the steering gear is closed by another 14.5-inch aft bulkhead. The main-gun turrets have Class B plates 19.5 in (495 mm) thick on their faces and 9.5 in (241 mm) of Class A plates on their sides. The armor plates protecting their barbettes range in thickness from 17.3 in (439 mm) to 14.8 in (376 mm) and 11.6 in (295 mm) with
17575-466: The barbettes. These guns fire high explosive- and armor-piercing shells and can fire a 16-inch shell approximately 23.4 nautical miles (43.3 km; 26.9 mi). The guns are housed in three 3-gun turrets: two forward of the battleship's superstructure and one aft, in a configuration known as "2-A-1". The guns are 66 feet (20 m) long (50 times their 16-inch bore, or 50 calibers from breechface to muzzle ). About 43 feet (13 m) protrudes from
17760-514: The battleship embarked homeward-bound GIs on 22 September 1945, as part of Operation Magic Carpet staged to bring soldiers, sailors, and marines home from the far-flung battlefronts of the Pacific. Departing Okinawa on 23 September, Wisconsin reached Pearl Harbor on 4 October, remaining there for five days before she pushed on for the West Coast on the last leg of her state-side bound voyage. She reached San Francisco on 15 October. Heading for
17945-571: The battleship returned to Japan on 19 March. Relieved as flagship of the 7th Fleet on 1 April by sister ship Iowa , Wisconsin departed Yokosuka, bound for the United States. En route home, she touched briefly at Guam , where she took part in the successful test of the Navy's largest floating dry dock on 4–5 April, the first ever to accommodate an Iowa -class battleship. She continued her homeward-bound voyage via Pearl Harbor and arrived at Long Beach, California , on 19 April before continuing on for Norfolk. On 9 June, Wisconsin resumed her role as
18130-495: The battleship underwent major repairs that were not finished until 2 January 1957. After local operations off the Virginia capes on 3–4 January 1957 and from 9–11 January, Wisconsin departed Norfolk on 16 January, reporting to the commander, Fleet Training Group, at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay. Wisconsin served as Admiral Henry C. Crommelin 's flagship during the ensuing shore bombardment practices and other exercises held off
18315-419: The battleship. Departing that South Korean port the following day, Wisconsin reached Yokosuka on 2 March. A week later, she shifted to Sasebo to prepare to return to Korean waters. Wisconsin arrived off Songjin , Korea, on 15 March and concentrated her gunfire on enemy railway transport. Early that morning, she destroyed a communist troop train trapped outside a destroyed tunnel. That afternoon, she received
18500-584: The blast furnaces. Reinforced by the British battleship King George V and the American battleships Alabama and North Carolina , the sisters bombarded industrial facilities in the Hitachi Miro area, northeast of Tokyo with a total of 1,207 16- and 267 14-inch (356 mm) shells. The attack reduced copper output from 40,000 to 1,500 short tons (36,300 to 1,400 t ) per month. Afterward
18685-406: The bow and stern could aim from −150 to 150 degrees; the others were restricted to −80 to 80 degrees. They could be turned at about 25 degrees per second. The mounts were directed by four Mark 37 fire control systems primarily through remote power control (RPC). The 5-inch/38 gun functioned as a dual-purpose gun (DP); that is, it was able to fire at both surface and air targets with
18870-523: The bow and stern. Wisconsin was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the US state of Wisconsin . The ship was authorized by Congress in 1938 and ordered on 12 June 1940 with the hull number BB-64. Her keel was laid down on 25 January 1941, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard . She was launched on 7 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Goodland, wife of Walter S. Goodland ,
19055-531: The carriers commenced their attacks 9 days later. On 15 July the three battleships bombarded the blast furnaces and other facilities of the Japan Steel Works as well the coal liquefication plants and coking ovens in Muroran and adjacent Wanishi, Hokkaido , with 860 main-gun shells. While only 170 landed within the boundaries of the plants they demolished half of the coke ovens and all but one of
19240-521: The carriers of TF 58 as they attacked targets around Tokyo and on Chichijima between 16 and 25 February to prevent the Japanese from reinforcing Iwo Jima . On 20 February Captain John W. Roper relieved Stone, and the 5th Fleet arrived back at Ulithi on 4 March to resupply. Still assigned to TF 59, Wisconsin departed Ulithi on 14 March bound for Japan. Their mission was to neutralize or destroy aircraft, their airfields and warships that could interfere with
19425-588: The centerline, extending down to the main armor deck. The conning tower armor is Class B with 17.3 inches (439 mm) on all sides and 7.25 inches (184 mm) on the roof. The secondary battery turrets and handling spaces were protected by 2.5 inches (64 mm) of STS. The propulsion shafts and steering gear compartment behind the citadel had considerable protection, with 13.5-inch (343 mm) Class A side strake and 5.6–6.2-inch (142–157 mm) roof. The armor's immunity zone shrank considerably against guns equivalent to their own 16-inch/50-caliber guns armed with
19610-430: The class to have a lengthened forecastle and amidship, which would increase speed, and a bulbous bow . The Iowa s exhibit good stability, making them steady gun platforms. At design combat displacement, the ships' (GM) metacentric height was 9.26 ft (2.82 m). They also have excellent maneuverability in the open water for their size, while seakeeping is described as good, but not outstanding. In particular,
19795-528: The commander, Second Fleet. Departing Norfolk in January 1955, Wisconsin took part in Operation Springboard, during which she visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Then, upon returning to Norfolk, the battleship conducted another midshipman's cruise that summer, visiting Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Denmark , and Guantánamo Bay before returning to the United States. Upon completion of a major overhaul at
19980-576: The company of the carrier force on 2 December, and screened by the destroyer Wiltsie , provided gunfire support for the Republic of Korea (ROK) Corps in the Kasong - Kosong area. After disembarking Admiral Denebrink on 3 December at Kangnung , the battleship resumed station on the Korean "bombline", providing gunfire support for the American 1st Marine Division. Wisconsin ' s shelling accounted for
20165-484: The construction of the first American battleships in 17 years", based on the provisions of the London Naval Treaty of 1930; this act was quickly signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and provided the funding to build the Iowa class. Each ship cost approximately US$ 100 million. As 1938 drew to a close, the contract design of the Iowa s was nearly complete, but it would continuously evolve as
20350-473: The design for the 60,500-long-ton (61,500 t) Montana class after all treaty restrictions were removed following the start of World War II. Priority was given to the "fast" design in order to counter and defeat Japan's 30-knot (56 km/h; 35 mph) Kongō -class fast battleships, whose higher speed advantage over existing U.S. battleships might let them "penetrate U.S. cruisers, thereby making it 'open season' on U.S. supply ships", and then overwhelm
20535-490: The design proposal to rebuild these two ships as aircraft carriers and they were cleared for construction as fast battleships to conform to the Iowa -class design, though they differed from the earlier four that were built. Eventually, the Cleveland -class light cruisers were selected for the aircraft-carrier conversion. Nine of these light cruisers would be rebuilt as Independence -class light aircraft carriers. After
20720-440: The early 1920s. The 16"/50 turret weighed some 400 long tons (406 t) more than the 16"/45 turret already in use and also had a larger barbette diameter of 39 feet 4 inches (11.99 m) compared to the latter's barbette diameter of 37 feet 3 inches (11.35 m), so the total weight gain was about 2,000 long tons (2,030 t). This put the ship at a total of 46,551 long tons (47,298 t) – well over
20905-432: The eastern Mediterranean. In the course of those operational training evolutions, she rescued a pilot and crewman who survived the crash of a plane from the aircraft carrier Forrestal . Wisconsin reached Valencia, Spain , on 10 May, and three days later, entertained prominent civilian and military officials of the city. Iowa-class battleship The Iowa class was a class of six fast battleships ordered by
21090-401: The effects, the third deck and triple bottom structure behind the lower armor belt were reinforced and the placement of brackets was changed. Iowa s' system was also improved over the South Dakota s' through closer spacing of the transverse bulkheads, greater thickness of the lower belt at the triple bottom joint, and increased total volume of the "bulge". The system was further modified for
21275-422: The empty compartment behind it absorb any remaining energy. However, the Navy discovered in caisson tests in 1939 that the initial design for this torpedo defense system was actually less effective than the previous design used on the North Carolina s due to the rigidity of the lower armor belt causing the explosion to significantly displace the final holding bulkhead inwards despite remaining watertight. To mitigate
21460-547: The end of the war in September 1945. During the Korean War , Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned . She was reactivated in 1986; after a modernization program, she participated in Operation Desert Storm in January – February 1991. Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991 after spending
21645-640: The faster Japanese fleet to battle, particularly the Kongō -class battlecruisers and the aircraft carriers of the 1st Air Fleet . Design studies prepared during the development of the earlier North Carolina and South Dakota classes demonstrated the difficulty in resolving the desires of fleet officers with those of the planning staff within the displacement limits imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty system, which had governed capital ship construction since 1923. An escalator clause in
21830-401: The first direct hit in her history, when one of four shells from a North Korean 155 mm gun battery struck the shield of a starboard 40 mm mount. Although little material damage resulted, three men were injured. Wisconsin subsequently destroyed that battery with a full 16-inch (406 mm) salvo before continuing her mission. After again supporting 1st Marine Division with her heavy rifles,
22015-433: The first pair of ships built, Missouri and Wisconsin were completed with an anti-aircraft suite of twenty quadruple mounts for 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors AA guns , nine mounts on each broadside and one each on the roofs of Turrets II and III. Forty-nine 20-millimeter (0.8 in) Oerlikon light AA auto-cannon in single mounts were distributed almost the length of the ships. The primary means of controlling
22200-771: The following day with TG 38.2 this time attacking northern Formosa. This time they also attacked Japanese shipping. The task force entered the South China Sea on the night of 9/10 January to execute the next phase of Halsey's plan to interdict Japanese shipping lanes and destroy the Japanese forces defending the area, specifically including any capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy , as naval intelligence had reported two hybrid carrier/battleships, Ise and Hyūga , at Cam Ranh Bay in occupied French Indochina . Halsey tasked Wisconsin ' s carrier group with closing to 50 kilometres (31 mi) of
22385-553: The four largest battleships the US Navy produced were not much more than 33-knot versions of the 27-knot, 35,000 tonners that had preceded them. The Iowa s showed no advance at all in protection over the South Dakota s. The principal armament improvement was a more powerful 16-inch gun, 5 calibers longer. Ten thousand tons was a very great deal to pay for 6 knots. Norman Friedman , U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History , p. 307. The Iowa -class battleships are 860 ft 0 in (262.13 m) long at
22570-420: The gun house. Each gun weighs about 239,000 pounds (108,000 kg) without the breech, or 267,900 pounds (121,500 kg) with the breech. They fired 2,700-pound (1,225 kg) armor-piercing projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,500 ft/s (762 m/s ), or 1,900-pound (862 kg) high-capacity projectiles at 2,690 ft/s (820 m/s), up to 24 miles (21 nmi; 39 km). At maximum range,
22755-464: The gun lost some of its effectiveness in the anti-aircraft role; however, toward the end of the war, its usefulness as an anti-aircraft weapon increased again because of an upgrade to the Mark ;37 Fire Control System, Mark 1A computer, and proximity-fused shells. The 5-inch/38 gun would remain on the battleships for the ships' entire service life; however, the total number of guns and gun mounts
22940-416: The impact of any modifications. Sea trials can also refer to a short test trip undertaken by a prospective buyer of a new or used vessel as one determining factor in whether to purchase the vessel. Sea trials are fairly standardized using technical bulletins published by ITTC , SNAME , BMT, regulatory agencies or the owners. They involve demonstrations and tests of the ship's systems and performance. In
23125-401: The inboard pair consisting of five-bladed propellers 17 ft (5.18 m) in diameter. The propeller designs were adopted after earlier testing had determined that propeller cavitation caused a drop in efficiency at speeds over 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph). The two inner shafts were housed in skegs to smooth the flow of water to the propellers and improve the structural strength of
23310-455: The inner swept channel with her 5-inch (127 mm) guns during the afternoon and helping forestall attempts to assault the friendly-held islands nearby. Wisconsin then made an antiboat sweep to the north, firing her 5-inch batteries on suspected boat concentrations. She then provided gunfire support to UN troops operating at the bombline until 22 December, when she rejoined the carrier task force. On 28 December, Cardinal Francis Spellman , on
23495-403: The invasion of Okinawa ( Operation Iceberg ) that was scheduled for 1 April. On 24 March, the ship joined Missouri and New Jersey as they bombarded targets in southeastern Okinawa to deceive the Japanese about the location of the intended landing beaches, which were actually on the western coast. Five days later, a crewman aboard Missouri was wounded by a 20 mm shell from Wisconsin as
23680-694: The isle of Culebra, Puerto Rico , from 2–4 February. Sailing for Norfolk upon completion of the training period, the battleship arrived on 7 February and resumed local operations off Norfolk. On 27 March, Wisconsin sailed for the Mediterranean Sea , reaching Gibraltar on 6 April, she pushed on that day to rendezvous with TF 60 in the Aegean Sea before reporting to Turkey for the NATO exercise Red Pivot. Departing Xeros Bay on 14 April, she arrived at Naples four days later, and conducted exercises in
23865-471: The last battleships commissioned in the U.S. Navy. All older U.S. battleships were decommissioned by 1947 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) by 1963. Between the mid-1940s and the early 1990s, the Iowa -class battleships fought in four major U.S. wars. In the Pacific Theater of World War II, they served primarily as fast escorts for Essex -class aircraft carriers of
24050-484: The last little bit of energy from the steam. After leaving the LP turbine, the exhaust steam passes into a condenser and is then returned as feed water to the boilers. Water lost in the process is replaced by three evaporators, which can make a total of 60,000 US gallons per day (3 liters per second) of fresh water. After the boilers have had their fill, the remaining fresh water is fed to the ship's potable water systems for drinking, showers, hand washing, cooking, etc. All of
24235-421: The last two ships of the class, Illinois and Kentucky , by eliminating knuckles along certain bulkheads; this was estimated to improve the strength of the system by as much as 20%. Based on costly lessons in the Pacific theater, concerns were raised about the ability of the armor on these battleships to withstand aerial bombing, particularly high-altitude bombing using armor-piercing bombs. Developments such as
24420-416: The latter requiring an additional foot of armored freeboard. Along with this came the associated weight in supporting these new strains: the structure of the ship had to be reinforced and the power plant enlarged to avoid a drop in speed. In all, about 2,400 long tons (2,440 t) had to be added, and the large margin the navy designers had previously thought they had – roughly 5,000 long tons (5,080 t) –
24605-424: The long fine bow and sudden widening of the hull just in front of the foremost turret contributed to the ships being rather wet for their size. This hull form also resulted in very intense spray formations, which led to some difficulty refueling escorting destroyers. The primary guns used on these battleships are the nine 16-inch (406 mm)/50-caliber Mark 7 naval guns, a compromise design developed to fit inside
24790-420: The machinery's maximum continuous rating. The trial begins once the order to "Execute Crash Stop" is given. At this point the propulsion machinery is set to full-astern and the helm is put hard-over to either port or starboard. The speed, position and heading are continuously recorded using differential GPS. The final time to stop (i.e.: ship speed is 0 knots) track line, drift (distance traveled perpendicular to
24975-405: The main armament are two Mark 38 directors for the Mark 38 fire-control system mounted at the tops of the fore and aft fire-control towers in the superstructure. These directors were equipped with 25-foot-6-inch-long (7.8 m) rangefinders , although their primary sensor was the Mark 8 fire-control radar mounted on their roofs. A secondary Mark 40 fire-control director was installed inside
25160-413: The most heavily produced anti-aircraft guns of the Second World War, entered service in 1941 and replaced the 0.50-inch (12.7 mm) M2 Browning MG on a one-for-one basis. Between December 1941 and September 1944, 32% of all Japanese aircraft downed were credited to this weapon, with the high point being 48.3% for the second half of 1942; however, the 20 mm guns were found to be ineffective against
25345-412: The new battleships. As the bureaus were independent of one another, they did not realize that the two plans could not go together until November 1938, when the contract design was in the final stages of refinement. By this time, the ships could not use the larger barbette, as it would require extensive alterations to the design and would result in substantial weight penalties. Reverting to the 45-caliber gun
25530-470: The only battleships with the speed required for post-war operations based around fast aircraft carrier task forces. There were several proposals in the early Cold War to convert the class to take into account changes in technology and doctrine. These included plans to equip the class with nuclear missiles, add aircraft capability, and – in the case of Illinois and Kentucky – a proposal to rebuild both as aircraft carriers instead of battleships. Initially,
25715-463: The open on 14 January at the request of the ROK 1st Corps. Rearming once more at Sasebo, she shortly joined TF 77 off the coast of Korea and resumed support at the bombline on 23 January. Three days later, she shifted again to the Kojo region, to participate in a coordinated air and gun strike. That same day, the battleship returned to the bombline and shelled the command post and communications center for
25900-511: The original course) and advance (distance traveled along the original course line) are all calculated. The trial may be repeated at various starting speeds. During endurance trials the vessel is ballasted or loaded to a predetermined draft and the propulsion machinery is set to the contracted maximum service setting, usually some percentage of the machinery's maximum continuous rating. The fuel flow, exhaust and cooling water temperatures and ship's speed are all recorded. Maneuvering trials involve
26085-417: The outer hull plating with a system depth of 17.9 feet (5.46 m) to absorb the energy of a torpedo warhead. The extension of the armor belt to the triple bottom, where it tapers to a thickness of 1.62 inches (41 mm), serves as one of the torpedo bulkheads and was hoped to add to protection; the belt's lower edge was welded to the triple bottom structure and the joint was reinforced with buttstraps due to
26270-428: The powder bags used to fire them. Each turret required a crew of between 85 and 110 men to operate. The original cost for each turret was US$ 1.4 million, but this figure does not take into account the cost of the guns themselves. The turrets are "three-gun", not "triple", because each barrel is individually sleeved and can be elevated and fired independently. The ship could fire any combination of its guns, including
26455-401: The preliminary design displacement to 44,560 long tons (45,280 t) standard, though the margin remained tight. This breakthrough was shown to the General Board as part of a series of designs on 2 June 1938. However, the Bureau of Ordnance continued working on the turret with the larger barbette, while the Bureau of Construction and Repair used the smaller barbettes in the contract design of
26640-401: The projectile spends almost 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 minutes in flight. The maximum firing rate for each gun is two rounds per minute. Each gun rests within an armored turret, but only the top of the turret protrudes above the main deck. The turret extends either four decks (Turrets 1 and 3) or five decks (Turret 2) down. The lower spaces contain rooms for handling the projectiles and storing
26825-495: The recommendations of the Battleship Design Advisory Board, which was composed of the naval architect William Francis Gibbs , William Hovgaard (then president of New York Shipbuilding ), John Metten, Joseph W. Powell, and the long-retired Admiral and former Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance Joseph Strauss . The board requested an entirely new design study, again focusing on increasing the size of
27010-402: The ship have a Casualty Power System whose large 3-wire cables and wall outlets called "biscuits" can be used to reroute power. The earliest search radars installed were the SK air-search radar and SG surface-search radar during World War II. They were located on the mainmast and forward fire-control tower of the battleships, respectively. As the war drew to a close, the United States introduced
27195-862: The ship up to a maximum speed of 32.5 kn (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) at full load displacement and 33 kn (61 km/h; 38 mph) at normal displacement. The ships carried 8,841 long tons (8,983 t) of fuel oil which gave a range of 15,900 nmi (29,400 km; 18,300 mi) at 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph). Two semi-balanced rudders gave the ships a tactical turning diameter of 814 yards (744 m) at 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph) and 760 yards (695 m) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph). The machinery spaces were longitudinally divided into eight compartments with alternating fire and engine rooms to ensure adequate isolation of machinery components. Four fire rooms each contained two M-Type boilers operating at 600 pounds per square inch (4,137 kPa ; 42 kgf/cm ) with
27380-652: The ships returned to the carrier groups, resuming their tasks of covering them from attack. The Japanese surrendered on 15 August, ending World War II. " Wisconsin , as part of the occupying force, arrived at Tokyo Bay on 5 September, three days after the formal surrender occurred on board the Missouri . During Wisconsin ' s brief career in World War II, she had steamed 105,831 mi (170,318 km) since commissioning, shot down three enemy planes, claimed assists on four occasions, and fueled her screening destroyers on some 250 occasions." Shifting subsequently to Okinawa,
27565-419: The ships were still "on the way" rather than after the ships had been launched. The Iowa s had heavily protected main battery turrets, with 19.5-inch (495 mm) Class B and STS face, 9.5-inch (241 mm) Class A sides, 12-inch (305 mm) Class A rear, and 7.25-inch (184 mm) Class B roof. The turret barbettes' armor is Class A with 17.3 inches (439 mm) abeam and 11.6 inches (295 mm) facing
27750-413: The slight knuckle causing a structural discontinuity. The torpedo bulkheads were designed to elastically deform to absorb energy and the two outer compartments were liquid loaded in order to disrupt the gas bubble and slow fragments. The outer hull was intended to detonate a torpedo, with the outer two liquid compartments absorbing the shock and slowing any splinters or debris while the lower armored belt and
27935-501: The southwest coast of Mindoro , south of Luzon , which would allow American forces to interdict Japanese lines of communication through the South China Sea . The carriers had just completed three days of heavy raids against Japanese airfields , suppressing enemy aircraft during the amphibious operations against Mindoro and had withdrawn to begin refueling at sea on 17 December about 300 miles (480 km) east of Luzon in
28120-410: The splinter deck is replaced by a 1-inch (25 mm) STS third deck that separates the magazine from the main armored deck. The powder magazine rooms are separated from the turret platforms by a pair of 1.5-inch STS annular bulkheads under the barbettes for flashback protection. The installation of armor on the Iowa s also differed from those of earlier battleships in that the armor was installed while
28305-403: The stern. Each of the four engine rooms has a pair of 1,250 kW Ship's Service Turbine Generators (SSTGs), providing the ship with a total non-emergency electrical power of 10,000 kW at 450 volts alternating current. Additionally, the vessels have a pair of 250 kW emergency diesel generators. To allow battle-damaged electrical circuits to be repaired or bypassed, the lower decks of
28490-494: The surrender of the Empire of Japan , construction on Illinois and Kentucky stopped. Illinois was eventually scrapped, but Kentucky ' s construction had advanced enough that several plans were proposed to complete Kentucky as a guided missile battleship (BBG) by removing the aft turret and installing a missile system. A similar conversion had already been performed on the battleship Mississippi (BB-41/AG-128) to test
28675-443: The thickest plates on the sides and the thinnest ones on the front and back. The sides of the conning tower are 17.3 in (440 mm) thick. The main deck of the Iowa s consists of 1.5 in (38 mm) of STS. Below this deck, the roof of the armored citadel is formed by 6 in (152 mm) of armor in two layers. Below this is a deck of 0.625-inch (16 mm) STS plates intended to stop splinters from shells that pierced
28860-694: The third deck greatly reduced." Although the changes meant extra weight and increasing the beam by 1 foot (0.30 m) to 108 feet 2 inches (32.97 m), this was no longer a major issue; Britain and France had renounced the Second London Naval Treaty soon after the beginning of the Second World War . The design displacement was 45,873 long tons (46,609 t) standard, approximately 2% overweight, when Iowa and New Jersey were laid down in June and September 1940. By
29045-570: The three designs. "A" was the largest, at 59,060 long tons (60,010 t) standard, and was the only one to still carry the twelve 16-inch guns in four triple turrets (3-gun turrets according to US Navy). It required 277,000 shp (207,000 kW ) to make 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph). "B" was the smallest at 52,707 long tons (53,553 t) standard; like "A" it had a top speed of 32.5 knots, but "B" only required 225,000 shp (168,000 kW) to make this speed. It also carried only nine 16-inch guns, in three triple turrets. "C"
29230-442: The time the Iowa s were completed and commissioned in 1943–44, the considerable increase in anti-aircraft armament – along with their associated splinter protection and crew accommodations – and additional electronics had increased standard displacement to some 47,825 long tons (48,592 t), while full load displacement became 57,540 long tons (58,460 t). For half a century prior to laying [the Iowa class] down,
29415-452: The time these two battleships were to be built a proposal was put forth to have them constructed as aircraft carriers rather than fast battleships. The plan called for the ships to be rebuilt to include a flight deck and an armament suite similar to that placed aboard the Essex -class aircraft carriers that were at the time under construction in the United States. Ultimately, nothing came of
29600-403: The top and the plates taper to 5 inches at the bottom. Unlike the Iowa and New Jersey , the armor plates in the forward transverse bulkhead in Missouri and Wisconsin have a maximum thickness of 14.5 in (368 mm) at the top that tapers to 11.7 in (297 mm). The aft bulkhead is a consistent 14.5 inches in thickness, but does not go below the lower belt extension due it meeting
29785-423: The torpedo warhead 's detonation and slow the resulting splinters so they can be stopped by the lower armor belt. Behind the belt is a holding bulkhead intended to protect the ships' inner spaces from any splinters that might penetrate and the subsequent flooding. For protection against naval mines , the Iowa s have a double bottom that runs the full length of the ships and increases to a triple bottom except at
29970-428: The treaty and in particular refused to accept the 14-inch gun caliber limit or the 5:5:3 ratio of warship tonnage limits for Britain, the United States, and Japan, respectively. This resulted in the three treaty powers, the United States, Britain, and France, invoking the caliber escalator clause after April 1937. Circulation of intelligence evidence in November 1937 of Japanese capital ships violating naval treaties caused
30155-484: The treaty powers to expand the escalator clause in June 1938, which amended the standard displacement limit of battleships from 35,000 long tons (35,600 t) to 45,000 long tons (45,700 t). Work on what would eventually become the Iowa -class battleship began on the first studies in early 1938, at the direction of Admiral Thomas C. Hart , head of the General Board , following the planned invocation of
30340-475: The urinals and all but one of the toilets on the Iowa class flush with salt water in order to conserve fresh water. The turbines, especially the HP turbine, can turn at 2,000 rpm; their shafts drive through reduction gearing that turns the propeller shafts at speeds up to 225 rpm, depending upon the desired speed of the ship. The Iowa s were outfitted with four screws: the outboard pair consisting of four-bladed propellers 18.25 ft (5.56 m) in diameter and
30525-446: The vertical armor plates are made from Class A cemented armor and the horizontal armor from Class B or Special treatment steel (STS). The belt armor extends to the two transverse bulkheads fore and aft of the main-gun barbettes , forming the armored citadel . Part of the lower armor belt extends aft from the rear bulkhead to protect the ships' steering gear. Its maximum thickness ranges from 13 to 13.5 in (330 to 343 mm) at
30710-441: The waterline and 887 ft 3 in (270.43 m) long overall with a beam of 108 ft 2 in (32.97 m). During World War II, the draft was 37 ft 2 in (11.33 m) at full load displacement of 57,540 long tons (58,460 t) and 34 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 4 in (10.60 m) at design combat displacement of 54,889 long tons (55,770 t). Like the two previous classes of American fast battleships,
30895-493: The weeks that ensued, the battleship visited Valparaíso , Chile, from 1–6 November; Callao , Peru, from 9–13 November; Balboa, Canal Zone , from 16 to 20 November; and La Guaira, Venezuela , from 22 to 26 November, before returning to Norfolk on 2 December 1946. Wisconsin spent nearly all of 1947 as a training ship, taking naval reservists on two-week cruises throughout the year. Those voyages commenced at Bayonne, New Jersey , and saw visits conducted at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and
31080-426: The world's largest nuclear artillery and made these four battleships the only US Navy ships ever to have nuclear shells for naval guns. Although developed for exclusive use by the battleship's guns it is not known if any of the Iowa s actually carried these shells while in active service due to the United States Navy's policy of refusing to confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weaponry aboard its ships. In 1991,
31265-405: Was also deemed unacceptable. The General Board was astounded; one member asked the head of the Bureau of Ordnance if it had occurred to him that Construction and Repair would have wanted to know what turret his subordinates were working on "as a matter of common sense". A complete scrapping of plans was avoided only when designers within the Bureau of Ordnance were able to design a new 50-caliber gun,
31450-461: Was also suggested to serve in part as ballast for the battleships and for use in refueling destroyers and cruisers. Due to the estimated cost of the overhaul ($ 178–193 million) this proposal was rejected as too expensive; instead, the SCB suggested a design with one Talos, one Tartar, one ASROC, and two Regulus launchers and changes to the superstructure, at a cost of up to $ 85 million. This design
31635-771: Was assigned to the Norfolk group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Her sojourn in "mothballs" was rather brief, due to the North Korean invasion of South Korea in late June 1950. Wisconsin was recommissioned on 3 March 1951 with Captain Thomas Burrowes in command. After shakedown training, the revitalized battleship conducted two midshipmen training cruises, taking the officers-to-be to Edinburgh , Scotland; Lisbon, Portugal ; Halifax , Nova Scotia; New York City and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba before she returned to Norfolk. Wisconsin departed Norfolk on 25 October, bound for
31820-443: Was at least 20,150 nmi (37,320 km; 23,190 mi) at that cruising speed. Their designed crew numbered 117 officers and 1,804 enlisted men , and greatly increased by the end of the war in 1945. Wisconsin ' s crew at that time numbered 173 officers and 2,738 sailors. The main battery of the Iowa -class ships consisted of nine 16 in (406 mm)/50-caliber Mark 7 guns in three triple- gun turrets on
32005-448: Was being envisaged; such a force could operate independently in advance areas and act as scouts. This concept eventually evolved into the Fast Carrier Task Force , though initially the carriers were believed to be subordinate to the battleship. Another factor was the "escalator clause" of the Second London Naval Treaty , which reverted the gun caliber limit from 14 inches (356 mm) to 16 inches (406 mm). Japan had refused to sign
32190-437: Was canceled. They resumed their escort duties, but surprise was complete and no Japanese aircraft attacked TG 38.2. TF 38 withdrew shortly after sunset and refueled the following day in the middle of the South China Sea despite another typhoon in the area. Formosa was raided again on 15 January, and 21 January. Throughout January Wisconsin shielded the carriers as they conducted air raids at Hong Kong, Canton , Hainan Island ,
32375-507: Was consequently repulsed with a considerable number of enemy casualties. After being relieved on the gunline by the heavy cruiser Saint Paul on 6 December, Wisconsin briefly retired from gunfire-support duties. She resumed them in the Kasong-Kosong area on 11 December screened by the destroyer Twining . The following day, 12 December, had the helicopter embarkation on Wisconsin of Rear Admiral H. R. Thurber, Commander Battleship Division 2 (BatDiv 2), as part of his inspection trip in
32560-469: Was designed in the late 1930s in response to the US Navy 's expectations for a future war with the Empire of Japan . The last battleships to be built by the United States, they were also the US Navy's largest and fastest vessels of the type. American officers preferred comparatively slow but heavily armed and armored battleships, but Navy planners determined that such a fleet would have difficulty in bringing
32745-419: Was equipped with a 15-foot (4.6 m) rangefinder and a pair of radars on its roof. These were a Mark 12 fire-control system and a Mark 22 height-finder radar . Each 40 mm mount was remotely controlled by a Mark 51 director that incorporated a Mark 14 lead-computing gyro gunsight while the sailors that used the 20 mm gun used a Mark 14 sight to track their targets. A SK-2 early-warning radar
32930-540: Was fitted on the ship's foremast ; above it was a SG surface-search radar . The other SG radar was mounted at the top of the mainmast positioned on the rear funnel . The Iowa s were built with two rotating aircraft catapults on their stern for floatplanes and a large crane was fitted to recover them. Initially a trio of Vought OS2U Kingfishers were carried, but these were replaced by Curtiss SC Seahawks in December 1944. The internal waterline armor belt of
33115-403: Was increased to 14.5 inches (368 mm); this extra armor provided protection from raking fire directly ahead, which was considered more likely given the high speed of the Iowa s. The deck armor consists of a 1.5-inch-thick (38 mm) STS weather deck, a combined 6-inch-thick (152 mm) Class B and STS main armor deck, and a 0.63-inch-thick (16 mm) STS splinter deck. Over the magazines,
33300-553: Was later revised to accommodate the Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile, which in turn resulted in a study of two schemes by the SCB. In the end, none of these proposed conversions for the battleships were ever authorized. Interest in converting the Iowa s into guided-missile battleships began to deteriorate in 1960 because the hulls were considered too old and the conversion costs too high. Nonetheless, additional conversion proposals – including one to install
33485-439: Was reduced from twenty guns in ten mounts to twelve guns in six mounts during the 1980s' modernization of the four Iowa s. The removal of four of the gun mounts was required for the battleships to be outfitted with the armored box launchers needed to carry and fire Tomahawk missiles. At the time of the 1991 Persian Gulf War , these guns had been largely relegated to littoral defense for the battleships. Since each battleship carried
33670-442: Was sent to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for repairs. A novel experiment sped her repairs and enabled the ship to carry out her scheduled midshipman training cruise that summer. A 120-ton, 68 foot (21 m) section of the bow of Wisconsin ' s incomplete sister ship Kentucky was transported by barge, in one section, from Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation of Newport News, Virginia , across Hampton Roads to
33855-410: Was similar but added 75,000 shp (56,000 kW) (for a total of 300,000 shp (220,000 kW)) to meet the original requirement of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The weight required for this and a longer belt – 512 feet (156 m), compared with 496 feet (151 m) for "B" – meant that the ship was 55,771 long tons (56,666 t) standard. In March 1938, the General Board followed
34040-433: Was suddenly vanishing. The draft of the ships was also allowed to increase, which enabled the beam to narrow and thus reduced the required power (since a lower beam-to-draft ratio reduces wave-making resistance ). This also allowed the ships to be shortened, which reduced weight. With the additional displacement, the General Board was incredulous that a tonnage increase of 10,000 long tons (10,200 t) would allow only
34225-423: Was to serve as part of the anti-aircraft screen for the carriers. In addition to guarding the carriers, Wisconsin and the other battleships acted as oilers for the escorting destroyers , since the fleet's logistics train could not accompany the strike force during raids. The battleship arrived in time to participate in the Philippines campaign . As a part of that operation, the planners had envisioned landings on
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