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Navy General Board Profile picture
@thegeneralboard
Nov 25, 2022 • 7 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
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The Colorado class dreadnought USS Washington under construction. The details of her multi-layer torpedo defense system are easily seen.

The United States enjoyed somewhat of a significant advantage in warship development at this time.
Most major powers (such as Britain and Germany) were locked in the dreadnought race. In an effort to outproduce the competition, the implementation of new features was somewhat hamstrung by the rush to get ships into serve as quickly as possible.
The US Navy on the other hand, could take a more leisurely approach (Not to mention take advantage of data coming from foreign experiences).

Extensive testing of various components was conducted. This was especially true for tank testing of underwater protection schemes.
This led to the development of the highly effective defense systems.

The US was able to determine features such as optimal distance between bulkheads, the best material to fill them (Air vs liquid), the thickness of the bulkhead, organization of said bulkeads, etc.
Further aided by other things (such as the powerplant and tight subdivision), the final Standard Battleships were ahead of the competition as far as underwater protection went.

Even by the Second World War, they remained competitive with the newest designs.
It's not to say the US had superior workmanship. Merely, they had the freedom to design and incorporate new features at a generous pace.

The nature of the Standard Battleships to be incremental improvements over their predecessors was also a likely factor that drove development
Overall, I'm starting to gain an appreciation for the Standards. While not quite gaining the respect of their peers, they were technologically interesting designs that had an impact on US design through the Second World War.

#fridaymorning #Friday #UnitedStates #USA #History

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More from @thegeneralboard

Navy General Board Profile picture
Dec 29, 2024
One of the more interesting claims that I have heard recently is that Italy and Germany relied on spaced armor because they could not use high-quality armor plate.

So far as Italy goes, the opposite is true. Spaced armor allowed them to utilize the highest quality armor plate. Image
The difficulty in manufacturing armor plate increased congruently as the thickness of the armor increased.

It was hard to make make an armor plate of 305mm thickness. It was significantly harder to manufacture one that was 356mm and harder yet for 406mm armor. Image
How did this apply to Italy?

Italian designers were aware of this when designing the spaced armor array of the Littorio class.

The Littorio class had a 280mm armor belt with an outer 70mm decapping layer. Image
Read 9 tweets
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Dec 13, 2024
Super Heavy Shells

I wanted to talk about plunging fire and super-heavy shells, but I realized that they are but a small part of the equation.

So, this post will be broken into two pieces, the second part focusing on shell design and shape. Image
Super Heavy Shells.

The wonder weapon of the United States Navy that everyone acknowledges but does not seem to understand the rationale behind.

So what are Super Heavy Shells.

Super Heavy Shells are, for the most part, the result of a panic in the 1930s. Image
When Japan announced that it was withdrawing from the Washington Naval Treaty, there was a moment of panic in the United States Navy. With the North Carolina class still being planned, there was a belief that the United States might have a deficiency in battleships. Image
Read 18 tweets
Navy General Board Profile picture
Sep 6, 2024
Standards and Speed

While most Navies made the pursuit of greater speeds in their dreadnoughts a priority during the First World War, the United States remained happy with maintaining a speed of 21 knots throughout their series of superdreadnoughts. Image
Much has been written about the great leap in capability that was brought about by faster battleships such as the Queen Elizabeth class. This premium on speed has led the casual reader to discount the US Navy's Standard-Type battleships or even the entire battleline. Image
However, the reasoning for the emphasis for a 21 knot speed was not an inability to produce faster ships. Rather, it was a calculated decision to have all of their battleships standardized to the same speed throughout the entire navy. Image
Read 15 tweets
Navy General Board Profile picture
Sep 5, 2024
The United States "Standard-Type" Battleships are something of an oddity so far as naval history is concerned.

They are typically overlooked by the casual observer and are seen as smaller, slower, or perhaps less visually impressive compared to their European contemporaries. Image
However, there was a good reason for the Standards and why they were designed the way they were.

They were, along with the strategic thinking of the US Navy, heavily influenced by Alfred Thayer Mahan. Image
Mahan's 1890 book, "The Influence of Sea Power upon History", had an effect of navies around the World.

The US Navy on the hand, began designing its entire navy around Mahan's theories.

One of the biggest being the concept of a decisive battle between capital ships. Image
Read 10 tweets
Navy General Board Profile picture
Jul 30, 2024
Battlecruisers in the US Navy: Part 4

We talked about the Lexington class battlecruisers, what they might have looked like had they been built, and how they might have been upgraded.

Now let's see how they might have operated in the US Navy. Image
I imagine they would have spent the interwar years split between the Atlantic and Pacific Fleet, generally following the distribution of the battleships. Most of them likely would have been sent to the Pacific along with the Battleline by the late 1930s to contain Japan. Image
Any battlecruisers left in the Atlantic would have likely supplemented or even replaced the three battleships covering the Neutrality patrols at the outbreak of the Second World War.

The higher speed and great range likely would have been invaluable in covering more territory. Image
Read 9 tweets
Navy General Board Profile picture
Jul 24, 2024
Battlecruisers in the US Navy: Part 2

So let's assume that the US Navy did produce it's Lexington class battlecruisers in their original configuration.

How might they have influenced the US Navy during the interwar years and into World War 2? Image
There likely would have been no Alaska class cruisers for one.

With six large capital ships to patrol the sea lanes, there would be less impetus for the development of the large cruiser proposals in the 1930s. Image
As a side note, this might have even caused Germany to hesitate on the Deutschland class.

The Renown class/HMS Hood were known to be the major threats to the class due to their speed and power. Having the threat of the Lexington class in the Atlantic would be added to this. Image
Read 10 tweets

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