USS Idaho (BB-24)
| The USS Idaho The USS Idaho on the Hudson River | |
| Career (US) | 100x35px |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 12 May 1904 |
| Launched: | 9 December 1905 |
| Commissioned: | 1 April 1908 |
| Decommissioned: | 30 July 1914 |
| Fate: | transferred to Greece, sunk by German aircraft, April 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 13,000 long tons (13,200 metric tons) |
| Length: | 382 ft (116 m) |
| Beam: | 77 ft (23 m) |
| Draft: | 24.7 ft (7.5 m) |
| Speed: | 17 kn (20 mph; 31 km/h) |
| Complement: | 744 officers and men |
| Armament: | 4 × 12 in (300 mm)/45 cal Mark 5 guns, 8 × 8 in (200 mm)/45 cal guns, 8 × 7 in (180 mm)/45 cal guns, 12 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal guns, 2 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes |
USS Idaho (Battleship No. 24), a Mississippi-class battleship, was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 43rd state.
Her construction was authorized on 3 March 1903 and her keel was laid down on 12 May 1904 by William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was launched on 9 December 1905 sponsored by Louise Gooding, daughter of Governor Frank Gooding of Idaho, and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 1 April 1908 with Captain S.W.B. Diehl in command.
Idaho and her sister Mississippi were designed in response to Congressional desire to cap the growth and expense of new battleships, whose size and cost had increased dramatically since the first US battlships, the Indianas of 1893, had been authorized. Displacement was limited to 13,000 tons (13,200 metric tons), a reduction of 3,000 tons (3,000 metric tons) from the prior Connecticut class.[1]
In terms of design, the two ships were essentially a reduced version of the Connecticuts which had preceded them, and by comparison with which they sacrificed 1 kn (1.2 mph; 1.9 km/h) of speed, four 7 in (178 mm) guns, eight 3 in (76 mm) guns, two torpedo tubes and some freeboard[2] They were indifferent sea boats and were obsolete upon commissioning in consequence of the advent of HMS Dreadnought.
Though intended to recapitulate in steel and steam the concept of the 74-gun third-rate, which had formed the backbone of the sailing battle fleets of the previous century, the tactical and technical calculus of early 20th Century naval warfare had made the third-rate concept obsolete; to be viable, a battle line needed to consist entirely of what could be considered first-rate units.[3]
This combination of Congressional displacement restrictions and a flawed tactical premise produced a class that was never satisfactory in US service. They were close to being second-class units at a time and in a navy which could neither afford to tie up tonnage and money in second-tier designs nor place such vessels in its battle line.
Contents
The new battleship conducted a shakedown cruise to Cuba in April-May 1908, and after a visit to Panama returned to Philadelphia for alterations. The ship took part in the giant Naval Review in Hampton Roads on 2 February 1909 celebrating the return of the Great White Fleet from its around-the-world cruise. In March she returned to the Caribbean Sea for maneuvers, continuing to take part in training operations until October 1910. She sailed on 29 October 1910 for exercises in British and French waters, and upon her return participated in gunnery exercises in Chesapeake Bay from 19-28 March 1911.
Idaho sailed from Philadelphia on 4 May for a cruise up the Mississippi River to Louisiana ports. She then steamed to the east coast of Florida for battleship maneuvers, and continued to operate off the coast and in the Caribbean until entering the reserve at Philadelphia on 27 October 1908. There she remained until 9 May 1914, when the ship sailed to the Mediterranean Sea with midshipmen for at sea training. After visiting various ports in North Africa and Italy and carrying out a rigorous training program, Idaho arrived at Villefranche, France on 17 July 1914, transferred her crew to Maine.
Idaho decommissioned at Newport News on 30 July 1914, and was turned over to the Royal Hellenic Navy the same day.
Fleet designation
Although the Mississippi-class ships were decommissioned before the fleet designation reworkings in 1920, and thus never carried the "BB" hull classification symbol in service, many lists of American battleships (including the one in this encyclopedia) list them as "BB-23" and "BB-24" for completeness.
See also
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Alden, John D. American Steel Navy: A Photographic History of the U.S. Navy from the Introduction of the Steel Hull in 1883 to the Cruise of the Great White Fleet. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989. ISBN 0870212486 Friedman, Norman. U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0870217151 Reilly, John C. and Robert L. Scheina. American Battleships 1996-1923: Predreadnought Design and Construction. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1980. ISBN 0870215248
External links
| USS Idaho (BB-24)
]]- USS Idaho (Battleship # 24), 1908-1914
- Maritimequest USS Idaho BB-24 Photo Gallery
- NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive BB-24 USS IDAHO
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