Author: Source WikipediaPublisher: University-Press.org
ISBN: 9781230613628
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 26
Book Description
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 24. Chapters: USS Tennessee (BB-43), USS Tennessee 1944, USS Tennessee 1941-1943, USS Tennessee 1945, USS California, Tennessee-class battleship. Excerpt: USS Tennessee (BB-43), the lead ship of her class of battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 16th US state. During World War II in the Pacific Theater, she was damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 but was repaired and modernized. She participated in shore bombardments at the Aleutian Islands, Tarawa, the Philippine Islands, Okinawa and several other amphibious landings later in the war, and participated in the sinking of the Japanese battleship Yamashiro in the Battle of Surigao Strait. After the war, she was placed on reserve in the "mothball fleet" for several years, before being scrapped in 1959. Tennessee's keel was laid down on 14 May 1917 at the New York Naval Shipyard. She was launched on 30 April 1919, sponsored by Miss Helen Lenore Roberts, daughter of Tennessee governor Albert H. Roberts, and commissioned on 3 June 1920, Captain Richard H. Leigh in command. Tennessee and her sister ship, California, were the first American battleships built to a "post-Jutland" hull design. As a result of extensive experimentation and testing, her underwater hull protection was much greater than that of previous battleships; both her main and secondary batteries had fire-control systems. The Tennessee-class, and the three ships of the Colorado-class that followed, were identified by two heavy cage masts supporting large fire-control tops. This feature was to distinguish the "Big Five" from the rest of the battleship force until World War II. Since Tennessee's 14 in (360 mm) turret guns could be elevated to 30 rather than only to the 15 of earlier battleships, her heavy guns could extend an additional 10,000 yd (9,100...
