The New York class was a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the United States Navy between 1911 and 1914. The two ships of the class, and , saw extensive service beginning in the occupation of Veracruz, World War I, and World War II.
Designed as a more heavily armed improvement over the previous , the New York class was the first battleship to feature the /45 caliber gun and the first American super-dreadnought, but was one of the last battleship classes designed with a five-turret layout and coal for fuel. The class also suffered several deficiencies such as a lack of anti-aircraft weaponry and armor layout, resulting in several extensive overhauls over the course of their careers which greatly changed their appearance. The New York's problems were addressed in the subsequent Standard-type battleships starting with the .
Both New York and Texas entered service in 1914 and immediately served in the occupation of Veracruz, and service reinforcing the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet in the North Sea during World War I, during which time New York is believed to have sunk a U-boat in an accidental collision. Both ships undertook numerous training exercises and overhauls during the interwar era, and joined the Neutrality Patrol at the beginning of World War II. Outmoded by more advanced battleships in service, both ships served primarily as convoy escorts and naval artillery during the war. New York supported Operation Torch in North Africa, undertook convoy patrols and training in the Atlantic, and supported the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. Texas supported Operation Torch, Operation Overlord, the bombardment of Cherbourg, Operation Dragoon and the battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Following the war, New York was used as a target ship in Operation Crossroads and sunk as a target in 1948, while Texas was converted into a museum ship, and was moored in San Jacinto State Park until being moved to a drydock in Galveston, Texas in August 2022 for restoration operations.
Background The New York class was the fifth of 11 separate classes planned by the United States Navy between 1906 and 1919, a total of 29 battleships and 6 battlecruisers. Virtually the entire American battle line was being designed from pre-dreadnought experience and observation of foreign designs. The design of the New York-class battleship originated in the 1908 Newport Conference, which resulted in a new method for battleship design, with the General Board taking a more active role in the design process of ships, and the navy's Board on Construction would implement the design instead of creating it. While the New York class was mostly designed by the Board on Construction, lessons learned on the class allowed the General Board to take the lead on the following s.
The Newport Conference established a general consensus among leaders that US Navy ships should carry larger batteries in response to the increasing caliber of battleships in other countries, notably the BL 13.5 inch Mk V naval gun which had been introduced by the Royal Navy's , as well as the German Navy's shift from to guns. There was debate at the time as to whether the s, laid down in 1909, should carry heavier armament than the /45 caliber Mark 5 gun. Ultimately, on 30 March 1909, US Congress approved the construction of two "Design 601" battleships, also known as Battleship 1910 with six 12-inch turrets, which the General Board had selected over two 14-inch designs in 1909. These would become the . At the same time, the General Board began planning for the next class of ships, and on 21 April 1909 decided on two battleships with similar sizes, and after some debate about main guns approval of two battleships was granted on 24 June 1910. In 1911 the US Senate's Naval Affairs Committee suggested reducing the size of the ships as part of a $24,000,000 budget reduction, but Secretary of the Navy George von Lengerke Meyer fought to keep the original design and the ships were not altered.
The class is generally referred to as the New York class, but it is also occasionally called the Texas class because New York was completed several months after her sister, Texas.
Design
General characteristics As designed, the ships had a standard displacement of and a full-load displacement of . They were in length overall, at the waterline, and had a beam of and a draft of . The ships underwent significant changes and increases in armor and armament over their operational lives. Following her fourth and final refit in 1943, New York increased her displacement to standard and full-load. The final refit for Texas came in 1945, after which she displaced standard and at full load. As designed, the ships had a crew complement consisting of 1,042 officers and enlisted men. By 1945, Texas was carrying 1,723 officers and enlisted men with the addition of crews for additional weapons as well as a new complement of Marines.
Armament
The main battery of the class consisted of ten 14-inch/45 caliber guns, arrayed in five 2-gun turrets designated 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and able to elevate to 15 degrees. The class was the last to feature a turret mounted amidships. In 1910 the US Navy's Bureau of Ordnance had successfully designed and tested its 14-inch naval gun. The gun proved to have remarkable accuracy and uniformity of pattern. The New York class was the fifth class of US dreadnought battleship design created, and work had already started on the sixth design, the Nevada class. By 1910 no US dreadnought type battleship had yet hit the water, as all were either at some stage of building or in design. Virtually the entire US Navy battle line was being designed by drawing on experience from pre-dreadnought designs or from observation of foreign battleship designs.
As built, both ships also carried 21 /51 caliber guns arrayed ten to a side with one in the stern, primarily for defense against destroyers and torpedo boats. Many of the 5-inch guns were poor in accuracy in rough seas due to being mounted near the ends of the ship and below the main deck. The ships were not designed with anti-aircraft (AA) defense in mind, and with the development of naval aviation, this was seen as a serious drawback to the class. The New York class was the first US battleship to mount anti-aircraft guns, with two /50 caliber guns mounted on platforms on top of the boat cranes of Texas in 1916. In 1918, the secondary armament was reduced to 16 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight to a side, as the guns near the ends of the ship were difficult to work in any kind of sea. When both ships were refitted 1925–26, AA defense was increased with eight 3-inch/50 caliber guns arrayed four to a side. Six of the sixteen remaining 5-inch guns were relocated higher in the ship to new casemates on the main deck. The New York class also initially featured four torpedo tubes, 1 each on the port side bow and stern and starboard bow and stern, for the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 3 torpedo, instead of the previous two, because of advances in torpedo performance increasing the prominence of the weapon. The torpedo rooms held 12 torpedoes total, plus 12 naval defense mines. However, the torpedo tubes were removed in the 1925-26 refit.
Magazine and machinery spaces were enclosed in the protected hull. Magazine volume was reduced for increased machinery, with each magazine accommodating 75 to 80 shells and charges, while more shells were carried in their turrets and handling rooms.
In 1937 eight /75 caliber AA guns in two quadruple mounts were added to improve the light AA armament. The ships were more extensively refitted with large amounts of light AA guns at the expense of the 5-inch/51 caliber guns in 1942, as the attack on Pearl Harbor had shown pre-war light AA armament to be inadequate. The 1.1 inch quad mounts were removed and 24 Bofors 40 mm guns were added in six quadruple mounts (later increased to 40 guns), while 44 Oerlikon 20 mm guns in single mounts were also added. New York had an additional two twin mounts of the latter. The 3-inch AA gun armament was increased to 10 guns, while the 5-inch gun armament was reduced to 6 guns.
Armor The ships continued the armor suite of the Wyoming class with minor improvements. The deck armor scheme would continue to remain distinctly inferior to the succeeding Nevada class with their all or nothing armor scheme. However the leap forward in range provided by improved fire control was not yet envisioned and had it been there would not have been time to include it within the current design. The ship provided a belt tapering to and casemate armor with internal partitioning. The New York class was the first to incorporate an armored central plotting room below decks, but atop the protective deck, and enclosed in a thin box of splinter armor.
Armor on the New York class consisted of belt armor from 10 to 12 inches thick. Their lower casemates had between and of armor, and their upper casemate had of armor. Deck armor was thick, and turret armor was 14 inches on the face, on the top, 2 inches on the sides, and on the rear. Armor on her barbettes was between 10 and 12 inches. Conning towers were protected by 12 inches of armor, with 4 inches of armor on the tops. In all, the armor totaled on the upper casemate, on the lower casemate, along the belt, on the bulkheads, on the splinter deck, on the barbettes, and on the conning tower for a total protection of .
Propulsion The ships were powered by 14 Babcock & Wilcox coal-fired boilers driving two dual-acting triple expansion reciprocating steam engines, with producing a maximum speed of . They had a range of at . Initially, designs called for a 14 percent increase in power to over the of the preceding class. However, it was discovered that greater propulsive efficiency of the reciprocating engine allowed a reduction in installed power, needing only 28,100 shp to make 21 knots.
The New York class was the final class of US battleship to be powered by coal. The class was designed to carry of coal, the most of any battleship class. In 1910, the succeeding battleships of the Nevada class were designed with fuel oil in mind. Both ships were converted to carry fuel oil in 1926, and had a capacity of of oil. Six new Bureau Express oil-fired boilers replaced the fourteen older design coal-fired boilers at that time with no loss of power.
Construction
Funding for the battleships was authorized by a 24 June 1910 act, which called for the ships to cost no more than $6,000,000. The act also specified new labor policies for their construction which put strict limits on labor hours and working conditions for shipyard employees. Bids were solicited only for Battleship No. 35, Texas, on 27 September 1910, while Battleship No. 34, New York, was to be built by New York Navy Yard. Bids opened for No. 35 on 1 December. Ultimately Newport News Shipbuilding Company won the contract with a bid of $5,830,000. Battleship No. 35 began construction first, on 17 April 1911, launched 18 May 1912, and completed on 12 March 1914. Battleship No. 34 was laid down on 11 September 1911, launched on 30 October 1912, and completed on 15 April 1914.
By 1926, the New York class was considered obsolete compared with other battleships in service, so both ships received a complete refit. While several other battleships in service, including and , were converted to training ships or scrapped, New York and Texas were chosen to be overhauled to increase their speed, armor, and armament, in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.