Indiana-class battleship
The Indiana-class was a class of three pre-dreadnought battleships launched in 1893. The ships were named Indiana, Massachusetts, and Oregon and were designated Battleship Number 1 through 3. All three served in the Spanish–American War, although Oregon had to cruise 14,000 nautical miles around South America to the East Coast first.
About Indiana-class battleship in brief
The Indiana-class was a class of three pre-dreadnought battleships launched in 1893. They were the first battleships built by the United States Navy comparable to contemporary European ships, such as the British HMS Hood. The ships were named Indiana, Massachusetts, and Oregon and were designated Battleship Number 1 through 3. All three served in the Spanish–American War, although Oregon had to cruise 14,000 nautical miles around South America to the East Coast first. After 1903, the obsolete battleships were de- and recommissioned several times, the last time during World War I when Indiana and Massachusetts served as training ships. In 1919, all three ships were decommissioned for the final time. Indiana was sunk in shallow water as an explosives test target a year later and sold for scrap in 1924. Massachusetts was scuttled off the coast of Pensacola in 1920 and used as an artillery target. The wreck was never scrapped and is now a Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. Oregon was initially preserved as a museum, but was sold to be used as a ammunition barge during the battle of Guam in World War II. The hulk was finally sold for scrapping in 1956 and the wreck is now in a Florida underwater museum. The Indiana class was very controversial at the time of its approval by the U.S. Congress. It was envisioned as a possible fleet in being, a fleet capable of raiding an enemy’s home ports and intended to deter powerful warships from ranging too far from home.
The battleships in their plan would include ten first-rate long-range battleships with a 17 knots top speed and a steaming radius of 5,400 nmi at 10 kn —6,500 nmi maximum. Twenty-five short-range second-rate battleships would provide home defense in both the Atlantic and Pacific and support the faster and larger long-distance vessels. With a range of roughly 2,700 nmi at 10 knots and a draft of 23. 5 ft, they would roam from the St. Lawrence River in the north to the Windward Islands and Panama in the south and would be able to enter all the ports in the southern United States. The two battleships already under construction, Texas and Maine, were to be grouped under the last class. In addition, 167 smaller ships, including rams, cruisers and torpedo boats, would be built, coming to a total cost of USD 281. 55 million, approximately equal to the sum of the entire US Navy budget during the previous 15 years. Congress balked at the plan, seeing in it an end to the U States policy of isolationism and the imperialism. Even some supporters of naval expansion were wary; Senator Eugene Hale feared that because the entire bill was so large, the large ships would be shot down and any money appropriated for them would have to be cut. The total appropriation was also approved by the Senate, in April 1890, for 8,000 battleships, 30 coast-defense cruiser, 30 torpedo boat, and 30 cruiser, a cruiser and a torpedo boat were given official approval.
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This page is based on the article Indiana-class battleship published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
