Английская Википедия:Arkansas-class monitor

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Шаблон:Infobox ship imageШаблон:Infobox ship class overviewШаблон:Infobox ship characteristics

The Arkansas-class monitors were the last class of four monitors ordered for the U.S. Navy.

Design

Single turreted monitors, these ships mounted the most modern heavy guns in the US Navy at the time they were built, [[12"/40 caliber gun|Шаблон:Convert/40 caliber guns]]. The Arkansas-class monitors did not see any combat during World War I and instead served as submarine tenders. Alexander C. Brown, writing in the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers Historical Transactions noted in a penetrating comment that:

They had a displacement of Шаблон:Convert, measured Шаблон:Convert in overall length, with a beam of Шаблон:Convert and a draft of Шаблон:Convert. They were manned by a total crew of 13 officers and 209 men.Шаблон:Sfn

ArkansasШаблон:' were powered by two vertical triple expansion engines driving two screw propellers with steam generated by four steam boilers. The engines in the ArkansasШаблон:' were designed to produce Шаблон:Convert with a top speed of Шаблон:Convert, however, on sea trials only Шаблон:USS had top speed over 12.5 knots, Шаблон:Cvt, the rest came in below. The ArkansasШаблон:' was designed to provide a range of Шаблон:Convert at Шаблон:Cvt.Шаблон:Sfn

The ships were armed with a main battery of two 12-inch/40 caliber guns, either Mark 3 or Mark 4, in a Mark 4 turret.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The secondary battery consisted of four [[4"/50 caliber gun|Шаблон:Convert/50 caliber]] Mark 7 gunsШаблон:Sfn along with three [[QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss#American service|6-pounder Шаблон:Cvt guns]]. The main belt armor was Шаблон:Cvt in the middle tapering to Шаблон:Cvt at the ends. The gun turrets were between Шаблон:Cvt, with Шаблон:Cvt barbettes. The ArkansasШаблон:' also had a Шаблон:Cvt deck.Шаблон:Sfn

Construction

In response to increasing public pressure regarding the state of the nation's coastal defense forces and hastened by the outbreak of war with Spain, the U.S. Congress passed the Naval Appropriations Act of 1898 on May 4, which, among many other things, authorized the appropriation of $5 million to build four new Monitors, each of which were to cost no more than $1,250,000. The new ships, created for harbor defense, were designed by Chief constructor Philip Hichborn with the original plans calling for a length of 225 ft and a beam of 50 ft, with a displacement of 2700 tons, a coal capacity of 200 tons, and a side armor belt of 11-inch thickness. For armament, the ship was to be equipped with a main battery containing a single turret with two 12-inch guns (Hichborn balanced), and four rapid-fire breech-loading rifles, with a secondary battery consisting of three 6-pound and four 1-pound rifles. Powered by two vertical triple-expansion type engines and twin-screw propellers, the ship would have a maximum speed of 12 knots.

Contractors

Bidding began for the construction of the new monitors on October 1, with the following results, including price:

• USS Arkansas - Newport News Shipping & Dry Dock Company - $860,000
• USS Connecticut - Bath Iron Works - $862,000
• USS Florida - Crescent Shipyard - $825,000
• USS Wyoming - Union Iron Works - $875,000

Following the bidding, the Navy announced the names of the ships.

Criticism and Proposed Redesign

The new Monitors were met with criticism by many, as their design and armament made them no greater than any of the older navy Monitors, such as the Monterey, Monadnock, and Terror. The main complaint was the single turret, rather than a two-turret design as seen on the USS Terror. There were also those that argued that the entire building of four ships was a waste of money, as the monitors that participated in the Spanish-American War were met with considerable criticism, most chiefly from Rear Admiral William T. Sampson who criticized the slowness of the vessels and their firing accuracy.

In response to these criticisms, Secretary of the Navy John D. Long ordered that all construction on the new vessels be halted while the Bureau of Naval Construction met to decide on changes in early November. Lewis Nixon of the Crescent Shipyard, the contractors of the USS Florida, submitted a new design for the Monitors which the Navy appears to have favored. The final proposed changes included the following:

1. Replacing the single turret of two 12-inch guns with two turrets of two 10-inch guns in each
2. Increasing the maximum displacement from 2700 tons to 4000 tons
3. Increase the coal capacity from 200 tons to 400 tons
4. Lengthening the vessels by 30 ft

The Navy was confident that changes could be made to the design within the $1.25 million budget set by Congress as they were surprised at how low the bids were for the four ships, with the highest contract, costing $875,000, leaving a minimum of $350,000 left over for each ship. The four ships were originally contracted at a price of $3,422,000 altogether. Throughout November the Bureau and shipbuilders discussed possible design changes, with the shipbuilders stating that their proposed changes would still go over the budget set by the Naval Apportions Act. Eventually, the two sides came to an agreement, which included the following:

1. Retention of the single turret with two 12-inch guns
2. Increased displacement by over 500 tons
3. Increased coal capacity
4. Lengthening the vessels from 225 ft to 255 ft

In the end, the most prominent point of contention, the main armament, was kept the same with the Navy receiving, on paper, most of what they wanted asides from that. Due to the new changes, the contract place of all monitors were increased by $100,000.

Armor

As November drew to a close, it was reported that the new Monitors would be armored with Krupp Steel, which would be a first for a vessel in the U.S. Navy. However, Congress only authorized a maximum payment of $400 a ton for armor, a price that was too low to purchase Krupp Steel. In June the Navy would instead outfit the ships with Harvey armor instead, which they purchased from both Carnegie Steel and Bethlehem Ironworks. Contracts for this armor were made in August and September 1899, totaling 2,152 tons. The armor was of great want to the Navy in a timely manner and did not wish to have any delays.

Connecticut Renaming

The same year it was launched, Connecticut would undergo a change that had been lobbied for since 1898, though not in its design but rather its name. The state of Connecticut protested that a small monitor was named after the state rather than a Battleship, as had been the case with Rhode Island. The Navy eventually relented, and the name was removed, with the former Connecticut being referred to as "Monitor No. 8" until another candidate was chosen. Oklahoma and Arizona both offered up their names before it eventually went to Nevada.

Launch and Commissioning

Construction progressed throughout the remainder of the 19th century and in the fall of 1900, Wyoming, Arkansas, and Nevada were launched, with Florida following a year later. All Arkansas-Class Monitors were commissioned by the summer of 1903.

Ships of the Arkansas-Class

Ship Names	Launched	First Commission	Last Decommission	Fate	Notes
Wyoming (Later Cheyenne)	September 8, 1900	December 8, 1902	June 1, 1926	Sold for scrap, April 30, 1939	Underwent several Recommissioning and Decommissioning Last Monitor Warship of the U.S. Navy
Arkansas (Later Ozark)	November 10, 1900	October 28, 1902	August 20, 1919	Sold for scrap, January 26, 1922
Nevada (Later Tonopah)	November 24, 1900	March 5, 1903	July 1, 1920	Sold for scrap, January 26, 1922
Florida (Later Tallahassee)	November 30, 1901	June 18, 1903	March 24, 1922	Sold for scrap, July 25, 1922

Bibliography

• Шаблон:Cite web
• Шаблон:Cite web
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite web

External links

• Шаблон:DANFS
• World Battleships List: US "New Navy" Monitors
• Шаблон:DANFS