Editing Florida-class battleship (section)

== Design ==

The ''Florida''s were the third of 10 separate classes built between 1906 and 1919, a total of 22 battleships being commissioned. The new [[dreadnoughts]] of the American battle line were being designed from [[pre-dreadnought]] experience and observation of foreign designs, as no US dreadnought had yet been commissioned at the time that the ''Florida''s were designed; all were either at some stage of building or in design.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|p=96}} American capital ship design was also heavily influenced by war games conducted at the US Navy's [[Naval War College]]. Captain [[William Sims]] led a reform movement that assigned warship design to the [[General Board of the United States Navy|General Board]].{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=105}}

These ships were an improvement over the preceding {{sclass|Delaware|battleship|4}}. Their engine rooms were larger to hold four [[Charles Gordon Curtis|Curtis]] or [[Charles Algernon Parsons|Parsons]] [[steam turbine]]s. Their larger beam gave them greater [[metacentric height]], in which the ''Delaware''s were notably deficient, which improved buoyancy and reduced hull stress.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|p=71}} The ships mounted new [[5"/51-caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|adj=on|0}}/51]]-[[caliber (artillery)|caliber]] guns as [[secondary armament|secondary batteries]] in casemates that boasted increased armor protection.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=114}} The class retained the large and fully enclosed [[conning tower]]s that were adopted for the preceding ''Delaware''s, as a result of American studies of the [[Battle of Tsushima]] in 1905. The design reduced the vulnerability of the command staff.{{sfn|Hore|p=57}} Overall, these ships were much better protected than their British counterparts, although they were modified extensively during the interwar period.{{sfn|Breyer|p=199}}

=== General characteristics ===

The ''Florida''-class ships were {{cvt|510|ft|lk=on}} [[Waterline length|long at the waterline]] and {{cvt|521|ft|6|in}} [[length overall|overall]]. They had a beam of {{cvt|88|ft|3|in}} and a draft of {{cvt|28|ft|6|in}}. They displaced {{cvt|21825|LT|t|lk=on}} at standard displacement and {{cvt|23033|LT|t}} at [[full load]].{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=114}} This was an increase of approximately {{cvt|2500|LT|t}} over the previous ''Delaware'' class.{{sfn|Hore|p=57}} The ships also had some of their [[superstructure]] rearranged, including the [[lattice mast]]s and the funnels.<ref name="USN Florida class" /> The ''Florida''-class ships had a crew of 1,001 officers and men.{{sfn|Hore|p=57}} The wider beam increased the vessels' metacentric height, which allowed the ''Florida''s to accommodate their larger medium-caliber guns without any real penalty in topweight.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|p=74}}

''Florida'' was fitted experimentally with a larger bridge than was then standard, to house both ship and fire control personnel under armor, while ''Utah'' received a heavily armored fire-control tower atop a standard-sized bridge. The former proved especially successful, to the point that when a larger armored fire-control tower and standard bridge was proposed for the ''Nevada'' class, it was rejected in favor of a roomier bridge like that of ''Florida''.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|pp=72–73}}

The two ships were modernized in 1925–27; among the improvements were the addition of [[torpedo bulge]]s, which were designed to increase resistance to underwater damage—this widened the ships to {{cvt|106|ft}}.<ref name="USN Florida class" /> The ships also had their rear lattice masts removed and replaced with a pole mast. A [[Aircraft catapult|catapult]] for launching aircraft was mounted on the number 3 gun turret.{{sfn|Hore|p=57}}

=== Propulsion ===

The ships were propelled by four-shaft [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] steam turbines; steam was provided by 12 [[Babcock & Wilcox]] coal-fired boilers. The engines were rated at {{cvt|28000|shp|lk=on|0}} to give a top speed of {{cvt|21|kn|km/h|lk=on}}. On [[Sea trial|trials]], ''Florida'' made {{cvt|22.08|kn}} on {{cvt|40511|shp}}; ''Utah''{{'}}s turbines produced only {{cvt|27028|shp}} but still propelled the ship at {{cvt|21.04|kn}}.{{sfn|Breyer|p=201}} However, the engine and boiler room arrangements remained the same as in the ''Delaware''s, with the engine room situated between the rear main turrets and steam lines running beneath the [[superfire|superfiring]] rear turret.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|p=72}} The ships had a range of {{cvt|5776|nmi|mi km|-1|lk=on}} at a cruising speed of {{cvt|10|kn}}.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=114}}{{sfn|Friedman|1985|p=74}}

The engine rooms on these ships were lengthened to accommodate the larger Parsons steam turbines, which meant the after boiler room had to be eliminated. Funnel spacing was therefore closer than in the ''Delaware''s.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|p=74}} The remaining boiler rooms were widened by {{cvt|4|ft}}; to do this and maintain adequate underwater and coal bunker protection, the ships were made {{cvt|3|ft}} beamier than the ''Delaware''s. During ''Florida'' and ''Utah''{{'}}s reconstruction in 1925–1927, their coal-fired boilers were replaced with four [[White-Forster boiler|White-Forster]] oil-fired boilers.{{sfn|Breyer|p=201}} The reduction in the number of boilers allowed their twin funnels to be trunked into one single larger funnel.{{sfn|Hore|p=57}}

=== Armament ===
[[File:Florida class battleship 1912 LOC hec 01148.jpg|thumb|Port side view of ''Florida''-class battleship, with ten [[12"/45-caliber Mark 5 gun|12"/45-caliber Mark 5]] main guns arranged exactly the same as on the ''Delaware''-class ships|alt=left side view of a large ship steaming through the water, with two boxy gun turrets in front and three in back, each with two guns.]]

==== Main guns ====
It was intended originally to arm these ships with eight [[14"/45-caliber gun|{{convert|14|in|adj=on|0}}/45]]-caliber guns then in development in superfiring fore-and-aft mountings.{{sfn|Breyer|p=199}} As this gun did not go into service until 1914, the arrangement of ten [[12"/45-caliber Mark 5 gun|{{convert|12|in||adj=on|0}}/45-caliber Mark 5 guns]] in five twin [[gun turret]]s was retained from the ''Delaware'' class.<ref name="DiGiulian Mk1,2,3&5" /> The gun housings were the Mark 8 type, and they allowed for depression to −5&nbsp;degrees and elevation to 15&nbsp;degrees. The guns had a [[rate of fire]] of 2 to 3 rounds per minute. They fired {{cvt|870|lb|lk=on|0}} shells, of either [[armor-piercing shot and shell|armor-piercing]] (AP) or Common types, though the Common type was obsolete by 1915 and put out of production. The [[propellant charge]] was {{cvt|310|lb|0}} in silk bags, and provided a [[muzzle velocity]] of {{cvt|2700|ft/s|lk=on|0}}. The guns were expected to fire 175 rounds before the barrels would require replacement. The two ships carried 100 shells per gun, or 1,000 rounds in total. At 15&nbsp;degrees elevation, the guns could hit targets out to approximately {{cvt|20000|yd|0}}<ref name="Navweaps12" />

Unfortunately, the turret layout of the ''Delawares'' was also retained, with its respective challenges. Two turrets, Numbers 1 and 2, were mounted fore in a superfiring pair, while the other three were mounted aft of the main superstructure, all on the centerline. The rearmost turret, number 5, was placed on the main deck, facing rearward, the next turret, Number 4, was placed on the main deck facing forward, but could only have fired on either [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]], it could not have fired straight forward or aft. The center turret, Number 3, placed in a superfiring position facing rearward, could not fire astern when the turret directly under it had its guns trained forward. This left only the rearmost turret, with its pair of 12-inch guns, to cover the rear quarter of the ship.{{sfn|Hore|p=57}} Also, since the engine room was situated between the superfiring rear turret and the ones behind it, steam lines ran from the boiler rooms amidships around the ammunition magazine for Number 3 turret to the engine room. These lines, it was later found, had the potential to heat the powder in the magazine and degrade its ballistics. This design flaw was also prevalent in several British dreadnoughts but was considered inescapable by naval designers on structural grounds.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|p=65}}

==== Other weapons ====
[[File:Starboard forward 5 inch gun battery USS Utah (BB-31) LOC ggbain 10757.jpg|thumb|Starboard forward battery of 5"/51-caliber guns on ''Utah'']]

C&R proposed {{convert|6|in|adj=on|0}} secondary guns for these ships, protected by {{cvt|6.5|in|0}} [[casemate]] armor. This would have been the only change from the protective scheme carried over from the ''Delaware'' class. However, a new 5-inch/51-caliber gun was adopted instead after concerns about inadequate splinter protection for secondary gun casemates and smoke uptakes led to an increase in armor.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|pp=71–72}} Sixteen of these weapons were fitted in individual casemates.<ref name="USN Florida class" /> These guns fired a {{cvt|50|lb|0}} armor-piercing (AP) shell at a muzzle velocity of {{cvt|3150|ft/s|0}} and a rate of 8 to 9 rounds per minute. The guns could depress to −10&nbsp;degrees and elevate to 15&nbsp;degrees. The guns were manually operated, and had a range of train of about 150&nbsp;degrees in either direction.<ref name="Navweaps5" />

''Florida'' and ''Utah'' received two [[3"/23-caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|adj=on|0}}/23-caliber guns]] in 1917 for anti-aircraft (AA) defense. This was increased to eight guns between 1926 and 1928. These guns fired a {{cvt|16.5|lb|0}} shell at a muzzle velocity of {{cvt|1650|ft/s|0}} to a maximum range of {{cvt|8800|yd|0}} and ceiling of {{cvt|18000|ft|0}} at an elevation of 75 degrees and a rate of between eight and nine rounds per minute.{{sfn|Breyer|p=201}}<ref name="NavWeaps AA"/>

The ships were also armed with two {{convert|21|in|adj=on|0}} submerged torpedo tubes. The tubes were mounted one on each [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]]. The torpedoes were {{cvt|16.4|ft|m|0}} long and carried a {{cvt|200|lb|0}} warhead. They had a range of {{cvt|4000|yd|0}} and traveled at a speed of {{cvt|26|kn|0}}.<ref name="NavweapsTorp" />

=== Armor ===

The armor layout was largely the same as in the preceding ''Delaware''-class battleships. The [[belt armor|armored belt]] ranged in thickness from {{cvt|9|to|11|in|0}} in the more important areas of the ship. Casemated guns mounted in the hull had between {{cvt|8|and|10|in|0}} of armor plate.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|pp=113–114}} After modernization, some of the casemated guns were moved to the superstructure;<ref name="USN Florida class" /> these guns were protected with only {{cvt|5|in|0}} of armor. The [[barbette]]s that housed the main gun turrets were armored with between {{cvt|4|and|10|in|0}} of armor; the side portions more vulnerable to shell fire were thicker, while the front and rear sections of the barbette, which were less likely to be hit, received thinner armor to save weight. The gun turrets themselves were armored with {{cvt|12|in|0}} of armor. The conning tower was {{cvt|11.5|in|0}} thick. The armored deck was slightly reduced in thickness, from {{cvt|2|to|1.5|in|0}}.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|pp=113–114}}