Editing Indiana-class battleship (section)

=== General characteristics ===

The ''Indiana''-class ships were designed specifically for coastal defense and were not intended for offensive actions.{{sfn|Scientific American|1896|p=297}} This design view was reflected in their moderate coal endurance, relatively small displacement and low freeboard, which limited seagoing capability.{{sfn|Gardiner|Lambert|1992|p=121}} However, they were heavily armed and armored, so much in fact that ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships'' describes them as "attempting too much on a very limited displacement."{{sfn|Chesneau|Koleśnik|Campbell|1979|p=140}} They resembled the British battleship {{HMS|Hood|1891|6}}, but were {{cvt|60|ft}} shorter and featured an intermediate battery consisting of eight 8-inch guns not found in European ships,{{sfn|Gardiner|Lambert|1992|p=121}} giving them a very respectable amount of firepower for their time.{{sfn|Reilly|Scheina|1980|p=52}}

The original design of the ''Indiana'' class included [[bilge keel]]s, but with keels they would not fit in any of the American drydocks at the time, so they were omitted during construction. This meant a reduction in stability and caused a serious problem for ''Indiana'', when both main turrets broke loose from their clamps in heavy seas a year after being commissioned. Because the turrets were not centrally balanced, they swung from side to side with the motion of the ship, until they were secured with heavy ropes. When the ship encountered more bad weather four months later, she promptly steamed back to port for fear the clamps would break again.{{sfn|Reilly|Scheina|1980|p=59}} This convinced the navy that bilge keels were necessary and they were subsequently installed on all three ships.{{sfn|Reilly|Scheina|1980|p=60}}