Naval Historical Center #NH-59949
| Tonnage | 33,420 tons standard displacement |
| Dimensions | 624' by 106'3" by 34' 190.20m by 32.39m by 10.36 |
| Maximum speed | 21.5 knots |
| Complement | 1443 |
| Aircraft | 2 catapult 3 seaplanes |
| Armament | 4x3 14"/50
guns 12x1 5"/51 guns 6x1 5"/25 AA guns 4x4 1.1"/75 AA guns 8x1 20mm Oerlikon AA guns 8 0.50 machine guns |
| Protection | About 11,000 tons: 13.5" (343mm) belt 13" (330mm) bulkheads 1"+1"+1"+2" (25mm+25mm+25mm+51mm) main armored deck 0.75"+0.75" (19mm+19mm) lower armored deck 0.75"+0.75"+0.75" (19mm+19mm+19mm) lower armored deck over machinery spaces 13" (330mm) uptakes 13" (330mm) barbettes 18" (457mm) turrets 16" (406mm) conning tower Two torpedo bulkheads and torpedo blisters 4.5" + 1.75" (114mm + 44mm) main deck 1.5" + 0.5" (38mm + 12mm) second deck 18" (457mm) turret 16" (406mm) conning tower |
| Machinery |
4-shaft Westinghouse geared
turbine (40,000 shp) 4 White-Foster (New Mexico) or 6 Bureau Express (other units) boilers |
| Bunkerage | 3795 tons fuel oil |
| Range | 12,500 nautical miles (23,000 km) at 18 knots |
| Modifications |
New Mexico and Mississippi: 1942-11: 4 5" guns replaced with 2x4 20mm guns, 6x1 20mm guns. 1943: One catapult landed. 1943-10: Light antiaircraft upgraded to 6x4, 2x2 40mm Bofors AA guns and 24 to 29 20mm guns. 1944: 20mm battery increased to 50 guns. Late 1944: Antiaircraft battery upgraded to 6 5"/51 guns, 10x4 40mm guns, and 40 to 46 20mm guns. 1945: Mississippi upgraded to 16 5"/25 guns, 12x4 40mm guns, and 40 20mm guns with conning tower removed to compensate. Idaho: 1942: Antiaircraft upgraded to 8 5"/25 guns, 10x4 40mm guns, and 16 20mm guns. 1943-2: 20mm battery increased to 43 guns. 1945-1: All 5"25 guns removed and replaced with 10x1 5"38 dual-purpose guns. |
The New Mexicos
were completed in 1918. They were
similar to the Pennsylvanias,
a proposal to build 16" (406mm) gun battleships with heavier armor
having been rejected by the Secretary of the Navy as too costly.
The newer ships were better sea boats and had improved
subdivision.
In 1930, the ships were modernized, receiving
massive
bridge
structures and improved range and a modest amount of additional deck
armor. Stationed in the Atlantic at
the time of Pearl
Harbor, they were hastily refitted with additional antiaircraft
guns and rushed to the Pacific to form the backbone
of a new
battle line. This precluded any further modernization other
than the
installation of numerous additional antiaircraft weapons. Only the Idaho ever received the excellent
5"/38 gun.
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Arrived 1942-1-12 |
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Arrived 1942-1-12 |
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Arrived 1942-1-12 |
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009 by Kent G. Budge. Index
