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436 ther advance by the adoption of the electric drive. The first American battleship in which this was installed was the " New Mexico," and it was arranged for all subsequent vessels to be propelled similarly.

In the adoption of oil only as the fuel the British again took the lead, and up to Aug. 1921 this had only been followed by the United States. The German authorities had considered that their sources of supply were not sufficiently reliable to justify their depending on oil alone.

On the whole, therefore, it may be said that the designs, apart from the above features, of foreign warships did not differ essen- tially from the British types, as can be seen from the notes and tables which follow.

Of the minor navies, many of which depended on British or other foreign builders for the design and construction of their warships, little need be said, as with the war the development of their navies practically ceased, and some of the most important vessels, such as the battleships building for Chile and Turkey, were taken over for the British navy.

At the Armistice both the German and Austrian navies ceased to exist as factors in the general naval situation, all their prin- cipal ships being surrendered to the Allies, the great majority of the vessels being finally destroyed, either being broken up or used as targets, with the exception of a few of the less important units, such as light cruisers and destroyers, which were incorpor- ated in the French and Italian navies.

Battleships

(i) United States. The first vessels of the " Dreadnought " type constructed for the U.S. navy were the " Michigan " and " South Carolina," launched in 1908. These vessels, carrying only eight 12-in. guns, were of about 2,000 tons less displacement than the " Dreadnought," and 2 knots slower than this vessel. The main armament of the U.S. vessels was disposed, however, in an original manner, constituting a bold departure in that they were all mounted on the centre line of the vessel in two superposed twin- gun turrets forward, and two aft, with large arcs of training on each beam. This arrangement of turrets gave an ahead and astern fire of four guns and a broadside fire of all the eight guns. The water- line armour belt was II in. thick with 8 in. above. Cage masts constructed of a large number of steel tubes were fitted in these vessels and such masts have been fitted in all later U. S. capital ships and also in some of the earlier vessels in substitution of their original masts. The " Michigan " and " South Carolina " were propelled by twin screws driven by reciprocating engines, thus differ- ing from the " Dreadnought."

The next battleships built were the " North Dakota " and " Delaware," launched respectively in 1908 and 1909. These vessels were a considerable advance in size over their predecessors, being more than 60 ft. longer, 4,000 tons heavier, and two knots faster, while they carried two additional 12-in. guns. The 10 guns were mounted all on the centre line, the two turrets forward being super- posed as in the previous class, while the three turrets aft were arranged so that one could fire over the other two, which were both on the same deck so that one could only fire on either broadside. The arrangement of guns thus increased the broadside fire but left the ahead and astern fire as before. The armour belt consisted of a tier of II in. at the water-line, with a tier of 8 in. above. The advance in speed involved an increase of 50% in the H.P. of the engines, viz. from 16,500 to 25,000. Turbines of the Curtis type were installed in the " North Dakota " for the first time in a U. S. capi- tal ship, but the " Delaware " was fitted with reciprocating engines. An important departure in these vessels was the fitting of 14 5-in. guns as secondary armament in a battery amidships, protected by 5-in. armour.

The next pair of battleships, named the " Utah," launched in 1909 and the " Florida," launched in 1910, were enlarged " North Dakotas," but both had Parsons turbine engines of 28,000 shaft horse-power. The tonnage was increased to 21,800 tons on the same draught, and the speed remained practically the same. The length was increased slightly to 521 ft. and the beam to 88 ft. The main armament was the same in number of guns and arrangement of turrets as in the " North Dakota," but the secondary armament was increased to 16 5-in. guns, protected by 5-in. armour. The armour was practically the same as in the previous vessels.

The succeeding pair of battleships, " Arkansas " and " Wyo- ming," launched in 1911, were characterized by another large increase in dimensions, the length being increased to 562 ft. and the beam to 93 ft., while on the same draught as previous vessels the displacement was 26,000 tons. The engines were Parsons turbines of about 28,000 S.H.P., the speed being about J knot less than the " Utah," of the same power but 4,000 tons less displacement. The greatly increased displacement enabled 12 12-in. guns to be mounted in six twin-gun turrets arranged all on the centre line in three super- posed groups, one group forward, another just abaft of amidships and the remaining group aft. The ahead and astern fire thus remained as in previous vessels at four guns, hut all 12 guns could be fired on either broadside. The secondary armament was 16 5-in. guns in a 6-in. armoured battery. The protection was generally similar to the' previous vessels, the water-line belt and barbette armour being II in. thick. The turrets and conning tower were of 12-in. armour.

These vessels were the last U. S. battleships mounting 12-in. guns. The example of the British in fitting 13'5-in. guns in the " Onon " class was followed by the adoption of 14-in. guns in the next vessels laid down by the United States. These were the " Texas " and " New York," launched in 1912, the dimensions of which were slightly greater than those of the " Arkansas " and the displacement 1,000 tons greater. Ten 14-in. guns constituted the main armament and was mounted in five twin turrets, arranged generally in a similar manner to the British " Orion," four guns firing ahead and astern and all 10 on either broadside. The secondary armament remained as before, 16 5-in. guns being mounted in an amidships battery protected by 6-in. armour. The water-line belt was 12 in. thick with a 9-in. belt above it, and the protection gener- ally was somewhat greater than that of the previous vessels. An important feature in these vessels was the return to reciprocating engines, which on a power of 27,000 gave the vessels a speed of 21 knots. The reintroduction of this type of engine was made chiefly to obtain greater economy at cruising speeds.

The next pair of battleships, " Nevada " and " Oklahoma," launched in 1914, were of slightly increased length and tonnage. The main armament was the same numerically as the " New York's," but was arranged in four turrets, two containing two guns each and the other two three guns each. The twin-gun turrets were superposed above the triple-gun turrets at each end of the vessels. The secondary armament, of the " Nevada " and " Oklahoma " consisted of 12 5-in. guns arranged in an unprotected battery farther forward than in previous vessels. Turbines were again adopted for the propulsion of the " Nevada," but reciprocating engines were fitted in the " Oklahoma." The reduced power of the machinery, viz. 24,800 H.P. of both vessels, resulted in a reduced speed of 2OJ knots.

The British example of adoption of oil only as the fuel for the " Queen Elizabeth " class was followed by the United States in the " Nevada " and " Oklahoma," the total quantity of fuel arranged for, however, being 2,000 tons, compared with 3,400 tons in " Queen Elizabeth."

The saving in weight resulting from the adoption of triple-gun turrets and oil fuel enabled considerable additions to be made to the armour protection of the " Nevada " and " Oklahoma." The belt amidships was 13^ in. thick and extended from 8$ ft. below to 9 ft. above the water-line. The conning tower was protected by l6-in. armour, this being also the thickness of the front plates of the twin-gun turrets, those of the triple-gun turrets being of l8-in. armour. The vessels are further distinguished from their predeces- sors in that only one funnel, instead of two, is fitted. The uptakes are protected by I3j-in. armour.

The " Nevada " and " Oklahoma " were succeeded by the " Pennsylvania " and " Arizona " (fig. 31), launched in 1915, in which the dimensions were further increased and the displacement became 31,400 tons. The main armament was increased to 12 14-in. guns arranged in four triple turrets in two superposed groups for- ward and aft. The secondary armament originally consisted of 22 5-in. guns, but has been reduced to fourteen. The protection of the vessels was generally similar to that of the " Nevada " and " Oklahoma," but the side armour was increased to 14 in. maximum. Turbine engines were fitted in both vessels of the class, the " Penn- sylvania ' ' having geared cruising turbines in order to secure economy.

The " New Mexico," " Idaho " and " Mississippi," launched in 1917, were similar in general design, protection, and main arma- ment to the " Pennsylvania." .The displacement was slightly increased to 32,000 tons. The main armament of 12 14-in. guns was again arranged in four triple turrets, with front plates of i8-in. armour, side plates 9 in. to 10 in. and roof plates 5 inches. The