USS Kentucky (BB-66): History, Patrols, Crews
History
The USS Kentucky was to have been the sixth and final member of the Iowa-class of “fast battleships.” Originally intended to be the second member of the Montana-class of battleships, she was redesigned to the specifications of the Iowa-class during World War II.
The BB-66 was originally designed to counter the Japanese Navy’s massive Yamato-class of battleships and was ordered on Sept. 9, 1940. The Montana would have been much larger than the Iowa-class; she would have had three more 16-inch guns and heavier armor. The Montana-class, however, would have been slower than the Iowa-class battleships.
Plans for the Montana-class were scrapped once the U.S. entered World War II in favor of the Iowa-class design, and the hull of the BB-66 was changed accordingly. The demand for battleships had been eclipsed by the demand for aircraft carriers, adding to her plight; the Navy needed faster battleships to provide protection for the Essex-class carriers. When BB-66 was re-designated an Iowa-class battleship, she was named the Kentucky.
The diminished need for battleships hampered the Kentucky’s construction; her keel was floated out of the way in June 1942 to make room for the construction of another, more important vessel. Her keel was re-laid on Dec. 6, 1944, but progress was slowed significantly after the surrender of Japan on Sept. 2, 1945. Construction on the Kentucky was suspended on Feb. 17, 1947; it resumed again on Aug. 17, 1948, but the ship was cancelled on Jan. 20, 1950.
Since the battleship was nearly three-quarters complete at the time of cancellation, there were several concepts developed to make use of her. One was to complete the Kentucky as a guided missile battleship, removing the aft turret in favor of a missile system. Nothing came of the concept, and the hulk of the Kentucky was eventually cannibalized for parts. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on June 9, 1958 and sold for scrap on Oct. 31 of the same year.
Characteristics of the USS Kentucky (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia):
Class and type: Iowa-class battleship
Displacement: 45,000 tons (45,722 tonnes)
Length: 887 ft 3 in (270 m)
Beam: 108 ft 2 in (32.9 m)
Draft: 37 ft 2 in (11.3 m)
Speed: 33 knots (61 km/h)
Complement: 151 officers, 2647 enlisted
Armament: 1943:
9 x 16 in (406 mm) 50 cal. Mark 7 guns
20 × 5 in (127 mm) 38 cal. Mark 12 guns
80 x 40 mm 56 cal. anti-aircraft guns
49 x 20 mm 70 cal. anti-aircraft guns
1984:
9 x 16 in (406 mm) 50 cal. Mark 7 guns
12 × 5 in (127 mm) 38 cal. Mark 12 guns
32 x BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles
16 x RGM-84 Harpoon Anti-Ship missiles
4 x 20 mm/76 cal. Phalanx CIWS
Armor: Belt: 12.1 in (307 mm)
Bulkheads: 11.3 in (287 mm)
Barbettes: 11.6 to 17.3 in (295 to 439 mm)
Turrets: 19.7 in (500 mm)
Decks: 7.5 in (190 mm)
Career:
Ordered: 9 September 1940
Builder: Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Laid down: 12 June 1944
Launched: Canceled prior to launch
Struck: 9 June 1958
Fate: Sold for scrapping 31 October 1958
Timeline:
September 1940: USS Kentucky ordered
June 1944: Keel of USS Kentucky laid down
January 1950: USS Kentucky cancelled
October 1958: USS Kentucky sold for scrap
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kentucky_(BB-64)
http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/66.htm
