It is NICE to have this board back, so many interesting things.
Here's a timeline I worked on some while ago, and slightly revised recently. Naturally, it features battleships at center stage
as it throws a monkey wrench into the Great War buildup.
The American Battleship revolution, slightly revised
In the waning years of the 19th century, the United States navy was becoming a force to be reckoned with on the world stage—modern battleships were entering service as the nation flexed its industrial muscles. The US Navy was no threat to Britain or Germany at the time—the Royal Navy was huge, and Germany had no concerns in the Western Hemisphere—although some saw that that could change.
A brief dispute with Britain, although never threatening war, drove home the point to the US Navy that Britain ruled the seas. More to the point, Congress was also made aware of this fact.
Some serious planning was done—the US Navy would always be a second class fleet, unless something drastic was done. Naturally, it would have to be relatively inexpensive, given the tight fisted nature of the US Congress. Congress basically told the Naval Planners, “Do Something about the Royal Navy’s firepower—and Oh, Yes, please don’t spend more money than we’re already giving you…â€
(This seems like a typical politician’s attitude)
In 1899, the US Navy started work on the now infamous “12 inch Mark 7†as a part of its ongoing program to improve its weaponry. What it didn’t tell anyone was that the 12†Mark 7 was actually a 14â€/45—a weapon far larger and more powerful than any afloat at the time.
When the Connecticut class was being authorized in Congress, naval experts managed to convince Congress to allow the navy a larger displacement for its newest ships, in exchange for canceling two big armored cruisers also planned. This kept displacement—and costs—almost equal. The final changes were slipped into the appropriations bill quietly, in exchange for a “yes†vote on a few pork-barrel projects.
The new Connecticut class battleships were built in relative secrecy, although there were rumors that they represented something new. The intended displacement was not, of course, released.
When Connecticut and Louisiana were revealed to the world—8 14†guns in superfiring twin turrets, heavy armor, and a massive (for the time) displacement, they made every existing warship obsolete—and within a few months, there would be three more in service. (The fact that they displaced 1200 tons more than authorized was quietly hushed up—they were so successful that no one wanted to criticize them) The next generation was already well along, four ships armed with 10 of the new guns.
Unfortunately for the Royal Navy, this display occurred a week after HMS Dreadnought had made the scene, the upstart Americans making her obsolete mere days after she was seen as the greatest warship on earth. What the general public didn’t see was the advantage Dreadnought had due to her turbines—but even so, Connecticut was a shock to the Royal Navy—the four Connecticut class ships were thought to be equal in fighting power to 8 to 16 conventional battleships.
At the end of 1907, the US had 5 dreadnoughts (the name stuck due to Dreadnought’s dramatic presentation—and more dramatic overshadowing) with 1 fitting out, and two more nearing completion. Two more were in the early stages of construction—these two introducing the triple turret.
In 1907, only two battleships were authorized
Note that this is approximately the same amount of tonnage as historical through 1907’s authorizations, but in fewer, larger ships.
Britain naturally stepped up its production of Dreadnoughts, although the next four were armed with 12†guns, that being what could be built rapidly. (The last two had a gun layout similar to the historical Neptune, therefore being able to fire all 10 guns on either broadside.)
Armstrong hastily developed a 14†gun, simply scaling up the existing 12†weapon. Larger was desired, but the 14†weapon was the largest that could be rapidly (as these things go) developed.
The need for an emergency change caught Britain’s shipbuilding industry be surprise, and slowed down production of the next generation. Battlecruiser production, however, continued unchecked, as the 12†gun was far superior to the 10†gun on the American ships.
The 15†battleships came faster than historical, as the British attempted to jump ahead of the competition. Britain had 5 of them in August 1914, with 8 more on the ways.
Germany built the four Nassau’s as historical—the Kaiser was insistent that the High Seas Fleet have some of the new warships, and keeping some pace with Britain was necessary.
The Helgolands were significantly delayed, as even Wilhelm II realized that a bigger gun was needed. In the end, Germany paid a huge fortune to the USA for enough 14†guns for four ships. The USA accepted this offer for several reasons:
1. The US was already working on 16†guns, so the 14†guns would not be outclassed by America’s newest ships.
2. There was still some desire to keep Britian busy worrying about Germany
3. There was lots of money being offered—money the USN used to get an extra New Mexico class ship.
4. Since Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the Ottoman Empire all had at least one new ship on order in American yards, it would seem almost hostile to turn away a paying customer.
These were the only German ships with imported weapons. The next class had 14†guns built in Germany.
The Kaisers had 14†guns, as did the Konig’s. (There were only 4 in each class, not 5 Kaisers as historical.)
One 15†Dreadnought was complete in August 1914.
The United States was content with a more modest pace of building after its sudden spurt—Congress was once again tight with funds, and the new ships were expensive. However, after the success of the 1899 program, the Vermont, and California class ships, Congress had become willing to set spending limits rather than displacement limits, and then OK the plans the experts put forth. The biggest winner was the Bureau of Ordnance, which could, in the eyes of Congress, do no wrong, and merely had to ask for money to get it—usually even more than it asked for.
Responding to intelligence reports of British “super-cruisers,†the USS Manila Bay was laid down in 1906, intended to overwhelm any likely cruiser. She was so expensive—and large—that she replaced two conventional armored cruisers in the building program. One of her design criteria was an extremely long range—something that didn’t show up in Jane’s.
She was largely considered a design fiasco due to her light armament compared to contemporary foreign ships, but proved to be a sound design, with plenty of room for modernization. Ironically, this “design fiasco†proved to be the longest serving battlecruiser in any navy, finally decommissioning to category B reserve in 1970, and, in 1982, moving to her permanent berth at Battleship Cove alongside the USS Massachusetts—3/4 of a century serving her nation.
She was one of the first American capital ships to use oil firing—a collision with the USS Montana put her in the dockyard for an extended time. Since she was out of service anyway, the navy decided to test the oil firing on a ship that was large, fast, but not able to stand up to her potential rivals in other navies.
Britain and Germany build numerous battlecruisers—overall similar to in OTL, but with a trend to bigger guns faster.
Battleship 1911 was huge by the standards of the time, mounting 8 of the new 16†guns—and also finally bringing the USA into the turbine age with their battleships. The American battle line was still notoriously slow, (most ships could make 20 knots, but foreign navies were doing 22 or more) and the American fleet was relatively small in numbers. However, no one doubted the overall firepower advantage the Americans had. As one Royal Navy analyst put it, while campaigning for more ships, “The American battleline is slow. All this means is that when it wants to go somewhere, it will take a while—but no fleet on Earth can stop it.â€
Another one said, “Our fleet can go anywhere it wants—unless the Americans are going there.â€
The superior ability of the USN to engage in long range battles, with 30 (later 40 to 45) degree elevation for their main armament and heavy deck armor was not revealed to the world until it proved a nasty surprise for the ships on the receiving end.
Where do we go from here? The USA starts with a huge edge in dreadnoughts, both numbers and power—and with a bureau of ordnance that is in very good favor with Congress. As war clouds gather in Europe, the US is feeling secure behind a mighty fleet that can keep even the Royal Navy from its shores.
Although Britain is not happy with the American naval buildup, the USA is not seen as the same threat Germany is. I’ve sketched out a program that assumes that things go much as historical politically—any changes will naturally grow with time. When does the political situation change—and how?
USS Connecticut, Commissioned 1906
Displacement: 23000 tons
Dimensions: 590 x 86 x 27’
Machinery: Vertical triple expansion, 18 knots, Range of 6000 nautical miles at 10 knots
Armor: Main belt 11â€, upper belt 3â€, Turret face 12â€, Conning Tower 12â€, deck 5†over vitals
Armament: 8 14â€/45’s in four twin turrets, 20 3†guns, 2 21†submerged torpedo tubes
Design note: Unlike contemporary battleships, Connecticut and her successors—and the Manila Bay and hers, had a main armament elevation of 30 degrees. The class was gradually upgraded over the years, the survivors being scrapped, converted to other uses, or sold in the 1930’s.
USS Manila Bay, Commissioned 1909
Displacement: 22000 tons normal
Dimensions: 620 x 86 x 27
Machinery: Turbines, 4 shafts, 25 knots, 12,000 nautical mile range at 10 knots (18000 miles after 1913 conversion to oil
Armor: Main belt 6.5â€, upper belt 2â€, Turret face 10â€, Conning Tower 12â€, deck 5†over vitals
Armament: 6 10†guns in three twin turrets, 8 x 4â€, 18 x 3â€, 4 x 21†submerged torpedo tubes.
Manila Bay was constantly upgraded—the first American capital ship to receive oil firing, flying off platforms for aeroplanes, fire control radar. She was almost a legend in the American Navy for the skill of her crew, her always being in the heat of the action, and always having the latest equipment—and always coming home.
Battleship Strengths, August 1914
Great Britain (32 + 12)
5 12†gun dreadnoughts
12 14†gun dreadnoughts
5+8 15†gun dreadnoughts
0+2 18†dreadnoughts
6 12†gun battlecruisers
3 14†battlecruisers
1+2 15†battlecruiser
+ 11)
4 11†dreadnoughts
12 14†dreadnoughts
1+5 15†dreadnought
3 11†battlecruisers
1+2 14†battlecruiser
0+4 15†battlecruisers
USA (17 + 10)
12 14†dreadnoughts
(4 with AON armor)
2 +6 16†dreadnoughts
0 +2 18†dreadnoughts
1 10†battlecruiser
2+1 14†battlecruisers
0+1 16†battlecruiser
Here's a timeline I worked on some while ago, and slightly revised recently. Naturally, it features battleships at center stage
as it throws a monkey wrench into the Great War buildup.The American Battleship revolution, slightly revised
In the waning years of the 19th century, the United States navy was becoming a force to be reckoned with on the world stage—modern battleships were entering service as the nation flexed its industrial muscles. The US Navy was no threat to Britain or Germany at the time—the Royal Navy was huge, and Germany had no concerns in the Western Hemisphere—although some saw that that could change.
A brief dispute with Britain, although never threatening war, drove home the point to the US Navy that Britain ruled the seas. More to the point, Congress was also made aware of this fact.
Some serious planning was done—the US Navy would always be a second class fleet, unless something drastic was done. Naturally, it would have to be relatively inexpensive, given the tight fisted nature of the US Congress. Congress basically told the Naval Planners, “Do Something about the Royal Navy’s firepower—and Oh, Yes, please don’t spend more money than we’re already giving you…â€
(This seems like a typical politician’s attitude)
In 1899, the US Navy started work on the now infamous “12 inch Mark 7†as a part of its ongoing program to improve its weaponry. What it didn’t tell anyone was that the 12†Mark 7 was actually a 14â€/45—a weapon far larger and more powerful than any afloat at the time.
When the Connecticut class was being authorized in Congress, naval experts managed to convince Congress to allow the navy a larger displacement for its newest ships, in exchange for canceling two big armored cruisers also planned. This kept displacement—and costs—almost equal. The final changes were slipped into the appropriations bill quietly, in exchange for a “yes†vote on a few pork-barrel projects.
The new Connecticut class battleships were built in relative secrecy, although there were rumors that they represented something new. The intended displacement was not, of course, released.
When Connecticut and Louisiana were revealed to the world—8 14†guns in superfiring twin turrets, heavy armor, and a massive (for the time) displacement, they made every existing warship obsolete—and within a few months, there would be three more in service. (The fact that they displaced 1200 tons more than authorized was quietly hushed up—they were so successful that no one wanted to criticize them) The next generation was already well along, four ships armed with 10 of the new guns.
Unfortunately for the Royal Navy, this display occurred a week after HMS Dreadnought had made the scene, the upstart Americans making her obsolete mere days after she was seen as the greatest warship on earth. What the general public didn’t see was the advantage Dreadnought had due to her turbines—but even so, Connecticut was a shock to the Royal Navy—the four Connecticut class ships were thought to be equal in fighting power to 8 to 16 conventional battleships.
At the end of 1907, the US had 5 dreadnoughts (the name stuck due to Dreadnought’s dramatic presentation—and more dramatic overshadowing) with 1 fitting out, and two more nearing completion. Two more were in the early stages of construction—these two introducing the triple turret.
In 1907, only two battleships were authorized
Note that this is approximately the same amount of tonnage as historical through 1907’s authorizations, but in fewer, larger ships.
Britain naturally stepped up its production of Dreadnoughts, although the next four were armed with 12†guns, that being what could be built rapidly. (The last two had a gun layout similar to the historical Neptune, therefore being able to fire all 10 guns on either broadside.)
Armstrong hastily developed a 14†gun, simply scaling up the existing 12†weapon. Larger was desired, but the 14†weapon was the largest that could be rapidly (as these things go) developed.
The need for an emergency change caught Britain’s shipbuilding industry be surprise, and slowed down production of the next generation. Battlecruiser production, however, continued unchecked, as the 12†gun was far superior to the 10†gun on the American ships.
The 15†battleships came faster than historical, as the British attempted to jump ahead of the competition. Britain had 5 of them in August 1914, with 8 more on the ways.
Germany built the four Nassau’s as historical—the Kaiser was insistent that the High Seas Fleet have some of the new warships, and keeping some pace with Britain was necessary.
The Helgolands were significantly delayed, as even Wilhelm II realized that a bigger gun was needed. In the end, Germany paid a huge fortune to the USA for enough 14†guns for four ships. The USA accepted this offer for several reasons:
1. The US was already working on 16†guns, so the 14†guns would not be outclassed by America’s newest ships.
2. There was still some desire to keep Britian busy worrying about Germany
3. There was lots of money being offered—money the USN used to get an extra New Mexico class ship.
4. Since Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the Ottoman Empire all had at least one new ship on order in American yards, it would seem almost hostile to turn away a paying customer.
These were the only German ships with imported weapons. The next class had 14†guns built in Germany.
The Kaisers had 14†guns, as did the Konig’s. (There were only 4 in each class, not 5 Kaisers as historical.)
One 15†Dreadnought was complete in August 1914.
The United States was content with a more modest pace of building after its sudden spurt—Congress was once again tight with funds, and the new ships were expensive. However, after the success of the 1899 program, the Vermont, and California class ships, Congress had become willing to set spending limits rather than displacement limits, and then OK the plans the experts put forth. The biggest winner was the Bureau of Ordnance, which could, in the eyes of Congress, do no wrong, and merely had to ask for money to get it—usually even more than it asked for.
Responding to intelligence reports of British “super-cruisers,†the USS Manila Bay was laid down in 1906, intended to overwhelm any likely cruiser. She was so expensive—and large—that she replaced two conventional armored cruisers in the building program. One of her design criteria was an extremely long range—something that didn’t show up in Jane’s.
She was largely considered a design fiasco due to her light armament compared to contemporary foreign ships, but proved to be a sound design, with plenty of room for modernization. Ironically, this “design fiasco†proved to be the longest serving battlecruiser in any navy, finally decommissioning to category B reserve in 1970, and, in 1982, moving to her permanent berth at Battleship Cove alongside the USS Massachusetts—3/4 of a century serving her nation.
She was one of the first American capital ships to use oil firing—a collision with the USS Montana put her in the dockyard for an extended time. Since she was out of service anyway, the navy decided to test the oil firing on a ship that was large, fast, but not able to stand up to her potential rivals in other navies.
Britain and Germany build numerous battlecruisers—overall similar to in OTL, but with a trend to bigger guns faster.
Battleship 1911 was huge by the standards of the time, mounting 8 of the new 16†guns—and also finally bringing the USA into the turbine age with their battleships. The American battle line was still notoriously slow, (most ships could make 20 knots, but foreign navies were doing 22 or more) and the American fleet was relatively small in numbers. However, no one doubted the overall firepower advantage the Americans had. As one Royal Navy analyst put it, while campaigning for more ships, “The American battleline is slow. All this means is that when it wants to go somewhere, it will take a while—but no fleet on Earth can stop it.â€
Another one said, “Our fleet can go anywhere it wants—unless the Americans are going there.â€
The superior ability of the USN to engage in long range battles, with 30 (later 40 to 45) degree elevation for their main armament and heavy deck armor was not revealed to the world until it proved a nasty surprise for the ships on the receiving end.
Where do we go from here? The USA starts with a huge edge in dreadnoughts, both numbers and power—and with a bureau of ordnance that is in very good favor with Congress. As war clouds gather in Europe, the US is feeling secure behind a mighty fleet that can keep even the Royal Navy from its shores.
Although Britain is not happy with the American naval buildup, the USA is not seen as the same threat Germany is. I’ve sketched out a program that assumes that things go much as historical politically—any changes will naturally grow with time. When does the political situation change—and how?
USS Connecticut, Commissioned 1906
Displacement: 23000 tons
Dimensions: 590 x 86 x 27’
Machinery: Vertical triple expansion, 18 knots, Range of 6000 nautical miles at 10 knots
Armor: Main belt 11â€, upper belt 3â€, Turret face 12â€, Conning Tower 12â€, deck 5†over vitals
Armament: 8 14â€/45’s in four twin turrets, 20 3†guns, 2 21†submerged torpedo tubes
Design note: Unlike contemporary battleships, Connecticut and her successors—and the Manila Bay and hers, had a main armament elevation of 30 degrees. The class was gradually upgraded over the years, the survivors being scrapped, converted to other uses, or sold in the 1930’s.
USS Manila Bay, Commissioned 1909
Displacement: 22000 tons normal
Dimensions: 620 x 86 x 27
Machinery: Turbines, 4 shafts, 25 knots, 12,000 nautical mile range at 10 knots (18000 miles after 1913 conversion to oil
Armor: Main belt 6.5â€, upper belt 2â€, Turret face 10â€, Conning Tower 12â€, deck 5†over vitals
Armament: 6 10†guns in three twin turrets, 8 x 4â€, 18 x 3â€, 4 x 21†submerged torpedo tubes.
Manila Bay was constantly upgraded—the first American capital ship to receive oil firing, flying off platforms for aeroplanes, fire control radar. She was almost a legend in the American Navy for the skill of her crew, her always being in the heat of the action, and always having the latest equipment—and always coming home.
Battleship Strengths, August 1914
Great Britain (32 + 12)
5 12†gun dreadnoughts
12 14†gun dreadnoughts
5+8 15†gun dreadnoughts
0+2 18†dreadnoughts
6 12†gun battlecruisers
3 14†battlecruisers
1+2 15†battlecruiser
+ 11)
4 11†dreadnoughts
12 14†dreadnoughts
1+5 15†dreadnought
3 11†battlecruisers
1+2 14†battlecruiser
0+4 15†battlecruisers
USA (17 + 10)
12 14†dreadnoughts
(4 with AON armor)
2 +6 16†dreadnoughts
0 +2 18†dreadnoughts
1 10†battlecruiser
2+1 14†battlecruisers
0+1 16†battlecruiser