Warships of the US Navy: Battleships, Wyoming-class

US Navy Wyoming-class battleships

Wyoming-class battleships

The Wyoming-class was a pair of dreadnoughtbattleships built for the United States Navy. Wyoming and Arkansas wereauthorized in early 1909, and were built between 1910 and 1912. These were thefourth dreadnought design of the US Navy, but only an incremental improvementover the preceding Florida class, and the last US battleships to use 12-inchguns. The primary changes were the adoption of a more powerful 12 in (305mm)/50 caliber Mark 7 gun, addition of a sixth twin-gun turret and improvedarmor protection, including the first use of a torpedo bulkhead on Americanbattleships. The Navy considered using more powerful 14-inch (356 mm) guns, butthis would have caused delays and required larger docks.

The two ships frequently served together, first in the Atlantic Fleet in the1910s. Both vessels were deployed to British waters after the United Statesentered World War I in April 1917 to reinforce the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet.They served in the Pacific Fleet in 1919–21, before both returned to theAtlantic Fleet. Much of their time in the Atlantic Fleet was spent conductingpeacetime training exercises, along with taking midshipmen from the US NavalAcademy on training cruises. Wyoming and Arkansas were heavily modernized inthe mid-1920s, receiving more efficient oil-fired boilers to replace their oldcoal-fired models, thicker deck armor to protect against plunging fire,anti-torpedo bulges to increase their resistance to underwater damage, andanti-aircraft guns to defend against aerial attacks.

The London Naval Treaty of 1930 mandated that Wyoming be demilitarized; sheaccordingly was converted into a training ship, with half of her main batteryturrets, belt armor, and anti-torpedo bulges removed. However, Arkansas waspermitted to continue in service with the fleet. After the United Statesentered World War II, Arkansas was used to escort convoys to North Africa. By1944, she served as a coastal bombardment vessel; in this role, she supportedAllied landings at Normandy (Operation Overlord) and southern France (OperationDragoon) before being transferred to the Pacific, where she provided firesupport to Marines fighting on Iwo Jima and at Okinawa in 1945. Wyomingmeanwhile continued as a training ship, being modified further in 1944 toinclude the various types of anti-aircraft guns that trainees would operate inthe fleet. Both ships were decommissioned shortly after the war, with Arkansasbeing expended as a target ship during the 1946 nuclear tests at OperationCrossroads, and Wyoming being sold for scrap in 1947. (Wikipedia)

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(USN Photo)

USS Wyoming (AG-17). Underway in the Atlantic Ocean, 30 April 1945.

USS Wyoming (BB-32) was the lead ship ofher class of dreadnought battleships and was the third ship of the UnitedStates Navy named Wyoming, although she was only the second named in honor ofthe 44th state.[a] Wyoming was laid down at the William Cramp & Sons inPhiladelphia in February 1910, was launched in May 1911, and was completed inSeptember 1912. She was armed with a main battery of twelve 12-inch (305 mm)guns and capable of a top speed of 20.5 kn (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph).

During the First World War, she was part of the Battleship Division Nine, whichwas attached to the British Grand Fleet as the 6th Battle Squadron. During thewar, she was primarily tasked with patrolling in the North Sea and escortingconvoys to Norway. She served in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleetsthroughout the 1920s, and in 1931–1932, she was converted into a training shipaccording to the terms of the London Naval Treaty of 1930.

Wyoming served as a training ship throughout the 1930s, and in November 1941,she became a gunnery ship. She operated primarily in the Chesapeake Bay area,which earned her the nickname "Chesapeake Raider". In this capacity,she trained some 35,000 gunners for the hugely expanded US Navy during WorldWar II. She continued in this duty until 1947, when she was decommissioned on 1August and subsequently sold for scrap; she was broken up in New York startingin December 1947. (Wikipedia)

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USS Wyoming (BB-32) transiting the Panama Canal in 1919.

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USS Wyoming (BB-32) in 1935.

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American battleship USS Wyoming (BB-32) after her conversion into a gunnery training ship AG-17, in 1944.

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USS Wyoming (BB-32) underway in March 1930.

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USS Wyoming (BB 32), 1926.

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U.S. Navy gunnery training ship USS Wyoming (AG-17) underway in the Atlantic on 30 April 1945. Note the target drone catapult on the stern.