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Saturday, 30 January 2016

American battle cruiser USS Constellation (CC-2) 1920-1923

F. Muller, 1916. Original preliminary design. Original link


F. Muller, around 1919, definitive design. Original link


Laid down by Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia, USA on 18 August 1920, completion cancelled in August 1923 and broken up en situ.
Of the Lexington-class. Never completed as battle cruisers due to the limitations of the Naval Treaty of Washington of 1922.(1) Designed as a response on the Japanese Kongo-class battle cruisers. General technical specifications. With a displacement of 44.200 tons/43.500 long tons-45.354 tons/44.638 long tons (deep load) were the dimensions 266,4 (over all) x 32,1 x 9,4 metres or 874 x 105.4 x 31 feet. The turbines and 16 water tube boilers supplied via 4 shafts 180.000 ship allowing a speed of 33 knots and with a speed of 10 knots a range of 10.000 nautical miles. The crew was to number 1.297-1.326 (when used as flagship). The armour consisted of a 12,7-17,8cm/5-7” thick belt, a deck of 3,8-5,7cm/1.5-2,25”, with the barbettes, gun turrets and coning tower protected by respectively 12,7-22,9cm/5-(‘, 16,2cm/6” (sides)-27,9cm/11” (front) and 30,5cm/12”. The armament was to consist pf 4x2-40,6cm/16” guns, 14x1-15,2cm/6” guns, 4x1-7,6cm/3” anti aircraft guns (to be increased with another 4) and 8-53,3cm/21” torpedo tubes.

Note
1. A treaty between the United States, British Empire, Japan, France and Italy signed on 6 February 1922 as a result of the Washington Naval Conference between November 1921-February 1922 which intended to limit the total capitals ship tonnage of these five major powers.