USS Washington (BB-47) - Overview:

• Nation: United States
• Type: Battleship
• Shipyard: New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, NJ
• Laid Down: June 30, 1919
• Launched: September 1, 1921
• Commissioned: Not completed
• Fate: Sunk as a target

USS Washington (BB-47) - Specifications (intended)

• Displacement: 32,600 tons
• Length: 624 ft.
• Beam: 97 ft., 6 in.
• Draft: 30 ft., 6 in.
• Propulsion: Turbo-electric transmission turning 4 propellers

• Speed: 21.17 knots
• Complement: 1,080 men

Armament (intended)

• 8 × 16 in. gun (4 × 2)
• 12 × 5 in. guns
• 8 × 3 in. guns
• 2 × 21 in. torpedo tubes

USS Washington (BB-47) - Design & Construction:

The fifth and last class of Standard-type battleship (Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Tennessee) developed for the US Navy, the Colorado-class was a continuation of the preceding Tennessee-class.  Beginning with the Nevada-class, the Standard-type concept required new vessels to have similar operational and tactical characteristics.  These included the use of oil-fired boilers instead of coal and an “all or nothing” armor approach.  This arrangement called for key areas of the battleship, such as magazines and engineering, to be heavily armored while less important spaces were left unprotected.  Also, Standard-type battleships were to have a tactical turn radius of 700 yards or less and a minimum top speed of 21 knots.  

Though largely identical to the earlier Tennessee-class, the Colorado-class instead mounted eight 16" guns in four twin turrets rather than the twelve 14" guns in four triple turrets carried by the earlier ships.

  The US Navy had been debating the use of 16" guns for several years and after successful tests of the weapon, conversations commenced regarding their use on the earlier Standard-type designs.  Their employment did not occur due to the cost involved in changing these designs and increasing their displacement to accommodate the new guns.  In 1917, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels finally approved the use of 16" guns on the condition that the new class not incorporate any other major design changes.  The Colorado-class also carried a secondary battery of twelve to fourteen 5" guns and an anti-aircraft armament of four 3" guns.  

The third ship of the class, USS Washington (BB-47) was laid down at New York Shipbuilding in Camden, NJ on June 30, 1919.  Construction moved forward on the hull and on September 1, 1921, it entered the water with Jean Summers, daughter of Washington Congressman John W. Summers, acting as sponsor.  Work on Washington continued for another five months until halting on February 8, 1922.  

USS Washington (BB-47) - Washington Naval Treaty:

In the years after World War I, concern arose that a new naval arms race, similar to the one that had preceded the conflict, was about to begin.  Seeking to avoid this, President Warren G. Harding held the Washington Naval Conference in late 1921, with the goal of placing limits on warship construction and tonnage. Commencing on November 12, 1921, under the auspices of the League of Nations, the delegates gathered at Memorial Continental Hall in Washington DC. Attended by nine countries, the central players included the United States, Great Britain, Japan, France, and Italy.  After extensive negotiations, these countries agreed on a 5:5:3:1:1 tonnage ratio as well as limits on ship designs and overall caps on tonnage.  

In order to meet the new limits imposed by the treaty, the US Navy was compelled to scrap some existing tonnage and to halt construction of several new vessels. Among the those affected by the by the treaty, construction of Washington ceased two days after the agreement's signing.  Moored in Camden, the battleship was 75.9% complete.  Towed out to sea in November 1924, Washington served as a test platform and target.  Sustaining multiple torpedo and bomb hits as well as the detonation of 400 pound of explosives, the hull remained afloat.  On November 25, USS New York (BB-34) and USS Texas (BB-35) sunk Washington with 14" shells.  With the destruction of the ship, the US Navy concluded that new battleships should be designed with triple hulls and enhanced deck armor.

Selected Sources

• History of War: USS Washington (BB-47)
• NHHC: USS Washington (BB-47)
• MaritimeQuest: USS Washington (BB-47)