Kearsarge Class Battleship - Ship History

Ship History

This class of battleships was the first in the U.S. Navy to carry the unusual double-decker turret layout both forward and aft. This arrangement suffered from firing interference between the 13 inch primary guns and the 8 inch secondary guns, and was not used frequently afterwards. Also, this class is distinguishable as the last to sport so-called "cheesebox" turret shapes. These turrets were descendants of the first-generation USS Monitor design by John Ericsson during the American Civil War. These "cheesebox" turrets mounted their guns far in the back of the turret, requiring a large vulnerable opening to accommodate gun elevation and severely limiting the maximum elevation of the weapons. Subsequent ships used box-shaped "British-style" turrets with canted, rear-sloping fronts, which were far easier to protect and far more efficient and allowed for much higher elevation.

Both ships of this class were removed from the Navy as fighting vessels by the Washington Naval Treaty, after which Kentucky was scrapped, and Kearsarge was converted into a floating shipyard crane.