USS Massachusetts (BB-2) - Design and Construction

Design and Construction

Massachusetts was constructed from a modified version of a design drawn up by a policy board in 1889 for a short-range battleship. The original design was part of an ambitious naval construction plan to build 33 battleships and 167 smaller ships. The United States Congress saw the plan as an attempt to end the U.S. policy of isolationism and did not approve it, but a year later approved funding for three coast defense battleships, which would become Massachusetts and her sister ships Indiana and Oregon. The ships were limited to coastal defense due to their moderate endurance, relatively small displacement and low freeboard, or distance from the deck to the water, which limited sea-going capability. They were however heavily armed and armored; Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships describes their design as "attempting too much on a very limited displacement."

Construction of the ships was authorized on 30 June 1890 and the contract for Massachusetts—not including guns and armor—was awarded to William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who offered to build it for $ 3,020,000. The total cost of the ship was almost twice as high, approximately $6,000,000. The contract specified the ship had to be built in three years, but slow delivery of armor plates and guns caused a delay. Her keel was laid down on 25 June 1891 and she was launched two years later on 10 June 1893. The launching ceremony was attended by thousands of people, including Secretary of the Navy Hilary A. Herbert and commander George Dewey. Her preliminary sea trial did not take place until March 1896 because of the delays in armor and gun deliveries. At this point Massachusetts was almost complete, and her official trial was held a month later.