U.S.S. Connecticut (BB-18), 1906


Schematic of the Connecticut, the apotheosis of U.S. pre-dreadnought design.

Specifications for the 6-ship class:
Dimensions: 456'3" x 77'8" x 24'5" Displacement: 16,000 tons. Armament: (4) 12"/40 cal. (2x2), (8) 8"/45 (4x2), (12) 7"/45 (176mm), and (20) 3"/50 guns; (4) 22" torpedo tubes (59cm). Armor - Krupp cemented (KC) throughout: Belt: 11"/4"; turrets: 12"; barbettes: 10"/7½"; conning tower: 9"; upper belt and casemate: 7"; secondary turrets: 6"; 14-pdr casemates: 2"; deck: 3". Fuel capacity: 2,450 tons. Propulsion: 12 B&W boilers. Operating pressure: 250 psi. (2) inverted vertical triple-expansion steam engines developing 1,650 HP, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 18 kts. Endurance: 6,620 nm at 10 kts. Crew: 54 officers, 826 men, and 1 wallaby (Connecticut only - Sydney to Norfolk).
Ships in class: Connecticut · Vermont · Minnesota · Kansas · Louisiana · New Hampshire.

Metric specifications:
Dimensions: 139m x 23.5m x 7.5m. Displacement: 16,000 tons. Armament: (4) 305 mm/40 cal. (2x2), (8) 203 mm/45 (4x2), (12) 176 mm/45, and (20) 76mm/50 guns; (4) 59 cm torpedo tubes. Armor: Krupp cemented (KC) type throughout. Belt: 279/102 mm; turrets: 305/254 mm; barbettes: 254/191 mm; secondary turrets: 152 mm; conning tower: 229 mm; upper belt and casemate: 178 mm; 14-pdr casemates: 51 mm; deck: 76 mm. Fuel capacity: 2,450 tons of coal. Propulsion: 12 B&W boilers. Operating pressure: 250 psi. (2) inverted vertical triple-expansion steam engines developing 1650 HP, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 33 km/hr. Endurance: 10,654 km @ 18 km/hr. Crew: 54 officers, 826 men.

USS Connecticut, our poster child for pre-dreadnought power, was the final and most successful full-size U.S. pre-dreadnought design: seaworthy, well-protected, heavily armed, and reasonably fast at 18 kts. She carried the now-standard four 12-inch guns in twin turrets fore and aft, plus the near-standard (in the USN) secondary armament of eight 8-inch guns in turrets at the four corners of her redoubt, plus a very extensive armament in smaller calibres. The secondary armament was up-gunned from 6" to 7". The theory was that these weapons -- ranged in casemate mounts along the main deck, 7 to a side -- were faster firing than the 8" battery but threw more metal than 6" guns. In practice the close size and comparable range of the 8" and 7" batteries complicated fire direction because the splashes of the 2 sizes of projectile could not be distinguished by spotters. At 16,000 tons the Connecticut was fully competitive in size, speed, and armament with her British and Continental contemporaries. The additional size was partly devoted to greater bunker capacity, giving her true oceangoing endurance at 10-12 knots. She would need this operational range in her role as flagship of the Great White Fleet, the 16-battleship flotilla sent around the world to "show the flag" by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1907-1909. The name refers to the Fleet's peacetime colors of "white and spar," or white hull with buff upperworks -- abandoned in favor of over-all battleship grey soon after the fleet returned. The Connecticut and her four sisters were the best third of the White Fleet (the New Hampshire did not participate in the cruise). At right, after a presidential send-off at Hampton Roads, Connecticut leads the fleet to sea on the first leg of its epic journey.

The voyage was meant as an earnest of international friendship, but also as a manifestation of American power. The card at left was one of the numerous souvenirs produced for the Fleet's stay at Yokohama. The Japanese visit was considered a brilliant success for relations between the two countries. Seamen with records of drinking and fighting onshore were not allowed leave, which may have contributed to the show of harmony. U.S. bluejackets toured Yokohama and "Tokio" and boarded a special excursion train to Nikko, the spectacular mountain fastness where Tokugawa shoguns built gilded mausolea and ornately carved shrines amid groves of towering cryptomeria. Every step of the way the visitors were showered with small (but often exquisitely made) gifts. More recent visitors to Japan will appreciate how little has changed.

Great White Fleet, panoramic shot

Indeed, the voyage of the Great White Fleet was an astonishingly complex operation which was carried off almost without a hitch, despite a lethal typhoon off Manila and an earthquake in Sicily--where the ships and crews pitched in to assist survivors. The circumnavigation is still considered one of the greatest feats in the U.S. Navy's history. It gave valuable training in seamanship to all the crews. It helped build confidence and esprit in the service. And it gave the officers a chance to practice their diplomatic skills. By sending so awe-inspiring a fleet, Roosevelt clearly signaled that a new player had arrived on the world stage, one with a long reach. This message was undoubtedly meant particularly for the Japanese, a meteorically rising naval Power with which rivalry was unavoidable.

On the Great White Fleet's return from its round-the-world odyssey, President Roosevelt--now a lame duck Chief Executive in his last days in office--visited the ships to speak before the men and imbue them with martial spirit. Here is Teddy addressing a crush of bluejackets from the after 12" turret on the Connecticut in February 1909.

The Connecticut and her classmates may have had their moment of glory in 1907-09, but they were still valuable units of the Navy when war came 5 years later. Newly attired in battleship grey paint, their Art Nouveau bridges and gilt bow ornaments ruthlessly wrenched away, they heeded the summons to war. Only the newest coal-burning dreadnoughts were sent to fight with the British fleet, while older battleships (including the earliest U.S. dreanoughts) served mainly in coastal defense, convoy protection, or personnel training.


The picture at left shows Connecticut as modernized for war with rangefinder, wire-lattice masts, and no-nonsense bridgeworks, circa 1914; it also clearly shows the layout of the secondary armament, including the intricate series of gun embrasure cut-outs and catwalks along the hull. The chisel-fronted, elliptical-shaped eight-inch gunhouses echo the shape of the 12" turrets. The 8" mounts were recessed in the four corners of the superstructure, like the single 9.2" mountings on the British King Edward VIIs. With their heavy secondary armament and ample protection, the Connecticuts might more closely invite comparison with the Lord Nelson class, a type sometimes called a semi-dreadnought. As originally built, the Connecticuts had an endearing face about them in the Art Nouveau curves of bridge and wheelhouse. But in their refit, the bridges and masts of the vessels were re-done, leaving them looking homely, industrial, and without a particle of style: tall, slender stacks and vents, huge cranes, and verticality--far more old-fashioned than the clean, modern profile of the Lord Nelsons and the first British dreadnoughts, though admittedly powerful in their own functional fashion. These were the last full-size American battleships built before the switch to full-blown dreadnought designs. Two diminutive versions of the class, the Idaho and Mississippi, were built, but proved to be poor sea-boats and were sold to the Greeks after only 6 years on the USN Register. The 1908 Mississippis were the absolute last American pre-dreadnoughts.

Connecticut served loyally until 1923. At the end of that year she was sold for scrapping in compliance with the Washington Disarmament Treaty of 1922. Outmoded as she was after some 16 years of dreadnought development, her career spanned nearly 20 years, whereas under the Treaty, many a younger American dreadnought followed her to the breakers after rendering far briefer service.

A Connecticut Photo Album

Dramatic bow view of the CONNECTICUT
The Connecticut on trials in Casco Bay, Maine, 1906.

Colourised postcard of the CONNECTICUT
Colourised postcard - quarter view in "white and spar" paint scheme. To enlarge image, click here.

Above, Connecticut at San Diego in 1908, during the cruise of the Great White Fleet. Hatches have been opened in the turret roofs for ventilation.


The Connecticut's crew poses for a group photo on the foredeck.