California (BB 44) - Naval Cruise Book

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the craft, its hull and decks in place, was nearly 55 percent complete. The christening of the California was set for November 20, 1919, just over a year after the Armistice ended the war. In the ancient ceremony, the sponsor, Mrs. Barbara Stephens Zane, daughter of California Governor Will- iam D. Stephens, surrounded by prominent U.S. Navy and civilian officials including her father, smashed the traditional champagne bottle across the bow. This signal Sent the ship sliding down greased ways into San Pablo Bay. The huge vessells outfitting would continue apace for two and a half more years as the main belt armor was installed, the turrets built and guns installed, and the superstructure com- pleted, including provisions for her already- determined role as a fleet flagship. Finally, early on a warm August 10, 1921, the spar- kling new battleship, her gleaming brass pol- ished and gray paint still fresh in places, was ready to join the U.S. Navy. Just after noon that sunny August day, the remainder of the shipis 57 officers, 70 Marines, and 1,026 bluejackets came aboard and, after stowing their gear, assembled at divisional parade on the quarter-deck aft. The national ensign was hoisted at the flag staff, the com- mission pennant was broken out at the main truck, and a band played the 'fStar Spangled Banner. The commandant of the Mare Island yard then tumed the ship over to Captain Henry J. Ziegemeier, who in turn read aloud his or- ders and a salutatoty telegram from Governor Stephens. Following a short address to the crew of his new command, the skipper ordered the first watch set. Divisions were marched forward and within an hour the Calpfornia was opened to a throng of visitors. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE A capital ship like the Calgfornia had a long sweeping top deck, covered with teak which enlisted men were expected to swab', Cscrubj white, and a raised 'ffo'c,sle for the half length fotward. Out of these rose the masts and funnels, the topside bridgework, and other structures collectively known as the superstruc- ture. From the main deck, too, rose the bulky main turrets, holding the 14-inch guns. Each was mounted on top of roller-path bearings within a fixed armored tube called a barbette. The hull, with its distinctive clipper bow, was very similar to that of the New Mexico Lv, al- though there were no recesses for casemates as the five-inchers were spotted strategically in 'fdry positions at upper deck level. Other features included the introduction of turbo- electric drive, the improvement of underwater protection, more elaborate bridgework, and the return to twin funnels. Displacing 32,600 Cnor- malj or 35,190 tons tfull loadj, the new dreadnought had an overall length of 624 feet six inches C600 feet at the waterlinej, a beam of 97 feet four inches, and a mean draught of 30 feet six inches, which could be extended to a maximum draught of 35 feet six inches. In layman's terms, the Ccilifbriiici was a bit longer than two football fields and as tall as an eight- story building. The California, like the 7lffzfzc'.s'.s'ecf and the succeeding three units of the Culnraclo-class, was known as an electric-driven ship. The main power plant consisted of eight electri- cally-controlled, oil-burning Bureau Express boilers with a combined total heating surface of50,984 square feet, exhaust from which rose through the flue gas ducts to the two slim fun- nels directly overhead. Located in separate wa- tertight compartments tfour to port and four to starboardj under central control abeam the en- gine room, these boilers produced the steam which, in turn, powered a pair of large Gen- eral Electric turbo-electric geared turbines, ar- ranged in tandem of the centerline controlled by mechanical governors from one small room, the two three-phase, 15,000 kva main genera- tors Ccoupled to the turbinesj sent a total of 6,800 volts to the ship's four 4,300 kilowatt alternating-current motors, each of which was attached to a single propeller shaft. The total estimated weight of all this machinery was 1,805 tons. The electric motors of BB-44 were de- signed for 24 and 36 poles and featured squir- rel-cage winding for starting and wound-rotor for running. At 170 rpm C0.98pD, each motor developed 6,800 horsepower. The 1921 battlewagon gave a total designated shaft horsepower of 28,500 Ccompared with the 1920 destroyer Pruizrs QDD-3475 27,500j, which was sufficient for Captain Ziegemeier's best trial run of 21.46 knots. The Calyfornialv nor- mal fuel-oil capacity was 2,200 tons Cover 600,000 gallonsj with a maximum of 3,328 tons, enough for an approximate range of up to 4,000 miles. Fuel consumption, at 17 knots, was 1.07 lb.!s.h.p. The shipls tactical diam- eter Cturning radiusj, with screws tuming for- ward and full helm, was 700 yards. Course direction was controlled via a single rudder. The arrangement, thickness, and extent of the Calyfornia s armor was basically similar to that of the New Mexicos, although the layout was somewhat modified and uriderwatr:r gl tection was significantly irriproved. tier ri and that of her sister, being the first omit a Hpost-Jutlandll design. A waterline hell of li inch steel was designed to effectively rexist the penetration ofa 14-inch shell fired from 14 000 yards. Extending nine feet above the water- line and eight and one-half feet below, this neit- thickest abreast the turret magazines and ami Tl- ships machinery spaces- tapered to eight. inches toward the ends fand at its lower edge, closing with transverse armored bulkheads Designers, continuing the 'all-or-nothing pro- tection concept begun with the Netada WEB- 36j, agreed that, given stability requirements. thick armor could H01 also be placed over the top deck. Instead, they would continue to mini- mize the effects of Nplunging fire' by provid- ing BB-44 with enough cover to absorb frag- ments from exploding shells. The deck armor extended over the machinery areas and steer- ing gear, the outboard strakes of the upper deck were covered with one and one-half inches. the main deck amidships by three and one-half inches, and the outboard strakes of the lower deck by one and one-half to two inches. To prevent flue gasses from filling the ship in battle, the boiler uptakes received 15 inches at the upper deck. To aid in torpedo protection. the C algor- nia featured a 17-foot protective layer in-board of her belt. This layer was divided on each side of the hull by three unpierced longitudi- nal bulkheads, each covered by one-quarter inch steel plate. The larger outer bulkhead was divided into five compartments inside the shipls skin, of which the three center ones were filled with fuel oil while the two outer ones were left as air spaces. Theoretically. the skin would cause an incoming tin fish ttorpedo' to explode and rupture. The compressed air in the first void would tend to absorb the expand- ing gasses vented into the ship by the explo- sion and distribute their force against bulkhead ,. fx . :SMA ,fe I 4' X? 7 ,I o . ,j il fl .lolin l,l'lUlllll'fIl4Qll'fIIII6'l'l1'l-fll Ctipltizii Hn'wt'i't1iit1' Ulitipfiiiit lx1'iit'ti!v. itbiirtt'.vx' i'fl.lilfJ!I I we 1

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N 32. R . N M Fi: .um mtlai if 'Nat if Wir 'fig fm, 'Psi I 32? n. . .. v--. vi T' . 'av-. E' s. L 1 . Nlg. 1 C H' ' '54 -'- .at , .apr . ... we .. .Zn- ' fr .'r-ra .i 1. fpiff' . f-gt.: ..1 2. sl 3- my - .... . .. 1 .Kill ,v 1 dl - ,Y-'e ..1. ff I H. '41 arf. lrix if A 31335: 1, -wifi: an ,..m' 'F' rfimi ,if-. .ir if rfb- .. -F' . ft-'ft , +15-ff -TI fr, ef W ' I sw, .A v. ' aff i' ,. -ts . ' wild: wr' 3-if 't rf if ar'-'B' was the first time she had left the Pacific Ocean. The San Diego joined Cruiser Division Two at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on August 4, 1917, and within a few days, began a month's long duty as flagship for Commander, Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet. The essential duty now set aside for the San Diego was to join her sister ships in the coastal escort of convoys through the first dan- gerous leg of their passages to England and France. Throughout the fall and winter and into the spring of 1918, the armored cruiser, basing at either Tompkinville, New York, or Halifax, Nova Scotia, safely conducted her charges out to meet their open-ocean escorts in the storm-ridden and submarine-infested North Atlantic. During those months, she put in a single overseas trip, to LaCrosie, France, in November, 1917. ln April, 1918, the German admiralty elected to launch a concentrated campaign against United States shipping in the Ameri- can waters. Consequently, it ordered seven of its largest U-boats, including four of the con- verted Deutschland-class mercantile subma- rines, to ply Yankee waters at staggered five to six week intervals between mid-April and late August. Employing torpedoes, gunfire and, more importantly, mines laid in random fields, these enemy boats harassed coastal shipping and disturbed the convoy people in the Navy Department, although the effort would actu- ally have no lasting impact on the American war effort. One of the U-boats sent to operate off the East Coast during this German offensive was the converted Deutschland-class giant U-156. Among the locations her skipper chose to drop his many mines were the shipping lanes along Fire Island, on the Atlantic side of Long ls- land, New York. There, southeast of Sandy Hoof off the Fire Island light, the San Diego, enroute to New York from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, hit one of the mines on July 19, 1918. Although the cruiser sank only 28 min- utes after the great explosion rocked her hull, only six crewmen perished. There were 1,183 survivors which were quickly picked up and removed to safety. The San Diego, representative of the Golden State of California for more than ten years, was gone. She was the largest United States Navy warship lost to enemy action dur- ing World War I. Perhaps, it would have com- forted the widows, family, and friends of her dead sailors to know that, within two months, the U-boat that had sown the mine that claimed the San Diego and the lives of some of her crew would also be sunk- ironically by an Ameri- can mine. Retuming to Germany at the end of September, 1918, the 1,512-ton, 213 foot U- 156 struck a United States Navy mine while attempting a passage through the North Sea Mine Barrage and sank. There were only 26 crew members who survived. THE LARGE CONVERTED- YACHT CALIFORNIMHA UOLI K S P-24 9 J In response to the demand of a rich pa- tron, Clara B. Stocker, the Brooklyn firm of Robbins Drydock Company built a steam yacht in 1903. This elaborately appointed vessel dis- placed 299 tons and was 21 l feet long. It had a 22-foot beam and an eight-foot draft. On trial runs she proved herself a fast steamer at 19 knots. Mrs. Stocker was well pleased with her acquisition and christened her Hauoli, which is the Hawaiian word for delight, The yacht was employed for parties and pleasure cruises. Sometime before 1917, the ship's name was changed to Calqfornia for some unknown reason. When the United States joined World War I, the U.S. Navy found itself with a pressing need for escort, patrol, and dispatch vessels. Learning that Mrs. Stocker was willing to sell the Calqfornia, fleet representatives purchased the vessel in August, 1917, taking her into the Navy as the third Caljornia the same month the former Calyfornia, now San Diego, arrived in Virginia. Outfitted at the New York Navy Yard, the yacht was converted into a patrol vessel, she was painted gray and armed with two six-pound cannons and a pair of machine guns. The new Calgfornia was designated SP- 249 and commissioned the day before Christ- mas. The Lt. j. g. W. Applebye-Robinson, U.S. Naval Reserve Force, was the commanding officer. The Calqbrnias first year was passed as a patrol vessel in New York harbor. There word reached her on February 18, 1918, that some- body in Washington had noted the state name of California was reserved and she would have to be rechristened. Accordingly, Calyfornia CSP-2495 became the Hauoli once again. Her wartime service occasionally took her outside the harbor transporting passengers to and from convoys, but all-in-all, her World War I opera- tions were routine and without incident. On January 28, 1919, the Hauoli was transferred to special duty and began her most significant service. For the next seven months, she was assigned to the experimental use of Thomas A. Edison. The famous inventor was then engaged in a series of anti-submarine warfare experimentsg listening devices of his design were installed in Hauoli and tested in and around New York harbor. Before demobi- lization cut short the experiments with the gun- boat, she was withdrawn from Edison and de- commissioned on October 8, 1919. On Sep- tember 7, 1920, the little warship was sold to the Denton Shore Lumber Company in Tampa, Florida. THE SMALL C ONVERTED-YACHT CALIFORNIA TSP-6472 The fourth Calgfornia was also a steam yacht, built in San Francisco in 1910. Some- time before 19l7, the 84-ton, 58-foot vessel, which could make 9.2 knots full throttle, passed into the hands of the San Francisco Bar Pilot's Association. She was loaned to the U.S. Navy on the outbreak of war and was commissioned as SP-647. This Caljornia served on local patrol until she was returned to her owners at the end of 1918. THE BUILDING OF THE USS CALIFORNIA CBB-441 CREATION The General Board, that senior U.S. Navy council which set the characteristics to which all American warships were designed between 1910 and 1945, laid great importance on the ability of pre-World War II battleships to op- erate together as a fleet, especially in the Pa- cific. This view was operationally held by all Navy leaders from the chief of naval opera- tions downwards. As far as possible, these people insisted that successive designs be given similar speeds, radii of action, and handling! survivability qualities. This orderly process was not lost on U.S. lawmakers, who continu- ously specified in their battlewagon authori- zation acts that new ships carry as heavy ar- mor and as powerful armaments as any vessel of their classf' Indeed, the General Board al- ways advocated dreadnoughts which would equal or outclass the latest of Britain, Germany, or Japan. The General Board characteristics drawn up in 1910 called for oil-burning battleships which featured all-or-nothing armor, i.e., heavy steel along the waterline and over vital areas and little medium-weight protection, machinery for 21 knots, and a dozen 14-inch rifles in triple turrets. On March 3, 1915, with World War I then seven months old and Japan restless in the Pacific, Congress authorized President Woodrow Wilson to acquire two more battleships in addition to the three of the New Mexico class allowed the previous year. Whatever came, American leaders would have the Navy, the nation's first line of defense, ready. Authorized as Battleship No. 44, the Cali- fornia, and her sister the Tennessee fNo. 435, were, with only minor changes, a duplication of the three New Mexicos. Janes Fighting Ships called their design practically identicalf' Congress, in allowing the pair, had specified that neither exceed a delivery cost of 557.8 mil- lion, less armor and armament. Total cost for the ship was 512.75 million. While that still seems like a lot of money, and in 1915 dollars it was, these ultimates in strategic weaponry for their day were each completed for slightly over 45 percent of the 1981 projected cost of reactivating the World War II New Jersey CBB- 62J for service with today's fleet. Indeed, BB- 441s cost would be only 25.64 percent of the 55200 million price of her successor, GCN-36. Calling her the most powerful battleship in the world, officials of the Bureau of Con- struction and Repair on October 28, 1915, as- signed the task of building the Calyfornia to the Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, Califor- nia. There the keel was laid on October 25, 1916, a few days short of six months follow- ing the Battle of Jutland. The first frames were up within weeks, and as inspectors checked the progress through 1916-1919, thousands of builders, when not building more urgently re- quired escorts and merchantmen, worked on the hull. As the time of launch approached,

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S, QF-Q wish mm' is .'!t fr-fits fix- A 'AM' J M 'rt-. I I Wi -l'Ki.:t-, R 3323 'M' , W writer .ea - if fm' 55. f, . k. 1 r' -. R. .J . N, Mx . f 'tv , ...- .. X. '- ., Q f., Number One. The oil in three center compart- ments would, according to the design, take up much of the shock by its inertia and, by its in- compressibility. cause bulkheads, two, three, and four to help withstand the shock simulta- neously. with bulkhead Number One. Com- partment E was left as a compressible void so that bulkhead Number Five would not share in withstanding the major shock, but serve as a tiooding boundary in case bulkheads two, three, and four were ruptured. The oil in the center compartments, incidentally, was a part of the dreadnought's fuel, but could be replaced by water as it was consumed. Some felt that water would serve even better than oil in the ship's center compart- ments, as it could absorb more of an explosion's terrific heat, thus reducing its in- tensity. At Pearl Harbor, the oil arrangement worked well as the chief salvage officer, Cap- tain Homer N. Wallin, testified: The two tor- pedo hits were the most serious damage sus- tained .... In each case the inboard bulkhead was practically intact .... Caliornia was well designed entirely able to withstand the pun- ishment received on 7 December. Elsewhere, the main battery was also well covered. The face of each 14-inch turret re- ceived 18 inches of steel while the sides and rear had eight inches and the roof five inches. The 411 tons of barbette armor for each 1,127- ton turret was reduced in thickness as it de- scended behind the main belt, running 14 inches on the exposed sides, 16 inches on the tube, and 14 inches on the crown. Protection for the conning tower, from which the ship would be controlled in a surface gunner ac- tion, and the main armament directors, was 16 inches thick, but was much reduced for the high-angle directors. The Calyfornialv main armament, which was her reason for being built, consisted of a dozen separately sleeved 14-inch!50 caliber 81.7-ton guns mounted in superfiring triple tur- rets, two forward and two aft. Each of these rifled guns, some 46 inches in diameter at the breech, had a maximum 30 degree elevation and could fire a 1,500 pound armor-piercing CAPJ shell to the 34,000-35,000 yard range Cap- proximately 19-20 milesj at an average rate of fire of 1.5 per minute! The battleship's secondary armament Cchanged several times before the attack at Pearl Harborj initially comprised fourteen five- inchl51 caliber single-purpose anti-destroyer guns distributed seven to a side. Four were in open top deck mounts, two forward and two aft between the funnels, with ten in second deck casemates. Additionally, four semi-automatic three-inch!50 caliber guns were carried for anti- aircraft protection, as well as a battery of sa- luting cannons, a field piece of amphibious exercises, various machine guns and small arms. In 1922, the two five-inchers located between the funnels were removed and four more three-inch anti-aircraft pieces were added. All of the anti-aircraft guns were re- placed in 1929 to 1930 by eight five-inch!25 caliber guns while in 1936, anti-aircraft pro- tection was augmented by the receipt of addi- tional light machine guns. A pair of submerged 21 -inch torpedo tubes aboard on commission- ing day were found unworkable and were re- moved in 1937. As built, the Calqfornia sported a pair of 140-foot lattice, or cage, masts which sup- ported large fire control, or fighting, tops. With a large diameter at the base providing sup- port, each mast was formed from two inclined sets of steel tubing Cclamped together at inter- sectionsj which made up rigidity-assuring sets of triangles. The enclosed mast tops housed the main and secondary control stations, the latter one level below the former. Comple- menting the main battery rangefinder atop the bridge, one was placed on a mainmast plat- form in 1927 while the secondary directors continued in their platform locations, one on either side of the lower level of the tops. In support of communications gear, each mast also featured large yardarms and hinged top- masts with small yardarms. A platform encir- cling the main mast carried four large search- lights. Range clocks were also carried fore and aft of the lower levels of the tops Cone facing the bow and one the sternj which could be used by admirals with, or independently of, the bear- ing scales painted on the sides of turrets II and III to mass fire Cin poor visibility or smokej for devastating effect. These two masts were the ship's most distinguishing pre-war charac- teristics and as they were also fitted aboard her sister and the Colorados, distinguished them from the rest of the battleship force as mem- bers ofthe Big Five. In 1929 and 1930, an aircraft catapult was fitted on the fantail, serviced by a simple der- rick Clater replaced by a cranej. Another cata- pult was fitted atop turret III to be serviced by the cranes which also handled cargo and the small boatsfbarges stacked amidships. The three aircraft canied would vary in type, but were always stowed atop the catapults. Following the Washington Treaty of 1922, the U.S. Navy, with the limited peacetime fund- ing available, began the reconstruction of its active battleships, the more elderly first. Funds for the modernization of the Calpfornia and Tennessee were authorized in April, 1939, but in view of the situations in Europe and the Far East, it was decided to hold off their rebuild- ing. With minor improvements, the two ships would be held in a state of readiness in case war threatened. When on October 20, 1942, the CalU'or- nia arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington, from Pearl Harbor, she appeared somewhat similar to her pre-De- cember 7th silhouette, even her cage masts and catapults were gone. At Bremerton, the ship would undergo permanent repairs to damages suffered in the Japanese raid and would be completely and thoroughly modernized. So extensive was her outward transformation to be that she would become practically a new ship. Due to higher priorities, however, this rebuilding was often interrupted and finally set back by several months. Steel-helmeted yard workers cut the ship clean of superstructure and secondary guns, stripping her completely down to second deck level. With only the original hull, main bat- tery, and propulsion plant retained, her almost total conversion was begun practically from scratch. As opposed to the riveting employed in her creation, the Calfornia lv new work was all welded, bringing a weight savings which doubled in thickness, her hull received deep eight-foot three-inch bulges on both sides, which gradually tapered toward bow and stem. These blisters formed a kind of second hull, covering the entire side armor from be- low the waterline to the upper deck, providing increased stability and better anti-torpedo pro- tection. Intemal compartmentalization was re- arranged and improvedg new fire mains, 154 miles of new electric cable, a new ventilation system and new fuel lines were added while fuel storage capacity was extended. The hull construction, by the way, widened the dreadnought's beam to 114 feet, a girth which would prevent her from ever passing through the Panama Canal again. The most striking innovation was made in the battleship's superstructure. The heavy armored conning tower, stacks, etc. were all removed. A compact superstructure of stan- dard design was built, able to provide essen- tial ship and gunnery control facilities while offering as little interference as possible in the fields of fire of the ship's now-essential anti- aircraft guns. A low tower foremast supported a main battery director and bridges, boiler up- takes were trunked into a single stack which was faired into the afterside of the foremast, the whole forming a compact block. A low structure was set just abaft the stack in the lo- cation once occupied by the after cage mast to accommodate the after 14-inch director. These changes gave the old lady a look similar to the newer battleships of the South Dakota class. Before Bremerton, Washington, the Cali- fornia wore navy-gray number three paint. In order to disguise her somewhat for Japanese sea and airbome marksmen, she was now given one of the Navy's standard camouflage schemes, or measures, which at range and in various weather and lighting conditions would change her profile. The measure cho- sen for the Calyfornia was No. 32, the me- dium pattern systemf' Under this arrangement, she was painted in dazzle-pattem with pale gray, haze gray, and navy blue applied to hori- zontal surfaces and decks. The ship's identifi- cation numbers were painted on the hull fore and aft, but were purposely made very small. Based on war experience, the Navy in- sisted that the CalU'ornia's secondary and anti- aircraft armament be substantially increased from what it had been previously. Accordingly, the casemated five-inch!51's, and the five-inch! 25's were replaced by sixteen five-inch!38 cali- ber superiiring dual purpose guns in eight twin mounts, four to a side on the f'02 deck. For close-in anti-aircraft defense fourteen qua- druple 40mm Bofors mounts and 52 twenty millimeter Oerlikon machine guns were fitted, including three atop turret Number Three. Gunnery control and radar equipment were modernized andfor initially installed. Two Mark CMKJ 34 main battery directors, with MK Eight fire control radars and assorted gunfire computing equipment, were placed