Tennessee Class Battleship (1940) Summary

This is a 3D printed sculpt of the Tennesse class battleship game piece from EBard Models as configured in 1940 prior to the beginning of WW2.

The Tennessee class consisted of two super-dreadnought battleships constructed in the late 1910s. The ships of the class were Tennesse and California.

The class was in most respects a repeat of the preceding New Mexico class, with the primary improvements being a significantly strengthened underwater protection system, and increased elevation of the main battery guns to allow them to fire at much greater ranges. They carried the same main battery of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns in four triple turrets, and had the same top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).

European navies had begun to adopt larger guns and also began to develop longer-ranged torpedoes that could reach well into the expected battle distances of the day (10,000 to 14,000 yards / 9,100 to 12,800 m). Therefore, the new ship's ability to resist underwater attack from both naval mines and torpedoes became a chief concern. To ensure the ship could survive an underwater explosion, they decided to incorporate four torpedo bulkheads, which created four voids. Of these, the inner pair would be filled with either water or fuel oil, which would absorb the pressure and gas of the explosion. This system proved to be effective and it was used in many subsequent battleship designs.

They underwent a series of minor modifications to their secondary and anti-aircraft armament, and included an aircraft catapult installed on the aft superfiring turret and fantail. 

Both ships served in the Pacific Fleet for the duration of their careers, which included an extensive training program during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. Both were anchored in Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on 7 December 1941; California was torpedoed and sunk but Tennessee was only minimally damaged. California was refloated.

Both were heavily rebuilt between 1942 and 1944. New anti-torpedo bulges were installed to strengthen their resistance to underwater damage. The ships' superstructures were completely revised, with the old heavily armored conning tower being removed and a smaller tower was erected in its place to reduce interference with the anti-aircraft guns' fields of fire. Horizontal protection was considerably strengthened to improve their resistance to air attack.

Each ship received air-search radar and fire-control radars for their main and secondary batteries. The secondary batteries were replaced by a uniform battery of sixteen 5-inch/38 caliber guns in eight twin mounts.  The light anti-aircraft battery was also revised again. The changes doubled the ships' crew, to a total of 114 officers and 2,129 enlisted men. 

The pair thereafter saw extensive service as bombardment vessels supporting the island-hopping campaign across the central Pacific. Tennessee took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign in mid-1943, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in late 1943 and early 1944, and the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign in mid-1944, by which time California had returned to the fleet as well.

They both took part in the Philippines campaign in late 1944, and were present at the Battle of Surigao Strait on 24 October, the final battleship engagement in history. A refit for Tennessee kept her from participating in the Battle of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945, where California was hit by a kamikaze, which in turn kept her from supporting Marine Corps troops during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Tennessee was heavily engaged in the fighting there and the subsequent Battle of Okinawa, where she, too, was hit by a kamikaze. The two ships spent the rest of the war patrolling the East China Sea until the official Japanese surrender in September. After briefly participating in the occupation of Japan, they were recalled to the United States and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. They remained there until 1959, when they were sold for scrap.

Ships of Class:

• Tennesee - Survived the war.
• California - Sunk at Pearl Harbor; raised and repaired. Survived the war.

Approximate dimensions (LWH): 60mm x 8 mm x 11mm

Customer Reviews

No Reviews Posted Yet - be the first! (write review)