CUS New Hampshire (PD-1906 (TS-1921 (ADV-1931)))
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Only eight years old by the outbreak of WW1 the original six ships of the Connecticut / New Hampshire classes were already so far outclassed by the new Dreadnought type vessels that they would have stood no chance at even two to one odds. The ships were used during WW1 on raider patrols of the Eastern seaboard of the CUA. They doubled as training ships while on these missions and that duty was to take up most of their lives. The photo at the bottom of the page shows the class as they entered WW1 after their 1911/12 refits which replaced the original pole mast with new cage masts.
At the end of 1920 with the GALT talks finalised these ships were excess and had to be reduced to anciliary duties or discarded. There were plenty of duties these ships could still undertake. The twin 8" turrets were removed and ended up as main armaments for the Detroit class scout cruisers. The aft 12" was removed and replaced with passenger deckhouse area for the trainees. In this new guise the ships spent their days pounding up and down the east and west coasts of the CUA, training the officers and men required for the peacetime fleet.
1930 brought a rethink of the useage to be made of these ships. Japan had refused to ratify the new treaty for arms limitations and this gave the CUA Navy the new duty of protecting the little Pacific Islands they had received protectorate mandates for as being part of the Allies that had defeated the Germanic States forces in WW1. These islands now formed the CUA's front line in the Pacific. To turn those islands into fortresses was going to cost time, money and resources that were not available at that time. The CUA Navy had seen the earlier conversion of Britains old capital ships to the Area Defence Ships for exactly the same reason as now facing the CUA. Convert their old pre-dreadnoughts to carry and support seaplanes, plonk them down in an island harbour and they would provide the defence and command facilities for the area.
| Displacement | 16,000 tons std 18,600 tons full load | ||
| Length | 456 ft | ||
| Breadth | 77 ft | ||
| Draught | 25 ft | ||
| Machinery | 2 shaft steam turbine 16,000shp (10,000shp T/S) | ||
| Speed | 18 knots (12 knots after rebuilding) | ||
| Range | 6,000 miles at 8 knots | ||
| Armour | 11" Belt, 12/8/3" Turrets, 3" Deck | ||
| Armament | As built 4 x 12" (4x2) 8 x 8" (4x2) 12 x 7" (12x1) 20 x 3" (22x1) 4 x 3" AA (4x1) 1917 |
After rebuild (1921) 2 x 12" (4x2) 10 x 7" (10x1) 5 x 4" (5x1) 6 x 3" AA (6x1)
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AS ADV 1931+ 2 x 12" (1x2) 8 x 4.5" (4x2) 16 x 40mm (4x4) 12 x 20mm (12x1)
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| Aircraft | nil | nil | 6 |
| Torpedoes | (2x21") submerged, removed 1920 | ||
| Complement | 950 | ||
| Notes | CUS New Hampshire | ||
New Hampshire as upgraded 1911 with cage mast. Next photo is Connecticut being readied for scrapping. Only four of the class were kept, 2 were decommissioned and scrapped.