USS ''Indiana'' was the
lead ship
The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels.
Large ships are very complex and may ...
of
her class and the first
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
comparable to foreign battleships of the time. Authorized in 1890 and commissioned five years later, she was a small battleship, though with heavy armor and ordnance. The ship also pioneered the use of an
intermediate battery. She was designed for
coastal defense and as a result, her decks were not safe from high waves on the open ocean.
''Indiana'' served in the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
(1898) as part of the
North Atlantic Squadron
The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the Nort ...
. She took part in both the blockade of
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana.
The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
and the
battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Spanish fleet led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, which occurred ...
, which occurred when the Spanish fleet attempted to break through the blockade. Although unable to join the chase of the escaping Spanish
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s, she was partly responsible for the destruction of the Spanish
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s
''Plutón'' and
''Furor''. After the war she quickly became obsolete—despite several modernizations—and spent most of her time in commission as a
training ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...
or in the
reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...
, with her last commission during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as a training ship for gun crews. She was decommissioned for the third and final time in January 1919 and was shortly after reclassified ''Coast Battleship Number 1'' so that the name ''Indiana'' could be reused. She was sunk in shallow water as a target in aerial bombing tests in 1920 and her hull was sold for scrap in 1924.
Design and construction
''Indiana'' was constructed from a modified version of a design drawn up by a US Navy 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
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
saw the plan as an attempt to end the U.S.
policy of isolationism and did not approve it, but a year later the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
approved funding for three coast defense battleships, which would become ''Indiana'' and her sister ships and . The "coast defense" designation was reflected in ''Indiana''s moderate endurance, relatively small
displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and Physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
and low
freeboard
In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard
is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...
, which limited seagoing capability. She was, however, heavily armed and armored; ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships'' describes her design as "attempting too much on a very limited displacement."
Construction of the ships was authorized on 30 June 1890, and the contract for ''Indiana''—not including guns and armor—was awarded to
William Cramp & Sons
William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century.
Company hi ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, 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 caused a two-year delay. ''Indianas
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
was laid down on 7 May 1891 and she was launched on 28 February 1893, attended by around 10,000 people, including
President Benjamin Harrison, several members of his
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
and the two
senators from Indiana. During her
fitting-out
Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...
in early March 1894, the ship undertook a preliminary
sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
to test her speed and machinery. At this point her side armor, guns,
turrets and
conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...
had not yet been fitted, and her official trials would not take place until October 1895 due to the delays in armor deliveries.
Service history
Early career
''Indiana'' was commissioned on 20 November 1895 under the command of
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Robley D. Evans. After further trials, the ship joined the
North Atlantic Squadron
The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the Nort ...
under the command of
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Francis M. Bunce
Francis M. Bunce (25 December 1836 – 19 October 1901) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself as a junior officer during the American Civil War (1861–65). He was in command of the North Atlantic Squadron from 1 ...
, which conducted training exercises along the
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
. In late 1896, both main turrets broke loose from their clamps in heavy seas. Because the turrets were not centrally balanced, they swung from side to side with the motion of the ship, until they were secured with heavy ropes. Heavier clamps were installed, but in February 1896, while conducting fleet maneuvers with the North Atlantic squadron, the ''Indiana'' encountered more bad weather and started rolling heavily. Her new captain,
Henry Clay Taylor
Henry "Harry" Clay Taylor (4 March 1845 – 26 July 1904) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy who served in the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War. He also served as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation and President of the ...
, promptly ordered her back to port for fear the clamps would break again. This convinced the navy that
bilge keel
A bilge keel is a nautical device used to reduce a ship's tendency to roll. Bilge keels are employed in pairs (one for each side of the ship). A ship may have more than one bilge keel per side, but this is rare. Bilge keels increase hydrodynamic re ...
s—omitted during construction because, with them, the ship could not fit in most American dry docks—were necessary to reduce the rolling, and they were installed on all three ships of the ''Indiana''-class.
Spanish–American War
At the outbreak of the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
in April 1898, ''Indiana'' was at
Key West
Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...
with the rest of the North Atlantic Squadron, at the time commanded by Rear Admiral
William T. Sampson
William Thomas Sampson (February 9, 1840 – May 6, 1902) was a United States Navy Rear Admiral (United States), rear admiral known for his victory in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War.
Biography
He was born in P ...
. His squadron was ordered to the Spanish port of
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
in an attempt to intercept and destroy
Admiral Cervera
Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete (18 February 1839, Medina-Sidonia, Cádiz, Spain – 3 April 1909, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain) was a prominent Spanish naval officer with the rank of '' Almirante'' ( admiral) who served in a number of high posit ...
's Spanish squadron, which was en route to the Caribbean from Spain. The harbor was empty, but ''Indiana'' and the rest of the squadron bombarded it for two hours on 12 May 1898 before realizing their mistake. The squadron returned to Key West, where news arrived three weeks later that
Commodore Schley's
Flying Squadron had found Cervera and was now blockading him in the port of
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana.
The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
. Sampson reinforced Schley on 1 June and assumed overall command.
In an attempt to break the stalemate, it was decided to attack Santiago from land. A transport convoy was assembled in Key West and ''Indiana'' was sent back to lead it. The expeditionary force, under the command of
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
William Rufus Shafter
William Rufus Shafter (October 16, 1835 – November 12, 1906) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Fair Oaks. Shafter ...
, landed east of the city and attacked it on 1 July. Cervera saw that his situation was desperate and attempted to break through the blockade on 3 July 1898, resulting in the
battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Spanish fleet led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, which occurred ...
. The
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s and and battleship had left the day before to load coal in
Guantanamo Bay. Admiral Sampson's flagship, the cruiser , had also sailed east earlier that morning for a meeting with General Shafter, leaving Commodore Schley in command. This left the blockade weakened and unbalanced on the day of the battle, as three modern battleships (''Indiana'', and ) and the
armed yacht
An armed yacht was a yacht that was armed with weapons and was typically in the service of a navy. The word "yacht" ("hunter"; Dutch "jacht"; German "jagd", literally meaning "to hunt") was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels ...
guarded the east, while the west was only defended by the second-class battleship , cruiser and armed yacht .
Occupying the extreme eastern position of the blockade, ''Indiana'' fired at the
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s
''Infanta María Teresa'' and
''Almirante Oquendo'' as they left the harbor, but, due to engine problems, was unable to keep up with the Spanish cruisers as they fled to the west. When the Spanish
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s
''Plutón'' and
''Furor'' emerged, ''Indiana'' was near the harbor entrance and, together with ''Iowa'', she supported the armed yacht ''Gloucester'' in the destruction of the lightly armored enemy ships. She was then ordered to keep up the blockade of the harbor in case more Spanish ships came out and so played no role in the chase and sinking of the two remaining Spanish cruisers,
''Vizcaya'' and
''Cristóbal Colón''.
Post Spanish–American War
After the war, ''Indiana'' returned to training exercises with the North Atlantic Squadron. In May 1900, she and ''Massachusetts'' were placed in reserve as the navy had an acute officer shortage and needed to put the new and into commission. The battleships were reactivated the following month as an experiment in how quickly this could be achieved, but ''Indiana'' was placed in the
reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...
again that winter. In March 1901, it was decided to use her that summer for a
midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
practice cruise, and this would be her regular summer job for the next few years, while the rest of the time she would serve as a training ship. During her time as a training vessel, her crew beat the 1903 world record with eight-inch guns, four bullseyes with four shots. She was decommissioned on 29 December 1903 to be overhauled and modernized. The obsolete battleship received several upgrades: new
Babcock & Wilcox boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
s, counterweights to balance her main turrets and electric traversing mechanisms for her turrets. She was recommissioned on 9 January 1906 and manned by the former crew of her sister ship ''Massachusetts'', including
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Edward D. Taussig, commanding. ''Massachusetts'' had been decommissioned the day before to receive similar modernization.
![Indiana bombing 1920](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Indiana_bombing_1920.jpg)
During her second commission, ''Indiana'' spent most of her time laid up in the reserve fleet, occasionally participating in practice cruises. In January 1907 she helped provide relief in the aftermath of the
1907 Kingston earthquake
The 1907 Kingston earthquake which shook the capital of the island of Jamaica with a magnitude of 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale on Monday January 14, at about 3:30 p.m. local time (20:36 Coordinated universal time, UTC), is described by t ...
. In 1908, the
/40 caliber guns and most of the lighter guns were removed to compensate for the counterweights added to the main battery turrets and because the ammunition supply for the guns was considered problematic. A year later, twelve
/50 caliber single-purpose guns were added midships and in the fighting tops. At the same time a
cage mast
Lattice masts, or cage masts, or basket masts, are a type of observation mast common on United States Navy major warships in the early 20th century. They are a type of hyperboloid structure, whose weight-saving design was invented by the Russian ...
was added. In early 1910, she was fitted with an experimental Lacoste speed brake, which would be deployed from the side of the hull to act as an emergency brake; the trials were inconclusive.
By 1913 it was speculated that the ship might soon be used for target practice, but instead, the ship was decommissioned on 23 May 1914. After the United States entered
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, ''Indiana'' was commissioned for the third time and served as a training ship for gun crews near
Tompkinsville, Staten Island
Tompkinsville is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City. Named for Daniel D. Tompkins, sixth Vice President of the United States (1817-1825), the neighborhood sits on the island's eastern shore, along the waterfront facing U ...
and in the
York River, and placed under the command of
George Landenberger
George Bertram Landenberger (May 12, 1879 – January 15, 1936) was a United States Navy Captain and the 23rd (and 21st unique) Governor of American Samoa, from May 12, 1932 to April 10, 1934. Landenberger commanded many ships during his naval c ...
.
On 31 January 1919 she was decommissioned for the final time, and two months later she was renamed ''Coast Battleship Number 1'' so that the name ''Indiana'' could be assigned to the newly authorized—but never completed—battleship . The old battleship was brought to shallow waters in the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
near the wreck of the target ship (ex-Battleship ''Texas''). Here she was subjected to aerial bombing tests conducted by the navy. She was hit with dummy bombs from aircraft, and explosive charges were set off at the positions where the bombs hit. The tests were a response to claims from
Billy Mitchell
William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force.
Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...
—at the time assistant to Chief of
Air Service Charles T. Menoher—who stated to Congress that the Air Service could sink any battleship. The conclusions drawn by the navy from the experiments conducted on ''Indiana'' were very different, as Captain
William D. Leahy
William Daniel Leahy () (May 6, 1875 – July 20, 1959) was an American naval officer who served as the most senior United States military officer on active duty during World War II. He held multiple titles and was at the center of all major ...
stated in his report: "The entire experiment pointed to the improbability of a modern battleship being either destroyed or completely put out of action by aerial bombs." The subject remained a matter of dispute between Mitchell and the Navy, and several more bombing tests were conducted with other decommissioned battleships, culminating in the sinking of . ''Indiana'' sank during the test and settled in the shallow water, where she remained until her wreck was sold for scrap on 19 March 1924. When the US Navy adopted
hull number
Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. For the military, a lower number implies an older vessel. For civilian use, the HIN is used to trace the boat's history. The precise usage varies by country and type.
United S ...
s in 1920, ''Indiana'' was retroactively assigned the number "BB-1".
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
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The New York Times
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Further reading
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External links
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MaritimeQuest USS Indiana BB-1 Photo Gallery*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indiana (BB-1)
Indiana-class battleships
Spanish–American War battleships of the United States
World War I battleships of the United States
Ships built by William Cramp & Sons
1893 ships
Ships sunk as targets
Maritime incidents in 1920
Shipwrecks in the Chesapeake Bay