USS ''Kentucky'' (BB-66) was an uncompleted battleship intended to be the last ship of the . Hull BB-66 was originally to be the second ship of the s. However, the urgent need for more warships at the outbreak of World War II and the U.S. Navy's experiences in the Pacific theater led it to conclude that rather than battleships larger and more heavily armed than the , it quickly needed more fast battleships of that class to escort the new s being built. As a result, hulls BB-65 and BB-66 were reordered and laid down as ''Iowa''-class battleships in 1942. As such, she was intended to be the sixth and final member of the ''Iowa''-class constructed. At the time of her construction she was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Like her sister ship , laid down as one of the last pair of ''Iowa''-class ahead of her, ''Kentucky'' was still under construction at the end of hostilities and became caught up in the post-war draw-down of the armed services. Her construction was suspended twice, during which times she served as a

parts hulk Cannibalization of machine parts, in the maintenance of mechanical or electronic systems with interchangeable parts, refers to the practice of removing parts or subsystems necessary for repair from another similar device, rather than from inventor ...

. In the 1950s, several proposals were made to complete the ship as a guided missile battleship, abandoned primarily due to cost concerns and the rapid pace of evolving missile technology. ''Kentucky'' ultimately was sold for scrap in 1958.

Background

''Kentucky'' was conceived in 1935, when the United States Navy initiated design studies for the creation of an extended that was not restricted by the Second London Naval Treaty. This resulted in one of the " fast battleship" designs planned in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch at the Bureau of Construction and Repair. The passage of the

Second Vinson Act The Naval Act of 1938, known as the Second Vinson Act, was United States legislation enacted on May 17, 1938, that "mandated a 20% increase in strength of the United States Navy".''South Dakota''-class battleships and the first two ''Iowa''-class fast battleships (those with the hull numbers BB-61 and BB-62). The latter four battleships of the class, those designated with the hull numbers BB-63, BB-64, BB-65, and BB-66 (''Missouri'', ''Wisconsin'', ''Illinois'', and ''Kentucky'', respectively) were not cleared for construction until 12 July 1940. While BB-63 and BB-64 were originally planned as the final ships in the ''Iowa''-class, BB-65 and BB-66 were intended to be the first ships of the ''Montana'' class which was larger and slower while mounting twelve Mark 7 guns.Hore, p. 222. However, the passage of an emergency war building program on 19 July 1940 resulting in ''Illinois'' and ''Kentucky'' being re-ordered as the fifth and sixth ships, respectively, of the in order to save time on construction, so the first ship of the would be reassigned as BB-67.Gardiner, p. 99.Johnston, pp. 108–123. The orders for BB-65 and BB-66 were placed on 9 September 1940, and the ships were laid down on 6 December 1942, and 7 March 1942, respectively. By 1942 the United States Navy shifted its building focus from battleships to

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s after the successes of carrier combat in both the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...

, and to a greater extent, the Battle of Midway. As a result, the construction of the US fleet of s had been given the highest priority for completion in the US

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

s by the US Navy. The ''Essex''-class carriers were proving vital to the war effort by enabling the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

to gain and maintain air supremacy in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, and were rapidly becoming the principal striking arm of the United States Navy in the ongoing effort to defeat the Empire of Japan. Accordingly, the United States accepted shortcomings in the armor of their s in favor of additional speed, which could steam at a comparable speed with the ''Essex''-class and provide the carriers with the maximum amount of anti-aircraft protection. As a result, construction of the was canceled before their keels could be laid.

Construction

''Kentucky''s main battery would have consisted of nine /50 cal Mark 7 guns, which could hurl armor-piercing shells some . Her secondary battery would have consisted of 20 /38 cal guns arranged in 10 turrets, which could fire at targets up to away. With the advent of air power and the mandate to gain and maintain

air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...

came a need to protect the growing fleet of Allied aircraft carriers. To this end, ''Kentucky'' was to be fitted with an array of

Oerlikon 20 mm The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models empl ...

and

Bofors 40 mm Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

anti-aircraft guns to defend allied carriers from enemy airstrikes. USSKentuckyBB-66

Like ''Iowa''-class ships from ''Missouri'' (hull number BB-63) onwards, the frontal bulkhead armor was increased from the original to in order to better protect against fire from frontal sectors. Because the ''Iowa''-class torpedo defense was virtually the same as the preceding ''South Dakota''-class battleships it was proposed that ''Illinois''s and ''Kentucky''s

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

be redesigned to provide a greater degree of torpedo protection for the battleship. Under the original construction schematics for the class each side of the ship was protected below the waterline by two tanks mounted outside the belt armor, and separated by a bulkhead. These tanks were initially planned to be empty, but in practice were filled with water or fuel oil. The armored belt tapered to a thickness of below the waterline. Behind the armored belt there was a void, and then another bulkhead. The outer hull was intended to detonate a torpedo, with the outer two compartments absorbing the shock and with any splinters or debris being stopped by the armored belt and the empty compartment behind it. In 1939 the Navy discovered that this system was less effective than the earlier torpedo defense system of the ''North Carolina''-class due to the excessive rigidity of the lower belt armor causing leakage into adjacent compartments. Subsequently, the design of the torpedo defense system was modified for ''Illinois'' and ''Kentucky'', such as eliminating knuckles along certain holding bulkheads; the intended construction format was estimated to provide up to 20% improvement to the torpedo defense of the battleship while simultaneously reducing flooding in the event of a torpedo strike. ''Kentucky''s construction was plagued by suspensions. Her keel was laid down at the Norfolk Navy Yard,

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

, on 7 March 1942. However, work on the ship was suspended in June that year, and ''Kentucky''s bottom structure was launched to make room for LST construction on 10 June. Work on the ship resumed on 6 December 1944, when the keel structure was moved to Dry Dock 8. Work on the battleship proceeded at a slow pace, and her completion was projected for the third quarter of 1946. In December 1945 it was recommended that ''Kentucky'' be completed as an anti-aircraft battleship, and work on the ship was suspended in August 1946 while this was considered. Construction resumed again on 17 August 1948 without any decision having been made on her final design. Work on ''Kentucky'' continued until 20 January 1950, when it was decided to halt work on the ship. Following this, she was floated out of her drydock to clear a space for repairs to sister ship , which had

run aground Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...

en route from

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

Conversion proposals

While her construction was suspended, the Bureau of Ships considered an

conversion proposal for ''Kentucky'' and ''Illinois'' in the aftermath of the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway. As proposed, the converted ''Kentucky'' would have had an long by wide flight deck, with armament identical to the carriers of the : four twin 5-inch gun mounts and four more 5-inch guns in single mounts, along with six 40 mm quadruple mounts. The idea was abandoned after the Bureau of Ships decided that the converted ships would carry fewer aircraft than the ''Essex'' class, that more ''Essex''-class carriers could be built in the same amount of time, and that the conversion project would be significantly more expensive than new ''Essex''es. Instead, ''Kentucky'' and ''Illinois'' were to be completed as battleships, but their construction was given very low priority. As early as 1946, missile conversion projects for ''Kentucky'' (project SCB 19) and the incomplete large cruiser were discussed. In the early 1950s, the advances in guided missile technology led to a proposal to create a large warship armed with both guns and missiles. To this end, the incomplete ''Kentucky'' was chosen for conversion from an all gun ship into a "guided missile battleship". This proposal would have been relatively conservative, and would have involved the installation of a pair of twin arm launchers for the RIM-2 Terrier surface-to-air missile (SAM) on the aft deckhouse, with a pair of antennas for the associated AN/APG-55 pulse doppler interception radar installed forward of these, and the AN/SPS-2B air search radar on a short mast. Since the battleship was already approximately 73% complete (construction had been halted at the second deck), installation of the missile system and associated electronics would have involved only adding the necessary equipment without any need to rebuild the ship to accommodate the system. Some guided missile concepts included one or two launchers for eight SSM-N-9 Regulus II or

SSM-N-2 Triton The SSM-N-2 Triton was a supersonic nuclear land-attack cruise missile project for the United States Navy. It was in development from 1946 to 1957, but probably no prototypes were produced or tested. The Triton program was approved in September 194 ...

nuclear

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...

s.Friedman, pp. 398–399 The guided missile battleship project was authorized in 1954, and ''Kentucky'' was renumbered from BB-66 to BBG-1, with the conversion due to be complete in 1956. However, the project was soon cancelled, with the conversion ideas transferred to a smaller platform that led to the guided missile cruiser. These partial conversions of two heavy cruisers proved only partially successful in their new role, as the pace of change in cruise missile technology rendered their new weapons systems obsolete, while their remaining heavy guns proved in demand. Another conversion project in early 1956 called for the installation of two

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

nuclear ballistic missile launchers with a capacity for sixteen weapons. Also proposed were four RIM-8 Talos SAM launchers with eighty missiles per launcher and twelve

RIM-24 Tartar The General Dynamics RIM-24 Tartar was a medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. The Tartar was the third of the so-called "3 T's", the three primary ...

SAM launchers with 504 missiles. A July 1956 estimate projected completing the ship by July 1961, but the cost of the conversion ultimately forced the Navy to abandon the project.

Fate

''Kentucky'' was never completed, instead serving as a

while in the

mothball fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

from about 1950 to 1958. Hurricane Hazel hit the area on 15 October 1954, causing ''Kentucky'' to break free from her moorings and run aground in the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

. In 1956, ''Kentucky''s bow was removed and used in the repair of , which had been damaged in a collision with the destroyer on 6 May 1956. Congressman William Huston Natcher attempted to block the sale of the ship by objecting to the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

in August 1957. Nevertheless, ''Kentucky'' was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 9 June 1958 and her incomplete hulk was sold for scrapping to Boston Metals Company of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

on 31 October for $1,176,666. She was towed to their shipyard in Baltimore in February 1959. ''Kentucky''s four 600 psi (4.1 MPa) boilers and turbine sets were used to power the first two s, laid down in 1961 and in 1964. When the Navy switched to 1,200 psi (8.3 MPa) boilers, sailors who had served aboard ''Sacramento'' and ''Camden'' provided the experience to operate the older lower-pressure boilers aboard during her combat tour in the Vietnam War and aboard all four of the ''Iowa''s when they were recalled and modernized in the 1980s as part of the 600-ship Navy plan. A pair of

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

doors that had been donated by the state of Kentucky while the ship was under construction were removed and used in an officer's club in New York City before eventually being returned to the Kentucky Historical Society in early January 1994.

Notes

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

;Print sources * * * * * * * * ;Online sources * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

''Kentucky'' (BB-66), 1942–1958

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky (BB-66) Iowa-class battleships Cancelled ships of the United States Navy Ships built in Portsmouth, Virginia 1944 ships