GENERAL
Class....................................Indiana
Designation..........................BB-01
Type....................................Sea-Going Coastal Battleship
Builder.................................William Cramp & Son, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cost.....................................$6,575,033
Laid Down............................07 May 1891
Launched..............................28 February 1893
Sponsor.................................Miss Jessie Miller, daughter of the Attorney General of the United States
Commissioned.......................20 November 1895
First Commanding Officer......Captain Robley D. Evans
Displacement.........................10,288 tons
Length..................................350 feet, 11 inches
Beam....................................69 feet, 3 inches
Draft.....................................24 feet
Speed....................................15 knots
Endurance.............................5500 nautical miles at 10 knots
Crew Complement.................32 officers, 441 enlisted
ENGINEERING
Engines........................................William Cramp and Son, Two vertical, inverted cylinder, triple expansion steam engines 11,100 horsepower); twin screw, single rudder
Boilers..........................................William Cramp and Son, Four double-ended Main boilers, 15 feet diameter by 18 feet long; Two single-ended auxiliary boilers 10 feet 2 inches diameter by 8 feet 6 inches
Indicated Horsepower....................13,500
Maximum Indicated Horsepower....17,313
Fuel..............................................Coal, Bunkers for 1567 tons
ARMOR
Belts.....................................18 inches
Turrets..................................15 inches
Conning Tower......................10 inches
ARMAMENT
Main Battery..........................Four 13 inch breech-loading rifles
Secondary Battery..................Eight 8 inch breech-loading rifles, Four 6 inch Breech-loading rifles
Additional Weaponry..............Twenty 6 pound rapid fire guns, six 1 pound rapid fire guns, two Gatling type machine guns
Torpedo Tubes.......................Six 18 inch Whitehead (4 beam, 1 bow, and 1 stern all submerged)
The Indiana Class battleships are know by many historians for being unstable platforms and not very sea-worthy ships. This is a true statement, but one must remember that they were designed as coastal defense ships and not intended for true bluewater operations that take place today. The United States was relatively new to the arena of capital ship construction and design. Innovative designs were present, but so was older technology. An example of this are the main battery turrets on the Indianas. They are the "Pillbox" type that was first used in the American Civil War. Look at a picture of the Monitor from the Civil War Union Navy and then look at a turret on the Indiana. The construction is very similar.
Although the Indianawas one of the most powerful warships ever built by the United States at that time, but she did have her drawbacks.
The Indiana had a low freeboard, meaning her decks were frequently awash, and tended to roll when under normal steaming conditions. Also, because of the size of her main battery, a full broadside from her four thirteen inch rifles would roll the ship even further. This was eventually corrected by retrofitting the ship with bilge keels. As compared to the modern warships of today, living conditions were spartan at best and because coal was the source of fuel for the engineering plant, work was particularly dirty and dangerous because of the danger of spontaneous combustion.
SOURCES:
Last Updated 01 November 1999
