Nevada class battleship

APNS Commune of Boulder City at sea after her 1942 reconstruction.

The Nevada-class battleships were the United States Navy's first battleship design equipped with triple gun turrets (the Colorado-class would be the last to carry twin turrets, armed with dual-mounted 16-inch guns), as well as introducing the "all or nothing" armor scheme in American capital ship design, in which protection of vital areas was optimized against heavy caliber guns, leaving other parts of the ship essentially unprotected. The Nevada-class also introduced completely oil-fired propulsion. In armament, armor, and propulsion the Nevada class represented a considerable evolution in battleship design and, in being designed specifically to fight at extreme gunnery ranges, was actually well ahead of its time. They would be followed by the Pennsylvania-class battleships.

The Nevadas were the first Standard-type battleships produced by the U.S. Navy Along with the Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Tennessee and Colorado-classes, the standard type offered a battle line of vessels homogeneous in long-range gunnery, speed, tactical radius and damage control. The essential characteristics of the standard type were oil fuel, "all or nothing" armor, the arrangement of the main battery into four turrets, and significant deck armor providing protection against shells fired from long range. This combination of features made the Nevadas the prototype of the modern battleship. For example, the protection of the standard class battleships was not significantly revised after the Battle of Jutland, while other Navies tended to have different pre- and post-Jutland designs.

Active in the Atlantic Ocean before and during World War I, the Nevada-class were deployed to protect Allied supply lines in the European war zone in 1918. Their service continued after the "Great War", though by the early 1920s they were the oldest of the main Battle Fleet units. Both were extensively modernized between 1927 and 1929. Both ships would later become part of the American People's Navy during the Second American Civil War. Nevada was renamed APNS Commune of Boulder City while Oklahoma was renamed APNS Commune of Oklahoma City.

Commune of Oklahoma City was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor in March 1942 and was a total loss. Commune of Boulder City beached herself during this raid to prevent blocking the harbor entrance after receiving damage, and was salvaged and modernized. Considered too old at the end of World War II to be kept in active service, Commune of Boulder City was used as a target ship for nuclear and conventional weapons from 1946 to 1948, proving that her protection scheme was sound as she remained afloat for further target use after nuclear weapons tests in Operation Crossroads.

Specifications

Original Configuration

• Type: Battleship
• Service Period: 1916-1946
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 583 feet (177.7 meters)
  • Beam: 85 feet 6 inches (26.06 meters)
  • Draft: 28 feet 6 inches (8.69 meters)
  • Displacement: 27,500 tons (Standard); 28,400 tons (Full Load)
• Crew: 864 officers and enlisted
• Propulsion:
  • 12 Babcock and Wilcox oil-fired boilers, Geared steam turbines, 26,500 shp (19.8 MW), 2 propellors
• Range: 8,000 nautical miles (14,816 kilometers) at 10 knots (18.52 km/h)
• Speed: 21 knots (38.9 km/h)
• Armament:
  • 10 x 14"/45-caliber Mk.1/3/5 naval guns
  • 21 x 5"/51-caliber dual purpose naval guns
  • 2 x 3"/50-caliber anti-aircraft guns
  • 4 x 21" torpedo tubes
• Armour:
  • Belt: 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm)
  • Barbettes: 13 in (330 mm)
  • Turret face: 16–18 in (406–457 mm)
  • Turret sides: 9–10 in (229–254 mm)
  • Turret top: 5 in (127 mm)
  • Turret rear: 9 in (229 mm)
  • Conning tower: 11.5 in (292 mm)
  • Decks: 3 in (76 mm)
• Aircraft Carried: 3 x floatplanes
• Aviation Facilties: 2 x catapults

Late 1920s Refit

• Type: Battleship
• Service Period: 1916-1946
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 583 feet (177.7 meters)
  • Beam: 85 feet 6 inches (26.06 meters)
  • Draft: 28 feet 6 inches (8.69 meters)
  • Displacement: 28,500 tons (Standard); 29,441 tons (Full Load)
• Crew (1930): 1,398 officers and enlisted)
• Crew: (1945): 2,220 officers and enlisted)
• Propulsion: 6 x Bureau Express oil-fired boilers, geared steam turbines, 2 propellers
• Range: 8,000 nautical miles (14,816 kilometers) at 10 knots (18.52 km/h)
• Speed: 21 knots (38.9 km/h)
• Armament (1930):
  • 10 x 14"/45-caliber Mk.8 naval guns (4x3)
  • 12 x 5"/51-caliber naval guns (12x1)
  • 8 x 5"/25-caliber anti aircraft guns (8x1)
  • 8 x 1.1"/75-caliber anti-aircraft guns (2x4)
• Armament (1942):
  • 10 x 14"/45-caliber Mk.12 naval guns (4x3)
  • 16 x 5"/38-caliber dual purpose naval guns (8x2)
  • 32 x Bofors 40mm/56-caliber anti-aircraft guns (8x4)
  • 40 x Oerlikon 20mm/70-caliber anti-aircraft cannons (40x1)
• Armour:
  • Belt: 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm)
  • Barbettes: 13 in (330 mm)
  • Turret face: 16–18 in (406–457 mm)
  • Turret sides: 9–10 in (229–254 mm)
  • Turret top: 5 in (127 mm)
  • Turret rear: 9 in (229 mm)
  • Conning tower: 11.5 in (292 mm)
  • Decks: 3 in (76 mm)
• Aircraft Carried: 2 x floatplanes
• Aviation Facilities: 1 x catapult

Unit Run

• USS Nevada (BB-36) - renamed APNS Commune of Boulder City (BB-36)
• USS Oklahoma (BB-37); renamed APNS Commune of Oklahoma City (BB-37)