Though generally similar to the preceeding design, the two Florida class battleships were nearly two-thousand tons larger, with rearranged smokestacks and masts, wider beam, and 5"/51 secondary battery guns in place of the earlier 5"/50 type. They also were the first U.S. battleships to have steam turbine propulsion. Both Florida and Utah served in the North Sea during World War I. After that conflict, they were increasingly employed on training and other subsidiary duties, as their armament and other features had by then been thoroughly overshadowed by those of newer U.S. and foreign battleships.
Despite their obsolescence, the Floridas survived the Washington naval limitations treaty "axe" and were modernized in 1925-27. Their coal-fired boilers were replaced with oil-burning models, beam was increased to 106' by the addition of anti-torpedo "blisters", heavier deck armor was added and some of the five-inch guns were relocated to higher positions. As with other modernized battleships, their appearance changed dramatically from two smokestacks and "cage" masts to one of each.
The 1930 London treaty brought their battleship days to a swift end. Florida was decommissioned in 1931 and soon scrapped. Utah was "demilitarized" and retained as an auxiliary target ship. In the later 1930s, with the treaty system all but swept away by a worsening World political situation, she was given some five-inch and smaller guns, allowing her to serve as an anti-aircraft gunnery training ship while retaining the target mission. Armament was further increased in 1941 to enhance her utility for training, but her additional service was brief. On 7 December 1941 Utah was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese aircraft in the opening moments of the Pearl Harbor raid.
The Florida class numbered two ships, both built
on the east coast:
Florida class "as-built" design characteristics:
This page features a modest selection of photographs of Florida class battleships, plus images related to these ships' basic design features, and provides links to more extensive pictorial coverage of the individual ships.
For coverage of other classes of U.S. Navy battleships, see: Battleships -- Overview and Special Image Selection.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 81570 USS Utah (BB-31) Photographed circa 1914, by O.W. Waterman. Utah's crew are paraded on deck, wearing "whites". Collection of Robert S. Waters, donated by his estate in 1972. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 54KB; 740 x 385 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 63579 USS Utah (BB-31) Photographed during World War I, with camouflage patterns painted on her hull and triangular baffles attached to her masts. Both were intended to confuse enemy range finders. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 595 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 60568 USS Florida (BB-30) Anchored in harbor, circa 1921. Courtesy of Gustave Maurer, ex-Chief Photographer, 1921. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 64515 USS Florida (BB-30) In Hampton Roads, Virginia, 25 October 1929. Donation of Franklin Moran, 1967. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 107KB; 740 x 610 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-416384 USS Utah (AG-16) Anchored off Long Beach, California, 18 April 1935, while serving as a target ship. Three heavy cruisers are in the middle distance, with the city of Long Beach beyond them. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 93KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-266626 USS Utah (AG-16) Capsizing off Ford Island, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, after being torpedoed by Japanese aircraft . Photographed from USS Tangier (AV-8), which was moored astern of Utah. Note colors half-raised over fantail, boats nearby, and sheds covering Utah's after guns. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 83KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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For more views of Florida class battleships, see:
For coverage of other classes of U.S. Navy battleships, see: Battleships -- Overview and Special Image Selection.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Coding updated 26 March 2001