USS Washington (BB-47)

Incomplete hulk of USS Washington (1922)
History
United States
Name:	Washington
Namesake:	State of Washington
Builder:	New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down:	30 June 1919
Launched:	1 September 1921
Sponsored by:	Jean Summers
Struck:	8 February 1922
Fate:	Sunk as target 25 November 1924
General characteristics
Class and type:	Colorado class
Displacement:	32,600 tons (33,100 tonnes)
Length:	624 ft (190 m)
Beam:	97.5 ft (29.7 m)
Draft:	30.5 ft (9.3 m)
Speed:	21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Complement:	1,354 officers and men
Armament:	8 × 16 in (406 mm)/45 caliber guns 20 × 5 in (127 mm)/51 caliber guns 8 × 3 in (76 mm)/23 caliber antiaircraft guns
Armor:	Belt: 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm) Barbettes: 13 in (330 mm) Turret face: 18 in (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: 3.5 in (89 mm)

USS Washington (BB-47), a Colorado-class battleship, was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 42nd state. Her keel was laid down on 30 June 1919 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was launched on 1 September 1921, sponsored by Miss Jean Summers, the daughter of Congressman John W. Summers of Washington.

On 8 February 1922, two days after the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty for the Limitation of Naval Armaments, all construction work ceased on the 75.9%-completed superdreadnought. She was sunk as a gunnery target on 26 November 1924 by the battleships New York and Texas.

Washington was 624 feet (190 m) long, and had a beam of 97.5 feet (29.7 m) and a draft of 30.5 feet (9.3 m). She displaced 32,600 long tons (33,123 t) tons. The ship's primary armament consisted of eight 16-inch (406 mm)/45 caliber guns in four twin gun turrets. This was augmented by a secondary battery of 20 5-inch (127 mm)/51 caliber guns. The ship was also armed with eight 3-inch (76 mm)/23 caliber antiaircraft guns.

The new underwater protection scheme featured five compartments separated by bulkheads on either side of the ship: an outer empty one, three filled, and an empty inner one. In addition, the eight boilers were moved from their location in previous designs and placed in separate spaces to port and starboard of the turbo-electric power plant, forming another line of defense; the ship could still sail even if one or even an entire side of boilers was incapacitated due to battle damage. This new arrangement forced the chief aesthetic change between the New Mexicos and Tennessees; the single large of the former was replaced by two smaller funnels in the latter.