The Battleship Book. Robert M. Farley

      RN Dante Alighieri

      Author’s Note

      Italian naval architecture is often dramatically underrated. The refusal to use superfiring turrets was a major problem with this design, but Dante Alighieri could make an impressive 22+ knots. The Austria Tegetthoffs (with superfiring triple turrets) had slightly more armor, but a lower speed and considerably less stability. In a line-of-battle engagement, Dante would have performed more than adequately.

      The scrapping of Dante (and the failure to return Leonardo Da Vinci to service), meant that the Regia Marina would enter the 1930s understrength by two dreadnoughts. Given the dramatic transformations Italy worked upon its surviving dreadnoughts, there’s little question that her naval architects would have been able to transform Dante into a useful unit. However, as Italy discovered in World War II, it simply lacked the material and economic resources to operate a major fleet for an extended period of time, meaning that even a modernized Dante likely would have sat an anchor for most of the war.

      Related Entries:

      Preceded… Giulio Cesare

      Meant to fight… Viribus Unitis

      Contemporary of… SMS Ostfriesland

      USS Utah

      Laid Down: 1909

      Launched: 1909

      Completed: August, 1911

      Reconstruction: 1925–26, 1931

      Displacement: 23,000 tons

      Main Armament: ten 12” guns (five twin turrets)

      Secondary Armament: sixteen 5” guns (casemates)

      Speed: 21 knots

      Major Actions: Pearl Harbor

      Treaty: Pre-Washington Naval Treaty

      Fate: Sunk by Japanese carrier aircraft, December 7, 1941. Wreck preserved as museum

      USS Utah (BB-31) was the sixth dreadnought battleship commissioned by the United States Navy. She entered service in August of 1911. Utah and her sister Florida were the first two US battleships to use steam turbines, although some later battleships (New York, Texas, and Oklahoma) would revert to reciprocating engines.

      USS Utah

      The battle squadron constructed by the United States between 1910 and 1921 avoided many of the problems of the Royal Navy, the High Seas Fleet, and the Imperial Japanese Navy. From Delaware on, the ships were all relatively heavily armed, armored, and consistent in speed. It was not difficult, therefore, for the fleet to operate as a unit. In contrast, the Royal Navy included battlecruisers, which, while useful for many operations, could not operate safely in the battle line. Also, the dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy varied widely in speed; this could be a handicap in battle, as faster ships could get separated from slower. The same problems existed in the High Seas Fleet and the IJN.

      Utah, like many US ships of the period, engaged in her first combat action off Vera Cruz in April 1914. A contingent of sailors and marines were supported by offshore gunnery, and the men of Utah apparently distinguished themselves. Utah did not play much of a role in World War I, as she was not included in the squadron allocated to the Grand Fleet in 1917. Utah didn’t arrive in Great Britain until September 1918, acting as a convoy escort. Like all other US battleships, she saw no combat.

      USS Utah at Guantanamo Bay, 1920.

      The interwar period was relatively eventful for Utah. Twice, she served as the flagship of a squadron engaged in a goodwill cruise of South America. The second cruise included President-elect Herbert Hoover. Utah underwent modernization in 1925, losing her aft cage mast and receiving more anti-aircraft guns. Most of the rest of the period before 1930 was spent as a training ship.

      Under the provisions of the 1930 London Naval Treaty, the United States needed to convert two battleships into auxiliaries. As one of the older ships in the fleet, Utah took on this role, losing most of her main armament through conversion to a gunnery training ship. Utah served in this capacity for eleven years. On December 7, 1941, Utah was moored some distance to the northwest of Battleship Row. The Japanese torpedo bomber pilots were rather less than interested in Utah’s demilitarized status, and at 8:01 am she was hit forward port by a single torpedo. Eleven minutes later, Utah rolled over and sank. Remarkably, only 64 of a crew of 471 died, with some sailors being rescued after their blowtorch-armed comrades cut through the bottom of the hull.

      USS Utah in original condition. Library of Congress.

      Utah was the oldest battleship to serve in World War II, but not the oldest to serve as a battleship, an honor which goes to USS Arkansas. Utah’s service in the war lasted about fifteen minutes. However, the service was not wholly irrelevant; the torpedo that hit Utah might have hit another US battleship, resulting in the deaths of more sailors. She remains at the bottom of Pearl Harbor today, although her memorial is visited far less frequently than Arizona’s.

      USS Utah capsizing after torpedo hit, December 7, 1941

      Author’s Note

      Utah’s presence at Pearl Harbor is often forgotten because she had ceased to serve as a battleship at the time of the attack. However, her contribution to the preparedness of the Pacific Fleet was every bit as important as that of the other battleships of the line, and her sacrifice should be noted. Several relics of the ship adorn important government buildings in the state of Utah.

      Wreck of USS Utah. USN photo.

      Related Entries:

      Preceded… USS Arkansas

      Contemporary

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