Colorado-class battleship

Colorado steaming off New York City, c. 1932
Class overview
Name	Colorado-class battleship
Builders	New York Shipbuilding Corporation Newport News Shipbuilding
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Tennessee class
Succeeded by	South Dakota class (1920) (planned) North Carolina class (actual)
Built	1917–1923
In commission	1921–1947
Planned	4
Completed	3
Cancelled	1
Retired	3
General characteristics [1]
Type	Super-dreadnought battleship
Displacement	32,600 long tons (33,100 t)
Length	624 ft 3 in (190.27 m)
Beam	97 ft 4 in (29.67 m)
Draft	30 ft 6 in (9.30 m)
Installed power	8 × Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers 28,900 shp (21,600 kW)
Propulsion	4 screws turbo-electric transmission
Speed	21 kn (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range	8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) (design)[2]
Complement	1,080
Sensors and processing systems	SC radar (Colorado and Maryland) SK radar SRa radar CXAM radar (West Virginia)
Armament	8 × 16 in (406 mm)/45 caliber Mark 1 guns (4 × 2) 12 or 14 × 5 in (127 mm)/51 caliber guns 2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor	Belt: 8–16 in (203–406 mm) Barbettes: 13 in (330 mm) Turret face: 18 in (457 mm) Conning tower: 11.5 in (292 mm) Decks: 3.5 in (89 mm)

The Colorado-class battleships^[a] were a group of four United States Navy super-dreadnoughts, the last of its pre-Treaty battleships. Designed during World War I, their construction overlapped the end of that conflict and continued in its immediate aftermath. Though all four keels were laid, only three ships entered service: Colorado, Maryland, and West Virginia. Washington was over 75% completed when she was canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922. As such, the 16" gun Colorado-class ships were the last and most powerful battleships built by the U.S. Navy until the North Carolina class entered service on the eve of World War II.

The Colorados were the final group of the Standard-type battleships, designed to have similar speed and handling to simplify maneuvers with the line of battle. The cancelled South Dakota class which was to follow would have in several ways been a departure from this practice. Apart from an upgrade in striking power with their eight 16-inch guns, the Colorados were essentially repeats of the earlier Tennessee class. The Colorados were also the last American capital ships built with four main armament turrets and twin-mounted guns.

All three ships had extensive careers during World War II. Maryland and West Virginia were both present during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. While Maryland escaped relatively unscathed, West Virginia was sunk in the shallow waters of the harbor but subsequently raised and repaired. All three ships served as naval gunfire support ships during numerous amphibious operations. Maryland and West Virginia were present at the last surface action between battleships, the Battle of Surigao Strait during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. All three ships were placed into the reserve fleet after the end of the war and were scrapped by the late 1950s.

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