Battleship being towed for scrapping - photo

**Altair** · Mar 21, 2023, 10:27 AM

Hulk of battleship Kentucky being towed for scrapping.

Previously:

Battleship armor pierced by 16" shell - photo
USS Pennsylvania drydocked - photo
1941 explosion of HMS Barham battleship - GIF and photo
1942 construction of USS Alabama - photo
Dazzle ship camouflage - photos

**ductape** · Mar 21, 2023, 12:50 PM

There were a few ships named USS Kentucky. This looks like the one that was started right after the end of WWII but never finished and ended up as scrap. The good thing is the people involved in the construction got some experience and hopefully a few stories to tell about it, so there's that.

**mklotz** · Mar 21, 2023, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by ductape

There were a few ships named USS Kentucky. This looks like the one that was started right after the end of WWII but never finished and ended up as scrap. The good thing is the people involved in the construction got some experience and hopefully a few stories to tell about it, so there's that.

The Montana class ships would have had four main turrets (two forward and two aft). This one looks like it had only two so more likely the original, WWI great white fleet Kentucky, BB-6.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kentucky_(BB-6)

BB-6 was unique in having small turrets mounted atop its two main turrets but the ring for them would have been part of the main turret body.

**ductape** · Mar 21, 2023, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by mklotz

The Montana class ships would have had four main turrets (two forward and two aft). This one looks like it had only two so more likely the original, WWI great white fleet Kentucky, BB-6.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kentucky_(BB-6)

BB-6 was unique in having small turrets mounted atop its two main turrets but the ring for them would have been part of the main turret body.

Your eyes are better than mine. I was looking at the truncated bow and shape of the hull instead of the rest of it. It does look like the BB-6 Kentucky.

**astroscuba** · Mar 21, 2023, 07:27 PM

I lean more with Ductape on his thoughts Marv. I count at least 9 housings for 5 inch guns. Looks like about 17 barrels for 16 inch rounds on the port side. 12 would be used for 4 turrets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montan...ntana_bb67.jpg

**mklotz** · Mar 22, 2023, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by astroscuba

I lean more with Ductape on his thoughts Marv. I count at least 9 housings for 5 inch guns. Looks like about 17 barrels for 16 inch rounds on the port side. 12 would be used for 4 turrets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montan...ntana_bb67.jpg

The armament list here...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kentucky_(BB-6)

shows BB-6 had 14 five inch guns although it doesn't indicate how mounted (e.g. dual turret or stand alone).

The hull in the photo has only one aft barbette which rules out the planned Montana that would have had two aft barbettes for its two aft turrets.

I'm fairly sure that construction of Montana or Kentucky never progressed far enough to mount the turrets or fit the guns.

Also missing in the photo are any aft fittings for the two aircraft catapults and the aircraft recovery crane that were a feature of both the Iowa and Montana class battleships.

One other possibility is that the stuff on the deck did not all come from the ship that was associated with the hull. The hull could be being used as a barge to transport other scrap to the breakers.