Fastest speed recorded for a battleship (2024)

The US Iowa-class battleships were powered by eight fuel oil boilers and four propellers, delivering 212,000 shaft horsepower. In 1968, during a shakedown cruise, the Iowa-class USS New Jersey achieved a top speed of 35.2 knots (65.2 km/h) which it sustained for six hours. As part of a brutal test of the ship’s engines, the captain then ordered the ship to go instantly from “all ahead flank” to “all back emergency”. New Jersey took some two miles to come to a stop.

Fastest speed recorded for a battleship (2024)

FAQs

Fastest speed recorded for a battleship? ›

The US Iowa-class battleships

Iowa-class battleships
The Iowa class was a class of six fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940. They were initially intended to intercept fast capital ships such as the Japanese Kongō class and also serve as the "fast wing" in a traditional battle line alongside slower battleships.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Iowa-class_battleship
were powered by eight fuel oil boilers and four propellers, delivering 212,000 shaft horsepower. In 1968, during a shakedown cruise, the Iowa-class USS New Jersey achieved a top speed of 35.2 knots (65.2 km/h) which it sustained for six hours.

How fast can a battleship move? ›

Iowa-class battleship
Class overview
Installed power8 × water-tube boilers 212,000 shp (158,000 kW)
Propulsion4 × screws; 4 × geared steam turbines
Speed33 knots (61.1 km/h; 38.0 mph) (up to 35.2 knots (65.2 km/h; 40.5 mph) at light load)
Range14,890 nmi (27,580 km; 17,140 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
27 more rows

What is the maximum speed of a warship? ›

Top Speed: 63 knots (72 mph or 117 kmph) Sustained Speed: 40 knots (46 mph or 74 kmph) Displacement: 240 tons. Range: 500 nautical miles | 575.4 miles | 926 km at 40 knots.

How fast was the New Jersey battleship? ›

33 knots

How fast does the USS Iowa go? ›

USS IOWA, for example, was built with 9 16-inch guns that could fire 2,700 lb shells a distance of more than 20 miles with great accuracy. USS IOWA's top speed was about 35 knots, roughly 40 miles per hour.

What is the fastest battleship ever recorded? ›

In 1968, during a shakedown cruise, the Iowa-class USS New Jersey achieved a top speed of 35.2 knots (65.2 km/h) which it sustained for six hours. As part of a brutal test of the ship's engines, the captain then ordered the ship to go instantly from “all ahead flank” to “all back emergency”.

What was the top speed of the Bismarck? ›

Bismarck was powered by three Blohm & Voss geared steam turbines and twelve oil-fired Wagner superheated boilers, which developed a total of 148,116 shp (110,450 kW), and yielded a maximum speed of 30.01 knots (55.58 km/h; 34.53 mph) on speed trials.

What is the fastest destroyer ever recorded? ›

Design and description. The Le Fantasque-class ships were designed to counter the fast Italian Condottieri-class light cruisers and Le Terrible set a world record for a ship with a conventional hull of 45.02 knots (83.38 km/h; 51.81 mph).

What is the fastest ship speed record? ›

The current unlimited record is 511.11 km/h (317.59 mph), achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the Spirit of Australia in 1978.

How fast is the fastest US destroyer? ›

On speed trials, Maury reached 42.8 knots, far in excess of her design speed of 36.5 knots and the highest speed ever achieved by a U.S. Navy destroyer. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet after commissioning, Maury was operating out of Pearl Harbor when the United States entered World War II.

How fast was the USS Alabama? ›

USS ALABAMA STATS
Speed:28 knots
Range:15,000 Nautical miles at 15 knots
Crew:2,500 crew members at the height of WWII
Power Plants:Horsepower: 130,000 hp 4 engine rooms, each carrying 2 boilers and 2 turbines. Four propellers, 2 five bladed and 2 four bladed, each weighing 18.2 tons.
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What was the toughest battleship ever built? ›

Yamato 's Last Voyage. On her last morning, before the first American planes intercepted her, Yamato would have appeared indestructible. After all, she was the heaviest and most powerful battleship ever built, carrying the most formidable guns ever mounted at sea.

What was the farthest shot from a battleship? ›

The greatest range at which one ship's guns have successfully hit another vessel is 24 km (15 miles), a feat that occurred twice during the second world war.

What was the top speed of the Yamato? ›

During October or November 1941 Yamato underwent sea trials, reaching her maximum possible speed of 27.4 knots (50.7 km/h; 31.5 mph). As war loomed, priority was given to accelerating military construction.

How fast did the USS Texas go? ›

USS Texas (1892)
History
United States
Installed power4 × boilers 8,610 ihp (6,420 kW)
Propulsion2 × screws 2 × triple-expansion steam engines
Speed17.8 knots (33.0 km/h; 20.5 mph)
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What is the highest speed of a ship in the world? ›

We know that ships are slow. But there is one fast ship. Faster than a metro train. The Francisco, a 99 m catamaran, is the world's fastest ship, hitting a speed of 58.1 knots or 107.6 kilometres an hour, surpassing the speed of Singapore's metro, which is 100 km per hour.

How fast were WWII battleships? ›

Most battleships built right before the war, or during, could attain normal speeds of between 27-30 kts, but the “fast battleships” like the Iowa class, could attain a speed of 33 kts, which is the top speed of most heavy cruisers during the period, though there were a few classes of heavy cruiser that could hit 35-37 ...

Can a battleship fire all guns at once? ›

More often than not, technical problems with the weaponry, particularly with the 14-inch Mk VIII mounted by the King George V class, precluded the simultaneous use of all barrels. Nevertheless, there were occasions when Royal Navy battleships administered the 'full dose' during the Second World War.

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