Overview and historical setting
The Nevada class introduced the U.S. Navy’s all-or-nothing armor scheme and concentrated ten 14-inch guns in four turrets.
The class belongs to the history of capital ships and served during dreadnought era and World War I. Capital-ship design concentrated a navy's heaviest weapons and protection in a small number of hulls. Speed, endurance, armor, fire control, and the intended place in the battle line had to be balanced against cost and displacement. The result cannot be understood from gun caliber alone; a class also reflected the fleet doctrine, industrial capacity, and strategic geography of the navy that built it. For Nevada class, the documented mission set included service as a principal combatant within a fleet.
Development and design
The design combined oil-fired propulsion with long-range protection centered on vital spaces, establishing the foundation of the American Standard-type battleship series. The program chronology records design work beginning in 1911, construction beginning in 1912, and the documented construction period ending in 1916. Program totals list 2 planned, 2 ordered, 2 laid down, 2 completed, and 0 cancelled. These dates and totals distinguish the design program from the number of ships that were actually completed and entered service.
The design evidence for Nevada class identifies dreadnought era, all or nothing armor, oil fired, and 14 inch guns and service as a principal combatant within a fleet. These features connect the class's technical arrangement to the work it was expected to perform for United States Navy. Later refits, revised sensors, new weapons, and changes in doctrine could alter the practical capabilities of individual members without changing their class identity.
Technical character
The Nevada class as completed configuration is presented as the as-completed configuration. Its listed characteristics include displacement 27,500 long ton (normal), length 177.7 m, beam 29.1 m, and draft 8.7 m. The recorded armament is 10 × 14 in guns; 21 × 5 in guns; torpedo tubes. The figures describe one documented state and may not apply unchanged throughout the subject's service life.
Technical data for Nevada class is most useful when tied to a date and mission. Displacement changed with fuel, ammunition, electronics, weapons, and later modifications; speed and range depended on operating conditions; and sensors or armament could vary substantially between members and periods of service.
Ships of the class
The documented roster contains 2 members. These include USS Nevada (BB-36, Battleship No. 36) and USS Oklahoma (Battleship No. 37). The available sources support this as the complete class roster.
Individual ship histories are needed to show how a common design diverged through construction differences, refits, damage, transfers, new assignments, and final disposition. For a ship-level view of the class in service, see USS Nevada, whose profile follows the evidence available for one member of Nevada class.
Service history
Nevada and Oklahoma entered service in 1916; both supported wartime operations, with Oklahoma joining Nevada in European waters in 1918. The shared design created a common starting point, while individual ships could accumulate different deployments, combat damage, modernization work, transfers, and end states.
Historical significance
The class marked a decisive American shift in battleship protection and machinery layout. Its significance is best assessed through the relationship between mission, technical choices, production scale, and the service experience of its members.
For Nevada class, the most useful points of comparison are the requirement for service as a principal combatant within a fleet, the use of dreadnought era, all or nothing armor, oil fired, and 14 inch guns, and a program recorded as 2 planned, 2 ordered, 2 laid down, 2 completed, and 0 cancelled. Those factors help explain what the class offered United States Navy, how it differed from predecessors or contemporaries, and why ships built to the same design could still have different careers.
Understanding Nevada class across time requires separating the design as approved, the configuration in which individual ships entered service, and later changes made after operational experience. For United States Navy, that distinction matters because a refit could alter weapons, sensors, aviation facilities, command arrangements, or mission without creating a new class. The class history defines the common baseline; dated ship histories show how each member changed within it.
Ships in this class
Showing 2 recorded class members.
Sources and further reading
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921Conway Maritime Press
- Nevada II (Battleship No. 36) ↗Naval History and Heritage Command · accessed 2026-09-18
- Oklahoma (Battleship No. 37) ↗Naval History and Heritage Command · accessed 2026-09-18