Tennessee - class battleship The " Tennessee " class was a class of battleships of the United States Navy . The class comprised two ships : and the . They were modified versions of the featuring improved underwater armor for better torpedo protection and 30 degree elevation on their main batteries , as opposed to 15 degrees for the " New Mexicos " . Both ships were extensively rebuilt after being damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor , and survived World War II to be scrapped shortly after . Class history . " Tennessee " and her sister ship " California " , already incorporating many of the innovations in the , were the first American battleships built to a " post - Jutland " hull design . As a result of extensive experimentation and testing , her underwater hull protection was much greater than that of previous battleships ; and both her main and secondary batteries had fire - control system s . Since " Tennessee ' s " 14 inch ( 356 mm ) turret guns could be elevated to 30 degrees — rather than to the 15 degrees of earlier battleships — her heavy guns could reach out an additional 10 , 000 yards ( 9 km ) . Because battleships were then beginning to carry airplanes to spot long - range gunfire , " Tennessee ' s " ability to shoot " over the horizon " gave her a material tactical advantage . The " Tennessee " class , and the three ships of the which followed , were identified by two heavy cage mast s supporting large fire - control tops , twin funnels and no secondary gun casemates in their hulls . These features distinguished the " Big Five " from the rest of the battleship force ( older battleship classes had had their cage masts replaced with tripod masts during inter - war modernization and were built with single funnels and casemates in their hulls ) . After damage received in the attack on Pearl Harbor , both ships ( and " West Virginia " of the " Colorado " class ) were extensively reconstructed into essentially new vessels . Their hulls were ' bulged ' for better stability , superstructures were scrapped down to the deck and completely rebuilt , their secondary battery of 5 in ( 127 mm ) 51 - caliber anti - surface and 3 in ( 76 mm ) 50 - caliber anti - aircraft guns was replaced by a uniform secondary of 5 in ( 127 mm ) 38 - caliber dual - purpose guns , and they added a number of 20 and 40 mm anti - aircraft weapons . The twin funnels were replaced by a single funnel flared into the superstructure tower , similar to the newer . General characteristics . The " Tennessee " s had a overall length and a beam at the waterline of . They displaced at normal load and at deep load and had a draft of . They were designed with a clipper bow to make them dryer in rough weather . However , also as in previous classes , the secondary battery was located in the upper hull , which proved to be excessively wet for effective use . This would be remedied in the " Colorado " class which followed . Place of the " Tennessee " class in U . S . Navy planning . The " Tennessee " class was part of the standard - type battleship concept of the U . S . Navy , a design concept which gave the Navy a homogeneous line of battle ( it allowed planning maneuvers for the whole line of battle rather than detaching " fast " and " slow " wings ) . The standard - type battleship concept included long - range gunnery , moderate speed of 21 knots ( 39 km / h ) , a tight tactical radius of 700 yards ( 640 m ) and improved damage control . The other standard - type battleships were the , , , and classes . By the naval planning theory of the U . S . Navy , influenced strongly by Alfred Thayer Mahan , the ability to chase down enemy warships was of secondary importance to being able to win a battle , as naval objectives were seen to be more easily accomplished by seizing targets . The theory , thus , was that advancing on a target would force the enemy ' s naval forces to come out , give battle and be destroyed by the more heavily armed and armored battleships of the U . S . Navy .