USS Connecticut (BB-18)
![]() Connecticut underway sometime before World War I
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History | |
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Name | Connecticut |
Namesake | Connecticut |
Ordered | 1 July 1902 |
Builder | New York Navy Yard |
Laid down | 10 March 1903 |
Launched | 29 September 1904 |
Commissioned | 29 September 1906 |
Decommissioned | 1 March 1923 |
Stricken | 10 November 1923 |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 1 November 1923 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Connecticut-class battleship |
Displacement |
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Length | 456 ft 4 in (139.09 m) |
Beam | 76 ft 10 in (23.42 m) |
Draft | 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
Complement | 827 officers and men |
Armament |
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Armor |
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USS Connecticut (BB-18), the fourth United States Navy ship to be named after the state of Connecticut, was the lead ship of her class of six pre-dreadnought battleships. Her keel was laid on 10 March 1903; launched on 29 September 1904, Connecticut was commissioned on 29 September 1906, as the most advanced ship in the US Navy.
Connecticut served as the flagship for the Jamestown Exposition in mid-1907, which commemorated the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colony. She later sailed with the Great White Fleet on a circumnavigation of the Earth to showcase the US Navy's growing fleet of blue-water-capable ships. After completing her service with the Great White Fleet, Connecticut participated in several flag-waving exercises intended to protect American citizens abroad until she was pressed into service as a troop transport at the end of World War I to expedite the return of American Expeditionary Forces from France.
For the remainder of her career, Connecticut sailed to various places in both the Atlantic and Pacific while training newer recruits to the Navy. However, the provisions of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty stipulated that many of the older battleships, Connecticut among them, would have to be disposed of, so she was decommissioned on 1 March 1923, and sold for scrap on 1 November 1923.
Design

Connecticut was 456.3 ft (139.1 m)
The ship was armed with a
Connecticut's main
Service history
Construction

Connecticut was ordered on 1 July 1902.
Three attempts to sabotage the ship were discovered in 1904. On 31 March, rivets on the keel plates were found bored through.
As Connecticut was only 55% complete when she was launched, missing most of her upper works, protection, machinery and armament,[4] it was two years before Connecticut was commissioned on 29 September 1906.[3][5] Captain William Swift was the first captain of the new battleship.[6][11] Connecticut sailed out of New York for the first time on 15 December 1906, becoming the first ship in the US Navy to ever go to sea without a sea trial.[12] She first journeyed south to the Virginia Capes, where she conducted a variety of training exercises; this was followed by a shakedown cruise and battle practice off Cuba and Puerto Rico.[13] During the cruise, she participated in a search for the missing steamer Ponce.[14][15][c]
On 13 January 1907, Connecticut ran onto a

On 21 March, the Navy announced that Swift would be court-martialed for "through negligence, causing a vessel to run upon a rock" and "neglect of duty in regard to the above".[19] Along with the officer of the deck at the time of the accident, Lieutenant Harry E. Yarnell, Swift faced a court martial of seven rear admirals, a captain, and a lieutenant.[20] He was sentenced to one year's suspension from duty, later reduced to nine months; after about six months, the sentence was remitted on 24 October. However, he was not assigned command of another ship.[21]
Connecticut steamed back to
Flagship of the Great White Fleet

The cruise of the Great White Fleet was conceived as a way to demonstrate American military power, particularly to Japan. Tensions had begun to rise between the United States and Japan after the latter's victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, particularly over racist opposition to Japanese immigration to the United States. The press in both countries began to call for war, and Roosevelt hoped to use the demonstration of naval might to deter Japanese aggression.[26] Connecticut left the New York Naval Yard, on 5 December 1907, and arrived the next day in Hampton Roads, where the Great White Fleet would assemble with her as their flagship. After an eight-day period known as "Navy Farewell Week" during which festivities were held for the departing sailors, and all 16 battleships took on full loads of coal, stores, and ammunition, the ships were ready to depart.[25] The battleship captains paid their respects to President Theodore Roosevelt on the presidential yacht Mayflower, and all the ships weighed anchor and departed at 1000. They passed in review before the President, and then began traveling south.[27]
After steaming past
After spending Christmas in Trinidad, the ships departed for
Four cruisers from Argentina, San Martin, Buenos Ayres, 9 De Julio, and Pueyrredon, all under the command of Admiral Hipolito Oliva, sailed 300 nmi (350 mi; 560 km) to salute the American ships on their way to Chile. The fleet arrived at Punta Arenas, on 1 February, and spent five days in the town of 14,000.[35] Heading north, they followed the coastline of Chile, passing in review of Chilean President Pedro Montt on 14 February, outside Valparaíso, and they were escorted to Callao, in Peru, by the cruiser Coronel Bolognesi on 19 and 20 February.[36] Peru's president, José Pardo, came aboard Connecticut during this time, as Rear Admiral Evans was quite ill and could not go ashore.[37] After taking on coal, the ships steamed for Mexico on 29 February, passing in review of Pardo on board the cruiser Almirante Grau before leaving.[38]

Arriving in Mexico, on 20 March, the fleet underwent three weeks of target practice. Rear Admiral Evans was relieved of command during this time, as he was completely bedridden and in constant pain. To get him medical attention, Connecticut set sail north at full speed on 30 March. She was met two days later by the schooner Yankton, which took the admiral to a hospital. Connecticut traveled back south to rejoin the fleet,[38] and Rear Admiral Charles M. Thomas took Evans's place on Connecticut as the commander of the fleet, which continued its journey north towards California.[39]
On 5 May, Evans returned to Connecticut in time for the fleet's sailing through the Golden Gate on 6 May,[39] although he was still in pain.[40] Over one million people watched the 42-ship fleet sail into the bay.[d] After a grand parade through San Francisco, a review of the fleet by Secretary of the Navy Victor H. Metcalf, a gala reception,[40] and a farewell address from Evans (who was retiring due to his illness and his age),[41] the fleet left San Francisco, for Seattle, with Rear Admiral Charles Stillman Sperry as commander.[42] The ships all underwent refits before the next leg of the voyage. The fleet left the West Coast again on 7 July, bound for Hawaii, which it reached on 16 July.[43]
Leaving Hawaii, on 22 July, the ships next stopped at Auckland, Sydney, and Melbourne. High seas and winds hampered the ships for part of the voyage to New Zealand, but they arrived on 9 August; festivities, parades, balls, and games were staples of the visits to each city.[44] The highlight of the austral visit was a parade of 12,000 US Navy, Royal Navy, and Commonwealth naval and military personnel in front of 250,000 people.[45]

After stopping at
After port calls were concluded, the ships headed for Gibraltar, where they found a conglomerate of warships from many different nations awaiting them "with decks manned and horns blaring": the battleships HMS Albemarle and Albion with the cruiser HMS Devonshire and the Second Cruiser Squadron represented Great Britain's Royal Navy, battleships Tsesarevich and Slava with cruisers Admiral Makarov, Bogatyr and Oleg represented the Imperial Russian Navy, and various gunboats represented France and the Netherlands. After coaling for five days, the ships got under way and left for home on 6 February 1909.[53]
After weathering a few storms, the ships met nine of their fellow US Navy ships five days out of Hampton Roads: four battleships (Maine, Mississippi, Idaho, and New Hampshire—the latter being the only sister of Connecticut to not make the cruise), two armored cruisers, and three scout cruisers.[54] Connecticut then led all of these warships around Tail-of-the-Horseshoe Lightship on 22 February to pass in review of President Roosevelt, who was then on the presidential yacht anchored off Old Point Comfort, ending a 46,729 nmi (53,775 mi; 86,542 km) trip. Roosevelt boarded the ship after she anchored and gave a short speech, saying, "You've done the trick. Other nations may do as you have done, but they'll follow you."[55]
Pre-World War I

Following her return from the world cruise, Connecticut continued to serve as flagship of the Atlantic Fleet, interrupted only by a March 1909 overhaul at the New York Navy Yard.[56] After rejoining the fleet, she cruised the East Coast from her base at Norfolk, Virginia. For the rest of 1909, the battleship conducted training and participated in ceremonial observances, such as the Hudson–Fulton Celebration.[6][57] In early January 1910, Connecticut left for Cuban waters and stayed there until late March when she returned to New York for a refit.[58] After several months conducting maneuvers and battle practice off the New England coast, she left for Europe on 2 November to go on a midshipman training cruise.[58] She arrived in Portland, England on 15 November and was present during the 1 December birthday celebration of Queen Alexandra, the queen mother. Connecticut next visited Cherbourg, France, where she welcomed visitors from the town and also hosted commander-in-chief of the French Navy Vice-Amiral Laurent Marin-Darbel, and a delegation of his officers. While there, a boat crew from Connecticut engaged a crew from the French battleship Charles Martel in a rowing race; Connecticut's crew won by twelve lengths. Connecticut departed French waters for Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on 30 December,[59] and stayed there until 17 March, when she departed for Hampton Roads.[60]
Connecticut was the leader of the ships that passed in review during the Presidential Fleet Review in New York, on 2 November; she then remained in New York, until 12 January 1912, when she returned to Guantánamo Bay. During a March overhaul at the

On 22 June 1912, Connecticut departed Mexican waters for Philadelphia, where she was dry docked for three months of repairs. Upon their completion, Connecticut conducted gunnery practice off the Virginia Capes. On 23 October, Connecticut became the flagship of the Fourth Battleship Division. After the division passed in review before Secretary of the Navy
On 29 May 1914, while still in Mexico, Connecticut relinquished the duty of flagship to Minnesota, but remained in Mexico, until 2 July, when she left for Havana. Arriving there on 8 July, Connecticut embarked Madison R. Smith, the US minister to Haiti, and took him to Port-au-Prince, arriving five days later. Connecticut remained in Haiti for a month, then left for Philadelphia on 8 August and arrived there on 14 August.[65]
Connecticut then went to Maine and the Virginia Capes, for battle practice, after which she went into the Philadelphia Naval Yard for an overhaul. After more than 15 weeks, Connecticut emerged on 15 January 1915, and steamed south to Cuba, where she conducted training exercises. During maneuvers there in March 1915, a chain wrapped around her starboard propeller, breaking the shaft and forcing her return to Philadelphia, for repairs.[66][67] She remained there until 31 July, when she embarked 433 men from the Second Regiment, First Brigade, of the United States Marine Corps for transport to Port-au-Prince, where they were put ashore on 5 August, as part of the US occupation of Haiti. Connecticut delivered supplies to amphibious troops in Cap-Haïtien, on 5 September and remained near Haiti, for the next few months, supporting landing parties ashore, including detachments of Marines and sailors from Connecticut under the command of Major Smedley Butler. After departing Haiti, Connecticut arrived in Philadelphia, on 15 December, and was placed into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.[68]
World War I
As part of the US response to Germany's
Inter-war period

At the close of the war, Connecticut was assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force for transport duty, and from 6 January – 22 June 1919, she made four voyages to return troops from France.[71][72] On 6 January, she left Hampton Roads, for Brest, France, where she embarked 1,000 troops. After bringing them to New York, arriving on 2 February,[72] Connecticut traveled back to Brest, and picked up the 53rd Pioneer Regiment, a company of Marines, and a company of military police, 1,240 troops in all. These men were delivered to Hampton Roads, on 24 March. After two months, Connecticut made another run overseas: following a short period of liberty in Paris, for her crew, she embarked 891 men variously from the 502nd Army Engineers, a medical detachment, and the Red Cross. They were dropped off in Newport News, on 22 June.[73] On 23 June 1919, after having returned over 4,800 men,[71] Connecticut was reassigned as flagship of the Second Battleship Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet,[6] under the command of Vice Admiral Hilary P. Jones.[73]
While based in Philadelphia, for the next 11 months, Connecticut trained midshipmen. On 2 May 1920, 200 midshipmen boarded the ship for a training cruise. In company with the other battleships of her squadron, Connecticut sailed to the Caribbean, and through the Panama Canal, in order to visit four ports-of-call: Honolulu, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Pedro Bay (Los Angeles and Long Beach). After visiting all four, the squadron made their way back through the canal and headed for home. However, the port engine of Connecticut gave out three days after transiting the canal, requiring New Hampshire to tow the battleship into Guantánamo Bay. The pair arrived on 28 August.[73] The midshipmen were debarked there,[74] and Vice Admiral Jones transferred his flag from Connecticut to his new flagship, Kansas.[73] The Navy repair ship Prometheus was dispatched from New York on 1 September to tow Connecticut to Philadelphia;[75] they arrived at the Navy Yard there on 11 September.[74]
On 21 March 1921, Connecticut again became the flagship of the Second Battleship Squadron when Rear Admiral
Connecticut departed Philadelphia, for California, on 4 October, for duty with the Pacific Fleet. After touching at San Diego, on 27 October, she arrived on 28 October, at
Notes
- ^ /45 refers to the length of the gun in terms of calibers. A /45 gun is 45 times long as it is in bore diameter.
- ^ It was estimated that drilling the hole would have taken 20 minutes. See: "Armed tug last night guarded new warship" (PDF). The New York Times. 3 October 1904. p. 1. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ Ponce was eventually found and towed back to port by a German freighter; the seven passengers were taken off by the Quebec liner Bermudian. See: "Ponce's passengers return" (PDF). The New York Times. 20 January 1907. p. 12. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ The Great White Fleet was joined by various Pacific Fleet warships and a torpedo boat flotilla for their entrance into the harbor, making the conglomerate of ships the "most powerful concentration of naval might yet gathered in the Western Hemisphere". See: Albertson (2007), p. 47.
References
- ^ a b c Gardiner, p. 144
- ^ Friedman (1985), p. 46
- ^ a b c d e "Connecticut (BB-18)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 35
- ^ a b c d Friedman (1985), p. 419
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Connecticut". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ "Battleship Connecticut takes birthday plunge" (PDF). The New York Times. 30 September 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ "Navy's big fighters here after hard work" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 September 1904. p. 1. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ a b c "Armed tug last night guarded new warship" (PDF). The New York Times. 3 October 1904. p. 1. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ "First tried to wreck ship six months ago" (PDF). The New York Times. 4 October 1904. p. 9. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 35–36
- ^ "The Connecticut sails on her maiden trip" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 December 1906. p. 13. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 36
- ^ "Still without tidings of steamship Ponce" (PDF). The New York Times. 9 February 1907. p. 16. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ "Hope for Ponce grows with Maracas delay" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 January 1907. p. 16. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Connecticut on a reef?" (PDF). The New York Times. 24 January 1907. p. 1. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ "The Connecticut all right" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 January 1907. p. 1. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ "Connecticut's plates driven upward by reef" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 February 1907. p. 5. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ "Court-martial for Swift" (PDF). The New York Times. 21 March 1907. p. 5. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ "Capt. Swift on trial" (PDF). The New York Times. 27 March 1907. p. 4. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ "Capt. Swift is Reprieved" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 October 1907. p. 7. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
- ^ a b "USS Connecitcut[sic] BB-18". The Great White Fleet: A Historical Look at the People, Ports of Call and Events. Navy Department. Archived from the original on 8 August 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 36–37
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 37
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 38
- ^ Hendrix, pp. XIII, XIV
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 39
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 40
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 41
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 42
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 42–43
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 43
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 43–44
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 44
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 44–45
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 45
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 46
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 47
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 48
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 48–49
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 49
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 49–50
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 52–56
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 54
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 57–58
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 58–59
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 60
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 61–62
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 62
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 62–63
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 63
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 63–64
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 64–65
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 65–66
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 66
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 66–67
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 67
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 68
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 68–69
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 69
- ^ Albertson (2007), pp. 69–70
- ^ "Wyoming". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 70
- ^ a b c Albertson (2007), p. 71
- ^ "Shaft of Battleship Connecticut Breaks during Manoeuvers". The Bridgeport Evening Farmer. Bridgeport, Connecticut. 16 March 1915. p. 7. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ "Battleship Connecticut in Drydock at League Island". Evening Public Ledger. Philadelphia, PA. 3 April 1915. p. 16. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 72
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 73
- ^ See: Woodrow Wilson Urges Congress to Declare War on Germany—text of a speech given by Wilson before Congress
- ^ a b Gleaves (1921), pp. 250–51
- ^ a b Albertson (2007), p. 73–74
- ^ a b c d Albertson (2007), p. 74
- ^ a b c Albertson (2007), p. 75
- ^ "Prometheus". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ a b c Albertson (2007), p. 76
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 76–77
- ^ Albertson (2007), p. 77
- ^ "Roosevelt, Bureau's First Pribilof Tender". AFSC Historical Corner. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
Bibliography
- Albertson, Mark (2007). U.S.S. Connecticut: Constitution State Battleship. Mustang, Oklahoma: OCLC 173513595.
- OCLC 2358875.
- Friedman, Norman (1985). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: OCLC 12214729.
- OCLC 976757.
- Hendrix, Henry (2009). Theodore Roosevelt's Naval Diplomacy: The U.S. Navy and the Birth of the American Century. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-831-2.
External links
- USS Connecticut from the Library of Congress at Flickr Commons
- Photo gallery of Connecticut at NavSource Naval History