USS Florida (BB-30)
 Florida |
|
| Career (United States) |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | New York Naval Shipyard |
| Laid down: | 8 March 1909 |
| Launched: | 12 May 1910 |
| Commissioned: | 15 September 1911 |
| Decommissioned: | 16 February 1931 |
| Struck: | 6 April 1932 |
| Fate: | sold for scrap |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Displacement: | 21,825 tons |
| Length: | 521.5 ft (159.0 m) |
| Beam: | 88.3 ft (26.9 m) |
| Draft: | 28.3 ft (8.6 m) |
| Speed: | 21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1,001 officers and men |
| Armament: | 10 × 12 in (300 mm)/45 cal guns, 16 × 5 inch (127 mm)/51 cal guns,[2] 2 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes |
| Armor: | |
USS Florida (BB-30) was a Florida-class battleship of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class of two (Utah being the other). She was the fifth ship to carry her name.
Florida was launched on 12 May 1910 at the New York Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. Percival (Elizabeth Legore Fleming) Hamilton, daughter of a former Florida Governor Francis P. Fleming; and commissioned on 15 September 1911, Captain Harry Shepard Knapp in command. Florida was part of the U.S. battleship squadron attached to the British Grand Fleet during World War I, United States Battleship Division Nine. She was decommissioned in 1931 to comply with the terms of the London Naval Treaty and scrapped the next year.
_Under_Construction.JPG)
Contents |
[edit] Pre-World War I
_-_2395.jpg)
After extensive training in the Caribbean and Maine coastal waters, Florida arrived in Hampton Roads on 29 March 1912 to join the Atlantic Fleet as flagship of 1st Division[disambiguation needed 
]. Regularly scheduled exercises, maneuvers, fleet training and target practice, and midshipmen training cruises took the new battleship to many east coast ports and into Caribbean waters. Early in 1914, tension heightened between the United States and factions in Mexico, and Florida arrived off Veracruz on 16 February 1914 remaining there during the ensuing occupation. Fourteen members of the crew received the Medal of Honor during the action, they were:[3]
|
|
She steamed to New York in July to resume regular fleet operations and in October was transferred to 2nd Division.
[edit] World War I
Following the United States entry into World War I, Florida completed exercises in the Chesapeake Bay and proceeded with Battleship Division 9 (BatDiv 9) to join the British Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands on 7 December 1917. She participated in the Grand Fleet maneuvers and evolutions, and performed convoy duty with the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet through the remainder of the war. She rendezvoused with the Grand Fleet on 20 November 1918, when it met to escort the German High Seas Fleet into the Firth of Forth.
[edit] Inter-War Period
_-_2759.jpg)
Florida joined the escort for SS George Washington, President Woodrow Wilson embarked, as she proceeded into Brest, France on 12–13 December. She participated in the Victory Naval Review in the North River, New York City in late December and then returned to Norfolk, Virginia on 4 January 1919 to resume peace time operations. In May, she cruised to the Azores and took weather observations for the first aerial crossing of the Atlantic, to be made by Navy seaplanes.
Florida's operations during the remaining years of her career were highlighted by participation in the tercentenary celebration in August 1920 of the Pilgrims' landing at Provincetown, Massachusetts, a diplomatic voyage to South American and Caribbean ports with Secretary of State Robert Lansing embarked, service as flagship for Commander, Control Force, US Fleet, amphibious operations with Marines in the Caribbean, and midshipman training cruises.
Florida was laid up in June 1924. She was modernized at the Boston Navy Yard from 1 April 1925-1 November 1926. The reconstruction included: Heavier deck armor, anti-torpedo blisters along her sides, and a rearranged secondary gun battery. The four boilers were converted from coal fired to White-Forster oil fired. Her two smokestacks were trunked into one. The aft caged mast was replaced with a lower stick mast and relocated aft between Turrets 3 & 4. Four of the 16 5 inch (127 mm)/51 cal secondary battery[2] mounted in sponsons in the hull were removed. The two 21 in (530 mm) underwater mounted torpedo tubes were also removed.
The ship only served a few years in this new guise, as she had to be removed from the fleet to comply with the terms of the London Naval Treaty of 1930. Therefore, she was decommissioned on 16 February 1931 at the Philadelphia Naval Yard, stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 6 April 1932 and scrapped at the Philadelphia Naval Yard on 30 September 1932.
The silver service for Florida is currently on permanent display in the State Dining Room of the Florida Governor's Mansion. The ship's bell is displayed in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida. The ship's bridge wheel and builder's model are displayed in the lobby of the Museum of Florida History.
[edit] References
- ^ Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 114.
- ^ a b Breyer 1973, p. 201.
- ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients – Mexican Campaign (Vera Cruz)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 5, 2010. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/mohmex.html. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- Breyer, Siegfried (1973). Battleships and Battle Cruisers 1905–1970. Doubleday and Company. ISBN 0385-0-7247-3.
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: USS Florida (BB-30) |
- USS Florida (Battleship # 30, later BB-30), 1911–1931
- Maritimequest USS Florida BB-30 photo gallery
- NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive BB-30 USS FLORIDA 1909 – 1916
|
|||||||||||
