USS Connecticut (BB-18)

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USS Connecticut (BB-18) - Overview:

• Nation: United States
• Type: Battleship
• Shipyard: New York Naval Shipyard
• Laid Down: March 10, 1903
• Launched: September 29, 1904
• Commissioned: September 29, 1906
• Fate: Scrapped, November 1, 1923

USS Connecticut (BB-18) - Specifications

• Displacement: 16,300 tons
• Length: 456 ft., 4 in.
• Beam: 76 ft., 10 in.
• Draft: 24 ft., 6 in.
• Speed: 18 knots
• Complement: 827 men

USS Connecticut (BB-18) - Armament

Guns (1945)

4 × 12 in. guns (2 × 2)

8 × 8 in. (4 × 2)

12 × 7 in. guns

20 × 3 in. guns

12 × 3-pdr guns

6 × 1-pdr automatic guns

2 × 1-pdr semiautomatic guns

2 × .30 in. machine guns

4 × 21 in. submerged torpedo tubes

USS Connecticut (BB-18) - Construction:

In 1901, Secretary of the Navy John Davis Long asked the US Navy's various boards and bureaus for their thoughts on designs for future battleships. Though the responses centered on arming the new battleship with four 12" guns, arguments ensued regarding the vessel's secondary armament. After lengthy debate, it was decided to equip the new design with eight 8" guns mounted in four waist turrets. These would be supplemented by twelve rapid-fire 7" guns. Agreeing on this compromise, the new design was put forward and on July 1, 1902 approval was given for construction two battleships, USS Connecticut and USS Louisiana. Dubbed the Connecticut-class, this type would ultimately comprise six battleships.

On March 10, 1903, USS Connecticut was laid down at New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn, NY. Work quickly moved forward and the ship was launched on September 29, 1904 with the granddaughter of Civil War Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, Alice B. Welles, as its sponsor. During the course of Connecticut's construction several attempts to sabotage the vessel were discovered leading the US Navy to post armed guards around the unfinished vessel. Completed in 1906, Connecticut was commissioned on September 29 with Captain William Swift in command. Though the US Navy's most modern battleship, it was rendered obsolete that December when Admiral Sir John Fisher introduced the "all-big gun" HMS Dreadnought. As a result, the Connecticut-class was the US Navy's last type of battleship to not follow the lead set by the British ship.

USS Connecticut (BB-18) - Joining the Fleet:

Putting to sea on December 15, 1906, Connecticut conducted training off the Virginia Capes before steaming south to the Caribbean for a shakedown cruise. Operating off Cuba and Puerto Rico, the battleship grounded near Culebra on January 13, 1907. As a result of the incident, Swift was court-martialed and removed from the ship. Returning to Hampton Roads in April, Connecticut became the flagship of Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, commander of the Atlantic Fleet. Nine days later, President Theodore Roosevelt opened the Jamestown Exposition nearby. Serving as the US Navy's official host vessel for the exposition, Connecticut's crew entertained their counterparts from foreign warships and took part in events ashore. The ship's quarterdeck served as the venue for the exposition's closing ceremonies on May 4.

USS Connecticut (BB-18) - The Great White Fleet:

After participating in the Presidential Fleet Review in June, Connecticut returned to New York for an overhaul. With work complete, the battleship engaged in maneuvers off the East Coast before re-entering the yard in preparation for serving flagship of the Great White Fleet. Conceived by Roosevelt, the Great White Fleet was a force of sixteen American battleships that would sail around world spreading goodwill as well as demonstrating the United States' naval power. Departing New York featuring the distinctive white and buff paint scheme used by the fleet, Connecticut joined the other battleships at Hampton Roads on December 6. After a send off by Roosevelt, the fleet departed on December 16 with Evans in command.

Moving south through the Atlantic, the Great White Fleet made calls at Trinidad and Rio de Janeiro before arriving at Punta Arenas, Chile on February 1, 1908. Steaming around Cape Horn, the fleet passed in review off Valparaiso, Chile before making port at Callao, Peru. Departing on February 29, Connecticut and the other battleships conducted three weeks of gunnery practice off Mexico the following month. During this time, Evans departed the ship due to ill health. He rejoined Connecticut in time to take part in the Great White Fleet's passage through the Golden Gate and arrival at San Francisco on May 6. After a series of parties and receptions, the fleet departed with Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry in command. Following a call at Seattle, the battleships sailed for Hawaii on July 7.

The latter part of the summer saw Connecticut and the fleet visit Auckland, Sydney, and Melbourne before proceeding north to Manila in the Philippines. Warmly greeted at each port, the sailors of the fleet were the frequent subjects of parades, parties, and sporting events. Arriving at Yokohama, Japan on October 18, the fleet was welcomed with exceptional hospitality. In port for a week, the men of the fleet were treated to constant celebrations, including one hosted by famed Admiral Togo Heihachiro, victor of the 1905 Battle of Tsushima. Departing Japan, the fleet exercised off the Philippines before moving south past Singapore and entering the Indian Ocean.

USS Connecticut (BB-18) - Returning Home:

After taking coal at Colombo, Ceylon, Sperry led the fleet to and through the Suez Canal. Entering the Mediterranean, the fleet split with its divisions making calls at numerous ports. Rejoining at Gibraltar, Connecticut and the other battleships departed for home on February 6, 1909. Arriving at Hampton Roads on February 22, the fleet passed in review for Roosevelt before anchoring. After an overhaul in March which saw the ship's paint scheme returned its normal gray, Connecticut resumed its place as flagship of the Atlantic Fleet. While conducting normal peacetime operations, the battleship's routine was broken the following year when it conducted a midshipman cruise to Britain and France.

USS Connecticut (BB-18) - Prewar Years:

The next four years saw Connecticut largely operate in the Atlantic and Caribbean taking part in exercises and protecting American interests in Latin America. Steaming off Cuba in July 1915, the battleship embarked Marines for service in revolution-torn Haiti. Landing the 2nd Marine Regiment at Port-au-Prince, Connecticut remained in the area and its Marine force, led by Major Smedley Butler, conducted missions ashore. Arriving at Philadelphia, Connecticut was transferred to the Reserve Fleet on December 15. This retirement proved brief as tensions regarding Germany's practice of unrestricted submarine warfare and the possible US entry into World War I led to it being recommissioned on October 3, 1916.

USS Connecticut (BB-18) - World War I & Retirement:

Returning to active duty, Connecticut was made flagship of the Fifth Battleship Division and began operating off the East Coast and Caribbean. It remained in this role until the US joined the war in April 1917. As the conflict raged, Connecticut largely served in a training capacity and was based in Virginia. Steaming offshore and in the Chesapeake Bay, the battleship educated midshipmen and gun crews for merchant ships. With the Allied victory in November 1918, Connecticut's role began to change. In January 1919, the ship was assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Command and spent the first half of the year bringing troops home from Europe.
In June, Connecticut was made flagship of Vice Admiral Hilary P. Jones' Second Battleship Squadron. The following year saw it return to a training role as it conducted a midshipman cruise to the West Coast. In March 1921, the squadron conducted maneuvers in the Caribbean before taking part in the Presidential Fleet Review on April 28. That summer saw the ship conduct another training cruise, this time to Europe. Arriving home in August, Connecticut received orders to join the Pacific Fleet that fall. Designated as training flagship for the fleet, Connecticut fulfilled this role through 1922. With the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited warship tonnage, the aging battleship was selected for scrapping. Arriving at Puget Sound Navy Yard on December 22, Connecticut was decommissioned on March 1, 1923. On November 1, it was sold for scrap to Walter W. Johnson of San Francisco.