USS Florida (BB-30) was a of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 of her class of two ( 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

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 Governor Francis P. Fleming

Francis P. Fleming

Francis Philip Fleming was an American politician and the 15th Governor of Florida from 1889 to 1893. Fleming was a Democrat, strong supporter of segregation and an opponent of civil rights for blacks...

; and commissioned on 15 September 1911, Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 Harry Shepard Knapp

Harry Shepard Knapp

Harry Shepard Knapp was a Vice Admiral of the United States Navy, Military Governor of Santo Domingo, and Military Representative of the United States in Haiti.-Biography:...

 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

United States Battleship Division Nine (World War I)

United States Battleship Division Nine was a division of four, later five, dreadnought battleships of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet that constituted the American contribution to the British Grand Fleet during World War I. Although the U.S. entered the war on 6 April 1917, hesitation among...

.