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USS Kansas (BB-21)
Encyclopedia
USS Kansas (BB-21) was a US commissioned in 1907 and decommissioned in 1921. She was the second ship of the United States Navy
named in honor of Kansas
.
. She was launched
on 12 August 1905 sponsored by Miss Anna Hoch, daughter of Kansas
Governor Edward W. Hoch
; and commissioned
in Philadelphia Navy Yard on 18 April 1907, Captain
Charles E. Vreeland
in command.
The new battleship
departed Philadelphia on 17 August 1907, for shakedown training out of Provincetown, Massachusetts
, and returned home for alterations on 24 September. She joined the "Great White Fleet
" at Hampton Roads
on 9 December and passed in review before President
Theodore Roosevelt
while getting underway on the first leg of the fleet's historic world cruise. The American ships arrived Port of Spain, Trinidad on 23 December and six days later got underway for Rio de Janeiro
. From there, they sailed south along the east coast of South America and transited the perilous Straits of Magellan in open order. Turning north, the fleet visited Valparaíso
, Chile
, and Callao Bay, Peru, en route to Magdalena Bay, Mexico, for a month of target practice.
The "Great White Fleet" reached San Diego, California
on 14 April 1908, and moved on to San Francisco, California
on 7 May. Exactly two months later, the spotless warships sortied through the Golden Gate
and headed for Honolulu. From Hawaii
, they set course for Auckland, New Zealand, to be greeted as heroes upon arrival on 9 August. The fleet made Sydney
on 20 August, and after enjoying a week of the most warm and cordial hospitality, sailed to Melbourne
where they were welcomed with equal graciousness and enthusiasm.
Kansas had her last glimpse of Australia on 19 September on leaving Albany, Western Australia
for ports in the Philippine Islands, Japan, and Ceylon before transiting the Suez Canal
. She departed Port Said, Egypt on 4 January 1909, for a visit to Villefranche, France
, and then staged with the Great White Fleet at Gibraltar
and departed for home on 6 February. She again passed in review before President Roosevelt as she entered Hampton Roads on 22 February, ending a widely acclaimed voyage of good will subtly but effectively demonstrating American strength to the world.
A week later, Kansas entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul. Repairs completed 17 June, the battleship began a period of maneuvers, tactical training, and battle practice which lasted almost until the close of the following year. With Battleship Division 2 (BatDiv 2), she sailed on 15 November 1910 for Europe visiting Cherbourg, France, and Portland
, England, before returning to Hampton Roads. She again departed Hampton Roads on 8 May 1911 for Scandinavia
, visiting Copenhagen
, Stockholm
, Kronstadt
, and Kiel
before returning to Provincetown, Massachusetts
on 13 July. She engaged in fleet tactics south to the Virginia Capes
before entering the Norfolk Navy Yard on 3 November for overhaul.
Early in 1912, she began several months of maneuvers out of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
and then returned to Hampton Roads to serve as one of the welcoming units for the German Squadron which visited there from 28 May-8 June and New York City
from 8-13 June.
The battleship embarked United States Naval Academy
midshipmen
at Annapolis, Maryland
on 21 June for a summer practice cruise which took her, among other ports of call along the Atlantic seaboard, to Baltimore, Maryland, during the United States Democratic Party National Convention which nominated Woodrow Wilson
. After debarking her midshipmen at Annapolis on 30 August, she sailed from Norfolk, Virginia
on 15 November for a training cruise in the Gulf of Mexico
. She returned to Philadelphia on 21 December to enter the Navy Yard for overhaul.
Back in top shape by 5 May 1913, Kansas operated on the East Coast until she stood out of Hampton Roads on 25 October, bound for Genoa, Italy. From there, she proceeded to Guantanamo Bay en route to the coast of Mexico
to operate off Veracruz
and Tampico
watching out for US interests in that land then troubled by revolutionary unrest as rival factions struggled to attain and hold power. She returned to Norfolk on 14 March 1914 and entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul on 11 April.
Kansas departed Norfolk on 1 July with the body of the Venezuela
n Minister to the United States, arriving La Guaira
on 14 July. Then she returned to the Mexican coast to patrol off Tampico and Vera Cruz supporting the American Expeditionary Force
which had landed there. She departed Vera Cruz on 29 October to investigate reports of unstable conditions at Port au Prince, Haiti, where she arrived on 3 November. The battleship stood out of Port au Prince on 1 December and reached Philadelphia a week later. Maneuvers off the East Coast and out of Guantanamo Bay occupied her until she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul on 30 September 1916.
. She arrived in York River
from Philadelphia on 10 July and became a unit of the 4th Battleship Division, spending the remainder of the war as an engineering training ship in Chesapeake Bay
occasionally making escort and training cruises to New York.
to embark and return veterans home.
She was overhauled at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 29 June 1919-17 May 1920. Three days later she arrived at Annapolis where she embarked midshipmen and sailed on 5 June for a practice cruise to Pacific waters, transiting the Panama Canal
to visit Honolulu, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Pedro, California. She departed the latter port on 11 August, transited the canal, and visited Guantanamo Bay before returning to Annapolis on 2 September.
Proceeding to Philadelphia, Kansas became flagship of Rear Admiral
Charles F. Hughes, Commander of BatDiv 4, Squadron 2 (BatRon 2), and future Chief of Naval Operations
. She sailed for Bermuda
on 27 September and was inspected by HRH Edward
, Prince of Wales
, at Grassey Bay, Bermuda on 2 October. Two days later, she was underway for the Panama Canal and Samoa
. She was at Pago Pago, Samoa, on 11 November when Captain Waldo Evans became Governor of American Samoa
. After visiting Hawaiian ports and transiting the Panama Canal, she cruised in the Caribbean Sea
and the Panama Canal before returning to Philadelphia on 7 March 1921.
Kansas embarked midshipmen at Annapolis and sailed on 4 June, with three other battleships bound for Kristiania, Lisbon
, Gibraltar, and Guantanamo Bay. She returned on 28 August to debark her midshipmen before visiting New York from 3-19 September. She entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 20 September and decommissioned on 16 December. Her name was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
on 24 August 1923, and she was sold for scrap in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty
limiting naval armament.
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...
named in honor of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
Pre-World War I
Kansas was laid down by New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New JerseyCamden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 12 August 1905 sponsored by Miss Anna Hoch, daughter of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
Governor Edward W. Hoch
Edward W. Hoch
Edward Wallis Hoch was the 17th Governor of Kansas.Hoch was born in Danville, Kentucky. He moved to Kansas in 1871, and bought the Marion County Record newspaper in 1874....
; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
in Philadelphia Navy Yard on 18 April 1907, 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....
Charles E. Vreeland
Charles E. Vreeland
Charles E. Vreeland was an officer of the United States Navy who reached the rank of rear admiral.-Early life:...
in command.
The new battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
departed Philadelphia on 17 August 1907, for shakedown training out of Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
, and returned home for alterations on 24 September. She joined the "Great White Fleet
Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with...
" at Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
on 9 December and passed in review before President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
while getting underway on the first leg of the fleet's historic world cruise. The American ships arrived Port of Spain, Trinidad on 23 December and six days later got underway for Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. From there, they sailed south along the east coast of South America and transited the perilous Straits of Magellan in open order. Turning north, the fleet visited Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, and Callao Bay, Peru, en route to Magdalena Bay, Mexico, for a month of target practice.
The "Great White Fleet" reached San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
on 14 April 1908, and moved on to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on 7 May. Exactly two months later, the spotless warships sortied through the Golden Gate
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...
and headed for Honolulu. From Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, they set course for Auckland, New Zealand, to be greeted as heroes upon arrival on 9 August. The fleet made Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on 20 August, and after enjoying a week of the most warm and cordial hospitality, sailed to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
where they were welcomed with equal graciousness and enthusiasm.
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
for ports in the Philippine Islands, Japan, and Ceylon before transiting the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. She departed Port Said, Egypt on 4 January 1909, for a visit to Villefranche, France
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...
, and then staged with the Great White Fleet at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and departed for home on 6 February. She again passed in review before President Roosevelt as she entered Hampton Roads on 22 February, ending a widely acclaimed voyage of good will subtly but effectively demonstrating American strength to the world.
A week later, Kansas entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul. Repairs completed 17 June, the battleship began a period of maneuvers, tactical training, and battle practice which lasted almost until the close of the following year. With Battleship Division 2 (BatDiv 2), she sailed on 15 November 1910 for Europe visiting Cherbourg, France, and Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
, England, before returning to Hampton Roads. She again departed Hampton Roads on 8 May 1911 for Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, visiting Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
, and Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
before returning to Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
on 13 July. She engaged in fleet tactics south to the Virginia Capes
Virginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....
before entering the Norfolk Navy Yard on 3 November for overhaul.
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
and then returned to Hampton Roads to serve as one of the welcoming units for the German Squadron which visited there from 28 May-8 June and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from 8-13 June.
The battleship embarked United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
midshipmen
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
at Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
on 21 June for a summer practice cruise which took her, among other ports of call along the Atlantic seaboard, to Baltimore, Maryland, during the United States Democratic Party National Convention which nominated Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
. After debarking her midshipmen at Annapolis on 30 August, she sailed from Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
on 15 November for a training cruise in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. She returned to Philadelphia on 21 December to enter the Navy Yard for overhaul.
Back in top shape by 5 May 1913, Kansas operated on the East Coast until she stood out of Hampton Roads on 25 October, bound for Genoa, Italy. From there, she proceeded to Guantanamo Bay en route to the coast of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to operate off Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
and Tampico
Tampico
Tampico is a city and port in the state of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, directly north across the border from Veracruz. Tampico is the third largest city in Tamaulipas, and counts with a population of 309,003. The Metropolitan area of...
watching out for US interests in that land then troubled by revolutionary unrest as rival factions struggled to attain and hold power. She returned to Norfolk on 14 March 1914 and entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul on 11 April.
Kansas departed Norfolk on 1 July with the body of the Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n Minister to the United States, arriving La Guaira
La Guaira
La Guaira is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Vargas and the country's chief port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during the December 1999 floods and mudslides that affected much of the region...
on 14 July. Then she returned to the Mexican coast to patrol off Tampico and Vera Cruz supporting the American Expeditionary Force
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
which had landed there. She departed Vera Cruz on 29 October to investigate reports of unstable conditions at Port au Prince, Haiti, where she arrived on 3 November. The battleship stood out of Port au Prince on 1 December and reached Philadelphia a week later. Maneuvers off the East Coast and out of Guantanamo Bay occupied her until she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul on 30 September 1916.
World War I
Kansas was still in the Philadelphia yard on 6 April 1917 when the United States entered World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She arrived in York River
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
from Philadelphia on 10 July and became a unit of the 4th Battleship Division, spending the remainder of the war as an engineering training ship in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
occasionally making escort and training cruises to New York.
Inter-war period
After the Armistice, she made five voyages to Brest, FranceBrest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
to embark and return veterans home.
She was overhauled at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 29 June 1919-17 May 1920. Three days later she arrived at Annapolis where she embarked midshipmen and sailed on 5 June for a practice cruise to Pacific waters, transiting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
to visit Honolulu, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Pedro, California. She departed the latter port on 11 August, transited the canal, and visited Guantanamo Bay before returning to Annapolis on 2 September.
Proceeding to Philadelphia, Kansas became flagship of Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Charles F. Hughes, Commander of BatDiv 4, Squadron 2 (BatRon 2), and future Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
. She sailed for Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
on 27 September and was inspected by HRH Edward
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, at Grassey Bay, Bermuda on 2 October. Two days later, she was underway for the Panama Canal and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
. She was at Pago Pago, Samoa, on 11 November when Captain Waldo Evans became Governor of American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
. After visiting Hawaiian ports and transiting the Panama Canal, she cruised in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
and the Panama Canal before returning to Philadelphia on 7 March 1921.
Kansas embarked midshipmen at Annapolis and sailed on 4 June, with three other battleships bound for Kristiania, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Gibraltar, and Guantanamo Bay. She returned on 28 August to debark her midshipmen before visiting New York from 3-19 September. She entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 20 September and decommissioned on 16 December. Her name was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 24 August 1923, and she was sold for scrap in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
limiting naval armament.