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USS Ohio (BB-12)
Encyclopedia
USS Ohio (BB-12), a Maine-class
battleship
, was the third ship of the United States Navy
named for the 17th state
.
Ohio was laid down on 22 April 1899 by Union Iron Works
, San Francisco, California
. She was launched on 18 May 1901 sponsored by Miss Helen Deschler, a relative of Governor George K. Nash
of Ohio
. President and Mrs. William McKinley
attended the ceremony. Ohio commissioned on 4 October 1904, Captain
Leavitt C. Logan in command.
William Howard Taft
, which included Miss Alice Roosevelt, President
Theodore Roosevelt
's daughter. She conducted this party on much of its Far Eastern tour of inspection, and continued the cruise in Japanese, Chinese, and Philippine
waters until returning to the United States in 1907. Also aboard for this cruise as Midshipman
- later to receive promotion to Fleet Admiral - Chester Nimitz
.
Ohio sailed out of Hampton Roads
on 16 December 1907 with the battleships of the Atlantic Fleet
. Guns crashed a salute to President Roosevelt while he reviewed the "Great White Fleet
", as it began the cruise around the world, which—perhaps more than any other single event—marked the emergence of the United States as a major world power.
Commanded by Rear Admiral
Robley D. Evans, and later, Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry, the fleet made calls on the east and west coasts of South America
, rounding the Horn in between, en route to San Francisco. On 7 July 1908, Ohio and her sisters shaped their course west to Hawaii
, New Zealand
, and Australia. On each visit the American ships were welcomed with great enthusiasm but none of their ports of call received them with such enthusiastic friendliness as Tokyo, Japan, where they anchored on 18 October. The fleet's presence in Japan symbolized both American friendship and strength and helped to ease dangerously strained relations between the two countries.
The fleet put in at Amoy, returned to Yokohama, held target practice in the Philippines and was homeward-bound on 1 December. After steaming through the Suez Canal
on 4 January 1909, the fleet made Mediterranean calls, before anchoring in Hampton Roads on 22 February.
Ohio sailed on to New York, her home port for the next four years during duty training men of the New York Naval Militia
and performing general service with the Atlantic Fleet.
In 1914, she sailed to the Gulf of Mexico
to join in the patrol off Veracruz, protecting American interests endangered by Mexican political turmoil. Ohio returned north in the summer for a United States Naval Academy
midshipmen cruise, then joined the Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia, recommissioning for each of the next two summers' midshipmen cruises — 1915 and 1916.
Ohio recommissioned on 24 April 1917. Throughout the war, she operated out of Norfolk, training crews for the expanding fleet, taking part in battleship maneuvers. She arrived at Philadelphia on 28 November 1918 and was placed in reserve there on 7 January 1919. Decommissioned on 31 May 1922, she was sold for scrap on 24 March 1923.
Maine class battleship
The three Maine class battleships: , , and were launched in the first several years of the 20th century. These were the first US capital ships to use smokeless powder for their main batteries, and the last to use Harvey armor. Smokeless powder allowed a decrease in gun size, with an increase in...
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...
, was the third ship 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...
named for the 17th state
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
.
Ohio was laid down on 22 April 1899 by Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.-History:...
, 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...
. She was launched on 18 May 1901 sponsored by Miss Helen Deschler, a relative of Governor George K. Nash
George K. Nash
thumb|right|300pxGeorge Kilborn Nash was a Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the 41st Governor of Ohio.-Biography:...
of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. President and Mrs. William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
attended the ceremony. Ohio commissioned on 4 October 1904, 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....
Leavitt C. Logan in command.
Pre-World War I
Designated flagship of the Asiatic Fleet, Ohio departed San Francisco on 1 April 1905 for Manila, where she embarked the party of then Secretary of WarUnited States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, which included Miss Alice Roosevelt, 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...
's daughter. She conducted this party on much of its Far Eastern tour of inspection, and continued the cruise in Japanese, Chinese, and Philippine
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
waters until returning to the United States in 1907. Also aboard for this cruise as Midshipman
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...
- later to receive promotion to Fleet Admiral - Chester Nimitz
Chester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
.
Ohio sailed out of 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 16 December 1907 with the battleships of the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
. Guns crashed a salute to President Roosevelt while he reviewed 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...
", as it began the cruise around the world, which—perhaps more than any other single event—marked the emergence of the United States as a major world power.
Commanded by 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"...
Robley D. Evans, and later, Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry, the fleet made calls on the east and west coasts of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, rounding the Horn in between, en route to San Francisco. On 7 July 1908, Ohio and her sisters shaped their course west to 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...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and Australia. On each visit the American ships were welcomed with great enthusiasm but none of their ports of call received them with such enthusiastic friendliness as Tokyo, Japan, where they anchored on 18 October. The fleet's presence in Japan symbolized both American friendship and strength and helped to ease dangerously strained relations between the two countries.
The fleet put in at Amoy, returned to Yokohama, held target practice in the Philippines and was homeward-bound on 1 December. After steaming through 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...
on 4 January 1909, the fleet made Mediterranean calls, before anchoring in Hampton Roads on 22 February.
Ohio sailed on to New York, her home port for the next four years during duty training men of the New York Naval Militia
New York Naval Militia
The New York Naval Militia is the Naval Militia of New York State and is under the command of the Governor of New York.With the New York State Guard, as well as the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, it is under the control of the New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs and New...
and performing general service with the Atlantic Fleet.
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...
to join in the patrol off Veracruz, protecting American interests endangered by Mexican political turmoil. Ohio returned north in the summer for a 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 cruise, then joined the Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia, recommissioning for each of the next two summers' midshipmen cruises — 1915 and 1916.
World War I
Soon after 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...
Ohio recommissioned on 24 April 1917. Throughout the war, she operated out of Norfolk, training crews for the expanding fleet, taking part in battleship maneuvers. She arrived at Philadelphia on 28 November 1918 and was placed in reserve there on 7 January 1919. Decommissioned on 31 May 1922, she was sold for scrap on 24 March 1923.