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USS Wyoming (BB-32)
Encyclopedia
USS Wyoming (BB-32), the lead ship
of her class
of battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy
named Wyoming, although it was only the second named in honor of the 44th state
.
Wyoming was part of the battleship squadron attached to the British Grand Fleet during World War I, Battleship Division Nine
. In the 1930s, she was converted to a gunnery training ship. During World War II, she trained some 35,000 men on seven different types of guns. She was scrapped in 1947; the role of fleet training ship was passed to .
by William Cramp and Sons
. She was launched
on 25 May 1911 sponsored by Miss Dorothy Eunice Knight, the daughter of Chief Justice
Jesse Knight
of the Wyoming
Supreme Court,and god-daughter of Wyoming
Governor Joseph M. Carey
; and commissioned
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 25 September 1912, Captain
Frederick L. Chapin in command.
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on 6 October and completed the fitting-out process at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, before she joined the fleet in Hampton Roads
, Virginia
. Reaching the Tidewater area on 30 December 1912, she became the flagship
of Rear Admiral
Charles J. Badger
, Commander, Atlantic Fleet
, soon thereafter. Sailing on 6 January 1913, the new battleship visited the soon-to-be-completed Panama Canal
and then conducted winter fleet maneuvers off Cuba
before she returned to Chesapeake Bay
on 4 March.
After gunnery practice off the Virginia Capes
, on the southern drill grounds, Wyoming underwent repairs and alterations at the New York Navy Yard from 18 April to 7 May. She then participated in war games off Block Island
from 7–24 May, a period of activity broken by repairs to her machinery, carried out at Newport, Rhode Island
from 9–19 May. She underwent more repairs at Newport, then visited New York City from 28–31 May for the festivities surrounding the dedication of the monument honoring the armored cruiser , destroyed in Havana
harbor on 15 February 1898.
Shifting to Annapolis, Maryland
on 4 June, Wyoming embarked a contingent of United States Naval Academy
midshipmen
and took the young officers-to-be on a summer cruise off the coast of New England
that lasted into late August. Disembarking the "middies" at Annapolis on 24–25 August, Wyoming then conducted torpedo
and target practices in the southern drill grounds, out of Hampton Roads, into the late autumn. She was docked at New York for repairs from 16 September to 2 October and then ran a full-power trial as she headed south to Norfolk, Virginia
, to resume exercises off the Virginia Capes before sailing for Europe on 26 October.
Reaching Valletta, Malta on 8 November, the battleship visited Naples, Italy, and Villefranche, France
, during the course of her Mediterranean cruise. The battleship then left French waters astern on the last day of November and reached New York on 15 December.
Wyoming then underwent voyage repairs at the New York Navy Yard remaining there through the end of 1913. Getting underway on 6 January 1914, the battleship reached Hampton Roads on the morrow and spent the next three days coaling to prepare for the annual fleet exercises in the warmer Caribbean climes.
Wyoming exercised with the fleet out of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
from 26 January to 15 March before setting her course northward for Cape Henry, Virginia. She then ranged with the fleet from the southern drill grounds, off the Virginia Capes, to Tangier Sound
, for gunnery drills and practices. She remained engaged in that routine until 3 April, when she headed for the New York Navy Yard and an overhaul.
After that period of repairs, which lasted from 4 April to 9 May, Wyoming subsequently embarked a draft of men for transport to the fleet, departed from Hampton Roads on 13 May, and headed for Mexican waters. She reached Veracruz
on 18 May, less than a month after American sailors and Marines had occupied that Mexican port.
Wyoming remained at Veracruz over the months that ensued, into the late autumn of 1914, before she returned northward. After conducting exercises off the Virginia Capes en route, she put into the New York Navy Yard on 6 October and then underwent repairs and alterations which lasted until 17 January 1915.
Shifting down the coast upon completion of that yard period, Wyoming left Hampton Roads in her wake on 21 January for the annual exercises in Cuban waters and in the Caribbean Sea
. Returning to the Tidewater area on 7 April, the battleship carried out tactical exercises and maneuvers along the eastern seaboard, primarily off Block Island
and the southern drill grounds, into the late autumn, when she again entered the New York Navy Yard for an overhaul.
After repairs lasting from 20 December 1915 to 6 January 1916, Wyoming got underway on the latter day, bound for war games in the southern drill grounds. She subsequently headed farther south, reaching Culebra, Puerto Rico
on 16 January. After visiting Port-au-Prince
, Haiti
on 27 January, Wyoming put into Guantanamo Bay on 28 January and then operated in Cuban waters off Guantanamo and Guacanayabo Bays and the port of Manzanillo, Cuba
until 10 April, when she sailed for New York.
Wyoming remained in the New York Navy Yard from 16 April to 26 June, undergoing repairs; she then operated off the New England coast, out of Newport, and off the Virginia Capes through the remainder of 1916. Departing New York on 9 January 1917, Wyoming then conducted routine maneuvers in the Guantanamo Bay region through mid-March. She departed the Caribbean on 27 March and was off Yorktown, Virginia
, when the United States entered World War I
on 6 April 1917.
region as an engineering ship until 13 November 1917. On that day, Rear Admiral
Hugh Rodman
broke his flag in as Commander, Battleship Division 9
(BatDiv 9). After preparations for "distant service," Wyoming, New York, , and sailed for the British Isles on 25 November and reached Scapa Flow
, Orkney Islands
on 7 December 1917. Although retaining their American designation as BatDiv 9, those four dreadnoughts became the 6th Battle Squadron
of the British Grand Fleet
upon arrival in British waters.
Wyoming carried out maneuvers and tactical exercises with the units of the British Grand Fleet until 6 February 1918. On that day, she got underway with the other ships of the 6th Battle Squadron and eight British destroyer
s to guard a convoy routed to Stavanger, Norway. En route, Wyoming dodged torpedo wakes off Stavanger on 8 February but reached Scapa Flow safely two days later. In the following months, Wyoming continued to patrol off the British Isles, guarding the coastwise sea lanes against the danger posed by the still-powerful German High Seas Fleet.
From 30 June to 2 July 1918, Wyoming operated with the 6th Battle Squadron and a division of British destroyers, guarding Allied minelayers as they planted the North Sea Mine Barrage. Later, Wyoming returned to the Firth of Forth
, where she was inspected by His Majesty George V of the United Kingdom
, along with other units of the Grand Fleet.
Although American and German capital ships never met in combat on the high seas, they nevertheless made rendezvous. On 21 November 1918, 10 days after the armistice ended the war, Wyoming, New York, , and joined the Grand Fleet as it escorted the German High Seas Fleet into the Firth of Forth
to be interned following the cessation of hostilities.
, Commander, BatDiv 9 (ComBatDiv 9), sailed on 12 December 1918 from the Isle of Portland
, England, bound for France. The following morning, she and other battleships rendezvoused with off Brest, France
. Embarked in the transport was the President
Woodrow Wilson
, en route to the Paris Peace Conference.
After serving in the honor escort for the President and his party, Wyoming returned Admiral Sims to Plymouth
, along with the newly appointed ambassador to Britain. Debarking her distinguished passengers on 14 December, the battleship loaded 381 bags of mail and, within a few hours, sailed for the United States. Reaching New York City on Christmas Day
1918, she remained there through New Year's Day
1919. On 18 January 1919, she became the flagship of BatDiv 7, 3rd Squadron, and broke the flag of Rear Admiral Robert Coontz
.
Wyoming departed New York on 1 February and, following winter maneuvers in Cuban waters, returned north, reaching New York on 14 April. However, she stood out to sea soon thereafter, getting underway on 12 May to serve as a link in the chain of ships stretching across the Atlantic to guide the Curtiss NC
flying boat
s on their flight across that ocean. After completing her duty as plane guard and meteorological station, Wyoming returned to Hampton Roads on the last day of May.
Later embarking midshipmen and taking them on their southern cruise in the Chesapeake Bay
-Virginia Capes
area, Wyoming entered the Norfolk Navy Yard on 1 July to prepare for service in the Pacific. The secondary battery was reduced to 16 5 in (127 mm)/51 cal guns. On that day, she became a unit of the newly designated Pacific Fleet
, assigned the duty as flagship for BatDiv 6, Squadron 4 (BatRon 4). On the morning of 19 July, the fleet—led by —got underway for the Pacific. Transiting the Panama Canal soon thereafter, the fleet reached San Diego, California
on 6 August.
Shifting to San Pedro, California three days later, Wyoming operated out of that port into the autumn. After an overhaul at the Puget Sound Navy Yard from 15 September 1919 to 19 April 1920, Wyoming returned to her base at San Pedro on 4 May. Over the next few months, the battleship exercised off the southern California coast. During that time, she was reclassified from "Battleship No. 32" to BB-32 on 17 July 1920.
Departing San Diego on the last day of August 1920, Wyoming sailed for Hawaiian waters and conducted exercises and maneuvers there through September. Returning to San Diego on 8 October, Wyoming subsequently conducted tactical evolutions off the western seaboard, ranging north to Seattle, Washington
. Departing San Francisco, California
on 5 January 1921, Wyoming, over the ensuing weeks, conducted further drills, exercises, and maneuvers reaching from Panama Bay to Valparaíso
, Chile
, and was reviewed by President of Chile
Arturo Alessandri Palma on 8 February. Returning north, Wyoming arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 18 March and remained there into the summer.
Upon completion of repairs, Wyoming headed south, and on 2 August reached Balboa, Canal Zone, where she embarked Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman and members of the commission to Peru
for transportation to New York City. Reaching her destination on 19 August, she disembarked her passengers and, that afternoon, broke the flag of Admiral
Hilary P. Jones
, Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet.
Over the next 41 months, Wyoming operated primarily in the Atlantic, off the eastern seaboard of the United States, participating in Atlantic Fleet exercises, ranging from the coast of New England to the Virginia Capes. She took part in the routine winter maneuvers of the fleet in Caribbean and Cuban waters, serving at various times as flagship for Vice Admiral
John McDonald
, Commander, Battleship Force; and, later, Commander, Scouting Fleet, and his successors, Vice Admirals Newton McCully and Josiah McKean. During that time, the ship received routine repairs and alterations at the New York Navy Yard and conducted a midshipman training cruise in the summer of 1924, cruising to Torbay, England; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Gibraltar
; and the Azores
.
Departing New York on 26 January 1926, the battleship conducted battle practice in Cuban waters, out of Guantanamo Bay, and then transited the Panama Canal on 14 February to join the Battle Fleet for exercises along the coast of California
. Wyoming next sailed for Hawaiian waters and operated in those climes from late April-early June. After a visit to San Diego from 18–22 June, the battleship returned to the East Coast, via the Panama Canal, and arrived back at New York City on 17 July to resume operations off the coast of New England. Following those training evolutions with a cruise to Cuba and Haiti, Wyoming underwent an overhaul at the New York Navy Yard from 23 November 1925 to 26 January 1926. During her yard period, Commander
William F. Halsey, Jr., reported on board as the battleship's executive officer. The future fleet admiral served in Wyoming until 4 January 1927.
Wyoming subsequently took part in the Fleet's annual winter maneuvers in the Caribbean and then returned northward, reaching Annapolis on 29 May to embark midshipmen for their summer training cruise. After touching at Newport, Rhode Island
; Marblehead, Massachusetts
; Portland, Maine
; Charleston, South Carolina
; and Guantanamo Bay, Wyoming returned to Annapolis on 27 August, disembarking the officers-to-be upon arrival. The ship then put into the Philadelphia Navy Yard for modernization.
Converted from a coal burner to an oil burner, Wyoming also received new turbines, blisters for added underwater protection against torpedoes, and other alterations. Completing the overhaul on 2 November and heading south for Norfolk, Wyoming then underwent a post-modernization shakedown cruise to Cuba and the Virgin Islands
before returning to Philadelphia on 7 December. Two days later, she hoisted the flag of Commander, Scouting Fleet, Vice Admiral Ashley Robertson.
Over the next few years, Wyoming operated out of Norfolk, New York, and Boston, Massachusetts, making training cruises for the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps
(NROTC) units hailing from Yale
, Harvard, Georgia Tech
, and Northwestern
. That duty took her from the Gulf of Mexico
to Nova Scotia
and into the Caribbean Sea
, as well as to the Azores
. During the course of that duty, she departed Hampton Roads on 12 November 1928, and on the night of 13–14 November, picked up eight survivors of , landing them at Norfolk on 16 November.
Relieved as flagship of the Scouting Force on 19 September 1930, Wyoming then became the flagship of Rear Admiral Wat T. Cluverius, ComBatDiv 2, and performed that duty until 4 November. After then hoisting the flag of Rear Admiral Harley H. Christy
, Commander, Training Squadron, Scouting Fleet, the battleship conducted a training cruise into the Gulf of Mexico, during which she visited New Orleans, Louisiana
.
Returning north after that cruise, Wyoming was placed in reduced commission at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 1 January 1931 to prepare for demilitarization and conversion to a training ship in accordance with the 1930 London Naval Treaty
for the limitation and reduction of naval armaments. During that process, Wyoming lost her blisters, side armor, and the removal of guns and turret machinery from three of her six main battery turrets. On 21 May 1931, Wyoming was relieved of her duties as flagship for the Scouting Force by and by as flagship of the Training Squadron.
Wyoming subsequently visited Annapolis upon the completion of her demilitarization and, between 29 May and 5 June 1931, embarked United States Naval Academy
midshipmen for a cruise to European waters. Sailing on 5 June, the ship was in the mid-Atlantic 10 days later, when she went to the aid of , commanded by the famed British Arctic explorer, Sir Hubert Wilkins
. Wyoming took the disabled submersible in tow and took her to Queenstown, Northern Ireland. Later in the course of the cruise, the former battleship visited Copenhagen, Denmark; Greenock, Scotland; Cadiz, Spain; and Gibraltar
, before she returned to Hampton Roads
on 13 August. During her cruise, her designation changed from BB-32 to AG-17 on 1 July 1931.
Over the next four years, Wyoming continued summer practice cruises for Naval Academy midshipmen and training cruises for NROTC midshipmen with units from various universities. Her service took her throughout the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as to northern European ports and into the Mediterranean.
However, there were new jobs for the old campaigner. On 18 January 1935, she embarked men of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, at Norfolk, for the winter-spring landing assault practices at Puerto Rico
and the Panama Canal Zone. In almost every succeeding year, Wyoming took part in amphibious assault exercises, as the elements of the Fleet Marine Force and Navy developed tactics for use in possible conflicts of the future.
Departing Norfolk on 5 January 1937, Wyoming transited the Panama Canal; headed for San Diego soon thereafter; and spent the following weeks engaged in assault landing exercises and gunnery drills at San Clemente Island
, off the coast of California. On 18 February, during the culminating phase of a multi-faceted (land, sea, and air) exercise, a shrapnel shell exploded prematurely as it was being rammed into one of the ship's 5 in (127 mm) broadside guns. Six Marines were killed, and 11 were wounded. Immediately after the explosion, Wyoming sped to San Pedro, where she transferred the wounded Marines to .
Completing her slate of exercises and war games off the California coast on 3 March, Wyoming stood out of Los Angeles harbor on that day and headed back to the East Coast. Returning to Norfolk on 23 March, the ship served as temporary flagship for Rear Admiral Wilson Brown, Commander, Training Squadron from 15 April to 3 June, during the preparations for the upcoming Naval Academy practice cruise. Putting to sea on 4 June from Hampton Roads, Wyoming reached Kiel, Germany on 21 June 1937, where she was visited by officers from . Her embarked midshipmen subsequently toured Berlin before Wyoming sailed for home on 29 June, touching at Torbay, England, and Funchal, Madeira before returning to Norfolk on 3 August.
After local exercises, Wyoming disembarked her midshipmen at Annapolis on 26 August. For the next few months, Wyoming continued in her role as training ship first for Naval Reserve units and then for Merchant Marine Reserve units, ranging from Boston to the Virgin Islands and from New York to Cuba, respectively, before she underwent an overhaul at the Norfolk Navy Yard from 16 October 1937 to 14 January 1938.
For the next three years, Wyoming continued her operations out of Norfolk, Boston, and New York, visiting Cuban waters, as well as Puerto Rico and New Orleans. In addition, she conducted a Naval Academy midshipman's practice cruise to European waters in 1938, visiting Le Havre, France; Copenhagen
; and Portsmouth, England. On 2 January 1941, Wyoming became the flagship for Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs, Commander, Training, Patrol Force, and continued in her training ship duties into the autumn months.
In November 1941, Wyoming embarked on yet another phase of her career-that of a gunnery training ship. She departed Norfolk on 25 November 1941 for gunnery training runs out of Newport, Rhode Island
, and was off Platt's Bank when the Japanese launched the Attack on Pearl Harbor
on 7 December 1941.
Putting into Norfolk on 28 January 1942, Wyoming sailed out into the lower reaches of Chesapeake Bay
on 5 February to begin a countless chain of gunnery training drills in that area that would carry her through World War II
. So familiar was her appearance in that area that Wyoming earned the nickname of the "Chesapeake Raider." Assigned to the Operational Training Command, United States Atlantic Fleet, the former dreadnought battleship provided the platform on which thousands of gunners trained in guns, ranging from 5 in (127 mm) to .50 in (12.7 mm).
Refitted at Norfolk from 12 January to 3 April 1944, Wyoming took on a different silhouette upon emerging from that yard period; the rest of her 12 in (304.8 mm) turrets were removed, and replaced with two single and four twin-mount 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal guns; in addition, newer models of fire control radars were installed. She resumed her gunnery training activities on 10 April, operating in the Chesapeake Bay region. The extent of her operations can be seen from a random sampling of figures; in November, Wyoming trained 133 officers and 1,329 men in antiaircraft gunnery. During that month, she fired 3,033 5 in (127 mm) shells, 849 3 in (76.2 mm); 10,076 40 mm; 32,231 20 mm; 66,270 .30 in (7.62 mm); and 360 1.1 in (27 mm) ammunition. She claimed the distinction of firing off more ammunition that any other ship in the fleet, training an estimated 35,000 gunners on some seven different types of guns.
On 30 June 1945, Wyoming completed her career as "Chesapeake Raider" when she departed from Norfolk for the New York Navy Yard and alterations. Leaving the yard on 13 July, she entered Casco Bay
soon thereafter, reporting for duty to Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee
, Commander, Composite Task Force 69 (CTF 69). She fired her first experimental gunnery practice at towed sleeves, drone aircraft, and radio-controlled targets, as the largest operating unit of the force established to study methods and tactics for dealing with the Japanese kamikaze
aircraft. Subsequently, CTF 69 became the Operational Development Force, United States Fleet on 31 August. Upon the death of Admiral Lee, the reins of command passed to Rear Admiral R.P. Briscoe.
on his first Naval posting; his billets included Deck Division Officer, Radar Officer, CIC Officer. Her men and material were then transferred to .
Wyomings name was struck from the Naval Vessel Registry on 16 September, and her hulk was sold for scrapping on 30 October. She was then delivered to her purchaser, Lipsett, Incorporated, of New York City, on 5 December 1947.
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
Wyoming class battleship
The Wyoming class battleship was the fourth series of two battleships built for the United States Navy. The class comprised two ships: and . At the time of the design of this pair of dreadnoughts, not a single one of the previous designs had yet gone to sea...
of battleship, 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 Wyoming, although it was only the second named in honor of the 44th state
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
.
Wyoming was part of the battleship squadron attached to the British Grand Fleet during World War I, 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...
. In the 1930s, she was converted to a gunnery training ship. During World War II, she trained some 35,000 men on seven different types of guns. She was scrapped in 1947; the role of fleet training ship was passed to .
Construction and commissioning
Wyoming was laid down on 9 February 1910 at Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
by William Cramp and Sons
William Cramp and Sons
thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...
. 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 25 May 1911 sponsored by Miss Dorothy Eunice Knight, the daughter of Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
Jesse Knight
Jesse Knight
Jesse Knight was one of relatively few Latter-day Saint mining magnates in nineteenth century Western America. Raised by the widow of Newel Knight, Jesse's family was poor throughout his youth. As a young man, he worked as a prospector and discovered the Humbug Mine in the Tintic Mining District...
of the Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
Supreme Court,and god-daughter of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
Governor Joseph M. Carey
Joseph M. Carey
Joseph Maull Carey was a lawyer, rancher, judge, and politician, who spent most of his political career in Wyoming before and after it achieved statehood.-Biography:...
; 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...
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 25 September 1912, 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....
Frederick L. Chapin in command.
Pre-World War I
Wyoming departed from Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
on 6 October and completed the fitting-out process at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, before she joined the fleet in 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...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Reaching the Tidewater area on 30 December 1912, she became the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Charles J. Badger
Charles J. Badger
Charles Johnston Badger was an admiral in the United States Navy. His active-duty career included service in the Spanish-American War and World War I.-Biography:...
, Commander, 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...
, soon thereafter. Sailing on 6 January 1913, the new battleship visited the soon-to-be-completed 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...
and then conducted winter fleet maneuvers off Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
before she returned to 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...
on 4 March.
After gunnery practice off 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....
, on the southern drill grounds, Wyoming underwent repairs and alterations at the New York Navy Yard from 18 April to 7 May. She then participated in war games off Block Island
Block Island
Block Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...
from 7–24 May, a period of activity broken by repairs to her machinery, carried out at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
from 9–19 May. She underwent more repairs at Newport, then visited New York City from 28–31 May for the festivities surrounding the dedication of the monument honoring the armored cruiser , destroyed in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
harbor on 15 February 1898.
Shifting to 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 4 June, Wyoming embarked a contingent of 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...
and took the young officers-to-be on a summer cruise off the coast of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
that lasted into late August. Disembarking the "middies" at Annapolis on 24–25 August, Wyoming then conducted torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
and target practices in the southern drill grounds, out of Hampton Roads, into the late autumn. She was docked at New York for repairs from 16 September to 2 October and then ran a full-power trial as she headed south to 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....
, to resume exercises off the Virginia Capes before sailing for Europe on 26 October.
Reaching Valletta, Malta on 8 November, the battleship visited Naples, Italy, and 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:...
, during the course of her Mediterranean cruise. The battleship then left French waters astern on the last day of November and reached New York on 15 December.
Wyoming then underwent voyage repairs at the New York Navy Yard remaining there through the end of 1913. Getting underway on 6 January 1914, the battleship reached Hampton Roads on the morrow and spent the next three days coaling to prepare for the annual fleet exercises in the warmer Caribbean climes.
Wyoming exercised with the fleet out of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
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...
from 26 January to 15 March before setting her course northward for Cape Henry, Virginia. She then ranged with the fleet from the southern drill grounds, off the Virginia Capes, to Tangier Sound
Tangier Sound
Tangier Sound is a sound of the Chesapeake Bay bounded on the west by Tangier Island in Virginia, and Smith Island and South Marsh Island in Maryland, by Deal Island in Maryland on the north, and the mainland of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Pocomoke Sound on the east...
, for gunnery drills and practices. She remained engaged in that routine until 3 April, when she headed for the New York Navy Yard and an overhaul.
After that period of repairs, which lasted from 4 April to 9 May, Wyoming subsequently embarked a draft of men for transport to the fleet, departed from Hampton Roads on 13 May, and headed for Mexican waters. She reached 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...
on 18 May, less than a month after American sailors and Marines had occupied that Mexican port.
Wyoming remained at Veracruz over the months that ensued, into the late autumn of 1914, before she returned northward. After conducting exercises off the Virginia Capes en route, she put into the New York Navy Yard on 6 October and then underwent repairs and alterations which lasted until 17 January 1915.
Shifting down the coast upon completion of that yard period, Wyoming left Hampton Roads in her wake on 21 January for the annual exercises in Cuban waters and 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....
. Returning to the Tidewater area on 7 April, the battleship carried out tactical exercises and maneuvers along the eastern seaboard, primarily off Block Island
Block Island
Block Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...
and the southern drill grounds, into the late autumn, when she again entered the New York Navy Yard for an overhaul.
After repairs lasting from 20 December 1915 to 6 January 1916, Wyoming got underway on the latter day, bound for war games in the southern drill grounds. She subsequently headed farther south, reaching Culebra, Puerto Rico
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Isla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo...
on 16 January. After visiting Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
on 27 January, Wyoming put into Guantanamo Bay on 28 January and then operated in Cuban waters off Guantanamo and Guacanayabo Bays and the port of Manzanillo, Cuba
Manzanillo, Cuba
Manzanillo is a municipality and city in the Granma Province of Cuba.It is a port city in the Granma Province in eastern Cuba on the Gulf of Guacanayabo, near the delta of the Cauto River...
until 10 April, when she sailed for New York.
Wyoming remained in the New York Navy Yard from 16 April to 26 June, undergoing repairs; she then operated off the New England coast, out of Newport, and off the Virginia Capes through the remainder of 1916. Departing New York on 9 January 1917, Wyoming then conducted routine maneuvers in the Guantanamo Bay region through mid-March. She departed the Caribbean on 27 March and was off Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
, when the United States entered World War I
World 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...
on 6 April 1917.
World War I
Over the months that ensued, Wyoming served in the Chesapeake BayChesapeake 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...
region as an engineering ship until 13 November 1917. On that day, Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Hugh Rodman
Hugh Rodman
Admiral Hugh Rodman KCB was an officer in the United States Navy who served during the Spanish–American War and World War I, later serving as the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet from 1919 to 1921.-Biography:...
broke his flag in as Commander, Battleship Division 9
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...
(BatDiv 9). After preparations for "distant service," Wyoming, New York, , and sailed for the British Isles on 25 November and reached Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
, Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
on 7 December 1917. Although retaining their American designation as BatDiv 9, those four dreadnoughts became the 6th Battle Squadron
6th Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British 6th Battle Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron consisting of Battleships serving in the Grand Fleet.-August 1914:In August 1914, the 6th Battle Squadron was based at Portland and comprised a number of the older pre-dreadnought battleships. These included: and transferred to the 5th...
of the British Grand Fleet
British Grand Fleet
The Grand Fleet was the main fleet of the British Royal Navy during the First World War.-History:It was formed in 1914 by the British Atlantic Fleet combined with the Home Fleet and it included 35-40 state-of-the-art capital ships. It was initially commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe...
upon arrival in British waters.
Wyoming carried out maneuvers and tactical exercises with the units of the British Grand Fleet until 6 February 1918. On that day, she got underway with the other ships of the 6th Battle Squadron and eight British destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s to guard a convoy routed to Stavanger, Norway. En route, Wyoming dodged torpedo wakes off Stavanger on 8 February but reached Scapa Flow safely two days later. In the following months, Wyoming continued to patrol off the British Isles, guarding the coastwise sea lanes against the danger posed by the still-powerful German High Seas Fleet.
From 30 June to 2 July 1918, Wyoming operated with the 6th Battle Squadron and a division of British destroyers, guarding Allied minelayers as they planted the North Sea Mine Barrage. Later, Wyoming returned to the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, where she was inspected by His Majesty George V of the United Kingdom
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, along with other units of the Grand Fleet.
Although American and German capital ships never met in combat on the high seas, they nevertheless made rendezvous. On 21 November 1918, 10 days after the armistice ended the war, Wyoming, New York, , and joined the Grand Fleet as it escorted the German High Seas Fleet into the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
to be interned following the cessation of hostilities.
Inter-war period
Later, Wyoming, hoisting the flag of Rear Admiral William SimsWilliam Sims
William Sowden Sims was an admiral in the United States Navy who sought during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to modernize the Navy. During World War I he commanded all United States naval forces operating in Europe...
, Commander, BatDiv 9 (ComBatDiv 9), sailed on 12 December 1918 from the Isle of 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, bound for France. The following morning, she and other battleships rendezvoused with off Brest, France
Brest, 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...
. Embarked in the transport was the 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....
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...
, en route to the Paris Peace Conference.
After serving in the honor escort for the President and his party, Wyoming returned Admiral Sims to Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, along with the newly appointed ambassador to Britain. Debarking her distinguished passengers on 14 December, the battleship loaded 381 bags of mail and, within a few hours, sailed for the United States. Reaching New York City on Christmas Day
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
1918, she remained there through New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
1919. On 18 January 1919, she became the flagship of BatDiv 7, 3rd Squadron, and broke the flag of Rear Admiral Robert Coontz
Robert Coontz
Robert Edward Coontz was an admiral in the United States Navy, who sailed with the Great White Fleet and served as the second Chief of Naval Operations.-Background:Born in Hannibal, Missouri, Coontz graduated from the U.S...
.
Wyoming departed New York on 1 February and, following winter maneuvers in Cuban waters, returned north, reaching New York on 14 April. However, she stood out to sea soon thereafter, getting underway on 12 May to serve as a link in the chain of ships stretching across the Atlantic to guide the Curtiss NC
Curtiss NC
-References:NotesBibliography* Holmes, Tony. Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide. London: Harper Collins, 2005. ISBN 0-0071-9292-4.* Steirman, Hy and Glenn D. Kittler. The First Transatlantic Flight, 1919, . New York: Richardson & Sterman, 1986. ISBN 0-931933-19-0.* Wagner, Ray. American...
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
s on their flight across that ocean. After completing her duty as plane guard and meteorological station, Wyoming returned to Hampton Roads on the last day of May.
Later embarking midshipmen and taking them on their southern cruise in the 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...
-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....
area, Wyoming entered the Norfolk Navy Yard on 1 July to prepare for service in the Pacific. The secondary battery was reduced to 16 5 in (127 mm)/51 cal guns. On that day, she became a unit of the newly designated Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
, assigned the duty as flagship for BatDiv 6, Squadron 4 (BatRon 4). On the morning of 19 July, the fleet—led by —got underway for the Pacific. Transiting the Panama Canal soon thereafter, the 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 6 August.
Shifting to San Pedro, California three days later, Wyoming operated out of that port into the autumn. After an overhaul at the Puget Sound Navy Yard from 15 September 1919 to 19 April 1920, Wyoming returned to her base at San Pedro on 4 May. Over the next few months, the battleship exercised off the southern California coast. During that time, she was reclassified from "Battleship No. 32" to BB-32 on 17 July 1920.
Departing San Diego on the last day of August 1920, Wyoming sailed for Hawaiian waters and conducted exercises and maneuvers there through September. Returning to San Diego on 8 October, Wyoming subsequently conducted tactical evolutions off the western seaboard, ranging north to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. Departing 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 5 January 1921, Wyoming, over the ensuing weeks, conducted further drills, exercises, and maneuvers reaching from Panama Bay to 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 was reviewed by President of Chile
President of Chile
The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...
Arturo Alessandri Palma on 8 February. Returning north, Wyoming arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 18 March and remained there into the summer.
Upon completion of repairs, Wyoming headed south, and on 2 August reached Balboa, Canal Zone, where she embarked Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman and members of the commission to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
for transportation to New York City. Reaching her destination on 19 August, she disembarked her passengers and, that afternoon, broke the flag of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Hilary P. Jones
Hilary P. Jones
Hilary Pollard Jones, Jr. was an officer in the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War and World War I. During the early 1920s, he served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet....
, Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet.
Over the next 41 months, Wyoming operated primarily in the Atlantic, off the eastern seaboard of the United States, participating in Atlantic Fleet exercises, ranging from the coast of New England to the Virginia Capes. She took part in the routine winter maneuvers of the fleet in Caribbean and Cuban waters, serving at various times as flagship for Vice Admiral
Vice admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the United States Maritime Service, vice admiral is a three-star flag officer, with the pay grade of...
John McDonald
John McDonald
John McDonald may refer to:*John McDonald , businessman and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West*John McDonald , member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1911–1914...
, Commander, Battleship Force; and, later, Commander, Scouting Fleet, and his successors, Vice Admirals Newton McCully and Josiah McKean. During that time, the ship received routine repairs and alterations at the New York Navy Yard and conducted a midshipman training cruise in the summer of 1924, cruising to Torbay, England; Rotterdam, Netherlands; 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 the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
.
Departing New York on 26 January 1926, the battleship conducted battle practice in Cuban waters, out of Guantanamo Bay, and then transited the Panama Canal on 14 February to join the Battle Fleet for exercises along the coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Wyoming next sailed for Hawaiian waters and operated in those climes from late April-early June. After a visit to San Diego from 18–22 June, the battleship returned to the East Coast, via the Panama Canal, and arrived back at New York City on 17 July to resume operations off the coast of New England. Following those training evolutions with a cruise to Cuba and Haiti, Wyoming underwent an overhaul at the New York Navy Yard from 23 November 1925 to 26 January 1926. During her yard period, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
William F. Halsey, Jr., reported on board as the battleship's executive officer. The future fleet admiral served in Wyoming until 4 January 1927.
Wyoming subsequently took part in the Fleet's annual winter maneuvers in the Caribbean and then returned northward, reaching Annapolis on 29 May to embark midshipmen for their summer training cruise. After touching at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
; Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
; Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
; Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
; and Guantanamo Bay, Wyoming returned to Annapolis on 27 August, disembarking the officers-to-be upon arrival. The ship then put into the Philadelphia Navy Yard for modernization.
Converted from a coal burner to an oil burner, Wyoming also received new turbines, blisters for added underwater protection against torpedoes, and other alterations. Completing the overhaul on 2 November and heading south for Norfolk, Wyoming then underwent a post-modernization shakedown cruise to Cuba and the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
before returning to Philadelphia on 7 December. Two days later, she hoisted the flag of Commander, Scouting Fleet, Vice Admiral Ashley Robertson.
Over the next few years, Wyoming operated out of Norfolk, New York, and Boston, Massachusetts, making training cruises for the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps
Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps
The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps.-Origins:...
(NROTC) units hailing from Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Harvard, Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, and Northwestern
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. That duty took her from 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...
to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and into 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....
, as well as to the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. During the course of that duty, she departed Hampton Roads on 12 November 1928, and on the night of 13–14 November, picked up eight survivors of , landing them at Norfolk on 16 November.
Relieved as flagship of the Scouting Force on 19 September 1930, Wyoming then became the flagship of Rear Admiral Wat T. Cluverius, ComBatDiv 2, and performed that duty until 4 November. After then hoisting the flag of Rear Admiral Harley H. Christy
Harley H. Christy
Vice Admiral Harley Hannibal Christy served in the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War and World War I.-Biography:Christy was born in Circleville, Ohio. He graduated from the U.S...
, Commander, Training Squadron, Scouting Fleet, the battleship conducted a training cruise into the Gulf of Mexico, during which she visited New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
.
Returning north after that cruise, Wyoming was placed in reduced commission at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 1 January 1931 to prepare for demilitarization and conversion to a training ship in accordance with the 1930 London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
for the limitation and reduction of naval armaments. During that process, Wyoming lost her blisters, side armor, and the removal of guns and turret machinery from three of her six main battery turrets. On 21 May 1931, Wyoming was relieved of her duties as flagship for the Scouting Force by and by as flagship of the Training Squadron.
Wyoming subsequently visited Annapolis upon the completion of her demilitarization and, between 29 May and 5 June 1931, 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 for a cruise to European waters. Sailing on 5 June, the ship was in the mid-Atlantic 10 days later, when she went to the aid of , commanded by the famed British Arctic explorer, Sir Hubert Wilkins
Hubert Wilkins
Sir Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer.-Early life:...
. Wyoming took the disabled submersible in tow and took her to Queenstown, Northern Ireland. Later in the course of the cruise, the former battleship visited Copenhagen, Denmark; Greenock, Scotland; Cadiz, Spain; and 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...
, before she returned to 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 13 August. During her cruise, her designation changed from BB-32 to AG-17 on 1 July 1931.
Over the next four years, Wyoming continued summer practice cruises for Naval Academy midshipmen and training cruises for NROTC midshipmen with units from various universities. Her service took her throughout the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as to northern European ports and into the Mediterranean.
However, there were new jobs for the old campaigner. On 18 January 1935, she embarked men of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, at Norfolk, for the winter-spring landing assault practices at Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and the Panama Canal Zone. In almost every succeeding year, Wyoming took part in amphibious assault exercises, as the elements of the Fleet Marine Force and Navy developed tactics for use in possible conflicts of the future.
Departing Norfolk on 5 January 1937, Wyoming transited the Panama Canal; headed for San Diego soon thereafter; and spent the following weeks engaged in assault landing exercises and gunnery drills at San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is long and...
, off the coast of California. On 18 February, during the culminating phase of a multi-faceted (land, sea, and air) exercise, a shrapnel shell exploded prematurely as it was being rammed into one of the ship's 5 in (127 mm) broadside guns. Six Marines were killed, and 11 were wounded. Immediately after the explosion, Wyoming sped to San Pedro, where she transferred the wounded Marines to .
Completing her slate of exercises and war games off the California coast on 3 March, Wyoming stood out of Los Angeles harbor on that day and headed back to the East Coast. Returning to Norfolk on 23 March, the ship served as temporary flagship for Rear Admiral Wilson Brown, Commander, Training Squadron from 15 April to 3 June, during the preparations for the upcoming Naval Academy practice cruise. Putting to sea on 4 June from Hampton Roads, Wyoming reached Kiel, Germany on 21 June 1937, where she was visited by officers from . Her embarked midshipmen subsequently toured Berlin before Wyoming sailed for home on 29 June, touching at Torbay, England, and Funchal, Madeira before returning to Norfolk on 3 August.
After local exercises, Wyoming disembarked her midshipmen at Annapolis on 26 August. For the next few months, Wyoming continued in her role as training ship first for Naval Reserve units and then for Merchant Marine Reserve units, ranging from Boston to the Virgin Islands and from New York to Cuba, respectively, before she underwent an overhaul at the Norfolk Navy Yard from 16 October 1937 to 14 January 1938.
For the next three years, Wyoming continued her operations out of Norfolk, Boston, and New York, visiting Cuban waters, as well as Puerto Rico and New Orleans. In addition, she conducted a Naval Academy midshipman's practice cruise to European waters in 1938, visiting Le Havre, France; 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...
; and Portsmouth, England. On 2 January 1941, Wyoming became the flagship for Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs, Commander, Training, Patrol Force, and continued in her training ship duties into the autumn months.
In November 1941, Wyoming embarked on yet another phase of her career-that of a gunnery training ship. She departed Norfolk on 25 November 1941 for gunnery training runs out of Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, and was off Platt's Bank when the Japanese launched the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on 7 December 1941.
World War II
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...
on 5 February to begin a countless chain of gunnery training drills in that area that would carry her through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. So familiar was her appearance in that area that Wyoming earned the nickname of the "Chesapeake Raider." Assigned to the Operational Training Command, United States Atlantic Fleet, the former dreadnought battleship provided the platform on which thousands of gunners trained in guns, ranging from 5 in (127 mm) to .50 in (12.7 mm).
Refitted at Norfolk from 12 January to 3 April 1944, Wyoming took on a different silhouette upon emerging from that yard period; the rest of her 12 in (304.8 mm) turrets were removed, and replaced with two single and four twin-mount 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal guns; in addition, newer models of fire control radars were installed. She resumed her gunnery training activities on 10 April, operating in the Chesapeake Bay region. The extent of her operations can be seen from a random sampling of figures; in November, Wyoming trained 133 officers and 1,329 men in antiaircraft gunnery. During that month, she fired 3,033 5 in (127 mm) shells, 849 3 in (76.2 mm); 10,076 40 mm; 32,231 20 mm; 66,270 .30 in (7.62 mm); and 360 1.1 in (27 mm) ammunition. She claimed the distinction of firing off more ammunition that any other ship in the fleet, training an estimated 35,000 gunners on some seven different types of guns.
On 30 June 1945, Wyoming completed her career as "Chesapeake Raider" when she departed from Norfolk for the New York Navy Yard and alterations. Leaving the yard on 13 July, she entered Casco Bay
Casco Bay
Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...
soon thereafter, reporting for duty to Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee
Willis A. Lee
Willis Augustus "Ching" Lee, Jr. was a Vice Admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. Lee commanded the American ships during the second night of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal and turned back a Japanese invasion force headed for the island...
, Commander, Composite Task Force 69 (CTF 69). She fired her first experimental gunnery practice at towed sleeves, drone aircraft, and radio-controlled targets, as the largest operating unit of the force established to study methods and tactics for dealing with the Japanese kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
aircraft. Subsequently, CTF 69 became the Operational Development Force, United States Fleet on 31 August. Upon the death of Admiral Lee, the reins of command passed to Rear Admiral R.P. Briscoe.
Post-war
Even after the broadening of the scope of the work of the force to cover all the operational testing of new devices of fire control, Wyoming remained the backbone of the unit through 1946. On 11 July 1947, Wyoming entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and was decommissioned on 1 August. Her final crew included future United States President, Ensign Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
on his first Naval posting; his billets included Deck Division Officer, Radar Officer, CIC Officer. Her men and material were then transferred to .
Wyomings name was struck from the Naval Vessel Registry on 16 September, and her hulk was sold for scrapping on 30 October. She was then delivered to her purchaser, Lipsett, Incorporated, of New York City, on 5 December 1947.