Wednesday, May 11, 2011

USS Kearsarge, US Battleship - The Great White Fleet

USS Battleship Kearsarge postcard, circa 1910.

The USS Kearsarge, BB-5, showing the ship as she appeared when first completed in 1900. Launched in 1898, the Kearsarge was commissioned in 1900 and served as a battleship in the North Atlantic fleet.

The Kearsarge, named after the Union's Civil War sloop of the same name, was the lead ship of her class of battleships. Between late 1907 to 1909, the Kearsarge was part of the round-the-world goodwill tour of the US navy dubbed the Great White Fleet.

After being refitted for Atlantic coastal service and transporting marines to Veracruz, Mexico in World War I, the Kearsarge wasconverted to a crane ship in 1920 and used in the Philadelphia Naval Yard. She was scrapped in 1955.

Displacement 11,525 Tons, Dimensions, 375' 4" (oa) x 72' 3" x 25' 10" (Max), Armament 4 x 13"/35 4 x 8"/35, 14 x 5"/40 4 x 18" tt, Armor, 16 1/2" Belt, 17" Turrets, 5" Decks, 10" Conning Tower, Machinery, 10,000 IHP; 2 vertical triple expansion engines, 2 screws, Speed, 16 Knots, Crew 553.

The Kearsarge converted to a huge floating crane. Source: Wikipedia

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