USS Kentucky (BB-6)
USS Kentucky (BB-6), a
Kearsarge class battleship, was
launched on
24 March 1898 by
Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of
Newport News, Virginia sponsored by Miss Christine Bradley, daughter of Governor William Bradley of
Kentucky, and
commissioned on
16 May 1900 with Captain Colby M. Chester in command.
After fitting out in
New York Navy Yard during the summer,
Kentucky sailed on
26 October 1900 for the Far East via
Gibraltar and the
Suez Canal. She joined the other American ships on the Asiatic Station at
Manila February
1901 and six days later sailed for
Hong Kong where she became flagship of the Southern Squadron under Rear Admiral Louis Kempff
23 March. Throughoutthe following year the
battleship led her squadron as it watched over American interest in the Far East, visiting principal ports of
China and
Japan including
Chefoo,
Taku,
Nanking,
Woosung,
Hong Kong,
Amoy,
Nagasaki,
Kobe, and
Yokohama.
Rear Admiral Frank F. Wildes also selected
Kentucky as his flagship upon relieving Admiral Kempff on
1 March 1902, but he transferred his flag to
Rainbow on
7 April. Rear Admiral
Robely D. Evans, Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, chose
Kentucky as his flagship at
Yokohama on
4 November; and he continued to direct American naval operations in the Far East from her until she sailed from
Manila for home on
13 March 1904. After retracing her steps through the
Suez Canal and the
Strait of Gibraltar she arrived
New York City on
23 May.
Upon completing overhaul in
New York Navy Yard on
26 October,
Kentucky devoted the following year for tactics and maneuvers off the Atlantic coast with the North Atlantic Fleet. The
battleship joined the welcome of the British Squadron at
Annapolis, Maryland, and
New York City in the fall of
1905 and then cruised along the eastern seaboard until
23 September 1906. On that day off
Provincetown, she embarked
Marines from
Maine,
Missouri, and
Kearsarge and landed them at
Havana, Cuba,
1 October to protect American interests and property during the Cuban insurrection. She stood by to support forces ashore until
9 October before resuming battle practice and tactics in the North Atlantic.
Kentucky visited
Norfolk, Virginia, on
15 April 1907 to attend the
Jamestown Exposition, and, after more exercises off the
New England coast, she returned to
Hampton Roads to join the "
Great White Fleet" of 16
battleships for a world cruise that brought great prestige and honor to the Navy and the Nation. Rear Admiral Evans,
Kentucky`s former Flag Officer, commanded the fleet as it circumnavigated the globe receiving warm and enthusiastic welcomes at each port of call. As the famous voyage got underway from Hampton Roads on
16 December,
Kentucky passed in review before
President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt as a unit in the Second Squadron. After calling at
Trinidad and
Rio de Janeiro, the warships passed in order through the
Straits of Magellan to visit
Punta Arenas and
Valparaíso,
Chile. A stop at
Callao Bay, Peru, was followed by a month of target practice out of
Magdalena Bay, Mexico. The 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 sailed for
Honolulu, Hawaii. From Hawaii they set course for
Auckland, New Zealand, arriving
8 August. The fleet made
Sydney, Australia, on
20 August and, after a week of warm and cordial hospitality, sailed for Melbourne.
Kentucky departed
Albany, Western Australia, on
10 September for ports in the
Philippine Islands,
Japan,
China, and
Ceylon before transiting the
Suez Canal. She departed
Port Said on
8 January 1909 to visit
Tripoli and
Algiers with the Fourth Division before reforming with the fleet at
Gibraltar. Underway for home
6 February, she again passed in review before President Roosevelt upon entering Hampton Roads on
22 February, ending a widely-acclaimed voyage of good will in which she and her sister ships subtly but effectively demonstrated American strength to the world.
After local operations and repairs at
Philadelphia Navy Yard,
Kentucky decommissioned at Norfolk on
28 August 1909. She recommissioned in the Second Reserve on
4 June 1912 but, save for a run to New York, did not operate at sea before being placed in ordinary in Philadelphia Navy Yard on
31 May 1913.
The veteran battleship recommissioned at Philadelphia on
23 June 1915 and sailed
3 July to train New York militia in a cruise from
Long Island to ports in
New England and
Chesapeake Bay. She debarked the militia at New York and sailed to
Portland, Maine, to embark Maine militia for a training cruise. Returning to Philadelphia
31 August, she sailed
11 September for the coast of
Mexico to watch over American interests during the unrest caused by the
Mexican Revolution. She reached
Veracruz on
28 September 1915; and, but for a visit to
New Orleans, Louisiana, for
Mardi Gras in March
1916, she remained on patrol off the Mexican coast until on
2 June 1916.
The battleship called at
Guantanamo Bay and
Santa Domingo en route home to Philadelphia, where she arrived
18 June. Following maneuvers and tactics ranging north to
Newport, Rhode Island, during the summer,
Kentucky arrived New York
2 October and remained in the North River until the end of the year. She entered
New York Naval Shipyard for repairs on
1 January 1917 and was still there when the
United States entered
World War I. She arrived at
Yorktown, Virginia, on
2 May for duty as a training ship and trained recruits on cruises in Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic coast as far north as Long Island Sound. When the Armistice was signed on
11 November 1918, she was training her 15th group of recruits, having already trained several thousand men for service in ships of the war-expanded Navy.
Kentucky entered
Boston Navy Yard on
20 December for overhaul. She sailed on
18 March 1919 for refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay and then participated in fleet maneuvers and exercises ranging north from Norfolk to the New England coast. She arrived at
Annapolis, Maryland, on
29 May to embark midshipmen and got underway
9 June for a summer practice cruise that took her to
Cuba, the
Virgin Islands,
Panama,
New York,
Boston, and
Provincetown. She returned to Annapolis on
27 August to debark her midshipmen and entered
Philadelphia Navy Yard on
30 August. She remained there until decommissioning on
29 May 1920.
Kentucky was sold to Dravo Construction Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for scrapping on
23 January 1924 in compliance with U.S. commitments under the
Washington Naval Treaty.
See
USS Kentucky for other ships of this name.
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Maritimequest USS Kentucky BB-6 Photo Gallery
