The fourth Connecticut (BB-18), the lead ship of her class of battleship was launched 29 September 1904 by the New York Navy Yard sponsored by Miss A. Welles, granddaughter of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy during the American Civil War, and commissioned 29 September 1906 with Captain William Swift in command.

The ship sailed on its first mission to Cuba in January 1907, but was immediately recalled to New York after an outbreak of Typhoid fever among the crew. Immediately after setting out again, the Connecticut ran aground at Culebra, Puerto Rico. According to the Washington Post, Swift acted against the advice of his navigator and ordered the ship to pass on the wrong side of a navigational buoy and caused it to strike a shoal. Joining the Atlantic Fleet, Connecticut became flagship on 16 April 1907, and later that month joined in the Presidential Fleet Review and other ceremonies opening the Jamestown Exposition.

Postcard of the ship published in San Francisco

On 16 December 1907, still flagship, she sailed from Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the cruise round the world of the Great White Fleet. On 8 May 1908, the Atlantic Fleet joined the Pacific Fleet in San Francisco Bay for a review by the Secretary of the Navy. Two ships, USS Alabama and USS Maine, which had recurring engineering problems remained behind, while two Pacific Fleet ships, USS Nebraska and USS Wisconsin took their places. The fleet continued their cruise, with Connecticut as flagship, showing the flag and bringing a show of American strength to many parts of the world. The fleet returned to Hampton Roads on 22 February 1909.

USS Connecticut (BB-18) leads the way for the Great White Fleet in 1907

Continuing to serve as flagship for the Atlantic Fleet until 1912, Connecticut cruised the east coast and the Caribbean Sea from her base at Norfolk, Virginia, conducting training and joining in ceremonial observances. Between 2 November 1910 and 17 March 1911, she made an extended cruise in European waters on a scouting problem. Between 1913 and 1915, Connecticut served with the Fourth Division, Atlantic Fleet, usually as flagship. Aside from a brief cruise to the Mediterranean Sea in October and November 1913, she served in the Caribbean, protecting American citizens and interests during disturbances in Mexico and Haiti.

After repairs and temporary service as a receiving ship at Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1916, Connecticut returned to full commission 3 October 1916 as flagship of the Fifth Division, Battleship Force, Atlantic Fleet. She operated along the east coast and in the Caribbean until the United States entered World War I. Based in the York River, Virginia, during the war, she exercised in Chesapeake Bay, and trained both midshipmen and gun crews for merchant ships. At the close of the war, she was fitted out for transport duty, and between 6 January and 22 June 1919 made four voyages to return troops from France. On 23 June 1919, she was reassigned, becoming flagship of Battleship Squadron 2, Atlantic Fleet.

Postcard of the ship being used for troop transport in 1919

In the summer of 1920, Connecticut sailed to the Caribbean and the west coast on a midshipman and Naval Reserve training cruise. The next summer found her in European ports on similar duty, and upon her return to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 21 August 1921, was assigned as flagship Pacific Fleet. She arrived at San Pedro, California, 28 October, and during the following year cruised along the west coast, taking part in exercises and commemorations. Entering Puget Sound Navy Yard on 16 December 1922, Connecticut was decommissioned there on 1 March 1923, and sold for scrapping 1 November 1923, in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty for the limitation of naval armaments.

References

Albertson, Mark "USS Connecticut: Constitution State Battleship" Tate Publishing, Sept. 2007. ISBN-10: 1598867393

• Alden, John D. American Steel Navy: A Photographic History of the U.S. Navy from the Introduction of the Steel Hull in 1883 to the Cruise of the Great White Fleet. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989. ISBN 0870212486

• Friedman, Norman. U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0870217151

• Reilly, John C. and Robert L. Scheina. American Battleships 1996-1923: Predreadnought Design and Construction. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1980. ISBN 0870215248

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