USS Kansas (BB-21)

USS Kansas (BB-21) c. 1910–1915
History
United States
NameKansas
NamesakeKansas
Ordered3 March 1903
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding Company
Laid down10 February 1904
Launched12 August 1905
Commissioned18 April 1907
Decommissioned16 December 1921
Stricken10 November 1923
FateBroken up, 1924
General characteristics
Class and typeConnecticut-class battleship
Displacement
Length456 ft 4 in (139.09 m)
Beam76 ft 10 in (23.42 m)
Draft24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h)
Complement827 officers and men
Armament
Armor
  • Belt: 6–11 in (152–279 mm)
  • Barbettes: 6–10 in (152–254 mm)
  • Turret Main: 8–12 in (203–305 mm)
  • Turret secondary: 7 in (178 mm)
  • Conning tower: 9 in (229 mm)

USS Kansas (BB-21) was a US Connecticut-class pre-dreadnought battleship, the fourth of six ships in the class. She was the second ship of the United States Navy named Kansas, but the only one named in honor of the state of Kansas.[a] The ship was launched in August 1905 and commissioned into the fleet in April 1907. Kansas was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and was capable of a top speed of 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph).

Shortly after she entered service, Kansas joined the Great White Fleet for its circumnavigation of the globe in 1908–1909. She made trips to Europe in 1910 and 1911 and after 1912, became involved in suppressing unrest in several Central American countries, including the United States occupation of Veracruz during the Mexican Revolution. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Kansas was employed as a training ship for new personnel. In September 1918, she began escorting convoys to Europe. After the war ended in November, she then began a series of trips to France to bring American soldiers home.

The ship's postwar career was short. She conducted training cruises for US Naval Academy cadets in 1920 and 1921, the first to the Pacific and the second to Europe. During this period she served briefly as the flagship of the 4th Battleship Division. After returning from the second cruise, Kansas was decommissioned and sold for scrap in August 1923 according to the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.

  1. ^ "Kansas I (Gunboat)". NHHC.


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