 USS New Hampshire in 1910
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | New Hampshire |
| Namesake | New Hampshire |
| Ordered | 27 April 1904 |
| Builder | New York Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down | 1 May 1905 |
| Launched | 30 June 1906 |
| Commissioned | 19 March 1908 |
| Decommissioned | 21 May 1921 |
| Stricken | 10 November 1923 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1923 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Connecticut-class battleship |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 456 ft 4 in (139.09 m) |
| Beam | 76 ft 10 in (23.42 m) |
| Draft | 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
| Complement | 827 officers and men |
| Armament |
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| Armor |
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New Hampshire (BB-25) was the sixth and final Connecticut-class pre-dreadnought battleship, the last vessel of that type built for the United States Navy. Like most contemporary battleships, she was armed with an offensive armament that consisted of four large-caliber 12-inch (305 mm) guns and several medium-caliber 7 and 8-inch (178 and 203 mm) guns. The ship was laid down in May 1905, launched in June 1906, and commissioned in March 1908, a little over a year after the revolutionary all-big-gun HMS Dreadnought rendered ships like New Hampshire obsolescent.
Despite being rapidly surpassed by new American dreadnoughts, New Hampshire had an active career. She made two trips to Europe in 1910 and 1911, and she sank the old battleship USS Texas, which had been converted into a target ship. New Hampshire was particularly active in the Caribbean during this period, as several countries, including Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico devolved into internal political conflicts. These actions included the United States occupation of Veracruz, during which the ship's commander was awarded the Medal of Honor.
After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the ship was used primarily to train gunners and engine room personnel, as the US Navy had expanded significantly to combat the German U-boat campaign. She escorted convoys in late 1918, and after the war ended she took part in the effort to bring American soldiers back from France. New Hampshire remained in service for only a few years after the war, as the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty significantly reduced the navies of the signatories; as a result, the ship was sold for scrap in November 1923.