She was the only US battleship not named after a state. She was named soon after the American Civil War sloop-of-war Kearsarge, and was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named by act of Congress. Kearsarge was authorized on 2 March 1895, the contract for her construction was awarded on 2 January 1896, and the keel of the vessel was laid down on 30 June 1896 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company in Virginia. The masts of Kentucky are visible in the background. Kearsarge on the day of her launching, 24 March 1898. Four smaller boats completed Kearsarge 's small fleet: two 20-foot (6.1 m) dinghies and two 18-foot (5.5 m) catamarans. There were ten 30-foot (9.1 m) boats: four cutters, each with a capacity of 45 men, the Admiral's barge, two whaleboats (which served as lifeboats), and the Captain's gig. Two 33-foot launches, each capable of carrying 64 men, were the "working boats". A 40-foot (12 m) steam cutter, with a capacity of 60 men, together with a 33-foot (10 m) steam cutter, were used for general carrying from and to port, and could tow the other boats if needed. The barbettes were 12.5–15 inches (320–380 mm) thick, while the conning tower had 10 inches (250 mm) of armor. The ship's waterline armor belt was 5–16.5 inches (130–420 mm) thick and the main gun turrets were protected by 15–17 inches (380–430 mm) of armor, while the secondary turrets had 6–11 inches (150–280 mm) of armor. Kearsarge had a very low freeboard, which resulted in her guns becoming unusable in bad weather. 30 in (7.6 mm) machine guns, and four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. In addition to these guns, Kearsarge carried fourteen 5 in (127 mm)/40 caliber guns, twenty 6-pounder (57 mm or 2.2 in) guns, eight 1-pounder (37 mm or 1.5 in) guns, four. Admiral William Sims claimed that as a result, a shell fired into the port could reach the magazines below, disabling the guns. This caused the guns to be mounted far back in the turret, making the ports very large. The guns and turret armor were designed by the Bureau of Ordnance, while the turret itself was designed by the Bureau of Construction and Repair. Kearsarge had two double turrets, with two 13 in (330 mm)/35 caliber guns and two 8 in (203 mm)/40 caliber guns each, stacked in two levels. Kearsarge's double turret on 8 April 1900 She was the only United States Navy battleship to not be named after a state. She was converted into a crane ship in 1920, renamed Crane Ship No. In 1915 she served in the Atlantic, and between 19 she served as a training ship.
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In 1909 she was decommissioned for modernization, which was finished in 1911. Elizabeth Winslow (née Maynard), the wife of Rear Admiral Herbert Winslow, and commissioned on 20 February 1900.īetween 19 Kearsarge served in the North Atlantic Fleet, and from 1907 to 1909 she sailed as part of the Great White Fleet. She was launched on 24 March 1898, sponsored by Mrs. Her keel was laid down by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Virginia, on 30 June 1896. USS Kearsarge (BB-5), the lead ship of her class of pre-dreadnought battleships, was a United States Navy ship, named after the sloop-of-war Kearsarge. Kearsarge-class pre-dreadnought battleshipĦ cutters, 2 launches, 1 barge, 2 whaleboats, 1 gig, 2 dinghies, 2 catamarans Only US battleship not named after a state USS Kearsarge (1861), a sloop named for Mount Kearsarge (Merrimack County, New Hampshire) made famous for defeating the CSS Alabama.