Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

USS Wisconsin (BB-9)

1901 WORLD WAR 1

History of the USS Wisconsin (BB-9)

At the turn of the century, the United States Navy (USN) received three Illinois-class three-man battleships. These became Illinois (BB-7), Alabama (BB-8), and Wisconsin (BB-9). The trio was built between 1896-1898 by different shipyards.

The class was eventually considered a "provisional" warship class, introducing some new qualities, such as a modern main battery turret, while retaining some of the older, more common features of U.S. Navy warships, such as the flame-tube boiler installation.

The Illinois class followed the Maine class and was eventually replaced by the Kearsarge class.

USS Wisconsin (BB-9) was laid by Union Steel on February 9, 1897 and launched November 26, 1898. She commissioned February 4, 1901, and was named after the northern state of Wisconsin.

The First World War (1914-1918) broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, but the United States remained neutral in the conflict until April 1917. So far, the USS Wisconsin has been retained for training purposes and returned to service on April 23 of this year - as part of the Coastal Warship Patrol Squadron.

She trained personnel and participated in various drills before entering the dry dock from October to December.

By early 1918, she was in Chesapeake waters and entered the restoration phase from Mary to June. She patrols the East Coast of the United States looking for a German U-boat heading for Annapolis, but comes back empty-handed.

Further training followed, even though the war ended when the armistice ended at the end of November 15, 1918.

Later in her career, she trained additional U.S. Navy personnel in Cuba until 1919 as part of the Atlantic Fleet. Her services were no longer required, and she was eventually discharged on May 15, 1920, designated "BB-9". July 17 this year.

On January 26, 1922, the warship was stripped of its military value and sold as scrap, marking the end of the legendary sailing career.

The name "Wisconsin" has been resurrected again, this time with the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) (detailed elsewhere on this page), a formidable warship that excelled during WWII (1939-1945), but did not endure until 1991 It was decommissioned in 2008 and was eventually preserved as a floating museum ship.