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N7KTP > NAVNET 14.06.05 00:47l 65 Lines 3621 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 40815_N7FSP
Read: GUEST
Subj: USS NEW HAMPSHIRE (BB-25)
Path: DB0FHN<DB0MRW<DB0FSG<I4UKI<IK5CKL<IW2OAZ<IZ0AWG<PY1AYH<7M3TJZ<N7FSP
Sent: 050613/1559z @:N7FSP.#SEA.#WWA.WA.USA.NOAM West Seattle, WA. on 145.010
New Hampshire served as flagship for special force in Haiti
By FRED MILES WATSON - Managing Editor - Northwest Navigator
The battleship USS New Hampshire (BB-25) was built at New York
Shipbuilding Corp., Camden N.J., and was commissioned March 19, 1908
with Capt. Cameron Wmslow in command
A Connecticut class battlewagon, she displaced 16,OOO-tons and was
nearly 457 feet long. Top speed rang out at 18 knots as she had a draw
of 24 feet, six ind1es. A total of 850 men served in New Hampshire,
many of them operating the ship's four, 12-inch, eight 8-inch, 12-seven
inch and 20, three-inch gunmounts. In addition New Hampshire was
outfitted with two, 1-pounders and four, 21-inch torpedo tubes at the
time of commissioning. .
After the ship was fitted out at New York, New Hampshire carried a
Marine Expeditionary Regiment to Colon, Panama, in late June of 1908,
then made ceremonial visits to Quebec, Portsmouth, New York, and
Bridgeport. After an Overhaul at New York and follow on workup
exercises, New Hampshire participated in the Naval Review by President
Theodore Roosevelt in Hampton Roads on Feb. 22, 1909, welcoming home
the "Great White Fleet". During the next 18 months she exercised along
the East Coast and in the Caribbean, then departed Hampton Roads Nov.
1, 1910, with the Second Batlleship Division for Cherbourg, France and
Weymouth, England.
Departing England Dec. 30, she returned to the Caribbean until
arriving in Norfolk on March 10, 1911 to prepare for a second European
cruise which took her to Scandinavian, Russian and German ports. The
squadron returned to New England waters on July 13.
New Hampshire trained Naval Academy midshipmen off New England
during the next two summers, and patrolled off strife-torn Hispaniola
in December 1912. From June 14, until Dec. 29, 1913 she protected
American interests along the Mexican coast, to which she returned April
15, 1914 to support the occupation of Vera Cruz. New Hampshire sailed
north June 21, was overhauled at Norfolk, and exercised along the East
Coast and in the Caribbean until returning to Vera Cruz in August 1915.
After arriving in Norfolk on September 30, 1915, New Hampshire
operated in Northern waters until Dec. 2, 1916, when she sailed for
Santo Domingo, where her commanding officer took part in the government
of the revolt-torn country. She returned to Norfolk in February 1917
for an overhaul that took her through the United States entering World
War I. For the next year and a half she trained gunners and engineers
in northern coastal waters, and on Sept. 15 began the first of two con-
voy escort missions, guarding transports from New York to a rendezvous
point off the French coast. On Christmas Eve New Hampshire sailed on
the first of four voyages bringing veterans home from France to East
Coast ports. This duty was completed June 22, 1919 and she was
overhauled at Philadelphia. On June 5, 1920, she sailed with Academy
midshipmen embarked for a cruise through the Panama Canal to Hawaii and
West Coast ports. She returned to Philadelphia Sept l1.
New Hampshire served as flagship for the special naval force in
Haitian waters from Oct. 18 to Jan. 12, 1921, and on Jan. 25, sailed
with the remains of Swedish Minister Wllliehn Ekengren for Stockholm
arriving Feb. 14. She called also at Kid and Gravesend before returning
to Philadelphia on March 24. It was there that she was decommissioned
May 21, 1921 and sold for scrapping Nov. 1, 1923 in accordance with the
Washington Treaty for the Limitation of Naval Armaments.
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