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USS MASSACHUSETTS BB-2
USS
Massachusetts BB-2 is a Indiana-class battleship and
the second United States Navy ship comparable to
foreign battleships of its time. Authorized in
1890 and commissioned six years later, she was a
small battleship, though with heavy armor and
ordnance. She pioneered the use of an
intermediate battery.
USS Massachusetts served in the Spanish–American War
(1898) as part of the Flying Squadron and took part
in the blockades of Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. In March 1898, she join the Flying
Squadron for the blockade of Cuba.
On May 31th, in company with battleship Iowa (BB-4)
and cruiser New Orleans, Massachusetts bombarded the
forts at the entrance to Santiago de Cuba. She
exchanged fire with Spanish cruiser Cristobal Colon,
forcing the enemy ship to retire into the inner
harbor of Santiago.
The Massachusetts
BB-2 remained on patrol off Santiago, intermittently
bombarding Spanish fortifications, until July 3rd,
when she stood out to coal at Guantanamo Bay.
During the next 7 years, Massachusetts BB-2 cruised
the Atlantic coast and eastern Caribbean as a member
of the North Atlantic Squadron. Departing New
York in January 1905, the battlewagon then steamed
for the Caribbean on training maneuvers, operating
there until she returned north to cruise off New
England in May. Putting into New York November
1905, she underwent inactivation overhaul and then
decommissioned January 8th 1906.
USS
Massachusetts was placed in reduced commission in May
1910 to serve as a summer practice ship for Naval
Academy midshipmen. During the next 4 years she made
three midshipman cruises—twice to Western Europe—
before entering the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in
September 1912. In October, the warship returned
to Philadelphia where she remained until
decommissioning 23 May 1914.
Massachusetts BB-2 was recommissioned in June 1917 at
Philadelphia. Sailing in October, she arrived at
the Naval Training Station, Newport, R.I., to embark
Naval Reserve guncrews for gunnery training in Block
Island Sound. Continuing on this duty until May
1918, the old battleship then underwent repairs at
Philadelphia Navy Yard. Assigned to battle
practice, "A" Division, Battleship force 1, Atlantic
Fleet, June 1918 the veteran battlewagon steamed to
Yorktown, Va., the same day, and for the remainder of
World War I served as a heavy gun target practice ship
in Chesapeake Bay and local Atlantic waters.
Massachusetts was
decommissioned for the final time on the May 31st,
1919. She was loaned to the War Department as a
target ship. Scuttled off Pensacola Bar, Fla., 6
January 1921, the hulk was bombarded by batteries from
Fort Pickens for 4 years and then returned to the Navy
20 February 1925. In November 1956, the ship was
declared the property of the state of Florida.
With her main turrets
awash, the Massachusetts is now an underwater
preserve. She is a diving site off
Pensacola, Florida.
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This primarily wood
USS Massachusetts BB-2 model is 30" long
(1/144
scale) model was
built for a grandson of a sailor of the ship. If
you'd like one, let us know of the size for a quote. |
