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USS Montana (ACR-13)
Encyclopedia
The first USS Montana (ACR-13), also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 13", later renamed Missoula and designated CA-13, was a Tennessee-class
armored cruiser
of the United States Navy
, a sister ship of .
She was laid down by the Newport News Shipbuilding
Co., Newport News, Virginia
on 29 April 1905, launched on 15 December 1906, sponsored by Miss Minnie Conrad, and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 21 July 1908, Captain
Alfred Reynolds in command.
, Montana departed Norfolk on 5 August to cruise off the east coast until 25 January 1909, when she sailed from Charleston, South Carolina
, for the Caribbean, arriving off Colón, Panama
on the 29th. While operating with the Special Service Squadron
, Montana departed Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
, Cuba
on 2 April for the Mediterranean to protect American interests during the aftermath of the Turkish Revolution of 1908
. Leaving Gibraltar
on 23 July, she arrived Boston
on 3 August, and resumed east coast operations.
On 8 April 1910, the armored cruiser sailed from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to take part in the Argentine Centennial Celebration, calling at Uruguay
, Argentina
, and finally Brazil before heading for home 30 June, arriving Hampton Roads on 22 July. Montana left Charleston, with President William Howard Taft
and his party embarked on 10 November for a visit to Panama, returning her passengers to Hampton Roads on 22 November.
Montana was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet on 26 July 1911 for major overhaul at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
until 11 November 1912. In December, she departed on a second trip to the Near East
, stopping at Beirut
, Alexandretta (now İskenderun
) and Mersin
, Turkey. Returning to the U.S. in June 1913, Montana operated off the east coast and made training cruises to Mexico
, Cuba, and Haiti
until the United States entered World War I.
area and along the east coast. Assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force
on 17 July 1917, she did convoy and escort duty out of Hampton Roads; New York
; and Halifax
, Nova Scotia
through most of 1917–1918. The armored cruiser also performed as a Naval Academy
practice ship in the Chesapeake Bay
area early in 1918. Ordered to France in December, Montana made six round trips from Europe from January–July 1919, returning 8,800 American troops.
, Montana remained there from 16 August 1919-2 February 1921, when she was decommissioned. On 7 June 1920, Montana was renamed Missoula for Missoula, Montana
and reclassified CA-13. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 15 July 1930 and sold to John Irwin, Jr. on 29 September. In October 1935, the armored cruiser was scrapped in accordance with the London Naval Treaty
.
Tennessee class cruiser
The Tennessee-class armored cruisers were four ships of the US Navy built between 1903–1906. The first pair were authorized in 1902 and the second in 1904...
armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, a sister ship of .
She was laid down by the Newport News Shipbuilding
Northrop Grumman Newport News
Newport News Shipbuilding , originally Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , was the largest privately-owned shipyard in the United States prior to being purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2001...
Co., Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
on 29 April 1905, launched on 15 December 1906, sponsored by Miss Minnie Conrad, and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 21 July 1908, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Alfred Reynolds in command.
Pre-World War I
Assigned to the Atlantic FleetUnited States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, Montana departed Norfolk on 5 August to cruise off the east coast until 25 January 1909, when she sailed from Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, for the Caribbean, arriving off Colón, Panama
Colón, Panama
Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
on the 29th. While operating with the Special Service Squadron
Special Service Squadron
The Special Service Squadron was a component of the United States Navy during the 1920s and 1930s.Under the United States Fleet, the squadron patrolled the Caribbean Sea as an instrument of gunboat diplomacy. It was headquartered in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone.-Commanders:* C.H. Hockson 1907 * Henry...
, Montana departed Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
on 2 April for the Mediterranean to protect American interests during the aftermath of the Turkish Revolution of 1908
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, marking the onset of the Second Constitutional Era...
. Leaving Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on 23 July, she arrived Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
on 3 August, and resumed east coast operations.
On 8 April 1910, the armored cruiser sailed from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to take part in the Argentine Centennial Celebration, calling at Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and finally Brazil before heading for home 30 June, arriving Hampton Roads on 22 July. Montana left Charleston, with President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
and his party embarked on 10 November for a visit to Panama, returning her passengers to Hampton Roads on 22 November.
Montana was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet on 26 July 1911 for major overhaul at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
until 11 November 1912. In December, she departed on a second trip to the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
, stopping at Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Alexandretta (now İskenderun
Iskenderun
İskenderun is a city and urban district in the province of Hatay on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The current mayor is Yusuf Hamit Civelek .-Names:...
) and Mersin
Mersin
-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...
, Turkey. Returning to the U.S. in June 1913, Montana operated off the east coast and made training cruises to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Cuba, and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
until the United States entered World War I.
World War I
During the first months of the war, Montana conducted training exercises and transported supplies and men in the York RiverYork River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
area and along the east coast. Assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force
Cruiser and Transport Force
The Cruiser and Transport Service was a unit of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet during World War I that was responsible for transporting American men and materiel to France.- Composition :...
on 17 July 1917, she did convoy and escort duty out of Hampton Roads; New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; and Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
through most of 1917–1918. The armored cruiser also performed as a Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
practice ship in the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
area early in 1918. Ordered to France in December, Montana made six round trips from Europe from January–July 1919, returning 8,800 American troops.
Inter-war period
Following her arrival at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, WashingtonBremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, Montana remained there from 16 August 1919-2 February 1921, when she was decommissioned. On 7 June 1920, Montana was renamed Missoula for Missoula, Montana
Missoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
and reclassified CA-13. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 15 July 1930 and sold to John Irwin, Jr. on 29 September. In October 1935, the armored cruiser was scrapped in accordance with the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
.