Three U.S. Navy ships named to honor the State of Wyoming
For centuries countries have named their warships. Names have included adjectives such as the United Kingdom’s HMS Invincible. Other choices have been for fierce battles such as the U.S. Navy’s USS Tarawa and for prominent people; the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier is an example.
In the U.S. Navy, the most powerful ships of the day have been honored with the names of states. All 50 states have been so honored, including the USS Maine, launched in 1889 and sunk in Havana Harbor less than 10 years later. It was the first of four successively named for the State of Maine. In the case of Wyoming, there have been three such ships that have been christened for the State of Wyoming
USS Wyoming M-10
The first ship named “USS Wyoming” was designated M-10 which stood for the 10th “monitor” built for the Navy in the last two decades of the 19th century. Construction started on the ship in 1898 and it was launched on September 8, 1900.
The ship, which was sponsored by Hattie Warren, the daughter of Governor Francis E. Warren, looked a bit peculiar as its design called for it to be heavily armed with 12” guns but ride low in the water to make it harder to be seen by any enemy force. M-10 had a crew of 220, was 225 feet long and 55 feet wide (also known as “beam”). The ship displaced a total of 3,225 tons.
Displacement is often erroneously called the weight of the ship. Actually, it is the weight of the water displaced by the ship and can vary depending on what is loaded on the ship.
USS Wyoming M-10 was active in Panama during its conflict to declare independence from Colombia in 1903 where it provided shelter and support for Americans living in the area. Later the ship was redesignated USS Cheyenne so the name Wyoming could be used for a newly authorized battleship.
USS Wyoming BB-32
The second ship named for the state was a battleship. The U.S. Navy began building battleships in 1892 with a group of ships that included the infamous USS Maine. By the early 1900’s, technology and design moved forward, and newer faster and more heavily armed battleships were joining the fleet. USS Wyoming was one of those.
Construction began on USS Wyoming in February 1910; it joined the fleet in September 1912. Having a design more recognizable as a battleship, it was 562 feet long. By way of comparison, Laramie’s Undine Park is approximately 625 feet long on each side. Wyoming was 93 feet wide with a crew of just over 1000. Displacement was 26,000 tons, three times that of the Maine. Its top speed was 21 knots or 24.5 miles per hour.
The launch of the ship in May 1911 generated lots of news in Wyoming. Preceding the launch, the Laramie Boomerang announced on 21 April that Miss Dorothy Knight of Cheyenne would christen the ship. Her father was a Wyoming Supreme Court judge. The paper went on to anoint the ship as “the largest and most powerful fighting craft on this earth.” One writer dubbed the ship the “rootin’, tootin’, fancy shootin’ cowboy of the sea.”
There was also a Laramie connection. Dorothy’s sister was Harriet Knight Orr, who later was a key member of the UW School of Education and for whom Orr Hall is named. Additionally, Laramie resident W. H. Holliday and wife attended the launching of the battleship in Philadelphia. Page One of several Wyoming newspapers reported the launching of the ship. As was the custom of the time, the officers’ wardroom was presented with a beautiful set of silver which is now in the collection of the Wyoming State Museum.
The USS Wyoming was heavily armed with twelve 12-inch main guns firing 870-pound shells along with 21 5-inch guns and 2 torpedo tubes. As the most modern battleship in the U.S. Navy, she became the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet. As such she began a goodwill tour of the Mediterranean Sea in late 1913 with port calls in Malta, Italy, and France.
Early Fleet operations
USS Wyoming’s first operations in a conflict zone was in 1914 when it transported a contingent of troops to Vera Cruz, Mexico, for protection of U.S. citizens living there during the Mexican Revolution. Her first combat experience would be in late 1917 when she and four other battleships sailed to Great Britain, where, under the command of U.S. Rear Admiral Rodman, they supported the British Grand Fleet.
The USS Wyoming participated in convoy protection operations between Great Britain and Norway as well as patrolling in the North Sea. Late in the year she provided escort duties to protect the ship carrying President Wilson to the Paris peace negotiations. Soon after, she departed for the United States.
Between the wars, USS Wyoming conducted routine operations off both coasts of America, using the Panama Canal for transits. In 1925, she underwent a major overhaul when she was converted from coal burning to oil burning boilers and added additional protective armor below the waterline to protect against torpedo attack.
When back into the operational fleet in 1927, it is noteworthy that her second in command was Commander William F Halsey. Halsey was later a major figure in the WWII in the Pacific and one of only four five-star admirals to ever serve in the U.S. Navy.
Prior to WWII, Wyoming served repeatedly as a training ship for Naval Academy and Naval ROTC cadets. In 1931, under terms of the London Naval Treaty she was “demilitarized” with much of her armor plating and some of the main weapons removed. The aim of the treaty was to head off a naval arms race like the one prior to WWI.
WWII
USS Wyoming continued to serve as a training platform for the duration of WWII. Her 12-inch guns were removed and replaced with additional anti-aircraft guns on which more than 35,000 men were trained before heading to new duty stations in the fleet.
Her long service to the United States wound down immediately after the war. Another noteworthy officer served aboard during her final months of active service. Newly commissioned Ensign Jimmy Carter reported on board in August and served until the ship was decommissioned on July 11, 1947. The ship was scrapped in New York in December.
USS Wyoming SSBN-742
Currently another powerful warship bears the name USS Wyoming. It is a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. The submarine was constructed in Groton, Connecticut, launched on July 13, 1995, and joined the active fleet on July 13, 1996.
This USS Wyoming is 560 feet long and 42 feet wide. Crewed by 15 officers and 140 enlisted members it is one of the most powerful ships ever to be constructed. Powered by a nuclear reactor it is capable of diving to more than 800 feet and moving underwater at greater than 25 knots (29 mph). The ship displaces 18,700 tons.
SSBN’s deploy for months at a time and remained submerged and undetectable for the duration. Therefore, unlike surface ships, SSBN’s operate with two separate crews designated “Blue” and “Gold” trading off operating the sub before each deployment. This allows the submarine to be deployed more frequently.
Wyoming carries 24 Trident II nuclear tipped ballistic missiles as well as Mark 48 torpedoes. Trident missiles can be configured in several different ways with multiple warheads. In any configuration the destructive power of each missile is an order of magnitude greater than the weapons dropped on Japan in WWII.
USS Wyoming remains in active service, homeported at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base Georgia.
By Kim Viner
Note
There was another U.S. Navy ship named USS Wyoming that served in the Navy during and after the Civil War. That ship was named for the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. There was also a famous wooden cargo ship named for the state. That Wyoming was the largest wooden ship in the world. Built in 1909, it sank in 1924. A wonderful model of that ship can be seen at Coe Library and was constructed by Francois Dickman.
Source: Public domain, U.S. National Archives
Caption: USS Wyoming BB32 off the east coast during a 1912 review of U.S. Navy ships.
Source: Courtesy of Charles T. Wilder collection, Dartmouth Library Collection
Caption: USS Wyoming M-10 “Monitor” in San Francisco Bay circa 1902.
Source: Public Domain, U.S. Navy
Caption: USS Wyoming SSBN-742 commissioning ceremony, at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, Connecticut, 13 July 1996