text: uss rhode island ( bb - 17 ) uss rhode island ( bb - 17 ) was the last of five virginia - class battleships built for the united states navy , and was the second ship to carry her name . she was laid down in may 1902 , launched in may 1904 , and commissioned into the atlantic fleet in february 1906 . the ship was armed with an offensive battery of four 12 - inch ( 300 mm ) guns and eight 8 - inch ( 200 mm ) guns , and she was capable of a top speed of 19 knots ( 35 km / h ; 22 mph ) . the ship 's career primarily consisted of training with the other battleships of the atlantic fleet . rhode island took part in the cruise of the great white fleet in 1907 – 09 , and thereafter largely remained in the atlantic . in late 1913 , she cruised the caribbean coast of mexico to protect american interests during the mexican revolution . after the united states entered world war i in april 1917 , rhode island was assigned to anti - submarine patrols off the east coast of the us . starting in december 1918 , after the end of the war , the ship was used to repatriate american soldiers . she carried over 5 , 000 men in the course of five trips . she was briefly transferred to the pacific fleet in 1919 before being decommissioned in 1920 and sold for scrap in 1923 under the terms of the washington naval treaty . design rhode island was 441 feet 3 inches ( 134 . 49 m ) long overall and had a beam of 76 ft 3 in ( 23 . 24 m ) and a draft of 23 ft 9 in ( 7 . 24 m ) . she displaced 14 , 948 long tons ( 15 , 188 t ) as designed and up to 16 , 094 long tons ( 16 , 352 t ) at full load . the ship was powered by two - shaft triple - expansion steam engines rated at 19 , 000 indicated horsepower ( 14 , 000 kw ) and twelve coal - fired babcock & wilcox boilers , generating a top speed of 19 knots ( 35 km / h ; 22 mph ) . as built , she was fitted with heavy military masts , but these were quickly replaced by cage masts in 1909 . she had a crew of 812 officers and enlisted men . the ship was armed with a main battery of four 12 inch / 40 mark 4 guns in two twin gun turrets on the centerline , one forward and aft . the secondary battery consisted of eight 8 - inch ( 203 mm ) / 45 guns and twelve 6 - inch ( 152 mm ) / 45 guns . the 8 - inch guns were mounted in four twin turrets ; two of these were superposed atop the main battery turrets , with the other two turrets abreast the forward funnel . the 6 - inch guns were placed in casemates in the hull . for close - range defense against torpedo boats , she carried twelve 3 - inch / 50 guns mounted in casemates along the side of the hull and twelve 3 - pounder guns . she also carried two 1 - pounder guns . as was standard for capital ships of the period , rhode island carried four 21 in ( 530 mm ) torpedo tubes , submerged in her hull on the broadside . rhode island 's main armored belt was 11 in ( 279 mm ) thick over the magazines and the machinery spaces and 6 in ( 152 mm ) elsewhere . the main battery gun turrets ( and the secondary turrets on top of them ) had 12 - inch ( 300 mm ) thick faces , and the supporting barbettes had 10 in ( 250 mm ) of armor plating . the conning tower had 9 in ( 230 mm ) thick sides . service history rhode island was laid down at the fore river shipyard in massachusetts on 1 may 1902 and was launched on 17 may 1904 . the ship was completed less than a year later , on 19 february 1906 . the ship conducted an extensive shakedown cruise and sea trials before steaming to hampton roads , where she was assigned to the 2nd division of the 1st squadron , atlantic fleet on 1 january 1907 . she left hampton roads on 9 march 1907 , bound for guantanamo bay , cuba . there , she and the rest of the 1st squadron conducted maneuvers and gunnery training . after the conclusion of these exercises , she returned to the east coast of the united states for a cruise to cape cod bay . on 8 december , rhode island returned to hampton roads , where she and fifteen other battleships held a naval review at the start of the cruise of the great white fleet . the battleships were joined by transports and a squadron of torpedo boats . on 16 december , president theodore roosevelt reviewed the fleet before it departed on the first leg of the trip . the fleet cruised south to the caribbean and then to south america , making stops in port of spain , rio de janeiro , punta arenas , and valparaíso , among other cities . after arriving in mexico in march 1908 , the fleet spent three weeks conducting gunnery practice . the fleet then resumed its voyage up the pacific coast of the americas , stopping in san francisco and seattle before crossing the pacific to australia , stopping in hawaii on the way . stops in the south pacific included melbourne , sydney , and auckland . the fleet then turned north for the philippines , stopping in manila , before continuing on to japan where a welcoming ceremony was held in yokohama . three weeks of exercises followed in subic bay in the philippines in november . the ships passed singapore on 6 december and entered the indian ocean ; they coaled in colombo before proceeding to the suez canal and coaling again at port said , egypt . the fleet called in several mediterranean ports before stopping in gibraltar , where an international fleet of british , russian , french , and dutch warships greeted the americans . the ships then crossed the atlantic to return to hampton roads on 22 february 1909 , having traveled 46 , 729 nautical miles ( 86 , 542 km ; 53 , 775 mi ) . there , they conducted a naval review for president theodore roosevelt . after the conclusion of the review , rhode island steamed to new york for an overhaul at the new york navy yard . during the overhaul , on 8 march , the ship was assigned to the 3rd division , 1st squadron . after emerging from the dry dock , she resumed her normal peacetime routine of maneuvers with the rest of the squadron , gunnery practice , and training cruises . in february 1910 she was sent on a cruise in the caribbean . the ship was reassigned to the 4th division , 1st squadron on 20 october , and two weeks later she and the rest of the squadron held a naval review in boston for president william howard taft on 2 november . the ships then crossed the atlantic to visit european ports ; rhode island went to gravesend . during the cruise , the fleet conducted large scale battle and reconnaissance training . rhode island and the rest of the ships recrossed the atlantic and stopped in guantanamo bay on 13 january 1911 . the ship then resumed her peacetime routine , which lasted for the next three years , punctuated only by a cruise to key west , florida and havana and guantanamo bay in cuba in june – july 1912 . upon her return , she was reassigned temporarily as the flagship of the 3rd division on 17 july . this duty was short - lived , and on 1 august the divisional commander transferred his flag to her sister ship new jersey . on 28 june 1913 , rhode island again became the divisional flagship , and this stint lasted until 18 january 1914 . in late 1913 , the us navy began to become increasingly involved in the mexican revolution ; in late 1913 , rhode island cruised off veracruz , tampico , and tuxpan to protect american nationals in the country . in february 1914 , the ship left the area and stopped in guantanamo bay for two weeks before continuing on to the united states to return to her normal routine . the ship went on two cruises to show the flag in the caribbean , the first from october 1914 to march 1915 , and the second from january to february 1916 . during this period , she served as the flagship for the 4th division , 1st squadron , from 19 december 1914 to 20 january 1915 . on 15 may 1916 , she was reduced to the fleet reserve at the boston navy yard , and formally removed from the atlantic fleet the following day . from 24 june to 28 september , she served as the flagship of the commander in chief , reserve force , atlantic fleet . rhode island was placed back in commission on 27 march 1917 , as tensions with germany rose dramatically as the result of the german unrestricted submarine warfare campaign that had been launched earlier in the year . the united states declared war on 6 april , and on 3 may , the ship became the flagship of battleship division 3 , atlantic fleet . the ship 's crew underwent extensive training to bring the ship up to combat readiness before she was assigned to anti - submarine patrols off tangier island , maryland . she was based out of hampton roads into 1918 . in april , rhode island was transferred to battleship division 2 , and in june , she conducted torpedo proving trials . at the end of the war in november , the ship was assigned to the operation to transport american soldiers back from france . the first trip started on 18 december ; rhode island and virginia steamed to brest , france , where they arrived on 30 december . the two ships took on 2 , 043 men between them during a three - day stay in the port . over the course of four further trips , the last of which ended on 4 july 1919 , she carried more than 5 , 000 men to boston . on 17 july , she was assigned as the flagship of battleship squadron 1 , pacific fleet . she left boston five days later and cruised down to balboa , at the entrance to the panama canal . after transiting the canal , rhode island steamed north , to mare island navy yard , where she remained through 1920 . on 30 june , she was decommissioned and placed in reserve . according to the terms of the 1922 washington naval treaty , rhode island was sold for scrap on 1 november 1923 and broken up . the ship 's bell is preserved on display at the rhode island state house .