 USS Utah ( BB @-@ 31 / AG @-@ 16 ) was the second and final member of the Florida @-@ class of dreadnought battleships . The first ship of the United States Navy named after the state of Utah , she had one sister ship , Florida . Utah was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation , laid down in March 1909 , launched in June 1909 , and commissioned in March 1911 . She was the only battleship in the United States Navy to be sunk in action during World War I , when she was struck by two torpedes from the Japanese submarine I-12 on 