The first USS ''Nevada'', a

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

, was ordered on 4 May 1898. She was awarded to the

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world's largest ...

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Bath is included in the Brunswick, Maine, Brunswick Micropolitan statistical area, micropolitan area. Bath has a 2024 population of 8,870. It is also the county seat of Sagadahoc County ...

on 19 October 1898 and laid down as ''Connecticut'', 17 April 1899. ''Connecticut'' was launched 24 November 1900; sponsored by Miss Grace Boutelle; renamed ''Nevada'', January 1901; and commissioned on 5 March 1903,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Thomas B. Howard in command. The total cost for the hull, machinery, armor and armament was $1,851,313.22. ''Nevada'' was renamed ''Tonopah'' in 1909 to free up the name for a new battleship.

Design

The s had been designed to combine a heavy striking power with easy concealment and negligible target area. They had a displacement of , measured in

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

, with a beam of and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . She was manned by a total crew of 13 officers and 209 men. ''Nevada'' was powered by two vertical triple expansion engines driving two

screw propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

s with steam generated by four Niclausse boilers. The engines in ''Nevada'' were designed to produce with a top speed of , however, on

sea trials A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on o ...

she was only able to produce but with a top speed of . ''Nevada'' was designed to provide a range of at . The ship was armed with a

main battery A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a naval gun or group of guns used in volleys, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, th ...

of two /40 caliber guns, either Mark 3 or Mark 4, in a Mark 4 turret. The secondary battery consisted of four /50 caliber Mark 7 guns along with three 6-pounder guns. The main

belt armor Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and aircraft carriers. The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating to ...

was in the middle tapering to at the ends. The gun turrets were between , with

barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...

s. ''Nevada'' also had a deck.

Service history

On 2 March 1909, the monitor was renamed ''Tonopah'' to allow Battleship Number 36 to be named ''Nevada''. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet's

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

force as a tender, ''Tonopah'' operated along the east coast from

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Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

until January 1918. Then briefly assigned to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, she was ordered to

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,2 ...

São Miguel Island São Miguel Island (; ), nicknamed "The Green Island" (), is the largest and most populous island in the Portugal, Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, with 45,000 people residing in Ponta D ...

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

in February. Between then and December she tended the submarines , , , , and and submarine chasers operating in the strategic area of the Azores. In December, she was towed to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, and, upon her return to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, decommissioned at

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Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, on 1 July 1920. She was one of several vessels sold on 26 January 1922, to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company of Philadelphia.

Notes

Bibliography

Books

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Online resources

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External links

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World Battleships List: US "New Navy" Monitors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevada Arkansas-class monitors Ships built in Bath, Maine 1900 ships World War I monitors of the United States Ships built by Bath Iron Works