USS Wyoming BB-32
History of the USS Wyoming Battleship
The USS Wyoming (BB-32) was ordered for the U.S. Navy on March 3, 1909. Her keel was laid down by William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 9, 1910. She was launched on May 25, 1911 and commissioned on September 25, 1912 under the command of Captain Frederick L. Chapin.
When she departed Philadelphia in October 1912, USS Wyoming headed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York to complete her fitting out. She then sailed to Virginia’s Hampton Roads to join the Atlantic Fleet. In December, the battleship became the flagship for Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger, Commander Atlantic Fleet.
Over the next few years, the USS Wyoming conducted training exercises, gunnery practice, fleet maneuvers, midshipmen cruises and underwent repair work that brought her to the Panama Canal, Cuba, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, New York, Rhode Island, Maryland, the Mediterranean, Mexico and the Caribbean.
When the United States entered World War I n April 6, 1917, USS Wyoming was off Yorktown, Virginia. She spent the next few months as an engineering ship in Chesapeake Bay. On November 13, she became the flagship for Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman, Commander Battleship Division 9. The battleship then sailed for the British Isles, arriving at Scapa Flow on December 7 and joining the 6th Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet.
USS Wyoming patrolled the waters surrounding the British Isles to guard the sea lanes against the German Fleet. In late June 1918, she guarded Allied minelayers as they created the North Sea Mine Barrage. After returning to the Firth of Forth, she was inspected by King George V of the United Kingdom. When the war ended in November, the battleship escorted the German High Seas Fleet for internment in Scotland.
In December, the USS Wyoming became the flagship for the new Commander Battleship Division 9, Rear Admiral William Sims. Sailing from England to France, she served as part of President Woodrow Wilson’s honor escort as he traveled to the Paris Peace Conference. The battleship then returned to England and carried with her 381 bags of mail for her return trip to the United States, arriving at New York City on Christmas Day.
On January 18, 1919, USS Wyoming became the flagship for Rear Admiral Robert Coontz, Commander Battleship Division 7, Battle Squadron 3. After helping guard the Curtiss NC Flying Boats for their trans-Atlantic flight, she conducted a midshipman cruise and put in at Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia for refitting.
The USS Wyoming became a unit of the new Pacific Fleet on July 1, serving as the flagship of Battle Division 6, Battle Squadron 4. Eighteen days later, she sailed for the Pacific, transiting the Panama Canal to arrive at San Diego, California on August 6. She was shifted to San Pedro, California just a few days later before entering Puget Sound Navy Yard in Washington for overhaul. The ship received her hull designation (BB-32) on July 17, 1920.
On August 31, 1920, USS Wyoming sailed from California to Hawaii for exercises and maneuvers. She then returned to San Diego, California in October to conduct tactical evolutions off the West Coast. In January 1921, she sailed for Panama Bay and Chile, were she was reviewed by Chilean President Alessandri Palma in February before returning to Washington’s Puget Sound Navy Yard in March.
Once her yard work was completed in August, the USS Wyoming sailed for the Panama Canal Zone to transport Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman to New York City. She then became the flagship of Admiral Hilary P. Jones, Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet. The battleship spent the next three years operating along the East Coast, serving as the flagship of various commanders along the way, including future fleet admiral Commander William F. Halsey, Jr.
After a period of overhaul at the Brooklyn Navy Yard that lasted until January 1926, USS Wyoming conducted maneuvers in the Caribbean before conducting a midshipmen cruise. She then put in at Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania for modernization, which converted her from a coal burner to an oil burner. When her yard work was finished in November, the battleship headed for her shakedown cruise to Cuba and the Virgin Islands.
USS Wyoming became the flagship of Vice Admiral Ashley Robertson, Commander Scouting Fleet in December 1927. She spent the next several years operating out of Norfolk, Virginia; Brooklyn, New York and Boston, Massachusetts. In September 1930, the battleship became the flagship for Rear Admiral Wat T. Cluverius, Commander Battleship Division 2, though she only served under his flag for a month and a half.
On November 4, 1930 the USS Wyoming became the flagship of Rear Admiral Harley H. Christy, Commander Training Squadron, Scouting Fleet. She conducted a training cruise that brought her to New Orleans before entering Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania for conversion as a training ship, per the 1930 London Naval Treaty. When this work was completed, she sailed to Annapolis, Maryland to embark midshipmen for a European training cruise. The battleship was redesignated as AG-17 on July 1, 1931.
For the next few years, USS Wyoming conducted regular midshipmen cruises that took her to a variety of locations. In 1935, she also began participating in amphibious assault exercises to develop tactics for future conflicts. Two years later, she departed Norfolk, Virginia for San Diego, California for more drills and exercises. On February 18, 1937, a shrapnel shell exploded prematurely during one of these exercises, killing six Marines and injuring 11 others.
The USS Wyoming departed California to return to Virginia in March. She served as the temporary flagship of Rear Admiral Wilson Brown, Commander Training Squadron, before embarking on a training cruise that brought her to England and Portugal.
After several more years of training duties, USS Wyoming was off Rhode Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. She put in at Norfolk on January 28, 1942 and began a series of gunnery training drills in Chesapeake Bay, earning her the nickname “the Chesapeake Raider.”
In early 1944, the USS Wyoming underwent refitting at Virginia’s Norfolk Navy Yard. She then resumed her gunnery training activities, during which she fired off more ammunition than any other ship in the fleet. The battleship trained over 35,000 gunners on seven types of guns.
USS Wyoming departed Norfolk for the Brooklyn Navy Yard on June 30, 1945. After alterations, she sailed for Casco Bay, Maine on July 13 to join Composite Task Force 69 to study methods and tactics for countering kamikaze aircraft. After World War II ended, the task force became known as the Operational Development Force.
The USS Wyoming was decommissioned on August 1, 1947. Her final crew including future president Ensign Jimmy Carter. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on September 16, 1947 and sold for scrap on October 30, 1947.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.
Sources include:
John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, “Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences,” Ulster Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008)
Naval Historical Center, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships – USS Wyoming
