The first vessel of war named "Kentucky" was a Confederate troop ship during the Civil War. This ill-fated ship was captured by the enemy in 1862 and later sank in 1865 with severe loss of life.

The battleship featured here was the sister ship of the class ship "Kearsarge," built at Newport News, Virginia, from 1896-1898. The U.S.S. "Kentucky," battleship BB-6, was launched on 24 March 1898. She was sponsored by Miss Christine Bradley, daughter of Governor William Bradley. In support of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, Miss Bradley christened the ship with water instead of the traditional champaign. Legend has it that word of these plans incensed several tradition-bound Kentuckians, who showered the side of the "Kentucky" with small bottles of bourbon as she slipped down the ways.

Battleship "Kentucky" BB-6 

Displacement: 11,520 tons
Length: 375 feet 4 inches
Beam: 72 feet 2½ inches
Draft: 25 feet maximum
Speed: 16 knots, 10,000 horsepower
Complement: 554 (40 officers, 514 enlisted men)
Armament: Four 13-inch guns; four 8-inch guns; fourteen 5-inch guns; twenty 6-pounders; eight 1-pounders; four .30-cal machine guns; four 18-inch torpedo tubes
Armor: Maximum thickness: 17 inches
Class: Kearsarge

Captain Colby Chester commanded the "Kentucky" when she was commissioned on 15 May 1900, and the ship soon left for a Far East cruise. Since she was one of the most advanced warships of the time, she became Rear Admiral Kempff's flagship in 1901 in Pacific waters. After protecting American interests in the Far East, the "Kentucky" returned home in May 1904. During the Cuban Insurrection in 1906 the "Kentucky" landed Marines in Havana and stood by in support.

The high point of the "Kentucky's" career came in 1907-1909 as part of the "Great White Fleet" in its cruise around the world to demonstrate American prestige and military power abroad. This fleet of sixteen battleships visited ports in South American, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, China, and North Africa before returning home in triumph in early 1909.

Following this historic cruise the battleship "Kentucky" was decommissioned, but was recommissioned in 1915 as a training ship. During this period her appearance underwent radical changes when the original tubular masts were replaced with the cage style or "peach basket" masts (used for observation platforms and fire control). After one final patrol off Mexico in 1915-16 during the Mexican Revolution, the "Kentucky" continued to serve as a training ship through 1918, losing some of her guns in the meantime. Following an overhaul and fleet maneuvers in the Atlantic in 1919, the U.S.S. "Kentucky" was finally decommissioned 29 May 1920, and sold for scrap in 1924.

A hull of the powerful World War II "Iowa" class battleships was laid down in 1942 and designated the "Kentucky" (BB-66), but this ship was never completed. Its bow was used to repair accident damage to the battleship "Wisconsin" in 1956 and the hull was finally scrapped in 1958.

The current U.S. Navy vessel bearing the name "Kentucky" is a Trident-class nuclear missile submarine, SSBN-737, launched 11 August 1990 and still in service today.

Battleship "Kentucky" as she appeared shortly after entering the service. Only the superstructure is painted a darker buff color; the hull, decks, and turrets are painted white. The darker blotches on the hull are shadows from the lifeboats and other equipment. (U.S. Naval Historical Center)

The following stereo cards show several interesting views of the battleship "Kentucky." These were meant to be viewed with a stereopticon viewer, which showed the photos as three dimensional pictures, but if you can cross your eyes and hold them at the right angle, you can get the same effect (concentrate on the view in the center as you cross your eyes.)