USS Arkansas (BM-7)

The Arkansas-class monitors had been designed to combine a heavy striking power with easy concealment and negligible target area. They had a displacement of 3,225 long tons (3,277 t; 3,612 short tons), measured 255 ft 1 in (77.75 m) in overall length, with a beam of 50 ft 1 in (15.27 m) and a draft of 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m). She was manned by a total crew of 13 officers and 209 men.^[5]

Arkansas was powered by two vertical triple expansion engines driving two screw propellers with steam generated by four Thornycroft boilers.^[6] The engines in Arkansas were designed to produce 2,400 indicated horsepower (1,800 kW) with a top speed of 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph), however, on sea trials she was only able to produce 1,739 ihp (1,297 kW) with a top speed of 12.03 kn (22.28 km/h; 13.84 mph).^[7] Arkansas was designed to provide a range of 2,360 nautical miles (4,370 km; 2,720 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph).^[5]

The ship was armed with a main battery of two 12-inch (305 mm)/40 caliber guns, either Mark 3 or Mark 4, in a Mark 4 turret.^[8][9][5] The secondary battery consisted of four 4-inch (102 mm)/50 caliber Mark 7 guns^[10] along with three 57 mm (2.2 in) Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder guns. The main belt armor was 11 in (280 mm) in the middle tapering to 5 in (130 mm) at the ends. The armor on the gun turrets was between 10 and 9 in (250 and 230 mm), with 11 to 9 in (280 to 230 mm) barbettes. Arkansas also had a 1.5 in (38 mm) thick deck.^[5]

 

On May 4, 1898, the U.S. Congress passed the Naval Appropriations Act of 1898. The act included the appropriation of 5 million dollars to build a new class of four new Monitors for the Navy, each to cost a maximum of $1,250,000.^[11] This came about from the call for more coastal defense vessels in the lead-up to and during the Spanish-American War. While the war with Spain almost guaranteed Congress would authorize their construction, as the act was passed less than two weeks after the war was declared, it would also be this conflict that nearly derailed the new monitors entirely. Less than a month after the ships were successfully contracted, reports were received from Rear Admiral William T. Sampson that sharply criticized the Monitors under his command in the lead-up to and during the Bombardment of San Juan.^[12] Sampson reported that the Monitors were inefficient due to their slow speed, which greatly hindered his operations, and he noted the poor accuracy of their guns, all of which convinced him operations would have gone smoother had the monitors not been sent out at all.^[13][14]

In November, Secretary of the Navy John D. Long responded to the criticism by ordering all construction of the monitors to be halted while new changes were to be decided upon. Fortunately, the new ships were just beginning to be built, so any modifications wouldn't be hard to implement. In the end, very few changes would actually be made to the original designs with the biggest being a relatively slight increase in displacement and coal capacity, as well as lengthening the ship by another 30 feet.^[15][16]

On October 1, 1898, bidding began on the construction of the new monitors, with the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company ultimately being contracted to build Arkansas for a price of $860,000, though this was later increased to $960,000 following the aforementioned changes to monitors design.^[12][17] Despite reports stating that she would be laid down in early 1899,^[18][19][20] construction wouldn’t begin on Arkansas until August of that year, with its keel being laid in November.^[21][22][23] Her sister ships, Florida, Wyoming, and Connecticut (later Nevada), had all begun being built much earlier, though the construction on these three would also be slow as all companies contracted had many other projects. Newport News Shipbuilding in particular had many ships in the process of being built, such as the pre-dreadnought battleships Kearsarge, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri, as well as six commercial vessels.^[24][25]

A year after her keel was laid, she was launched at Newport News on November 10, 1900.^[23] Reportedly 5,000 people viewed the launch, which was attended by Governors Jones and Tyler, both of Arkansas and Virginia respectively. Bobbie Newton Jones, the daughter of the Arkansas Governor, sponsored the ship. Arkansas was released from the slipways at 11:33, and, as the ship slowly slid into the James River, Ms. Jones proceeded to break the champagne bottle against the bow of the ship and stated, “I christen thee Arkansas.”^[26][27] Arkansas entered the water without “leaning starboard or port” according to one account, and the launch was a success.^[28]

Construction of Arkansas would continue steadily throughout 1901, with the ship being described as roughly halfway completed by spring.^[29][30][31] Aside from a strike at the Newport News Shipyard in the summer, which resulted in extra guards being posted around the various ships in construction, including Arkansas, work would continue unabated for another year.^[32][33] On April 15, 1902, Arkansas underwent her first dock trial which was a success, with her machinery operating without any major problems.^[34][35] Her building test took place on July 17, in which she was taken to the outskirts of the Virginia Capes for a few hours, and again all machinery was reported as working and the ship managed a speed slightly higher than the required 11+1⁄2 knots.^[36][37] On August 6, Arkansas had its official speed trial at the Barren Island course in the Chesapeake bay, averaging a speed of slightly over 12.2 knots for over an hour, surpassing the minimum speed needed for the trail by .7 knots.^[38][39][40]

With the completion of all of her trials, Arkansas was turned over to the Navy on September 6 and taken to the Portsmouth Naval Yard where she arrived shortly thereafter.^[41][42][43] Arkansas was placed under the command of Charles E. Vreeland, who had been assigned to the ship in August to oversee its fitting.^[44] Prior to this Vreeland had served on a number of ships and was a member of the Board of Inspection and Survey, after which he became a commander.^[45][46] On October 28, 1902, Arkansas was officially commissioned into the United States Navy after a small ceremony in the afternoon, which ended with the American Flag being raised over the ship.^[47] Despite having her Keel laid down months after her sister ships she would be the first of the Arkansas-Class Monitors to enter the Navy.^[23]

After shakedown, Arkansas' first duty was with the US Naval Academy in 1902 as an instruction and cruise ship for midshipmen. She was then assigned to the Coast Squadron, North Atlantic Fleet, and cruised off the east coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the West Indies from 1903 to 1906. In 1906 she was once again assigned to the Naval Academy for instructional purposes until 1909.^[2]

She was renamed Ozark, 2 March 1909, so her name could be used for the new battleship USS Arkansas. She was assigned to the District of Columbia Naval Militia from 26 June 1910 until 6 March 1913, when she was recalled to the Norfolk Naval Yard to begin refitting, later that month, as a submarine tender. Ozark began her new duties as a tender on 12 July. In April 1914, Ozark participated in the United States occupation of Mexico, during the "Tampico Affair", which later made her sailors eligible for the Mexican Service Medal. On 13 October 1915, she arrived in New London, Connecticut, where the Navy established its first submarine base.^[2]

Ozark was ordered to SubDiv 6, Atlantic Fleet, 6 April 1917 and soon proceeded back to Tampico, Mexico where she cruised off the coast protecting American and Allied shipping interests. She sailed for New Orleans, 18 December 1918, after which she cruised off Key West, Central America and the Panama Canal Zone.^[2]

She returned to Hampton Roads 23 June 1919 and then on to Philadelphia, on 20 August, where she was decommissioned. When the US Navy went to two letter designators in 1920 she was redesignated BM-7 on 17 July. Ozark was sold on 26 January 1922 for scrapping.^[2][48]

• Ford, Jonathan (29 May 2008). "USS Arkansas (M-7)". The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. The Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
• Friedman, Norman (1985). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-247-8.
• Grobmeier, Alvin H. (1990). "Question 2/89". Warship International. XXVII (2): 198–199. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Ships' Data, U. S. Naval Vessels, 1911–. US Naval Department. 1 January 1914. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
• "Table 21 – Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 769. 1921.
• DiGiulian, Tony (9 May 2015). "12"/40 (30.5 cm) Mark 3 and Mark 4". Navweaps. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
• DiGiulian, Tony (15 June 2015). "4"/50 (10.2 cm) Marks 7, 8, 9 and 10". Navweaps. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
• Yarnall, Paul R. (24 June 2016). "M-7 USS ARKANSAS". NavSource. Retrieved 9 July 2016.

Attribution

•   This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
•   This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Arkansas (BM-7).

• World Battleships List: US "New Navy" Monitors
• U.S.S. Arkansas Scrapbook, 1902–1903, MS 187 held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy