Editing Florida-class battleship (section)

== Service history ==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
|-
! scope="col" | Ship name
! scope="col" | {{abbr|Hull no.|hull number}}
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | Laid down
! scope="col" | Launched
! scope="col" | Commissioned
! scope="col" | Decommissioned
! scope="col" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|Florida|BB-30|2}}
! scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap;" | BB-30
|[[Brooklyn Navy Yard]], [[New York City|New York]]
|8 March 1909
|12 May 1910
|15 September 1911
|16 February 1931
|Broken up at [[Philadelphia]], 1931
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|Utah|BB-31|2}}
! scope="row" | BB-31
|[[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[Camden, New Jersey|Camden]]
|9 March 1909
|23 December 1909
|31 August 1911
|5 September 1944
|Sunk in [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|air attack]], 7 December 1941
|}

=== USS ''Florida'' ===
[[File:USS Florida (BB-30) - NH 61261.jpg|thumb|left|''Florida'' "dressed ship" during the Naval Review in New York, 1911|alt=A large gray battleship sits in harbor]]

{{main|USS Florida (BB-30)}}

''Florida'' took part in the [[United States occupation of Veracruz|Second battle of Vera Cruz]] in 1914. She and her sister ''Utah'' were the first two ships on the scene; the two ships landed some 1,000 sailors and Marines under the command of ''Florida''{{'}}s captain on 21 April. Fighting lasted for 3 days; the contingent from ''Florida'' and ''Utah'' suffered a total of 94 casualties.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=114}}{{sfn|Havern}}

After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, ''Florida'' was dispatched to Europe; she departed the United States in December 1917. After arriving in the North Sea, she was assigned to the British [[Grand Fleet]].{{sfn|Havern}} The ship, part of the US Navy's [[United States Battleship Division Nine (World War I)|Battleship Division Nine]], under the command of Rear Admiral [[Hugh Rodman]], arrived on 7 December and was assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. Following training exercises with the British fleet, 6th Battle Squadron was tasked with convoy protection duty on the route to Scandinavia.{{sfn|Halpern|pp=404–405}} Following the end of the war, in December 1918, the ship escorted President [[Woodrow Wilson]] on his trip to Europe to participate in the peace negotiations at Versailles. Later in December, ''Florida'' returned to the United States to participate in the Victory Fleet Review in New York harbor.{{sfn|Havern}}

Post-war, ''Florida'' returned to the US Navy's [[United States Fleet Forces Command#Expansion and contraction|Atlantic Fleet]]; she operated along the east coast of the United States and into Central America. In July 1920, she was assigned the [[Hull number#United States military|hull number]] "BB-30". In December 1920, she carried the [[US Secretary of State]], [[Bainbridge Colby]], on a diplomatic trip around the Caribbean and South America. ''Florida'' was the oldest American battleship that was retained under the terms of the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] of 1922. She underwent extensive reconstruction and modernization during the mid-1920s. After emerging from the shipyard, she was assigned as the [[flagship]] of the Control Force, US Fleet. The ship conducted a series of training cruises for the remainder of the decade. Under the [[London Naval Treaty]] of 1930, the ship was to be discarded. She was decommissioned in February 1931 and towed to the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]], where she was broken up for scrap.{{sfn|Havern}}

=== USS ''Utah'' ===
[[File:USS Utah, as target ship.jpg|thumb|''Utah'' at sea serving as a radio-controlled [[target ship]] in 1936]]

{{main|USS Utah (BB-31)}}

''Utah''{{'}}s first assignment was with the US Navy's [[United States Fleet Forces Command#History|Atlantic Fleet]]. During 1913, she took a goodwill voyage to the Mediterranean.{{sfn|DANFS ''Utah''}} ''Utah'' was also involved in the Second Battle of Vera Cruz, alongside her sister ''Florida''. The ship also saw front-line duty in the First World War, although she was not attached to the British Grand Fleet. Starting in September 1918, ''Utah'' was based in [[Bantry Bay]], Ireland.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=114}} Here she conducted convoy escort duties on the approach to Europe.{{sfn|Hore|p=57}}

Post-war service saw ''Utah'' again in the Atlantic Fleet; during 1921–22, she was stationed in Europe. ''Utah'' was also retained under the Washington Naval Treaty. In 1924–1925, the ship sailed on a goodwill cruise to South America. Following her return to the United States, she was taken into dry dock for significant reconstruction. After she rejoined the active fleet, she was assigned to the [[Scouting Fleet|US Scouting Fleet]]. Late in 1928, she steamed to the South Atlantic, where she picked up [[President-Elect]] [[Herbert Hoover]], who was returning from an ambassadorial visit to several South American countries.{{sfn|DANFS ''Utah''}}

According to the London Naval Treaty, the ship was to be removed from front-line service. In 1931 she had her main battery guns removed and was converted into a radio-controlled [[target ship]]. She was redesignated ''AG-16'', and served in this capacity through 1941. In 1935 she was rebuilt again, gaining a single [[1.1"/75-caliber gun|{{convert|1.1|in|adj=on|0}}/75-caliber]] anti-aircraft gun in a quadruple mount for experimental testing and development of the new type of weapon. She continued her role as a target ship,{{sfn|DANFS ''Utah''}} and in 1941 had several additional anti-aircraft guns installed to increase her capacity to train gunners. Later that year she was transferred to the [[US Pacific Fleet]] and based in [[Pearl Harbor]]. She was present in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, was hit by two torpedoes, [[capsize]]d, and sank. A few years later, the hull was partially righted and towed closer to [[Ford Island]] in a failed salvage effort, where the wreck remains today.{{sfn|DANFS ''Utah''}}