USS Idaho (BB-42)

The fourth Idaho (Battleship No.42) was laid down on 1 January 1915 at Camden, N.J., by the New York Shipbuilding Corp.; launched on 30 June 1917; sponsored by Miss H. A. Limons, granddaughter of the Governor of Idaho; and commissioned 24 March 1919, Capt. Carl T. Vogelgesang in command.

Idaho sailed on 13 April 1919 for shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay, and after returning to New York received President Pessoa of Brazil for the voyage to Rio de Janeiro. Departing on 6 July with her escort, the battleship arrived at Rio on 17 July 1919. From there she set course for the Panama Canal, arriving Monterey, Calif., in September to join the Pacific Fleet. She joined other dreadnaughts in training exercises and reviews, including a Fleet Review by President Woodrow Wilson on 13 September 1919. In 1920 the battleship carried Secretary Josephus Daniels and the Secretary of the Interior on an inspection tour of Alaska.

Upon her return from Alaska on 22 July 1920, only five days after she was reclassified as BB-42, Idaho took part in fleet maneuvers off the California coast and as far south as Chile. She continued this important training until 1925, taking part in numerous ceremonies on the West Coast during the interim. Idaho took part in the fleet review held by President Warren G. Harding in Seattle shortly before his death in 1923. The battleship sailed on 15 April 1925 for Hawaii, participated in war games until 1 July, and then got underway for Samoa, Australia, and New Zealand. On the return voyage Idaho embarked gallant Cmdr. John Rodgers and his seaplane crew after their attempt to fly to Hawaii, arriving at San Francisco on 24 September 1925.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Idaho IV (Battleship No.42)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.