USS Connecticut (BB-18), the fourth United States Navy ship to be named after the state of Connecticut, was the lead ship of her class of six pre-dreadnought battleships. Her keel was laid on 10 March 1903; launched on 29 September 1904, Connecticut was commissioned on 29 September 1906, as the most advanced ship in the US Navy.
Connecticut underway sometime before World War I
Plan and profile drawing showing the arrangement of the guns and armor
Commissioning ceremonies for Connecticut, 29 September 1906
Connecticut on her speed trials in 1906 or 1907. The boat from which this photo was taken is about to be swamped by the bow wave emanating from the battleship.
Connecticut-class battleship
The Connecticut class of pre-dreadnought battleships were the penultimate class of the type built for the United States Navy. The class comprised six ships: Connecticut, Louisiana, Vermont, Kansas, Minnesota, and New Hampshire, which were built between 1903 and 1908. The ships were armed with a mixed offensive battery of 12-inch (305 mm), 8-inch (203 mm), and 7-inch (178 mm) guns. This arrangement was rendered obsolete by the advent of all-big-gun battleships like the British HMS Dreadnought, which was completed before most of the Connecticuts entered service.
USS Connecticut (BB-18)
Kansas on speed trials
One of Connecticut's forward 12-inch guns being installed
Vermont in heavy seas, probably during the cruise of the Great White Fleet