The Great White Fleet

Battleships

Battleships of the Great White Fleet were divided by five ship classes.  They were the Kearsarge, Illinois, Maine, Virginia, and Connecticut.  The first of these ships commisioned in 1900 and the most recent commissioned in 1907.  

Kearsarge BB-5

Kentucky BB-6

These have two in line stacks, round turrets, and broadside guns.

Illinois BB-7

Alabama BB-8

Wisconsin BB-9

These have side by side stacks.

Maine BB-10

Ohio BB-12

Missouri BB-11

These have a lower afterdeck and single turrets forward and aft. 

Virginia BB-13

Nebraska BB-14

Georgia BB-15

New Jersey BB-16

Rhode Island BB-17

These have stacked gun mounts forward and aft.

Connecticut BB-18

Louisiana BB-19

Vermont BB-20

Kansas BB-21

Minnesota BB-22

These have single mounts and three stacks.

The Cruise

The fleet completed traveling through the Red Sea arriving at Suez on January 3rd, 1903.  Two days ahead of schedule.  

The shadow of the Fleet passing through the Suez Canal. 

Sometimes it was hard for a heavy vessel to pass because parts of the Suez canal were narrow and small.  It was only 120 feet wide, allowing for only 20 feet of clearence on either side of the ship.  The transit took eighteen hours to complete the passage.