USS Florida (BB-30)

On 6 April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany over its unrestricted submarine warfare campaign. Florida participated in wartime readiness exercises in 1917, before steaming across the Atlantic with Battleship Division 9.[2] The division, which consisted of Florida, New York, Wyoming, and Delaware, left the United States on 25 November.[3] The division was sent to European waters to reinforce the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea. After arriving in Scapa Flow, Battleship Division 9 became the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet.[2]

Florida in 1920

Starting in late 1917, the Germans had begun to use surface raiders to attack the British convoys to Scandinavia; this forced the British to send squadrons from the Grand Fleet to escort the convoys.[4] On 6 February 1918, the 6th Battle Squadron and eight British destroyers escorted a convoy of merchant ships to Norway. While on the operation, Florida's lookouts reported spotting a U-boat, though the commander of Wyoming later argued that this and others issued by the rest of the squadron were false reports.[5][lower-alpha 2] The squadron was back in Scapa Flow on 10 February; Delaware escorted two more such convoys in March and April. During the March convoy, Florida, Wyoming, Texas, and four destroyers became separated from the convoy in heavy fog, and only relocated it the following morning when the fog had lifted. The squadron returned to Scapa Flow on 13 March.[7]

On 22–24 April, the German High Seas Fleet sortied to intercept one of the convoys in the hope of cutting off and destroying the escorting battleship squadron.[8] Florida and the rest of the Grand Fleet left Scapa Flow on 24 April in an attempt to intercept the Germans, but the High Seas Fleet had already broken off the operation and was on its way back to port.[9] On 30 June, the 6th Squadron was cruising in the North Sea in support of a mine-laying operation; while on patrol, Florida and several other ships fired on what they incorrectly believed to be U-boat wakes.[10] By early November, the Spanish Flu pandemic had spread to the Grand Fleet; Florida was the only ship of the American contingent not to be quarantined for the virus.[11] On 20 November, Florida and the rest of the Grand Fleet rendezvoused with the High Seas Fleet, which was then interned in Scapa Flow, following the Armistice with Germany that ended the war.[2] Shortly thereafter, Florida was replaced with the newly commissioned Nevada.[12]

Florida then joined the passenger ship SS George Washington on 12 December, which was carrying President Woodrow Wilson on his way to France to participate in the peace negotiations. The ships arrived in Brest, France on 13 December, after which Florida returned to the United States. She was present during the Victory Naval Review in the North River in New York City at the end of December.[2]

Florida in Hampton Roads in October 1929

Florida profile updated to show ship configuration in 1923

Florida returned to normal peacetime duties in January 1919, when she arrived in Norfolk on the 4th. She steamed to the Azores to take weather observations for Navy seaplanes that were to make the first aerial crossing the Atlantic. In August 1920, Florida was present during the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims' landing at Provincetown, Massachusetts. In December 1920, she made a good-will cruise to South America with US Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby aboard and over the next three years conducted amphibious operation training with the Marine Corps in the Caribbean. Florida also participated in the normal routine of exercises and midshipman cruises. During this period, she was made the flagship of the Commander, Control Force, US Fleet.[2]

In early 1924, Florida took part in the Fleet Problem III maneuvers, where she and her sister Utah acted as stand-ins for the new Colorado-class battleships.[13] In June 1924, Florida was taken out of service for a modernization at the Boston Navy Yard, which lasted from 1 April 1925 to 1 November 1926. During the reconstruction, her deck armor was strengthened and anti-torpedo blisters were installed to increase her resistance to underwater damage. Her secondary battery was rearranged to improve its efficiency, and four of her 5-inch guns, which were mounted in sponsons, were removed. She was also reboilered with four White-Forster oil-fired models that had been removed from the battleships and battlecruisers scrapped as a result of the Washington Naval Treaty. Her Parsons turbines were replaced with new Curtis geared turbines and her two funnels were trunked into one stack. The rear lattice mast was replaced with a pole mast, which was moved further aft. Her two submerged torpedo tubes were also removed.[14][15]

Florida remained in service for a few years in her modernized form, and participated in joint Army-Navy coast defense exercises in June 1928.[16] Under the terms of the London Naval Treaty of 1930, which reduced the battle fleets of the signatory countries, she was to be disposed of. She was accordingly decommissioned on 16 February 1931 at the Philadelphia Naval Yard, struck from the naval register on 6 April, and was broken up in Philadelphia later that year. Demolition work was completed by 30 September 1932.[2] The one-ton ship's bell was saved and transported to the University of Florida in Gainesville, where it was first installed in a clock atop a classroom building. The clock was removed in the early 1950s and the bell was put in storage. In 1960, it was installed atop the stands in the north end zone at Florida Field, where it was traditionally rung by either cheerleaders or fans at the conclusion of a victory by the Florida Gator football team.[17] As the stadium underwent successive expansions and renovations, the bell was moved to a location under the north end zone concourse and then was removed from the stadium in 1992. It has been restored and is now housed in the lobby of the Museum of Florida History.[18]