 USSColorado (ACR-7), port side view September 1907. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | |
| Ordered | 7 June 1900 |
| Awarded | 10 January 1901 |
| Builder | William Cramp & Sons,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Cost | $3,780,000 (contract price of hull and machinery) |
| Yard number | 316 |
| Laid down | 25 April 1901 |
| Launched | 25 April 1903 |
| Sponsored by | Miss C. M. Peabody |
| Commissioned | 19 January 1905 |
| Decommissioned | 28 September 1927 |
| Renamed | Pueblo, 9 September 1916 |
| Reclassified | CA-7, 17 July 1920 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 2 October 1930 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class & type | Pennsylvania-classarmored cruiser |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | |
| Beam | 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) |
| Draft | 24 ft 1 in (7.34 m) (mean) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | |
| Complement | 80 officers 745 enlisted 64Marines |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
| General characteristics (Pre-1911 Refit)[1] | |
| Installed power | 16 ×Babcock & Wilcox boilers |
| Armament |
|
| General characteristics (Pre-1921 Refit)[2] | |
| Armament |
|
TheUSSColorado (ACR-7), also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 7", and renamedUSSPueblo (CA-7) in 1916, was aUnited States NavyPennsylvania-classarmored cruiser. She was the second US Navy ship namedColorado, and the first to be named after theState of Colorado. The first,Colorado, was named for theColorado River.[3]
Colorado was laid down on 25 April 1901,[1] byWilliam Cramp & Sons,Philadelphia, and launched two years later on 25 April 1903. She was sponsored by Miss C. M. Peabody, the daughter of the Governor of Colorado,James H. Peabody; and commissioned on 19 January 1905.[4]
Colorado sailed on hershakedown cruise down the east coast to Target Bay,Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, to train in Caribbean waters, reaching Culebra, on 24 March 1905. Following the shakedown, she joined Division Four, Cruiser Squadron,Atlantic Fleet, atProvincetown, Massachusetts, on 14 May.Colorado took part in the preliminary test ofDewey, a steelfloating dry dock nearSolomons Island, Maryland, from 23 to 24 June 1905.[4]
Colorado participated in a fleet problem in the Caribbean, from 10 January–17 April 1906. Captain Kennedy died while the armored cruiser maneuvered at sea. He was buried ashore atGuantánamo Bay, Cuba, andLieutenant CommanderJoseph L. Jayne, assumed command of the ship on 12 April 1906.[4]
PresidentRoosevelt held a PresidentialNaval Review of a number of ships includingColorado,Florida,USS Indiana (BB-1),Truxtun, and transportYankee atOyster Bay, New York, from 2–4 September 1906.Colorado then sailed for duty on theAsiatic Station, on 7 September 1906. After cruising toJapan andChina to represent American interests in theFar East, she returned toSan Francisco, on 27 September 1907, for exercises along theCalifornian andMexican coasts, in theHawaiian Islands, and off Central and South America.[4]
The running aground ofColorado on 15 August 1908, lead to the upgrading and improvements of lighthouses inPuget Sound.[5] On 26 August 1909, one of her launches had a minor collision with the ferryCity of Seattle, betweenWest Seattle andSeattle, with minor damage.[6] She served again in the Far East, from September 1909 – February 1910.[4]
Ceremonial visits and receptions for dignitaries highlighted the next two years, and from November 1911 – July 1912,Colorado returned to the Far East for duty. Between August and November, she sailed to land and support expeditionary troops atCorinto,Nicaragua, then patrolled Mexican waters until placed in reduced commission atPuget Sound Navy Yard on 17 May 1913.[4]
Once more in full commission on 9 February 1915, she sailed as theflagship of thePacific Reserve Fleet, patrolling in Mexican waters and observing and keeping in touch with interned merchant ships during therevolution. She returned to reserve status on 26 September 1915.[4]
She was renamedPueblo, in order to free up her original name for use with theColorado-classbattleshipColorado, on 9 November 1916, while in overhaul.[4]
AfterSubmarineH-3 ran aground inHumboldt Bay, California, on 14 December 1916.USS Milwaukee (C-21) sailed forEureka, to assist in salvaging the boat on 5 January 1917. While she attempted to float the submarine on 13 January, the cruiser stranded in the first line of breakers at Samoa Beach, off Eureka. Her crewmen reached shore safely.Pueblo made for the area and stood byMilwaukee on 24 January, but attempts to salvage the stricken cruiser proved unsuccessful.Milwaukee was decommissioned on 6 March 1917, and a storm in November 1918, broke the ship in two.[4]
Pueblo returned to full commission upon the entry of the United States intoWorld War I, and as flagship of theScouting Force patrolled theSouth Atlantic, protecting shipping, paying diplomatic calls to South American ports, and preventing the sailing of German andAustrian ships interned atBahia,Brazil.[4]
Pueblo returned toNorfolk, Virginia on 18 January 1918, and from 5 February – 16 October, made seven voyages to escortconvoys carrying men and supplies to England. After carrying the Brazilian ambassador to the United States toRio de Janeiro, she returned to transatlantic duty, making six voyages betweenHoboken andBrest, France, to bring home veterans of theAmerican Expeditionary Force.[4]
Pueblo arrived at Philadelphia, on 8 August 1919, and was placed in reduced commission until decommissioned on 22 September. She was redesignatedCA-7 in 1920. In commission for the last time from 2 April 1921 – 28 September 1927, she served asreceiving ship in the3rd Naval District. She was scrapped on 2 October 1930.[4]
A plaque commemorating the crew ofUSS Colorado was shown briefly in season 13, episode 1 ofAmerican Pickers.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.