Featured Boat:USS Illinois

USS Illinois (BB-7), the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the 21st state, was a battleship, the lead ship of her class.
Illinois was laid down on 10 February 1897 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on 4 October 1898, sponsored by Miss Nancy Leiter, daughter of Chicago multi-millionaire Levi Leiter^[3] and commissioned on 16 September 1901, Captain George A. Converse in command.


After shakedown and training in Chesapeake Bay, the new battleship sailed on 20 November 1901 for Algiers, Louisiana, where she was used to test a new floating dry dock. She returned to Newport News in January 1902, and from 15–28 February served as flagship for Rear Admiral R.D. Evans during the reception for Prince Albert Wilhelm Heinrich of Prussia. Bearing the flag of Rear Admiral A.S. Crowninshield, the battleship departed New York City on 30 April and arrived at Naples on 18 May, where the Admiral took command of the European Squadron. Illinois carried out training and ceremonial duties until 14 July, when she grounded in the harbor of Kristiania, Norway and had to return to England for repairs. She remained at Chatham Dockyard until 1 September, then proceeded to the Mediterranean and South Atlantic for fleet maneuvers.Illinois was detached from the European Squadron on 10 January 1903 and assigned to the North Atlantic. In 1906, under the Command of Captain Blocklinger the Illinois was the first ship to win the famous Prince Louis Battenberg Cup. She engaged in fleet maneuvers, gunnery and seamanship training, and ceremonial operations until December 1907, when she joined the "Great White Fleet" for the cruise around the world. Following a Presidential review, the mighty battleships sailed from Hampton Roads on their important voyage. The Atlantic Fleet joined the Pacific Fleet on 8 May 1908 in San Francisco Bay, and after a review by the Secretary of the Navy, the combined fleets continued their cruise. The ships visited Australia, Japan, Ceylon, and other countries, arriving at Suez on 3 January 1909. At Suez, word of the 1908 Messina earthquake sent Illinois, Connecticut, and Culgoa to Messina. After rendering valuable aid to victims of the disaster, the ships rejoined the fleet, returning to Hampton Roads on 22 February. President Theodore Roosevelt reviewed the fleet as it arrived, having given the world a graphic demonstration of America's naval might. Illinois decommissioned at Boston, Massachusetts on 4 August. Illinois underwent a major modernization, receiving new "cage" masts and more modern equipment

Scale: 1:8

Length: 46” Height: 23” Bredth: 11”

Battleship

Price: $1150

Shipping: $165