The second USS Arkansas, was a single-turreted "New Navy" monitor and one of the last monitors built for the United States Navy. Arkansas was ordered on 4 May 1898 and awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company on 11 October 1899. She was laid down just over a month later on 14 November 1899. Arkansas was launched almost a year later on 10 November 1900, sponsored by Mary L. Macon; but not commissioned for another two years, on 28 October 1902, with Commander Charles E. Vreeland in command.
This last class of monitors had been designed and built because of public demand for coastal defense before the Spanish–American War. By the time they were built and commissioned their purpose had passed. They didn't fit into the Navy's new purpose and so they bounced around from different assignments to another. Arkansas and her sisters were refitted as submarine tenders in 1913 because of their low freeboards.
The ship was armed with a main battery of two 12-inch (305 mm)/40 caliber guns, either Mark 3 or Mark 4, in a Mark 4 turret. The secondary battery consisted of four 4-inch (100 mm)/50 caliber Mark 7 guns along with three 6-pounder 57 mm (2.2 in) guns. The main belt armor was 11 in (280 mm) in the middle tapering to 5 in (130 mm) at the ends. The gun turrets were between 10 and 9 in (250 and 230 mm), with 11 to 9 in (280 to 230 mm) barbettes. Arkansas also had a 1.5 in (38 mm) deck.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Arkansas_(BM-7)
USS Arkansas (BM-7) 1902
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/oRBsGNw.png)
What a ghastly little thing.
