| abstract | - USS Florida (BB-30) was the lead ship of the Florida class of dreadnought battleships of the United States Navy. She had one sister ship, Utah. Florida was laid down at the New York Navy Yard in March 1909, launched in May 1910, and commissioned into the US Navy in September 1911. She was armed with a main battery of ten guns and was very similar in design to the preceding Delaware-class battleships. Florida was one of the first ships to arrive during the United States occupation of Veracruz in early 1914, and part of her crew joined the landing party that occupied the city. She was assigned to United States Battleship Division 9 after the American entrance into World War I in April 1917; the division was sent to Europe to reinforce the British Grand Fleet. During the war, Florida and the rest of her unit, reassigned as the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet, conducted patrols in the North Sea and escorted convoys to Norway. She saw no action with the German High Seas Fleet, however. Florida returned to normal peacetime duties in 1919. She was heavily modernized in 1924–1926, including a complete overhaul of her propulsion system. She remained in service until 1930, when the London Naval Treaty was signed. Under the terms of the treaty, Florida and Utah were removed from active service. Therefore, Florida was decommissioned in 1931 and scrapped the next year in Philadelphia.
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