Danish Battleship Christian Kaas

*Christian Kaas* was a battleship served in the Royal Danish Navy.

## As USS Utah

*Utah* was laid down at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation on 15 March 1909. She was launched on 23 December 1909 and was commissioned into the United States Navy on 31 August 1911. She then conducted a shakedown cruise that stopped in Hampton Roads, Santa Rosa Island, Pensacola, Galveston, Kingston, Jamaica, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She was then assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in March 1912, after which time she participated in gunnery drills. She underwent an overhaul at the New York Navy Yard starting on 16 April. *Utah* left New York on 1 June and proceeded to Annapolis by way of Hampton Roads, arriving on 6 June. From there, she took a crew of naval cadets from the Naval Academy on a midshipman training cruise off the coast of New England, which lasted until 25 August.

For the next two years, *Utah* followed a similar routine of training exercises and midshipman cruises in the Atlantic. During the period 8–30 November 1913, *Utah* made a goodwill cruise to European waters, which included a stop in Villefranche, France. In early 1914 during the Mexican Revolution, the United States decided to intervene in the fighting. While en route to Mexico on 16 April, *Utah* was ordered to intercept the German-flagged steamer SS *Ypiranga*, which was carrying arms to the Mexican dictator Victoriano Huerta. *Ypiranga*'s arrival in Veracruz prompted the US to occupy the city; *Utah* and her sister ship *Florida* were the first American vessels on the scene. The two ships landed a combined contingent of a thousand Marines and Bluejackets to begin the occupation of the city on 21 April. Over the next three days, the Marines battled rebels in the city and suffered 94 casualties, while killing hundreds of Mexicans in return.

*Utah* remained off Veracruz for two months, before she returned to the New York Navy Yard for an overhaul in late June. She spent the next three years conducting the normal routine of training with the Atlantic Fleet. On 6 April 1917, the United States entered World War I, declaring war on Germany over its unrestricted submarine warfare campaign against Britain. *Utah* was stationed in Chesapeake Bay to train engine room personnel and gunners for the rapidly expanding fleet until 30 August 1918, when she departed for Bantry Bay, Ireland with Vice Admiral Henry T. Mayo, Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet aboard. After arriving in Ireland, *Utah* was assigned as the flagship of Battleship Division 6 (BatDiv 6), commanded by Rear Admiral Thomas S. Rodgers. BatDiv 6 was tasked with covering convoys in the Western Approaches against possible attacks from German surface raiders. *Utah* served in the division along with *Nevada* and *Oklahoma.*

Following the end of the war in November 1918, *Utah* visited the Isle of Portland in Britain, and escorted the liner *George Washington* in December, which carried President Woodrow Wilson to Brest, France, for the post-war peace negotiations at Versailles. *Utah* left Brest on 14 December, and arrived in New York on the 25th of the month. She remained there until 30 January 1919, after which time she returned to the normal peacetime routine of fleet exercises and training cruises. On 9 July 1921, *Utah* departed for Europe, stopping in Lisbon, Portugal, and Cherbourg, France. After arriving, she became the flagship of American warships in Europe. She carried on in this role until she was relieved by the armored cruiser USS *Pittsburgh* in October 1922

## Battleship Auction of 1922

In 1922, after the Washington Naval Treaty, there was a mass surplus on the US Navy. At the same year, Britain held an auction where navies with large ships (battleships, battlecruisers, etc) such as Germany, France, Britain itself, Italy, and America. America put *Utah, Mississippi,* and *Idaho* on sale. The Danish at first wanted to buy both *Mississippi*-Classes, but Greece got them first (see Greek Battleship *Kilkis*and *Lemnos*). Luckily Denmark got USS *Utah* at their hands for $3,200,000.

## Service with the Danish Navy

USS *Utah* was renamed *Christian Kaas* by the Danish, and began entering service in 1924. She becomes the flagship of the Danish Navy, and the largest naval ship there, with the second being the SMS *Friedrich der Grosse.*

In 1937 she joined the battlecruiser *Svardet* and *Oscar II* of the Swedish Navy on an exercise.

After the Soviet Invasion of German-occupied Poland, she remains in port when Denmark is still neutral. It was not until March 14th, when Denmark and Norway declared war on the Soviet Union.

*Christian Kaas* met her fateful end in December 1st, 1940. At that time, Swedish cruiser *Fylgia* spotted three battleship heading west from the east. It was confirmed that these ships are Soviets. The joint Danish-Swedish battlegroup immediately steams to the last known location of the Soviet warships. The allies are surprised that the leading ship of the Soviet Navy is the one of the largest - *Sovetskaya Ukraina -* followed by *Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya* and *General Alekseyev*. While the Danish-Swedish fleet consists of the undergunned *Bielke* (Former SMS *Friedrich der Grosse*), *Christian Kaas,* the battlecruisers *Nordstjerman* and *Karl XIV Johan*. The battle ended up with a defeat on the Allied forces. *Christian Kaas* was struck by a 16-inch shell in 17:32 through her main belt and another in the main mast, while the third penetrated deep into the bowels of the ship. In 17:35, a huge fireball ignites midships as *Christian Kaas* got engulfed in flames. The main magazine of the ship exploded, *Christian Kaas* capsizes and sank within four minutes, only 60 men of an entire 938 survived.