Inter-war Period
Kearsarge continued as an engineering training ship until 29 May 1919, when she embarked United States Naval Academy midshipmen for training in the West Indies. The midshipmen were debarked at Annapolis, Maryland on 29 August and Kearsarge proceeded to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she decommissioned on 10 May 1920 for conversion to a crane ship and a new career. She was given hull classification symbol AB-1 on 5 August.
In place of military trappings, Kearsarge received an immense revolving crane with a rated lifting capacity of 250 tons (230 tonnes), as well as hull "blisters", which gave her more stability. The crane ship rendered invaluable service for the next 20 years. One of many accomplishments was the raising of Squalus off the New Hampshire coast.
Read more about this topic: USS Kearsarge (BB-5)
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