The Illinois class was a group of three pre-dreadnought battleships of the United States Navy commissioned at the beginning of the 20th century.

Illinois and Alabama started the cruise of the Great White Fleet in December 1907 from the east coast of the United States, though by the time they had rounded South America and stopped in California, Alabama was forced to leave the fleet due to machinery problems.

Wisconsin was broken up for scrap in 1922, while Alabama was expended as a target ship in September 1921 in bombing tests with the US Army Air Service.

[1] War games conducted by the fleet led the board to specify a draft of no more than 23 feet (7 m) to allow the ships to enter the comparatively shallow ports of the Gulf Coast.

[2] The US Congress authorized three new battleships on 10 June 1896; the Bureau of Construction and Repair issued its requests for tenders from the various American shipbuilding companies twelve days later.

Steering was controlled with a single rudder, and the ships had a turning radius of 362 yards (331 m) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).

The ships could store up to 1,270 long tons (1,290 t) of coal, which allowed them to steam for 4,190 nautical miles (7,760 km; 4,820 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[8] The secondary battery consisted of fourteen 6 in (152 mm)/40 caliber Mark IV guns, which were placed in casemates in the hull.

[3] They were initially equipped with the Mark II Whitehead design, which carried a 140-pound (64 kg) warhead and had a range of 800 yards (730 m) at a speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph).

Transverse bulkheads that were 12 in (305 mm) thick connected both ends of the central belt and the main battery barbettes.

Both ships made visits to Europe during their early careers, and Illinois served as the flagship of the European Squadron for a short time in 1902.

[b] Alabama was detached along with the battleship Maine; the two ships continued the journey independently and on a greatly shortened itinerary.

The rest of the ships then crossed the Pacific and stopped in Australia, the Philippines, and Japan before continuing on through the Indian Ocean.

They transited the Suez Canal and toured the Mediterranean before crossing the Atlantic, arriving bank in Hampton Roads on 22 February 1909 for a naval review with President Theodore Roosevelt.

[b] Following the German surrender in November 1918, most of the battleships of the Atlantic Fleet were used as transports to ferry American soldiers back from France.

The Illinois-class ships were not so employed, however, owing to their short range and small size, which would not permit sufficient additional accommodations.

Illinois was instead converted into a floating armory for the New York Naval Militia; renamed Prairie State in 1941, she served in this role until 1956, when she too was sold for scrap.

Alabama met a more spectacular end as a target ship for bombing experiments conducted with the US Army Air Service in September 1921.