She was laid down at the Union Iron Works shipyard in San Francisco in April 1899, was launched in May 1901, and was commissioned into the fleet in October 1904.

Thoroughly obsolete by that time, Ohio was decommissioned in July 1919, and was ultimately sold for scrap in March 1923 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.

The class incorporated several significant technological developments, including smaller caliber main guns that used smokeless powder to achieve greater muzzle velocity (and thus penetrating power), Krupp cemented armor that was stronger than Harvey armor used on earlier vessels, and water-tube boilers that provided more power for the engines.

The ship was powered by two-shaft triple-expansion steam engines rated at 16,000 indicated horsepower (12,000 kW), driving two screw propellers.

As was standard for capital ships of the period, Ohio carried two 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes, submerged in her hull on the broadside.

After the new battleship arrived, the party of then-Secretary of War William Howard Taft came aboard for a tour of East Asia, including stops in Japan and China.

The press in both countries began to call for war, and Roosevelt hoped to use the demonstration of naval might to deter Japanese aggression.

[6] After leaving Australia, the fleet turned north for the Philippines, stopping in Manila, before continuing on to Japan where a welcoming ceremony was held in Yokohama.

The ships then crossed the Atlantic to return to Hampton Roads on 22 February 1909, having traveled 46,729 nautical miles (86,542 km; 53,775 mi).

[3] The United States had initially remained neutral during World War I, but by early 1917, tensions between it and Germany rose as the latter's unrestricted submarine warfare campaign began to sink American merchants ships.

Ohio issued a "cease fire" warning, though it was not immediately received aboard New Hampshire before one shell struck Louisiana.

[8] 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.

Ohio and her sisters were not so employed, however, owing to their short range and small size, which would not permit sufficient additional accommodations.

Ohio controlled the vessel remotely on a voyage from Philadelphia to Hampton Roads for initial tests in August 1920.

[10][11] In June 1921, the Navy and Army conducted a series of bombing tests off the Virginia Capes to evaluate the effectiveness of aircraft against warships.