PRAIRIE STATE IX 15
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Keel Laid 10 February 1897 - Launched 4 October 1898 Recommissioned 15 April 1912 - Decommissioned 15 May 1920 Loaned to New York State, Naval Militia 25 October 1921 Used as decked over drill ship until 31 December 1955 Struck from Naval Register 26 March 1956 Sold 18 May 1956 and broken up for scrap |
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This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- USS Illinois BB-7 Covers Page 1 (1912-1938)
- USS Prairie State IX-15 Covers Page 1 (1945)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
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Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
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USS Battleship Illinois postcard
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Non-posted |
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U. S. BATTLESHIP "ILLINOIS." 690 OFFICERS AND MEN. / LENGTH 368 FEET. MAIN BATTERY 18 GUNS
USS Illinois Battleship No. 7 / BB-7
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Locy Type 1 |
1912-12-03 |
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Picture postcard of Customs House, Charleston, SC
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Locy Type 1z |
1918-12-08 |
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Real-Photo postcard of USS Illinois BB-7. Note: Type Z postmark, ship identified by sender: 'Here is a picture of the ship I am on.'
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Locy Type 2 |
1912-11-19 |
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As Battleship No. 7
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Locy Type |
1919-06-09 |
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Type Z postmark, ship identified by return address.
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Locy Type |
1917-11-04 |
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As Battleship No. 7. Censored, WWI use
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Locy Type |
1919-08-02 |
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Note:
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Locy Type F |
1938-04-01 |
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As Floating Armory
USS Illinois IX-15 (26 June 1922 - 23 January 1941)
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USPO Machine |
1931-12-22 |
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N/A |
Note:
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Locy Type P |
1940-09-12 |
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Cachet by Walter Czubay
USS Prairie State IX-15 (23 January 1941 - 31 December 1955)
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Locy Type |
1942-11-21 |
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Cachet by Walter Czubay
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Locy Type 9u |
1945-08-01 |
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Official Business.
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Locy Type P |
1941-02-11 |
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Backside of the February 11 1941 cover showing the R/S mark of John W. Stock and a USPO Machine postmark, "Station J", New York NY dated February 11 1941.
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Locy Type RECD |
1955-03-29 |
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From the Richard Hoffner collection.
Other Information
NAMESAKE - The State of Illinois
Five ships of the US Navy have borne the name of the 21st state, ILLINOIS.
USS Illinois (sloop), a screw sloop-of war, was laid down but never completed.
USS Illinois (BB-7), lead ship of her class of battleship, served for over half a century and was eventually renamed Prairie State.
USS Illinois was a diesel-powered trawler acquired by the Navy, renamed USS Albatross (AM-71), and employed as a minesweeper.
USS Illinois (BB-65), would have been a Iowa-class battleship, if her construction had not been cancelled before she was launched.
USS Illinois SSN-786
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