Ohio III (BB-12: dp. 12,723; l. 393'10"; b. 72'3"; dr. 23'10"; s. 18 k.; cpl. 561; a. 4 12", 16 6", 6 3", 8 3-pdr., 6 1-pdr., 2 .30 cal. mg.; cl. Maine)

The third Ohio (BB-12) was laid down on April 22, 1899, by Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California. She was launched on May 18, 1901, sponsored by Miss Helen Deshler, and commissioned on October 4, 1904, with Captain Leavitt C. Logan in command.

Designated the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet, Ohio departed San Francisco on April 1, 1905, for Manila. There, she embarked the party of then-Secretary of War William Howard Taft, which included Miss Alice Roosevelt, the President's daughter. She conducted this party on much of its Far Eastern tour of inspection and continued the cruise in Japanese, Chinese, and Philippine waters until returning to the United States in 1907.

Ohio sailed out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, on December 16, 1907, with the battleships of the Atlantic Fleet. The fleet saluted President Theodore Roosevelt in a review that marked the start of its cruise around the world, signifying the emergence of the United States as a major world power.

Commanded by Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans and later Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry, the fleet visited ports on the east and west coasts of South America, rounding Cape Horn en route to San Francisco. On July 7, 1908, Ohio and her sister ships set course westward to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia. Each port welcomed the American ships enthusiastically, but Tokyo, where they anchored on October 18, greeted them with exceptional friendliness. The fleet's presence in Japan symbolized both American friendship and strength, helping to ease strained relations between the two countries.

The fleet visited Amoy, returned to Yokohama, conducted target practice in the Philippines, and began its homeward journey on December 1. After passing through the Suez Canal on January 4, 1909, the fleet made Mediterranean stops before anchoring in Hampton Roads on February 22.

Ohio sailed on to New York, her home port for the next four years, training men of the New York Naval Militia and performing general service with the Atlantic Fleet.

In 1914, she sailed to the Gulf of Mexico to join the patrol off Vera Cruz, safeguarding American interests amidst Mexican political turmoil. Ohio returned north in the summer for a Naval Academy midshipmen cruise, then joined the Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia, recommissioning for each of the next two summers' midshipmen cruises in 1915 and 1916.

After the United States entered World War I, Ohio was recommissioned on April 24, 1917. Throughout the war, she operated out of Norfolk, training crews for the expanding fleet and participating in battleship maneuvers. She arrived in Philadelphia on November 28, 1918, was placed in reserve there on January 7, 1919, decommissioned on May 31, 1922, and sold for scrapping on March 24, 1923.

A fourth Ohio (BB-68) was authorized on July 19, 1940, and her construction assigned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. However, construction was cancelled on July 21, 1943.