The first USS California[?] was a screw sloop originally named Minnetonka.
The second USS California (ACR-6), a Pennsylvania-class[?] armored cruiser later renamed San Diego[?], saw action escorting convoys during World War I.
The third USS California (SP-249)[?], originally a yacht named Hauoli, served during World War I as a motor patrol boat[?] in New York City Harbor and as an experimental platform used by Thomas Edison to test underwater listening devices.
The fourth USS California (SP-647)[?] served during World War I as a motor patrol boat[?] in San Francisco Harbor.
California (ACR-6) was renamed San Diego to free up her name for the lead ship of a new class of battleship. At one time, BB-40 was to have been the new California, but that ship was actually commissioned (and the class[?] actually named for) USS New Mexico (BB-40).
The fifth USS California (BB-44), a New Mexico-class battleship[?], saw action in World War II.
The sixth USS California (CGN-36)[?], known as the "Golden Grizzly," was the lead ship of her class[?] of a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump