1.
Shipbuilding
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Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history, Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both commercial and military, are referred to as naval engineering. The construction of boats is an activity called boat building. The dismantling of ships is called ship breaking, the ancestors of Australian Aborigines and New Guineans also went across the Lombok Strait to Sahul by boat over 50,000 years ago. Evidence from Ancient Egypt shows that the early Egyptians knew how to assemble planks of wood into a ship hull as early as 3000 BC, the Archaeological Institute of America reports that some of the oldest ships yet unearthed are known as the Abydos boats. These are a group of 14 ships discovered in Abydos that were constructed of wooden planks which were sewn together, the ship dating to 3000 BC was about 25 m,75 feet long and is now thought to perhaps have belonged to an earlier pharaoh. According to professor OConnor, the 5, 000-year-old ship may have belonged to Pharaoh Aha. Early Egyptians also knew how to assemble planks of wood with treenails to fasten them together, early Egyptians also knew how to fasten the planks of this ship together with mortise and tenon joints. The oldest known tidal dock in the world was built around 2500 BC during the Harappan civilisation at Lothal near the present day Mangrol harbour on the Gujarat coast in India, other ports were probably at Balakot and Dwarka. However, it is probable that many small-scale ports, and not massive ports, were used for the Harappan maritime trade, ships from the harbour at these ancient port cities established trade with Mesopotamia. Shipbuilding and boatmaking may have been prosperous industries in ancient India, native labourers may have manufactured the flotilla of boats used by Alexander the Great to navigate across the Hydaspes and even the Indus, under Nearchos. The Indians also exported teak for shipbuilding to ancient Persia, other references to Indian timber used for shipbuilding is noted in the works of Ibn Jubayr. The ships of Ancient Egypts Eighteenth Dynasty were typically about 25 meters in length and they mounted a single square sail on a yard, with an additional spar along the bottom of the sail. These ships could also be oar propelled, the ocean and sea going ships of Ancient Egypt were constructed with cedar wood, most likely hailing from Lebanon. The ships of Phoenicia seem to have been of a similar design, the naval history of China stems back to the Spring and Autumn period of the ancient Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The Chinese built large rectangular barges known as ships, which were essentially floating fortresses complete with multiple decks with guarded ramparts. There is considerable knowledge regarding shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient Mediterranean and this was dually met with the introduction of the Han Dynasty junk ship design in the same century
2.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
3.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
4.
Cruiser
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A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundred years, and has had different meanings throughout this period. In the middle of the 19th century, cruiser came to be a classification for the intended for cruising distant waters, commerce raiding. Cruisers came in a variety of sizes, from the medium-sized protected cruiser to large armored cruisers that were nearly as big as a pre-dreadnought battleship. With the advent of the battleship before World War I. The very large battlecruisers of the World War I era that succeeded armored cruisers were now classified, along with dreadnought battleships, in the later 20th century, the obsolescence of the battleship left the cruiser as the largest and most powerful surface combatant after the aircraft carrier. The role of the cruiser varied according to ship and navy, often including air defense, during the Cold War, the Soviet Navys cruisers had heavy anti-ship missile armament designed to sink NATO carrier task forces via saturation attack. The U. S. Adams guided-missile destroyers tasked with the air defense role. Indeed, the newest U. S. Navy destroyers are more heavily-armed than some of the cruisers that they succeeded, currently only three nations operate cruisers, the United States, Russia, and Peru. The term cruiser or cruizer was first commonly used in the 17th century to refer to an independent warship, Cruiser meant the purpose or mission of a ship, rather than a category of vessel. However, the term was used to mean a smaller, faster warship suitable for such a role. The Dutch navy was noted for its cruisers in the 17th century, while the Royal Navy—and later French and Spanish navies—subsequently caught up in terms of their numbers, during the 18th century the frigate became the preeminent type of cruiser. A frigate was a small, fast, long range, lightly armed ship used for scouting, carrying dispatches, the other principal type of cruiser was the sloop, but many other miscellaneous types of ship were used as well. During the 19th century, navies began to use steam power for their fleets, the 1840s saw the construction of experimental steam-powered frigates and sloops. By the middle of the 1850s, the British and U. S. Navies were both building steam frigates with very long hulls and a gun armament, for instance USS Merrimack or Mersey. The 1860s saw the introduction of the ironclad, the first ironclads were frigates, in the sense of having one gun deck, however, they were also clearly the most powerful ships in the navy, and were principally to serve in the line of battle. In spite of their speed, they would have been wasted in a cruising role. The French constructed a number of smaller ironclads for overseas cruising duties, starting with the Belliqueuse and these station ironclads were the beginning of the development of the armored cruisers, a type of ironclad specifically for the traditional cruiser missions of fast, independent raiding and patrol
5.
Submarine
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A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability, the term most commonly refers to a large, crewed vessel. It is also used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine. The noun submarine evolved as a form of submarine boat, by naval tradition, submarines are usually referred to as boats rather than as ships. Although experimental submarines had been built before, submarine design took off during the 19th century, Submarines were first widely used during World War I, and now figure in many navies large and small. Civilian uses for submarines include marine science, salvage, exploration and facility inspection, Submarines can also be modified to perform more specialized functions such as search-and-rescue missions or undersea cable repair. Submarines are also used in tourism, and for undersea archaeology, most large submarines consist of a cylindrical body with hemispherical ends and a vertical structure, usually located amidships, which houses communications and sensing devices as well as periscopes. In modern submarines, this structure is the sail in American usage, a conning tower was a feature of earlier designs, a separate pressure hull above the main body of the boat that allowed the use of shorter periscopes. There is a propeller at the rear, and various hydrodynamic control fins, smaller, deep-diving and specialty submarines may deviate significantly from this traditional layout. Submarines use diving planes and also change the amount of water, Submarines have one of the widest ranges of types and capabilities of any vessel. Submarines can work at greater depths than are survivable or practical for human divers, modern deep-diving submarines derive from the bathyscaphe, which in turn evolved from the diving bell. In 1578, the English mathematician William Bourne recorded in his book Inventions or Devises one of the first plans for an underwater navigation vehicle and its unclear whether he ever carried out his idea. The first submersible of whose construction there exists reliable information was designed and built in 1620 by Cornelis Drebbel and it was propelled by means of oars. By the mid-18th century, over a dozen patents for submarines/submersible boats had been granted in England, in 1747, Nathaniel Symons patented and built the first known working example of the use of a ballast tank for submersion. His design used leather bags that could fill with water to submerge the craft, a mechanism was used to twist the water out of the bags and cause the boat to resurface. In 1749, the Gentlemens Magazine reported that a design had initially been proposed by Giovanni Borelli in 1680. By this point of development, further improvement in design stagnated for over a century, until new industrial technologies for propulsion. The first military submarine was the Turtle, a hand-powered acorn-shaped device designed by the American David Bushnell to accommodate a single person and it was the first verified submarine capable of independent underwater operation and movement, and the first to use screws for propulsion
6.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
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The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. PNS is tasked with the overhaul, repair, and modernization of US Navy submarines, the facility is sometimes confused with the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was established on June 12,1800 during the administration of President John Adams and it sits on a cluster of conjoined islands called Seaveys Island in the Piscataqua River, whose swift tidal current prevents ice from blocking navigation to the Atlantic Ocean. The area has a tradition of shipbuilding. Since colonial settlement, New Hampshire and Maine forests provided lumber for boat construction. HMS Falkland was commissioned here in 1696, considered the first British warship built in the Thirteen Colonies, the Royal Navy reserved the tallest and straightest Eastern White Pine trees for masts, emblazing the bark with a crown symbol. During the Revolution, the Raleigh was built in 1776 on Badgers Island in Kittery, Raleigh has been depicted on the Seal of New Hampshire since 1784, even though she was captured and served in the British Navy. Other warships followed, including Ranger launched in 1777 and commanded by Captain John Paul Jones and it became the first U. S. Navy vessel to receive an official salute at sea from a foreign power. Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert decided to build the first federal shipyard and he put it where a proven workforce had access to abundant raw materials, Fernalds Island, for which the government paid $5,500. To protect the new installation, old Fort William and Mary at the mouth of Portsmouth Harbor was rebuilt and renamed Fort Constitution. Commodore Isaac Hull was the first naval officer to command the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, he led it from 1800 until 1802, the yards first production was the 74-gun ship of the line Washington, supervised by local master shipbuilder William Badger and launched in 1814. Barracks were built in 1820, with Marine barracks added in 1827, a hospital was established in 1834. Architect Alexander Parris was appointed engineer for the base. In 1838, the Franklin Shiphouse was completed --240 feet long,131 feet wide and it carried 130 tons of slate on a gambrel roof. It was lengthened in 1854 to accommodate Franklin, the largest wooden warship built at the yard, the structure was considered one of the largest shiphouses in the country, but it burned at 5,00 a. m. on 10 March 1936. Perhaps the most famous vessel ever overhauled at the yard was Constitution, also called Old Ironsides, prisoners of war from the Spanish–American War were encamped in 1898 on the grounds of the base. In 1905, construction began on the Portsmouth Naval Prison, a military prison dubbed The Castle because of its resemblance to a crenellated castle. It was the prison for the Navy and Marine Corps, as well as housing for many German U-Boat crews after capture
7.
Delaware River
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The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States. Its watershed drains an area of 14,119 square miles in five U. S. states—New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, not including Delaware Bay, the rivers length including its two branches is 388 miles. The Delaware River is one of nineteen Great Waters recognized by the Americas Great Waters Coalition, the Delaware River rises in two main branches that descend from the western flank of the Catskill Mountains in New York. The West Branch begins near Mount Jefferson in the Town of Jefferson in Schoharie County, the rivers East Branch begins at Grand Gorge near Roxbury Delaware County. These two branches flow west and merge near Hancock in Delaware County and the waters flow as the Delaware River south. The river meets tide-water at the junction of Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, the rivers navigable, tidal section served as a conduit for shipping and transportation that aided the development of the industrial cities of Trenton, Camden, and Philadelphia. The mean freshwater discharge of the Delaware River into the estuary of Delaware Bay is 11,550 cubic feet per second, in 1609, the river was first visited by a Dutch East India Company expedition led by Henry Hudson. Hudson, an English navigator, was hired to find a route to Cathay. Early Dutch and Swedish settlements were established along the section of river. Both colonial powers called the river the South River, compared to the Hudson River, lord de la Warr waged a punitive campaign to subdue the Powhatan after they had killed the colonys council president, John Ratcliffe, and attacked the colonys fledgling settlements. Lord de la Warr arrived with 150 soldiers in time to prevent colonys original settlers at Jamestown from giving up, the name of barony is pronounced as in the current spelling form Delaware and is thought to derive from French de la Guerre. It has often reported that the river and bay received the name Delaware after English forces under Richard Nicolls expelled the Dutch. However, the river and bay were known by the name Delaware as early as 1641, the state of Delaware was originally part of the William Penns Pennsylvania colony. In 1682, the Duke of York granted Penns request for access to the sea and leased him the territory along the western shore of Delaware Bay which became known as the Lower Counties on the Delaware. The Delaware Rivers watershed drains an area of 14,119 square miles and encompasses 42 counties and 838 municipalities in five U. S. states—New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. This total area constitutes approximately 0. 4% of the mass in the United States. In 2001, the watershed was 18% agricultural land, 14% developed land, there are 216 tributary streams and creeks—an estimated 14,057 miles of streams and creeks—in the watershed. The waters of the Delaware Rivers basin are used to fishing, transportation, power, cooling, recreation
8.
Port Richmond, Philadelphia
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Port Richmond, also referred to as simply Richmond, is a neighborhood in the River Wards section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is notable for its extremely large Polish immigrant, Polish American community, the neighborhood is also home to sizable German and Italian communities as represented in the various churches and organizations. In more recent years, a sizable Albanian community has moved in, the neighborhood has also recently seen a large influx of young urban professionals and gentrification. The Richmond Zip Code is 19134 and 19125, the neighborhood is bounded by the Frankford Creek to the northeast, Lehigh Avenue to the southwest, I-95 and the Delaware River to the southeast, and Frankford Avenue to the northwest. While some have referred to Port Richmond as Richmond, there is an area named Richmond, not colloquially used often, in recent years, residents have accepted Portside as the neighborhoods up and coming party scene. Adjacent neighborhoods are Bridesburg and Frankford to the northeast, Juniata to the north, Kensington to the west, Fishtown, in colonial times, most of todays Port Richmond was owned by Anthony Palmer, the founder of Philadelphias Kensington neighborhood. Palmer put together various parcels of land starting around 1704 and he named the estate he built Hope Farm, and in 1729 sold this estate to William Ball. Palmer then purchased the old Fairman Mansion estate which bordered on the south of Hope Farm, over time some manufacturing began at the southern end of Hope Farm and this area became known as Balltown. There were glass and textile concerns located there during the part of the 18th century. Port Richmond, at the beginning of the century, was a working-class neighborhood, cars were not common and those who had them stored them in stables. Stables for horses and cars were located in parts of the area. Streets—unlike now—were generally free of parked vehicles, allowing hucksters and other vendors space to easily proceed down the side streets with their horse. European immigrants arrived in numbers and lost no time in scrimping and working long hours to earn sufficient money to purchase modest row homes. Usually, the heat in such homes was provided by a coal-fired range in a tiny kitchen. Some comfort could be had in the fact that these homes contained tiny rooms, such homes were generally twelve feet wide, and the entire length of the house was about twenty four feet. Cellars consisted of dirt floors. The fact that the homes were row homes, which were joined together by common walls, only the fronts and backs of each home presented themselves to the coldness of winter. A ton of coal sold at the time for four or five dollars
9.
SS Valencia
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The SS Valencia was an iron-hulled passenger steamer built as a minor ocean liner for the Red D Line for service between Venezuela and New York City. She was built in 1882 by William Cramp and Sons, one year after the construction of her sister ship Caracas and she was a 1,598 ton vessel,252 feet in length. In 1897, Valencia was deliberately attacked by the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes off Guantanamo Bay, the next year, she became a coastal passenger liner on the U. S. West Coast and served periodically in the Spanish–American War as a troopship to the Philippines, Valencia was wrecked off Cape Beale, which is near Clo-oose, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in 1906. The Red D Line had been operating a well established sailing ship service to Venezuela since 1839 and this service continued uninterrupted for almost 40 years. By the summer of 1879 however, the decided to modernize its service with steamships. Three German vessels were leased to begin service, but it soon became clear that a permanent fleet would need to be provided. Resulting from this decision, two steamships were ordered from William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia, both ships were to carry a combination of passengers, cargo and mail, sail under American Registration and be manned by American crews. In 1881, the first of this duo, the 1,200 ton Caracas, was completed, in 1882, the sister ship of Caracas was completed. The new steamer, Valencia, was shorter in length than her sister by 5 ft. An extension service for Valencia and Caracas was provided by the wooden steamship Maracaibo to the port of the wooden steamers namesake. Unlike Valencia and Caracas, Maracaibo was registered under the British flag, a voyage on Valencia and Caracas was scheduled twice a month and lasted around 26 days. In 1888, Caracas was sold to Thomas Egenton Hogg of the Oregon Pacific Railroad Company, Valencia however, continued operations with the Red D Line. In later years, Valencia operated from New York City to Laguayra, via Puerto Cabello, in 1897, the liner Niagara of the Ward Line was laid up to undergo repairs. The Valencia was subsequently chartered from the Red D Line to temporarily take Niagaras place, despite the charter, Valencia was still manned by her Red D Line crew. On 29 May 1897, the Valencia was purposely attacked by the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes, the cruiser fired two shots at the Valencia off Guantánamo Bay. One of the shots missed Valencias stern by 240 ft Immediately and it was later revealed that the shots were fired by Reina Mercedes in order to intimidate Valencia into raising her colors. The crew of Reina Mercedes was otherwise aware of Valencias identity
10.
Ocean liner
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An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes, cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes called liners. The category does not include ferries or other vessels engaged in trading, nor dedicated cruise ships where the voyage itself. Nor does it include tramp steamers, even those equipped to handle limited numbers of passengers, some shipping companies refer to themselves as lines and their container ships, which often operate over set routes according to established schedules, as liners. Ocean liners are usually built with a high freeboard to withstand rough seas. Additionally, they are designed with thicker hull plating than is found on cruise ships. Once the dominant form of travel between continents, ocean liners were rendered obsolete by the emergence of long-distance aircraft after World War II. Advances in automobile and railway also played a role. As of 2015, RMS Queen Mary 2 was the ship still in service as an ocean liner. Ocean liners were the mode of intercontinental travel for over a century. In addition to passengers, liners carried mail and cargo, ships contracted to carry British Royal Mail used the designation RMS. Liners were also the way to move gold and other high-value cargoes. The busiest route for liners was on the North Atlantic with ships travelling between Europe and North America and it was on this route that the fastest, largest and most advanced liners travelled. Shipping lines are companies engaged in shipping passengers and cargo, often on established routes and schedules, regular scheduled voyages on a set route are called line voyages and vessels trading on these routes to a timetable are called liners. The alternative to liner trade is tramping whereby vessels are notified on a basis as to the availability of a cargo to be transported. The term ocean liner has come to be used interchangeably with passenger liner, beginning at the advent of the Jet Age, where transoceanic ship service declined, a gradual transition from passenger ships as mean of transportation to nowadays cruise ships started. In order for ocean liners to remain profitable, cruise lines have modified some of them to operate on routes, such as the Queen Elizabeth 2. The Italian Lines SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello, the last ocean liners to be primarily for crossing the North Atlantic
11.
USS Baltimore (C-3)
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The fourth USS Baltimore was a United States Navy cruiser, the fifth protected cruiser to be built by an American yard. Like the previous one, Charleston, the design was commissioned from the British company of W. Armstrong, Mitchell, Baltimore was an all-around improvement on Charleston, somewhat larger with more guns, thicker armor, and better machinery. Baltimore was built to plans purchased from Armstrong, a British manufacturer, unlike the preceding Charleston, these plans included a modern triple expansion engine designed by Humphrys, Tennant & Co. Baltimores initial cost for hull and machinery was $1,546,172.13, Baltimore was armed with four 8-inch /35 caliber Mark 4 guns in sponsons on either side of the bow and stern, and six 6-inch /30 caliber Mark 3 guns in sponsons along the sides. Secondary armament was four 6-pounder guns, two 3-pounder Hotchkiss revolving cannon, two 1-pounder Hotchkiss revolving cannon, and two.45 caliber Gatling guns, four 14-inch torpedo tubes were included in the design but never mounted. Baltimore had 4.5 in gun shields and a 3 in conning tower, the armored deck was up to 4 in on its sloped sides and 2.5 in elsewhere. Baltimore was among the first US Navy ships with the more powerful, unlike some contemporary designs, no sails were fitted. Baltimore carried 400 tons of coal for a range of 3,838 nmi at 10 kn, Baltimore was rebuilt 1900-03 with the armament replaced by 12 6-inch /40 caliber Mark 7 guns, the 8-inch guns being removed. The secondary armament was replaced by six 3-inch /50 caliber guns, the boilers were replaced with eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers. In 1913-14 she was converted into a minelayer at the Charleston Navy Yard with four 6/40 guns, in an armament upgrade for World War I in 1917-18, her guns were replaced with four 5-inch /51 caliber guns and two 3 inch /50 caliber anti-aircraft guns. Baltimore became the flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron on 24 May 1890, Captain Pilot Joseph Henderson, one of the oldest pilots in the service, piloted Baltimore to sea. After cruising in European and Mediterranean waters with the European Squadron, she arrived at Valparaíso and she protected American citizens during the Chile revolution and landing men at Valparaíso on 28 August. Her activities in Chile around this time known as the Baltimore Crisis where two United States Navy sailors from its crew were stabbed in front of the True Blue Saloon on October 16,1891. Arriving at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 5 January 1892, she cruised on the west coast of the U. S. until 7 October and then returned to the Atlantic. She took part in the rendezvous and review in Hampton Roads during March and April 1893. Proceeding via the Suez Canal, she cruised as flagship of the Asiatic Station from 22 December 1893 –3 December 1895, returning to Mare Island on 21 January 1896, she went out of commission on 17 February. Recommissioned on 12 October 1897, Baltimore sailed on 20 October for the Hawaiian Islands and she then joined Commodore George Deweys squadron at Hong Kong on 22 April. The squadron sailed from Mirs Bay, China on 27 April for the Philippines, Baltimore was second in line behind Olympia
12.
Baltimore crisis
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It marked a dramatic shift in United States–Chile relations. It was triggered by the stabbing of two United States Navy sailors from USS Baltimore in front of the True Blue Saloon in Valparaíso on October 16,1891, the United States government demanded an apology. Chile ended the episode when it apologized and paid a $75,000 indemnity, in 1884 Chile emerged from the War of the Pacific as a potential threat to the hegemony of the United States. The Chilean navy, then the strongest fleet in the Pacific, was able to confront American policy, in 1882 Chile refused US mediation in the War of the Pacific. Finally in 1888 Chile annexed Easter Island, located some 2,000 miles west of Valparaíso, but by 1891 the equation of power had changed. The United States possessed more power and, more significantly. These and another circumstances troubled relations between the United States and the former insurgents, who in 1891 defeated the presidential forces and were then in power in Chile. The US ships reached Iquique before Itata, the new Chilean government ordered the ship back to San Diego to face outstanding charges. In addition, the United States minister in Santiago gave diplomatic asylum to various insurgent leaders during the war, the victorious insurgents called upon the American minister in Santiago, Patrick Egan, to surrender the newest refugees to the authorities but it was refused. Two sailors were killed and seventeen to eighteen were injured, the new Chilean government initially rejected American protests. However, after United States President Benjamin Harrison sent a message to the United States Congress, Chile apologized. 1891 Chilean Civil War Devine, Michael, john W. Foster Goldberg, Joyce S. Consent to Ascent. The Baltimore Affair and the US Rise to World Power Status, the Late Chilian Controversy Political Science Quarterly, vol 8#3 pp, 467–94. in JSTOR Foreign Relations of the United States of America for the Year 1891. Foreign Relations of the United States of America for the Year 1892, vv 47-9,56 Message of the President of the United States Respecting the Relations with Chile. GPO,1892,664 pp. Histamar sobre el tema General History of the Foreign Affairs of Argentina
13.
SS Malolo
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SS Malolo was an American ocean liner and cruise ship built by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia in 1926 for the Matson Line. She was the first of a number of ships designed by William Francis Gibbs for the line, in 1927 Matson commissioned its largest ship yet, the Malolo for the first-class luxury service between San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Honolulu. The Malolo and other Matson liners advertised superb public rooms, spacious cabins, swimming pools, a gymnasium, Malolo introduced improved safety standards which influenced all subsequent American passenger liners. Malolos advanced watertight compartments allowed her to stay afloat and sail into New York Harbor flooded with over 7,000 tons of sea water in her hull, in 1937, Matson docked Malolo for a major refit. The lifeboats were moved two decks higher and the deck they vacated was enclosed to create additional berths including new Lanai Suites, existing cabins were greatly upgraded, the ship changed from a combination of 457 first class and 163 cabin class accommodations to 693 first class only. The transformed ship was rechristened Matsonia, from early 1942 through April 1946 Matsonia was operated as a troop ship by the Matson Company as agent for the War Shipping Administration. After release from war service she was sold to Home Lines, after fifty years of service for several different companies, she was sold to Greek breakers in July 1977 and was towed to the breakers yards at Eleusina, Greece. In February 1978 while her interiors were being demolished she was gutted by fire, three years later her ravaged hull could still be seen among other ships at the breakers yard. SS Mariposa SS Monterey SS Lurline SS Manoa Malolo – Matsonia S. S. Malolo
14.
Matson, Inc.
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Matson, Inc. is a public shipping company which was founded in 1882. The company provides shipping services Pacific-wide, mainly to and from the Hawaiian islands, Matson is credited with introducing mass tourism to Hawaii with the opening of the historic Moana Hotel and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki on the island of Oahu. William Matson was the founder of the Matson Navigation Company and he was born in Lysekil in Västra Götaland County, Sweden, and orphaned during childhood. He arrived in San Francisco after a trip around Cape Horn in 1867, working aboard the Spreckels family yacht, he struck up a friendship with tycoon Claus Spreckels, who financed many of Matsons new ships. In 1882 the three-masted schooner Emma Claudina ran to the Hawaiian Islands, the enterprise began in the carrying of merchandise, especially of plantation stores, to the islands and returning with cargoes of sugar. This led to gradually expanding interests at both ends of the line, increased commerce brought a corresponding interest in Hawaii as a tourist attraction, which soon prompted the construction of the Moana Hotel in 1901. More steamships continued to join the fleet, when Captain Matson died in 1917, the Matson fleet comprised 14 of the largest, fastest and most modern ships in the Pacific passenger-freight service. The decade from the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s marked a significant period of Matson expansion, in 1925, the company established Matson Terminals, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary, to perform stevedoring and terminal services for its fleet. With increasing passenger traffic to Hawaiʻi, Matson built a luxury liner. At the time, Malolo was the fastest ship in the Pacific and its success led to the building of the luxury liners Mariposa, Monterey and Lurline between 1930 and 1932. Matsons famed white ships were instrumental in the development of tourism in Hawaii, in addition, beginning in 1927, with the construction of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Matsons Waikiki hotels provided tourists with luxury accommodations both ashore and afloat. In addition, Matson commissioned artists to design memorable keepsake menus for the voyages, the company later sold the building to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, whose General Office was next door at 245 Market. PG&E has incorporated the former Matson building into its General Office complex, for a brief period after World War II, Matson operated a luxurious airline using Douglas DC-4 aircraft between the Pacific Coast and Hawaii. The airline ultimately ceased operations because of pressure from Pan American World Airways. Today, Matson continues to ship cargo across the Pacific and plays a key role in the economy of Hawaii, the West Coast and the trading of goods from east to west. On December 1,2011, Matsons then-parent company Alexander & Baldwin announced that its board of directors approved a plan to split A&B, as part of the plan, Matson would leave Oakland, California to become a Honolulu-based company. The two companies are now traded separately, in 2015 Matson, Inc. acquired Horizon Lines, formerly its main competitor in the United States domestic market, for $469 million. Primarily a conveyor of cargo, Matson also introduced into service a number of passenger liners to capitalize on the burgeoning tourist trade, in 1926 Matson took over the Oceanic Steamship Company, operating three trans-Pacific liners, including Sonoma
15.
SS Leviathan
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SS Leviathan, originally built as Vaterland, was an ocean liner which regularly crossed the North Atlantic from 1914 to 1934. In 1917, she was seized by the U. S. government and she would become known by this name for the majority of her career, both as a troopship during World War I and later as the flagship of the United States Lines. Vaterland had made only a few trips when, in late July 1914, with a safe return to Germany rendered questionable by British dominance of the seas, she was laid up at her Hoboken, NJ, terminal and remained immobile for nearly three years. Redesignated SP-1326 and renamed Leviathan by President Woodrow Wilson on 6 September 1917, upon her return later that month, she reported for duty with the Cruiser and Transport Force. In December she took troops to Liverpool, England, but repairs delayed her return to the U. S. until mid-February 1918, a second trip to Liverpool in March was followed by more repairs. At that time she was repainted with the British-type dazzle camouflage scheme that she carried for the rest of the war. With the completion of work, Leviathan began regular passages between the U. S. and Brest, France, delivering up to 14,000 persons on each trip. Once experience in embarking troops was gained 11,000 troops could board the ship in two hours, before the armistice 11 November 1918 the ship transported over 119,000 fighting men. Amongst the ships US Navy crew during this period was future film star Humphrey Bogart, Bogart served as the Chief Quartermaster, the senior enlisted man of the Navigation Division, and in that role was on the helm whenever she sailed into or out of harbor. On 29 October 1919, USS Leviathan was decommissioned and turned over to the U. S, Shipping Board and again laid up at Hoboken until plans for her future employment could be determined. Shipping Board was by the end of the war encumbered with surplus tonnage, on 17 December 1919 the International Mercantile Marine signed an agreement to maintain their intended acquisition until a final decision could be made. The Gibbs Brothers Inc. M. M, riding on nationalistic sentiment to stop the deal, the Gibbs brothers were allowed to continue by the Shipping Board even as the deal fell through, their first big task being the creation of a new set of blueprints. None had been received from Germany under the Versailles Treaty and the price was deemed outrageous, instead an army of workers measured every part of the ship until a new set of prints had been made. The decorations and fittings, designed by New York architects Walker & Gillette, retained much of her prewar splendor of Edwardian, Georgian, the biggest deviation was an art deco night club supplanting the original Verandah Cafe. And in June 1923 she was back to the Shipping Board. Leviathans measured tonnage had increased to 59,956.65 GRT, thanks in part to Gibbs clever accounting and the Gulf stream, she had become the worlds largest and fastest ship. By this time United States Lines, which had interested I. M. M, had been sold, the Gibbs Brothers Inc would run her for her first voyages and train the crew until ownership officially changed hands. She immediately proved popular with the American public in the 20s and her passenger average reached a strong 1,300 by 1926, making her the #1 traveled ship on the Atlantic, but given her capacity of 3,000 it was too little to be profitable
16.
United States Lines
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United States Lines was an American transatlantic shipping company that operated cargo services from 1921 to 1989, and ocean liners until 1969—most famously, the SS United States. The lines became known in the 1920s when two valiant historic rescues were made using their ships, the SS President Roosevelt in 1926. The company was formed with three ships from the tonnage of the failed United States Mail Steamship Company, two of the ships, the America and George Washington, were originally German vessels that had been seized during World War I and kept as reparations. Both the America and George Washington made New York–Bremen runs, while the Centennial State ran from New York to London, one of the founders was Kermit Roosevelt, son of U. S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Additional ships were acquired in 1922 and renamed after various U. S. presidents, the 52,000 ton Leviathan, formerly the Vaterland and one of the largest liners in the world, was acquired in 1923. Throughout the 1920s, the accumulated debt, and in March 1929, the line was sold to P. W. Chapman Company. The stock market crash made matters worse, and in 1931, in 1932, the Manhattan, at a cost of approximately $21 million, became the first ship actually built for the line, followed the next year by the Washington. In 1940, a new America joined them, in 1932, United States Lines had offered to build a new passenger liner, called the U. S. Express Liner, which would double as a mail ship. Congress refused to give a guarantee on trans-Atlantic postal rates and it was never built, United States Lines absorbed the American Line in 1932, the Baltimore Mail Line in 1937, and the American Merchant Line in 1938. The decade started with United States Lines absorbing the Roosevelt Line in 1940, Roosevelt International Mercantile Marine Company finally changed its name to United States Lines Inc. in 1942, reflecting its new focus. In World War II, the ships were converted into troopships, the Manhattan became the USS Wakefield, and the Washington became the USS Mount Vernon. The flagship America became the USS West Point After the war, the company began to build smaller and cheaper ships, in 1941, two Nazi spies, Franz Joseph Stigler and Erwin Wilheim Siegler, worked for United States Lines as members of SS Americas crew. They operated as couriers, transmitting information between the United States and German agents aboard, Stigler worked undercover as the chief butcher. Both remained on the SS America until the U. S. Navy converted that ship into the USS West Point. Stigler and Siegler, along with the 31 other German agents of the Duquesne Spy Ring, were uncovered by the FBI in the largest espionage conviction in U. S. history. With a government subsidy for her construction, the SS United States entered service in 1952 and she was the largest ocean liner built in the United States and the fastest ocean liner ever built. She immediately set transatlantic speed records, capturing the Blue Riband from the Queen Mary, but competition from airliners brought the glory days to an end, in 1964, America was sold to Chandris Line, and United States was withdrawn from service in 1969
17.
USS New York (ACR-2)
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USS New York was the second United States Navy armored cruiser so designated, the first was the ill-fated Maine, which was soon redesignated a second-class battleship. Due to the protracted construction of Maine, New York was actually the first armored cruiser to enter U. S. Navy service. The fourth Navy ship to be named in honor of the state of New York, she was later renamed Saratoga, with six 8-inch guns, she was the most heavily armed cruiser in the US Navy when commissioned. New York was commissioned 1 August 1893, Captain John Philip in command, in 1888, during the 50th Congress,3.5 million dollars was authorized for the construction of New York. She was designed by the Navy Department, on 28 August 1890, the contract for her construction was awarded to William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia. New York as built had an armament of six 8 in /35 caliber Mark 3 breech-loading rifles in two twin Mark 5 turrets fore and aft and two open single Mark 3 and/or Mark 4 mounts on the sides. New York, as a cruiser, had good protection. The belt was 4 in thick and 9 ft deep, of which 4 ft was below the waterline and it was 186 ft long, protecting only the machinery spaces. The armored deck was 6 in thick on its sides and 3 in in the flat middle amidships. The original gun turrets had up to 5 1⁄2 in of armor, the open single 8-inch mounts on the sides were much less protected by 2 in partial barbettes, while the secondary gun sponsons had 4 in. The conning tower was 7 1⁄2 in thick, during construction, the builder reconfigured New Yorks boiler arrangement for tighter compartmentation. The thin side armor was comparable to that of the groundbreaking French armored cruiser Dupuy de Lôme, New York had a greater number of heavy guns than the French cruiser. The hull protection of ships was superior to their main rival, the British Blake class, which were the largest cruisers at the time but had no side armor. The British had switched from building armored cruisers to favor large, first class protected cruisers. Along with having weapons and armor, New York was intended to be relatively fast at 20 knots. This was achieved with four triple-expansion engines totaling 16,000 ihp, the forward engines could be disconnected to conserve fuel at an economical cruising speed. As built, eight coal-fired cylindrical boilers supplied 160 psi steam to the engines, New York underwent an extensive refit in 1905-1909. Her main guns and turrets were replaced with four 8 in /45 caliber Mark 6 guns in new Mark 12 turrets, the new turrets and barbettes had improved Krupp cemented armor, with up to 6 1⁄2 in on the turrets and 6 in -4 in on the barbettes
18.
Flagship
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A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed. In common naval use, the flagship is fundamentally a temporary designation. Historically, only larger ships could accommodate such requirements, the term was also used by commercial fleets, when the distinction between a nations navy and merchant fleet was not clear. In the age of sailing ships, the flagship was typically a first-rate, non-first rates could serve as flagships, however, the USS Constitution, a frigate, served as flagship for parts of the United States Navy during the early 19th century. In the 20th century, ships became large enough that the types, cruisers and up, could accommodate a commander. Some larger ships may have a flag bridge for use by the admiral. Because its primary function is to coordinate a fleet, a flagship is not necessarily more heavily armed or armored than other ships, during World War II admirals often preferred a faster ship over the largest one. Modern flagships are designed primarily for command and control rather than for fighting, as with many other naval terms, flagship has crossed over into general usage, where it means the most important or leading member of a group, as in the flagship station of a broadcast network. Is used as both a noun and adjective describing the most prominent or highly touted product, brand, location, derivations include the flagship brand or flagship product of a manufacturing company, flagship store of a retail chain, or flagship service of a hospitality or transportation concern. The term flagship may have applications, Auto companies may have a flagship in the form of their leading or highest-priced car. Electronics companies may have a series of products considered to be their flagship, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S series consists of several flagship smartphones that are released on a yearly basis. In rail transport, a service is either the fastest or most luxurious. Often it is also a train or service. In some cases, special service or a class above first class may be available in the service while it is not offered in normal services. Flagship services are used to present the company in advertising or abroad. Most states in the United States provide public university education through one or more university systems, the phrase flagship institution or flagship university may be applied to an individual school or campus within each state system. These schools are often land-grant, sea-grant, or space-grant research universities, the use of the term is seen by some as elitist and boastful
19.
Admiral (United States)
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Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below fleet admiral in the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service do not have an established grade above admiral. Admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the uniformed services. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps has never had a hold the grade of admiral. However,37 U. S. C. §201 of the U. S. Code established the grade for the NOAA Corps in the case a position is created that merits the four-star grade. The United States Navy did not have any admirals until 1862 because many felt the title too reminiscent of royalty, such as the British Royal Navy. Others saw the need for ranks above captain, among them John Paul Jones and he also felt there must be ranks above captain to avoid disputes among senior captains. Two years later Congress authorized the appointment of an admiral from among the nine rear admirals. Another bill allowed the President of the United States to appoint Farragut to admiral on July 25,1866, when Farragut died in 1870, Porter became admiral and Stephen C. Rowan was promoted to vice admiral, there was one admiral in the interim, however. In 1899, Congress recognized George Deweys accomplishments during the Spanish–American War by authorizing the President to appoint him Admiral of the Navy and he held that rank until he died in 1917. Nobody has since held that title, in 1944, Congress approved the five-star grade of fleet admiral. The first to hold it were William D. Leahy, Ernest J. King, the Senate confirmed their appointments December 15,1944. Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey got his star in December 1945. The rear admiral got his two-inch stripe and one half-inch stripe in 1866, the sleeve stripes had been more elaborate. When the rear admiral rank started in 1862 the sleeve arrangement was three stripes of three-quarter-inch lace alternating with three stripes of quarter-inch lace and it was some ten inches from top to bottom. The vice admiral, of course, had even more stripes, on their dress uniforms the admirals wore bands of gold embroidery of live oak leaves and acorns. The admirals of the 1860s wore the number of stars on their shoulders as admirals of corresponding grades do today. During the 20th century, the ranks of the modern U. S. admiralty were firmly established, an oddity that did exist was that the navy did not have a one-star rank except briefly during World War II when Congress established a temporary war rank of commodore
20.
William T. Sampson
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William Thomas Sampson was a United States Navy rear admiral known for his victory in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War. He was born in Palmyra, New York, and entered the United States Naval Academy on September 24,1857, after graduating first in his class four years later, he served as an instructor at the Academy, teaching physics. In 1864, he became the officer of the monitor Patapsco of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and engaged in sweeping torpedoes off Charleston. He survived the loss of that ironclad on January 15,1865, when she struck a torpedo, exploded and he then commanded the Alert, the training ship Mayflower, and the Swatara while on duty at the Naval Academy. During the next years, he was Assistant to the Superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory, then Officer-in-Charge of the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, on September 9,1886, he became Superintendent of the Naval Academy. He was promoted to Captain on April 9,1889, reported to the Mare Island Navy Yard to fit out the protected cruiser San Francisco, and assumed command when she was commissioned on November 15,1889. He was detached in June 1892 to serve as Inspector of Ordnance in the Washington Navy Yard and was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance on January 28,1893 and he assumed command of the battleship Iowa on June 15,1897. On February 17,1898, he was made President of the Board of Inquiry to investigate the destruction of the Maine, on March 26,1898, he assumed command of the North Atlantic Squadron, with the temporary rank of Rear Admiral. The United States declared war against Spain on April 25,1898, Rear Admiral Sampson, in flagship New York, put to sea from Key West. After this preliminary bombardment, Sampson helped lead an attack on San Juan, along with General William Shafter. On July 1, following the invasion, Sampson returned to Cuba, reinforcing the blockades in Santiago. On May 29, Elements of Sampsons command spotted Admiral Ceveras squadron moving into Santiago harbor, on the morning of July 3,1898, Cerveras fleet came out of the harbor. Sampson was ashore at a conference with General Shafter, making plans for an attack on Santiago. The next day, Rear Admiral Sampson sent his famous message, The Fleet under my command offers the nation as a Fourth of July present, Sampsons message omitted any mention of Schleys leadership in the battle, leading to a controversy as to who was responsible for the victory. Schley appealed for a court of inquiry, which he got in 1901, in the Navy, the quarrel was so divisive that the rank-and-file identified themselves as either a Schley man or a Sampson man. The court of inquiry heard testimony in support of Schley by his own men and, despite criticism of Schley. After the Battle of Santiago Bay, Sampson was appointed Cuban Commissioner on August 20,1898 and he became Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard in October 1899 and transferred to the Retired List on February 9,1902. Sampson was a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yale University in October 1901, during celebrations for the bicentenary of the university
21.
USS Indiana (BB-1)
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USS Indiana was the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time. Authorized in 1890 and commissioned five years later, she was a battleship, though with heavy armor. The ship also pioneered the use of an intermediate battery and she was designed for coastal defense and as a result, her decks were not safe from high waves on the open ocean. Indiana served in the Spanish–American War as part of the North Atlantic Squadron and she took part in both the blockade of Santiago de Cuba and the battle of Santiago de Cuba, which occurred when the Spanish fleet attempted to break through the blockade. Although unable to join the chase of the escaping Spanish cruisers, she was responsible for the destruction of the Spanish destroyers Plutón. She was decommissioned for the third and final time in January 1919 and was shortly after reclassified Coast Battleship Number 1 so that the name Indiana could be reused. She was sunk in water as a target in aerial bombing tests in 1920. Indiana was constructed from a version of a design drawn up by a US navy policy board in 1889 for a short-range battleship. The original design was part of a naval construction plan to build 33 battleships and 167 smaller ships. The United States Congress saw the plan as an attempt to end the U. S, the coast defense designation was reflected in Indianas moderate endurance, relatively small displacement and low freeboard, or distance from the deck to the water, which limited seagoing capability. She was however heavily armed and armored, Conways All The Worlds Fighting Ships describes her design as attempting too much on a very limited displacement, the total cost of the ship was almost twice as high, approximately $6,000,000. The contract specified the ship had to be built in three years, but slow delivery of armor plates caused a two-year delay, during her fitting-out in early March 1894, the ship undertook a preliminary sea trial to test her speed and machinery. At this point her side armor, guns, turrets and conning tower had not yet been fitted, Indiana was commissioned on 20 November 1895 under the command of Captain Robley D. Evans. After further trials, the joined the North Atlantic Squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Francis M. Bunce. In late 1896, both main turrets broke loose from their clamps in heavy seas, because the turrets were not centrally balanced, they swung from side to side with the motion of the ship, until they were secured with heavy ropes. Heavier clamps were installed, but in February 1896, while conducting maneuvers with the North Atlantic squadron. Her new captain, Henry Clay Taylor, promptly ordered her back to port for fear the clamps would break again. At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, Indiana was at Key West with the rest of the North Atlantic Squadron, at the time commanded by Rear Admiral William T. Sampson
22.
SS St. Louis (1894)
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After she reverted to her original name in 1919, she burned in 1920 while undergoing a refit. She was scrapped in 1924 in Genoa, on a later voyage following the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, St. Louis was chartered for Naval service while at Southampton and returned to New York on 22 April 1898. Armed with four 5-inch rapid fire guns and eight 6-pounders, she was commissioned as a cruiser in the United States Navy on 24 April. Manned by 27 officers and 350 men, she put to sea on 30 April for the Caribbean, St. Louis was specially outfitted with heavy drag lines in order to destroy undersea cable communications in the West Indies and to the mainland of South America. When Admiral Pascual Cerveras fleet sailed into Santiago Harbor, the Spanish warships found themselves cut off from communications with Spain. St. Louis next severed the cable between Guantanamo Bay and Haiti, then cut the cable off Cienfuegos to isolate Cuba from outside communications. St. Louis received many prisoners of war, including Admiral Cervera, for internment in the United States and landed them at Portsmouth, N. H. on 11 July. She steamed south from Norfolk on the 28th to cruise among ports of Puerto Rico and Cuba until 10 August and she shifted to Philadelphia on 24 August to enter the Cramp shipyard for preparation for return to her owners. St. Louis was decommissioned on 2 September and was turned over to Mr. J. Parker, for many years, SS St. Louis was prominent as a passenger liner between New York and Liverpool. Later dry-dock examination revealed that 18 feet of her keel rubbing strake had been torn away, on 25 July, her gunners exchanged fire with a surfaced U-boat, some three miles away, and sighted many near misses. On 17 April 1918, St. Louis was delivered to the Navy at New York to be manned and operated by the Navy as a troop transport. She was renamed Louisville, as a cruiser named St. Louis was already in service in the Navy, Louisville was commissioned on 24 April. Louisville first put to sea on 12 October bound for Portland and Southampton, England, from then until 19 August of that year, she made six voyages from New York to Liverpool or to Brest, France, to return American soldiers from the Great War. On 20 August, she shifted to Norfolk and was decommissioned there on 9 September 1919 and she was returned to her owner on the 11th and resumed her original name, St. Louis. To be reconditioned as a liner, St. Louis entered a shipyard at Hoboken, N. J. where early in January 1920. After control of the fire was lost, she was scuttled alongside the dock and she was later refloated and taken over by insurance underwriters. Over the next five years, under ownership of various investors, finally, she was sold in 1925, and two Dutch tugs towed her to Italy where she was scrapped by an Italian salvage company. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, the entry can be found here
23.
SS Saint Paul (1895)
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The first USS Saint Paul was a cruiser in the United States Navy. She was named for the capital of Minnesota, departing Philadelphia on 5 May 1898, Saint Pauls first assignment was to cruise in search of Admiral Cerveras squadron between Morant Point, Jamaica, and western Haiti. She captured the British collier Restormel—bound for Cuba with a cargo of Cardiff coal—on 25 May. She cruised off Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo Bay into mid-June, then sailed to join the force blockading San Juan, Saint Paul arrived off San Juan on the morning of 22 June. Isabel II was joined shortly by the destroyer Terror, which attempted to close Saint Paul to launch torpedoes, Saint Paul took Terror under heavy fire, scoring at least one direct hit which heavily damaged the destroyer. Terror gave up the attack and returned to port, followed by Isabel II, Saint Paul was relieved by Yosemite off San Juan on the 26th and made for New York to coal. Saint Paul spent the remainder of her Spanish–American War service as a transport and she landed troops at Siboney, Cuba, and Arroyo, Puerto Rico, subsequently returning soldiers from Guantanamo Bay to New York City through 15 August. Entering the Cramp shipyard on 22 August for reconversion to mercantile service, Saint Paul was decommissioned on 2 September, Saint Paul was again taken over for wartime service on 27 October 1917. Operated by the United States Shipping Board as a transport on the War Department account, she retained her merchant crew and she made twelve voyages between New York and Liverpool, England. She was transferred to the Navy account in April 1918, designated SP-1643, then, while being towed to her berth from dry dock on 28 April, she capsized in the North River. Righted on 11 September, she was turned over to the Commandant, 3rd Naval District. Saint Paul entered the New York Navy Yard the following day, placed in temporary commission on 14 January 1919 for the purpose of fixing responsibility for her care outside the Navy Yard, Saint Paul soon began reconversion for mercantile service. Returned to her owner on 24 March 1919, Saint Paul was scrapped in Germany in 1923 and this article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here, photo gallery of USS Saint Paul at NavSource Naval History Video dedicated to the ocean liner SS St. Paul
24.
Collins Line
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Under Edward Collins guidance, the company grew to be a serious competitor on the transatlantic routes to the British Cunard shipping company. The Collins Line, as it was known at the time, were the ships and lines run by the shipping company. Israel Collins had left the sea in 1818 to establish the company in New York City. The firm traded in a small way. In 1824, Israel was joined by his son Edward, in January 1825, Edward took advantage of a cotton shortage in England to charter a schooner in order to get to Charleston, South Carolina, ahead of his competitors and corner the market in cotton. This was the point in the company. In 1827, the started a line of packets sailing between New York and Veracruz on the Mexican coast. Israel Collins died in 1831, and Edward took over management of a New York-New Orleans packet line and he made a great success of this venture as well. Up until 1835 the company had not seriously competed in the trade, but in that year it received a new ship. The ship was dispatched to Liverpool and returned with the largest cargo yet brought to New York, from then on, the company was a serious competitor for the transatlantic trade. At that time, all of the shipping firms were American. Collins ships predominantly carried cotton for the English cotton industry, the firm continued to commission the largest ships that it could, and three vessels, Garrick, Sheridan, and Siddons, were added to the fleet. In 1838 the 1, 030-ton Roscius was added, larger than any competitor, at that time, Collins main rival was the Black Ball Line, also of New York. In 1838, the SS Great Western, owned by the British Great Western Steamship Company, crossed the Atlantic in 15 days, in 1840–41, four ships were delivered to Cunard for this service, with two additional ships following in 1844. Dissatisfied with the dominance of British companies in the mail packet trade. The United States Postmaster General Office invited tenders from US-based shipping companies for a service from New York City to ports in Northern Europe, four companies, including a group led by Collins, submitted their proposals. A five-year tender of carrying mail from New York to Bremen was eventually awarded to the Ocean Steam Navigation Company, led by Edward Mills, Collins submitted his ambitious plan to operate a weekly service on the route with five ships superior to those of Cunard in every way. Collins proposal convinced the authorities and the tender was awarded to his New York and Liverpool United States Steamship Company, due to the financial constraints of building five ships, the service was eventually scaled down to a bi-weekly operation using four ships
25.
Guglielmo Marconi
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He is often credited as the inventor of radio, and he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun in recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy. Marconi was an entrepreneur, businessman, and founder of The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company in the United Kingdom in 1897 and he succeeded in making a commercial success of radio by innovating and building on the work of previous experimenters and physicists. In 1929, the King of Italy ennobled Marconi as a Marchese, Marconi was born into the Italian nobility as Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi in Bologna on 25 April 1874, the second son of Giuseppe Marconi and his Irish/Scots wife Annie Jameson. Between the ages of two and six, Marconi and his elder brother Alfonso were brought up by his mother in the English town of Bedford, Marconi received further education in Florence at the Istituto Cavallero and, later, in Livorno. Marconi did not do well in school, according to Robert McHenry and he was baptized as a Catholic but had been brought up as a member of the Anglican Church, being married into it. Marconi was confirmed in the Catholic faith and became a member of the Church before his marriage to Maria Christina in 1927. During his early years, Marconi had an interest in science and electricity, the transmission of telegraph messages without connecting wires as used by the electric telegraph. There was a deal of interest in radio waves in the physics community. Righis article renewed Marconis interest in developing a wireless telegraphy based on radio waves. In the summer of 1894, he built a storm alarm made up of a battery, a coherer, and an electric bell, soon after he was able to make a bell ring on the other side of the room by pushing a telegraphic button on a bench. One night in December 1894, Guglielmo woke his mother and invited her into his secret workshop and showed her the experiment that he had created. The next day, he showed his work to his father. In the summer of 1895, Marconi moved his experimentation outdoors, with these improvements the system was capable of transmitting signals up to 2 miles and over hills. The monopole antenna reduced the frequency of the waves compared to the dipole antennas used by Hertz, by this point, he concluded that a device could become capable of spanning greater distances, with additional funding and research, and would prove valuable both commercially and militarily. Marconis experimental apparatus proved to be the first engineering-complete, commercially successful radio transmission system, Marconi wrote to the Ministry of Post and Telegraphs, then under the direction of the honorable Pietro Lacava, explaining his wireless telegraph machine and asking for funding. He never received a response to his letter which was dismissed by the Minister who wrote to the Longara on the document. In 1896, Marconi spoke with his family friend Carlo Gardini, Honorary Consul at the United States Consulate in Bologna, Gardini wrote a letter of introduction to the Ambassador of Italy in London, Annibale Ferrero, explaining who Marconi was and about these extraordinary discoveries. In his response, Ambassador Ferrero advised them not to reveal the results until after they had obtained the copyrights
26.
Russian cruiser Varyag (1899)
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Varyag was a Russian protected cruiser. Varyag became famous for her crews stoicism at the Battle of Chemulpo Bay, the Imperial Admiralty contracted William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia to build the ship, and her keel was laid in October 1898. Launched on 31 October 1899, under Captain Vladimir Behr, she was commissioned into the Imperial Russian Navy on 2 January 1901. During her construction, an assistant physician, Leo Alexandroff, left the advance party on 20 April 1899. Chemulpo was in neutral Korean waters, admiral Uriu gave the Russian ships in harbor a written ultimatum to sail by 12,00 noon or be attacked in the harbor itself. In 1907, Vsevolod Rudnev was decorated with the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun for his heroism in battle, although he accepted the order. Varyag was later salvaged by the Japanese and repaired and she served with the Imperial Japanese Navy as light cruiser Soya. During World War I, Russia and Japan were allies and several ships were transferred by the Japanese to the Russians and she was repurchased by the Imperial Russian Navy at Vladivostok on 5 April 1916 and renamed back to Varyag. In June, she departed for Murmansk via the Indian Ocean and she was sent to Liverpool in Great Britain for an overhaul by Cammell Laird in February 1917, and was due to re-enter service with the Arctic squadron of the Russian Navy. However, following the Russian October Revolution on 7 November 1917 crewmen who had remained onboard hoisted the red flag, on 8 December 1917 she was seized by a detachment of British soldiers. Assigned to the Royal Navy in February 1918, she ran aground while under tow off of Ireland, but was refloated and used as a hulk until 1919. She was then sold to a German firm in 1920 for scrap and she was scrapped in place from 1923-1925. The stoicism of Varyags crew at Chemulpo has inspired the Austrian poet Rudolf Greinz to write a poem dedicated to Varyag, the Russian translation of this poem was put on music by A. S. The result was the 1904 song that remains today, Auf Deck, Kameraden. Der stolze Warjag ergibt sich nicht, Wir brauchen keine Gnade. Rudolf Greinz Наверх вы, товарищи, Врагу не сдается наш гордый “Варяг”, Пощады никто не желает. Get up you comrades, take your places, The final parade is at hand, proud Varyag will not surrender to the enemy, No one wants their mercy. On Sunday 30 July 2006, a monument to the cruiser was unveiled at Lendalfoot in a ceremony attended by senior Russian politicians and navy personnel, veterans, on 8 September 2007 a large bronze memorial was dedicated at Lendalfoot. In 2010, as a gesture marking the 20th anniversary of relations between Korea and Russia, the flag of Varyag was restored
27.
Imperial Russian Navy
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It was expanded in the second half of the 18th century and by the early part of the 19th century had reached its peak strength, only behind the British and French fleets in terms of size. The First World War was mixed for the navy, with the Germans generally gaining the upper hand in the Baltic but the Black Sea falling under Russian control. The Russian Revolution marked the end of the Imperial Navy with its sailors fighting on both sides and its surviving ships forming the core of the Soviet Navy upon its creation in 1918. Under Tsar Mikhail I, construction of the first three-masted ship actually built within Russia was completed in 1636 and it was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein according to European design and was christened Frederick. During its maiden voyage on the Caspian Sea, Frederick sailed into a storm and was lost at sea. A boyar named Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin founded a shipyard at Tsarevich-Dmitriev fortress, in 1661, however, Russia was once again forced to abide by the harsh terms of a treaty, this time the Peace of Cardis. Russia agreed to surrender to Sweden all captured territories, and all constructed at Tsarevich-Dmitriev were ordered destroyed. Boyar Ordin-Nashchyokin, not grieving long over defeat, turned his attention to the Volga River, with the Tsars approval, the boyar brought Dutch shipbuilding experts to the town of Dedinovo near the confluence of the Oka and Volga Rivers. Shipbuilding commenced in the winter of 1667, within two years, four vessels had been completed, one 22-gun galley, christened Орёл, and three smaller ships. The ill-fated Frederick had been a Holstein vessel, Орёл became Russias first own three-masted, European-designed sailing ship, the ship was captured in Astrakhan by rebellious Cossacks led by Stepan Razin. The Cossacks ransacked Орёл and abandoned it, half-submerged, in an estuary of the Volga, unquestionably, the most celebrated Russian explorer was Semyon Dezhnev, who, in 1648, sailed the entire length of present-day Russia by way of the Arctic Ocean. Rounding the Chukotsk Peninsula, Dezhnev passed through the Bering Sea, the creation of the regular Russian Navy took place during the reign of Peter the Great. During the Second Azov campaign of 1696 against Turkey, the Russians employed for the first time 2 warships,4 fireships,23 galleys and 1300 strugs, built on the Voronezh River. After the occupation of the Azov fortress, the Boyar Duma looked into Peters report of military campaign. This date is considered the birthday of the regular Russian Navy. During the Great Northern War of 1700-1721, the Russians built the Baltic Fleet, the construction of the oared fleet took place in 1702-1704 at several shipyards. From 1703-1723, the base of the Baltic Fleet was located in Saint Petersburg. The bases were created in Reval and in Vyborg after it was ceded from Sweden after the war of 1741-43
28.
Russo-Japanese War
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The Russo-Japanese War was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and Korea. The major theatres of operations were the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden in Southern Manchuria and the seas around Korea, Japan, Russia sought a warm-water port on the Pacific Ocean for their navy and for maritime trade. Vladivostok was operational only during the summer, whereas Port Arthur, since the end of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Japan feared Russian encroachment on its sphere of influence. Russia had demonstrated an expansionist policy in the Siberian Far East from the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, through threat of Russian expansion, Japan offered to recognize Russian dominance in Manchuria in exchange for recognition of Korea as being within the Japanese sphere of influence. Russia refused and demanded Korea north of the 39th parallel to be a buffer zone between Russia and Japan. The Japanese government perceived a Russian threat to its strategic interests, after negotiations broke down in 1904, the Japanese Navy opened hostilities by attacking the Russian Eastern Fleet at Port Arthur, China, in a surprise attack. The war concluded with the Treaty of Portsmouth, mediated by US President Theodore Roosevelt, the complete victory of the Japanese military surprised world observers. The consequences transformed the balance of power in East Asia, resulting in a reassessment of Japans recent entry onto the world stage and it was the first major military victory in the modern era of an Asian power over a European one. Scholars continue to debate the historical significance of the war, after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Meiji government endeavored to assimilate Western ideas, technological advances and ways of warfare. By the late 19th century, Japan had transformed itself into an industrial state. The Japanese wanted to be recognized as equal with the Western powers, the Meiji restoration had always been intended to make Japan a modernized state, not a Westernized one, and Japan was always an imperialist power, looking towards overseas expansionism. By the 1890s it had extended its realm across Central Asia to Afghanistan, the Russian Empire stretched from Poland in the west to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the east. With its construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway to the port of Vladivostok, in the Tsushima incident of 1861 Russia had directly assaulted Japanese territory. Between the Meiji Restoration and its participation in World War I, the first war Japan fought was the First Sino-Japanese War, fought in 1894 and 1895. The war revolved around the issue of control and influence over Korea under the rule of the Joseon dynasty, from the 1880s onward, there had been vigorous competition for influence in Korea between China and Japan. The Korean court was prone to factionalism, and was divided by a reformist faction that was pro-Japanese. In 1884, a coup attempt was put down by Chinese troops. A peasant rebellion led by the Tonghak religious movement led to a request by the Korean government for the Qing dynasty to send in troops to stabilize the country
29.
SS Yarmouth Castle
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SS Yarmouth Castle was an American steamship whose loss in a disastrous fire in 1965 prompted new laws regarding safety at sea. She was built in 1927 by the William Cramp & Sons Ship, the ship was 365 feet long and measured 5,002 gross tons. Her sister ship, Yarmouth, was launched the same year, evangeline operated the Boston – Yarmouth, Nova Scotia service for the Eastern Steamship Lines until World War II, when she was sent to the Pacific to serve as a troop ship. The ship ferried combat troops from San Francisco to the island battlefronts, after being refitted and refinished at the Bethlehem Steel Corporations shipyards at a cost of US$1.5 million, she returned to passenger service in May 1947. She operated on the New York City – Bahamas run for less than a year, the ship was sold to a Liberian company called the Volusia Steamship Company in 1954. She was given a run from Boston to Nova Scotia. The ship was sold in 1963 to the Chadade Steamship Company and she offered service from New York City to the Bahamas for Caribbean Cruise Lines, which went bankrupt that same year. By the end of 1964, Yarmouth Castle was operated by Yarmouth Cruise Lines, the ship ran pleasure cruises on the 186-mile stretch between Miami and Nassau. Yarmouth Castle departed Miami for Nassau on November 12,1965, with 376 passengers and 176 crewmen aboard, the ship was due to arrive in Nassau the next day. The captain on the voyage was 35-year-old Byron Voutsinas, shortly before 1,00 a. m. on November 13, a mattress stored too close to a lighting circuit in a storage room, Room 610, caught fire. The room was filled with mattresses and paint cans, which fed the flames, at around 1,00, a badly burned passenger emerged from a stairway and collapsed on the deck. Crewmen who rushed to the mans aid found the stairwell filled with smoke, Captain Voutsinas was immediately notified of the fire by the watch officer. The captain ordered the mate to sound the alarm on the ships whistle. The ships radio operator, who had been off duty, found the radio shack to be completely ablaze by the time he reached it, by this point, Yarmouth Castle was 120 miles east of Miami and 60 miles northwest of Nassau. The ships fire alarms did not sound and the sprinkler system did not activate. Passengers were awakened by screaming and running in the corridors as people tried to find lifejackets. The fire swept through the superstructure at great speed, driven by the ship’s natural ventilation system. The flames rose vertically through the stairwells, fueled by the wood paneling, wooden decks, many passengers had to break windows and squeeze through portholes to exit their burning cabins
30.
USS Astoria (CL-90)
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The third USS Astoria was a Cleveland-class light cruiser of the United States Navy. The ship was laid down on 6 September 1941 at William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia and it was subsequently renamed to Astoria in honor of the heavy cruiser Astoria which was sunk on 9 August 1942 during the Battle of Savo Island. Astoria was launched on 6 March 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Robert Lucas, Astoria conducted shakedown training in the vicinity of Bermuda between 6 June and 23 July 1944 and returned to Philadelphia on the latter day for post-shakedown overhaul. She departed Philadelphia on 19 September, bound for the Pacific, steaming via the Panama Canal, Astoria arrived in San Diego on 3 October. Later in the month, she moved to the Mare Island Navy Yard and she arrived at Oahu on the 31st and remained at Pearl Harbor until 16 November. On that day, she got underway for Ulithi Atoll in the Western Carolines and she made a stop at Eniwetok in the Marshalls before entering the lagoon at Ulithi on 25 November. There, the warship reported for duty with Task Group 38.2 of the Fast Carrier Task Force, Astoria sortied with TF38 on 11 December 1944 for her first war cruise. Her mission was to serve in the screen of the carriers. The flattops launched air strikes between 14 and 16 December, weather began turning bad on the 17th, and that night and the next day Astoria steamed with TF38 through the infamous typhoon that sank Spence, Hull, and Monaghan. However, the cruiser weathered the storm fairly well, after two days of searches for the survivors of the three lost destroyers, TF38 headed back to Ulithi for a Christmas rest. She departed Ulithi again on the 30th, when TF38 got underway to provide air support for the Luzon landings scheduled for 9 January 1945, the carriers direct support for that operation lasted from 6 to 9 January. On the night of the 9th, Admiral Halsey led TF38 – including Astoria – into the South China Sea to begin raiding Japans inner defenses, for the next two weeks, the carriers pounded military targets in Japanese-held southern China and French Indochina pausing periodically to harass Formosa. The force arrived off Honshū on 16 February and began two days of air raids on the Tokyo area, on the 18th, TF58 headed south, took a passing punch at Chi Chi Jima in the Bonins, and arrived off Iwo Jima by mid-afternoon the next day. While the carrier provided air support for the landings, Astoria moved in close to shore on the 21st to begin a 26-hour period of gunfire support for the troops ashore. She then steamed north to support the carriers in strikes against Tokyo before returning to Ulithi by 3 March. On 14 March, she returned to sea with TF58 to begin support of the campaign to capture Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands. The cruiser supplied antiaircraft defense for the carriers of her group and claimed to have splashed 11 enemy planes. She concluded her cruise in support of the conquest of Okinawa when she arrived at Leyte in the Philippines on 1 June
31.
Cleveland-class cruiser
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The Cleveland class was a group of light cruisers built for the U. S. Navy during World War II, and were the most numerous class of light cruisers ever built. The Clevland-class was a development of the preceding Brooklyn-class, the ships were designed with the goal of increased cruising range, anti-aircraft armament, torpedo protection, etc. compared with earlier U. S. cruisers. To achieve this, the fifth 6 inch gun turret was omitted and this also gave room for the enlargement of the bridge spaces to accommodate the new combat information center and the necessary radars. However, the increase of light anti-aircraft artillery made the class top-heavy towards the end of World War II, to compensate for the weight increase, some ships had one catapult removed, also the range finders were removed from turret A. These two were called the Fargo class, of the 27 Cleveland-class cruisers that were commissioned, one was completed as a guided missile cruiser and five were later modified as Galveston and Providence-class guided missile cruisers. Two of each of the guided missile cruiser-classes had enlarged superstructures to serve as flagships, following the naming convention at the time, all the ships completed as cruisers were named for US cities and towns. The Cleveland-class cruisers served mainly in the Pacific Fleet during World War II, especially in the Fast Carrier Task Force, all of these warships, though worked heavily and damaged in some cases, survived the war. The Clevelands suffered from increasing stability problems as anti-aircraft armament and additional radar was added during the war, none were recommissioned for the Korean War, as they required a crew almost as large as the Baltimore-class ships, and those ships were reactivated instead. All non-converted ships were sold off from the fleet for scrapping beginning in 1959. The six that were completed as or converted into guided missile cruisers were reactivated during the 1950s, all, particularly the Talos-armed ships, suffered from greater stability problems than the original design due to the extra radar equipment and top weight. This problem was severe in Galveston, leading to its premature decommissioning in 1970. Oklahoma City and Little Rock had to have an amount of ballast. The last of these ships in service, Oklahoma City, was decommissioned in December 1979
32.
Light cruiser
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A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the light armored cruiser, describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser. Prior to this smaller cruisers had been of the protected cruiser model, the first small steam-powered cruisers were built for the British Royal Navy with HMS Mercury launched in 1878. Such second and third class protected cruisers evolved, gradually becoming faster, better armed, germany took a lead in small cruiser design in the 1890s, building a class of fast cruisers—the Gazelle class—copied by other nations. Such vessels were powered by coal-fired boilers and reciprocating steam engines, the adoption of oil-fired water-tube boilers and steam turbine engines meant that older small cruisers rapidly became obsolete. Furthermore, new construction could not rely on the protection of coal bunkers, the British Bristol group of Town-class cruisers were a departure from previous designs, with turbine propulsion, mixed coal and oil firing and a 2-inch protective armoured belt as well as deck. Thus, by definition, they were armoured cruisers, despite displacing only 4,800 tons, the first true modern light cruisers were the Arethusa class which had all oil-firing and used lightweight destroyer-type machinery to make 29 knots. 1-inch to 5. 9-inch guns. Cruiser construction in Britain continued uninterrupted until Admiral Jacky Fishers appointment as First Sea Lord in 1904, the group of 21 Town-class cruisers begun in 1910 proved excellent in scouting in all types of weather and could carry enough fuel and ammunition to guard the shipping lanes. The Arethusa class, launched three years later, was also successful, British designers continued enlarging and refining subsequent cruiser designs throughout the war. The Germans built a number of cruisers in the belief that they were good multi-purpose vessels. However, the Germans were very late in adapting 5. 9-inch guns, with the Pillau and Wiesbaden-class cruisers the Germans followed the British example of heavier guns. Earlier German light cruisers were in competition with a series of British scout cruisers which had a speed of 25 knots. The Germans completed the last two of their Bremen-class cruisers in 1906 and 1907 and followed them up with four Königsberg-class and these last two classes, larger and faster than the Bremens, were armed the same and carried less deck armor. Other major powers concentrated on construction and built few cruisers. The United States, Italy, and Austria-Hungary each built only a handful of scout cruisers while Japan and Spain added a few based on British designs. The United States resumed building light cruisers in 1918, largely because the ships it then had in service had become obsolete, the first of these, the ten Omaha-class ships, displaced 7,050 tons and were armed with twelve 6-inch guns. Eight of these guns were mounted in casemates at the bow and stern. Fast and maneuverable, they were well-liked as seaboats despite being very wet in rough weather, the term light cruiser was given a definition by the London Naval Treaty of 1930
33.
Doolittle Raid
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The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James Jimmy Doolittle of the United States Army Air Forces. Sixteen B-25B Mitchell medium bombers were launched without fighter escort from the U. S. Navys aircraft carrier USS Hornet deep in the Western Pacific Ocean, each with a crew of five men. The plan called for them to military targets in Japan. Fifteen aircraft reached China, but all crashed, while the 16th landed at Vladivostok in the Soviet Union, all but three of the 80 crew members initially survived the mission. Eight airmen were captured by the Japanese Army in China, three of those were later executed, the B-25 that landed in the Soviet Union was confiscated and its crew interned for more than a year. Fourteen complete crews, except for one crewman who was killed in action, Doolittle, who initially believed that the loss of all his aircraft would lead to his court-martial, received the Medal of Honor and was promoted two steps to brigadier general. The raid had its start in a desire by President Franklin D, an attack on the Japanese homeland would cause confusion in the minds of the Japanese people and sow doubt about the reliability of their leaders. There was a second, and equally important, psychological reason for this attack, Americans badly needed a morale boost. The concept for the attack came from Navy Captain Francis Low, Assistant Chief of Staff for anti-submarine warfare, the attack was planned and led by Doolittle, a famous military test pilot, civilian aviator and aeronautical engineer before the war. Requirements that the aircraft have a range of 2,400 nautical miles with a 2. The range of the Mitchell at the time was only about 1,300 miles, the B-18, one of the final two types considered by Doolittle, was rejected for the same reason. The B-25 had yet to be tested in combat, but subsequent tests indicated it could fulfill the missions requirements. Doolittles first report on the plan suggested the bombers might land in Vladivostok, negotiations with the Soviet Union for permission to land were fruitless because it had signed a neutrality pact with Japan in April 1941. The raid was approved and the 17th Bomb Group was chosen to provide the pool of crews from which volunteers would be recruited. The 17th BG had been the first group to receive B-25s, the 17th not only was the first medium bomb group of the Army Air Corps, but in the spring of 1942 also had the most experienced B-25 crews. Its first assignment following the entry of the United States into the war was to the U. S, the group officially transferred effective 9 February to Columbia, where its combat crews were offered the opportunity to volunteer for an extremely hazardous, but unspecified mission. On 19 February, the group was detached from the Eighth Air Force, initial planning called for 20 aircraft to fly the mission, and 24 of the groups B-25B Mitchell bombers were diverted to the Mid-Continent Airlines modification center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With support provided by two senior managers, Wold-Chamberlain Fields maintenance hangar was the first modification center to become operational
34.
War bond
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War bonds are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war. In practice, modern governments finance war by putting money into circulation. War bonds are either retail bonds marketed direct to the public or wholesale bonds traded on a stock market, exhortations to buy war bonds are often accompanied by appeals to patriotism and conscience. Governments throughout history have needed to borrow money to fight wars, traditionally they dealt with a small group of rich financiers such as Jakob Fugger and Nathan Rothschild but no particular distinction was made between debt incurred in war or peace. An early use of the war bond was for the $11 million raised by the US Congress in an Act of 14 March 1812, to fund the War of 1812. The government of Austria-Hungary knew from the days of the First World War that it could not count on advances from its principal banking institutions to meet the growing costs of the war. Instead, it implemented a war finance policy modeled upon that of Germany, in November 1914, as in Germany, the Austro-Hungarian loans followed a prearranged plan and were issued at half yearly intervals every November and May. The first Austrian bonds paid 5% interest and had a five-year term, the smallest bond denomination available was 100 kronen. Interest was fixed at 6%, and the smallest denomination was 50 korona, subscriptions to the first Austrian bond issue amounted to the equivalent of $440 million, those of the first Hungarian issue were equivalent to $235 million. The limited financial resources of children were tapped through campaigns in schools, the initiative was immensely successful, eliciting funds and encouraging loyalty to the state and its future among Austro-Hungarian youth. Over 13 million kronen was collected in the first three child bond issues, canadas involvement in the First World War began in 1914, with Canadian war bonds called Victory Bonds after 1917. The first domestic war loan was raised in November 1915, the First Victory Loan was a 5. 5% issue of 5,10 and 20 year gold bonds in denominations as small as $50. It was quickly oversubscribed, collecting $398 million or about $50 per capita, the Second and Third Victory Loans were floated in 1918 and 1919, bringing another $1.34 billion. For those who could not afford to buy Victory Bonds, the government also issued War Savings Certificates, the government awarded communities who bought large amounts of bonds Victory Loan Honour Flags. Unlike France and Britain, at the outbreak of the First World War Germany found itself excluded from international financial markets. This became most apparent after an attempt to float a loan on Wall Street failed in 1914. As such, Germany was largely limited to domestic borrowing, which was induced by a series of war credit bills passing the Reichstag and this took place in many forms, however, the most publicised was the public war bond drives. Nine bond drives were conducted over the length of the war and, as in Austria-Hungary, the drives themselves would often last several weeks, during which there was extensive use of propaganda via all possible media
35.
USS Oklahoma City (CL-91)
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USS Oklahoma City was one of 27 United States Navy Cleveland-class light cruisers completed during or shortly after World War II, and one of six to be converted to guided missile cruisers. She was the first US Navy ship to be named for Oklahoma City, commissioned in late 1944, she participated in the latter part of the Pacific War in anti-aircraft screening and shore bombardment roles, for which she earned two battle stars. She then served a stint with the occupation force. Like all but one of her ships, she was retired in the post-war defense cutbacks. Like her three ships of the Cleveland-class ships converted to missile ships, she was also extensively modified forward to become a flagship. This involved removal of most of her armament to allow for a greatly enlarged superstructure. She was recommissioned in 1960 as CLG-5, in her second career she served extensively in the Pacific, playing a prominent role in the Vietnam War, including participation in the evacuation of Saigon. Oklahoma City was worked hard in shore bombardment duty during the war, as she was extensively well fitted with flagship accommodations and communications, there was consideration given to an extensive overhaul starting in 1977. This would have given her an additional 10 years of service life and this work never got past the planning stage, and she soldiered on for a few more years and was decommissioned for the last time in December 1979. At the time of her decommissioning, she was the last Cleveland-class ship in service, Oklahoma City was sunk during a weapons training exercise, Tandem Thrust 99, on 26 March 1999. Following shakedown, Oklahoma City transited the Panama Canal and reported to Commander Cruisers Pacific Fleet for duty, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 2 May 1945. She conducted local operations until 22 May, when she sailed for Ulithi, thence to rendezvous on 6 June, for the rest of June, and into July, she screened 3rd Fleet carriers during their intensified air operations against Japanese forces. On 18 July, she formed a bombardment group with other cruisers and destroyers, at the end of hostilities, she continued to patrol off the coast of Japan and it was not until 10 September, after seventy-two days of continuous steaming, that she finally entered Tokyo Bay. Oklahoma City remained on duty until relieved on 30 January 1946. She arrived at San Francisco on 14 February, where she remained until 15 August, on 30 June 1947, she was placed out of commission in reserve, assigned to the San Francisco Group, US Pacific Reserve Fleet. On 7 March 1957, Oklahoma City arrived at the Bethlehem Steel Corp, Pacific Coast Yard, San Francisco, where conversion to a Galveston-class guided missile light cruiser commenced on 21 May, her hull classification and number being changed two days later to CLG-5. Her conversion having completed on 31 August 1960, she was towed to Hunters Point where she recommissioned on 7 September, during her shakedown training, Oklahoma City became the first combatant unit of the US Pacific Fleet to fire a Talos guided missile successfully. She arrived in Yokosuka, Japan on 24 December, where, six days later, she became flagship for Commander, US 7th Fleet
36.
USS Galveston (CL-93)
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The USS Galveston was a Cleveland-class light cruiser of the United States Navy that was later converted to a Galveston-class guided missile cruiser. She was launched by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia 22 April 1945, the cruisers construction was suspended when nearly complete on 24 June 1946, and the hull assigned to the Philadelphia Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was reclassified CLG-93 on 4 February 1956, then reclassified to CLG-3 on 23 May 1957, and commissioned at Philadelphia 28 May 1958, Captain J. B. The Talos supersonic surface-to-air missile was 38 ft long, weighed nearly 3,000 pounds and she finished out the year with operations in the Norfolk area. Galveston arrived at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 16 January 1959, for training and she successfully launched the first Talos missile ever fired at sea on 24 February 1959. The Talos was termed by Admiral Arleigh Burke as the best antiaircraft missile in any arsenal in the world, Galveston reported the shot hot, straight and normal as she proudly proved her capability as one of the most mighty warships of the modern United States Navy. The cruiser set course for Norfolk on 17 March and a yard period in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. S. On 4 January 1960, she departed Norfolk for a visit to Charleston, South Carolina, and operations off the Florida coast, Puerto Rico, and she then headed to her namesake city of Galveston, arriving on 16 February for a Silver Service presentation. Returning to Norfolk, the cruiser unloaded her ammunition for shock tests off the Bahamas, during this time the cruiser entertained more than 30,000 visitors. She headed for the Virginia Capes 24 October 1960, successfully completing her first missile transfer at sea, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. These evaluations completed 1 March, she departed San Juan for refresher training, the effectiveness of the system and the weapon were demonstrated by a new, long-range record as well as a successful two-missile salvo shot. J. Where her missile fire-control radars were removed in preparation for overhaul, Galveston was overhauled in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. This overhaul included modifications to the control system of the Talos missile. The visit to Charleston was for electronic equipment repair and she had to go in at low tide, and lightning rods had to be lowered to pass under the Charleston bridge. Galveston departed Philadelphia on 23 July 1962, transited the Panama Canal for San Diego, Calif. Pacific Fleet, on 24 August 1962. She operated along the West Coast until October 1963 when she sailed for the Western Pacific as flagship of the flotilla, during the next 6 months she operated in the Far East with the 7th Fleet off Japan, Taiwan, and Okinawa. She returned to San Diego 16 April 1964 and resumed West Coast training, following a 4-month overhaul from October 1964 to February 1965, Galveston departed San Diego 4 June for operations off the coast of South Vietnam. She touched at Subic Bay, Philippines,21 June, then sailed to join the 7th Fleet in the South China Sea
37.
National Register of Historic Places
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The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
38.
SS Aleutian
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SS Aleutian was a passenger ship in North American coastal service. Built in 1899 for the Ward Line as SS Havana, she would serve the building of the Panama Canal as SS Panama. In 1898 the Ward Line ordered two ships from William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company in Philadelphia as part of a plan in response to increased passenger. She soon joined the company’s steamers linking New York with Nassau, Havana, Havana was sold to the Panama Railroad Steamship Company on behalf of the Isthmian Canal Commission in 1905. She was renamed SS Panama and would serve a role in the construction of the Panama Canal. The steamship company was already running connecting service with New York and it also ran a Central American line of steamships linking Nicaragua, Costa Rica, San Salvador, and Guatemala to Panama City. The shipping service was expanded as canal construction began. In February 1927 Panama was sold to the Alaska Steamship Company, renamed SS Aleutian after the volcanic islands along the southwest Alaska coastline, the vessel received a complete overhaul and refit in Seattle. At this time she likely would have converted from a coal to an oil fired vessel. Contemporary reports described her as palatial and she became the companys flagship. She entered the company’s Alaska service carrying freight, passengers and mail service from Seattle, on 26 May 1929 Aleutian was steaming into Uyak Bay. The weather was clear with good visibility, Aleutian suddenly shook throughout her hull. She had struck a submerged rock that had torn into her. The ship sank just seven minutes after impact, all but one person, a crew member, made it off and survived. Aleutian was thought to have sunk in deep water and no salvage had been attempted. In 1998 shipwreck historian Steve Lloyd researched the testimony from the Marine Board of Inquiry hearing that had been conducted after the sinking of Aleutian, reconstructing testimony given by Aleutians officers he estimated the course of the ship just before the pinnacle rock had inflicted its mortal blow. In 2002 he began a sonar and a magnetometer search of the sea floor beginning at the rock that had sunk the ship. On 14 August 2002 the searchers found a target on the seabed
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USS Ling
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USS Ling is a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy, named for the ling fish, also known as the cobia. The ship is docked at the New Jersey Naval Museum in Hackensack, Ling was laid down 2 November 1942 by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia. She was launched 15 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. E. J. Foy, Ling was commissioned on 8 June 1945, with Commander George Garvie Molumphy in command. After shakedown and further installations, Ling headed out to sea to test her equipment 15 September 1945, the submarine based at Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut until she sailed 11 February 1946 for the Panama Canal Zone, arriving eight days later. She operated out of Panama until 9 March when she sailed north and she completed inactivation 23 October at New London, decommissioned 26 October 1946, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. In March 1960, Ling was towed to Brooklyn, New York and she was reclassified an Auxiliary Submarine in 1962. Ling received one star for World War II service. Ling was reclassified a Miscellaneous Unclassified Submarine, and struck from the Naval Register,1 December 1971, six months later the old 297 was donated to the Submarine Memorial Association, a non-profit organization formed in 1972 with the purpose of saving Ling from the scrap yard. Many citizens and corporations contributed time, professional services, and funds toward the restoration of Ling, the compartments have been refurbished and outfitted with authentic gear that recreates the bygone era of the World War II battle submarine. She is now the centerpiece of the New Jersey Naval Museum at 78 River St. Hackensack, x-rays showed that the submarines five safes contained documents and metallic objects, but the combinations had long been lost. On 27 January 2006, Jeff Sitar, the world champion locksmith, opened the safes using only his fingers. Since 1972, the New Jersey Naval Museum had paid one dollar per year to rent its riverside site for Ling, as of September 2013 the museum itself is closed due to damage in 2012 from Hurricane Sandy. The museum closed again for repairs in late July,2015. Freshwater flow in the Hackensack has been altered by the Oradell Dam. The river has only been channelized to a point at the Riverbend in Hudson County, the accumulation of silt affords navigation only for small boats. The fate of the Ling may ultimately be connected to the ability for it to be moved from its location, the Court Street Bridge, just downstream of the museum, is the most upstream bridge over the Hackensack River required by federal regulations to open on request. The decision to re-build the bridge with a swing span was a matter of controversy
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USS Lionfish (SS-298)
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USS Lionfish, a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy named for the lionfish, a scorpaenid fish native to the Pacific and an invasive species found around the Caribbean. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986, and is now on display at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Lionfish was laid down on 15 December 1942, launched on 7 November 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Harold C. Train, and commissioned on 1 November 1944 and her first captain was Lieutenant Commander Edward D. Spruance, son of World War II admiral Raymond Spruance. After completing her shakedown cruise off New England, she began her first war patrol in Japanese waters on 1 April 1945, ten days later, she avoided two torpedoes fired by a Japanese submarine. On 1 May Lionfish destroyed a Japanese schooner with her deck guns, after a rendezvous with the submarine USS Ray, she transported B-29 survivors to Saipan and then made her way to Midway Island for replenishment. On 2 June she started her second war patrol, and on 10 July fired torpedoes at a surfaced Japanese submarine, after which Lionfishs crew heard explosions and she subsequently fired on two more Japanese submarines. Lionfish ended her second and last war patrol performing lifeguard duty off the coast of Japan, when World War II ended on 15 August she headed for San Francisco and was decommissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard on 16 January 1946. Lionfish was recommissioned on 31 January 1951, and headed for the East Coast for training cruises, after participating in NATO exercises and a Mediterranean cruise, she returned to the East Coast and was decommissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 15 December 1953. In 1960, the submarine was placed in service, but not recommissioned, as a training submarine at Providence. In 1971, she was stricken from the Navy Register, in 1973, she began permanent display as a memorial at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts, where she is one of the museums most popular exhibits. As Lionfish was never converted to a GUPPY configuration, she is one of the few preserved American World War II-era submarines in her as built configuration. Because of this state of preservation, she was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The submarine is featured on the DVD case of the 2007 Ubisoft game Silent Hunter 4, Battleship Cove USS Lionfish Photos on board the Submarine USS Lionfish SS-298 in Fall River, MA - featuring the actual USS Lionfish as the on location filming set. USS Lionfish at Historic Naval Ships Association
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National Historic Landmark
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A National Historic Landmark is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Of over 85,000 places listed on the countrys National Register of Historic Places, a National Historic Landmark District may include contributing properties that are buildings, structures, sites or objects, and it may include non-contributing properties. Contributing properties may or may not also be separately listed, prior to 1935, efforts to preserve cultural heritage of national importance were made by piecemeal efforts of the United States Congress. The first National Historic Site designation was made for the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on March 17,1938. In 1960, the National Park Service took on the administration of the data gathered under this legislation. Because listings often triggered local preservation laws, legislation in 1980 amended the procedures to require owner agreement to the designations. On October 9,1960,92 properties were announced as designated NHLs by Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton, more than 2,500 NHLs have been designated. Most, but not all, are in the United States, there are NHLs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Three states account for nearly 25 percent of the nations NHLs, three cities within these states all separately have more NHLs than 40 of the 50 states. In fact, New York City alone has more NHLs than all but five states, Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, there are 74 NHLs in the District of Columbia. Some NHLs are in U. S. commonwealths and territories, associated states, and foreign states. There are 15 in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other U. S. commonwealths and territories,5 in U. S. -associated states such as Micronesia, over 100 ships or shipwrecks have been designated as NHLs. About half of the National Historic Landmarks are privately owned, the National Historic Landmarks Program relies on suggestions for new designations from the National Park Service, which also assists in maintaining the landmarks. A friends group of owners and managers, the National Historic Landmark Stewards Association, works to preserve, protect, if not already listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an NHL is automatically added to the Register upon designation. About three percent of Register listings are NHLs, american Water Landmark List of U. S
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Battleship Cove
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Battleship Cove is a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial in Fall River, Massachusetts. Featuring the worlds largest collection of World War II naval vessels and it is located at the heart of the waterfront at the confluence of the Taunton River and Mount Hope Bay and lies partially beneath the Braga Bridge and adjacent to Fall River Heritage State Park. The memorial traces its origins to the crew of Massachusetts. The battleship forms a small cove which serves as a harbor for pleasure craft during the summer months. The Fall River Yacht Club maintains a dock nearby, Battleship Cove was incorporated as a nonprofit educational organization and granted §501 status by the Internal Revenue Service in 1964. Led by veterans whod served aboard Massachusetts during World War II, in its first year open to the public, more than 250,000 visitors explored the ship. Soon after, the battleship was recognized as the memorial to Massachusetts citizens who gave their lives in World War II. In 1972, USS Lionfish, a World War II-era attack submarine, also that year, the Nautical Nights overnight camping program commenced as a model program, enrolling more than 500,000 youths to date. The following year, USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. a Gearing-class destroyer, was added to the fleet and immediately designated as the Commonwealth’s official memorial to the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In keeping with this, USS Massachusetts was subsequently designated the Commonwealths official memorial to veterans of the Gulf War, soon after the arrival of USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. the Mayor of Fall River christened the site “Battleship Cove”. In 1975 Tin Can Sailors, Inc. a national organization of 24,000 destroyer veterans, was founded at Battleship Cove, the year 1984 included the addition of a T-28 Trojan. This aircraft served as a US trainer, and also served in the VNAF South Vietnam Air Force, a new gift shop helped fuel the organization’s growth. Subsequently, both Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. and PT-617 received NHL status, giving Battleship Cove the highest concentration of such south of Boston, comprising eight vessels, the Battleship Cove fleet is the largest and most diverse collection of historic naval ships in the world. In the 1990s the organization continued to improve with over sixty new exhibitions related to the historic ships, the success of the overnight program, high visitation from school groups, and general admissions supported an expanded staff and improved ship maintenance efforts. On June 14,1997, the Cove acquired a Cold War relic, three years later, the Commonwealth awarded Massachusetts and Lionfish a $10 million grant for significant, dry-dock restoration work. Since 1964, Battleship Cove has hosted more than 5 million youth, veterans, main article, USS Massachusetts The largest vessel in the Battleship Cove fleet, the battleship USS Massachusetts is the centerpiece of the collection. Known as Big Mamie to her crewmembers during World War II and her keel was laid down 20 July 1939 at the Fore River Shipyard of Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 23 September 1941 sponsored by Mrs. Charles Francis Adams III, Massachusetts received eleven battle stars for World War II service and earned a reputation as a Work Horse of the Fleet
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USS Massachusetts (BB-2)
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USS Massachusetts was an Indiana-class battleship and the second United States Navy ship comparable to foreign battleships of the time. Authorized in 1890 and commissioned six years later, she was a battleship, though with heavy armor. The ship class also pioneered the use of an intermediate battery and she was designed for coastal defense and as a result, her decks were not safe from high waves on the open ocean. Massachusetts served in the Spanish–American War as part of the Flying Squadron and took part in the blockades of Cienfuegos and she missed the decisive Battle of Santiago de Cuba after steaming to Guantánamo Bay the night before to resupply coal. After the war she served with the North Atlantic Squadron, performing training maneuvers, during this period she suffered an explosion in an 8-inch gun turret, killing nine, and ran aground twice, requiring several months of repair both times. She was decommissioned in 1906 for modernization, in 1917 she was recommissioned to serve as a training ship for gun crews during World War I. She was decommissioned for the time in March 1919 under the name Coast Battleship Number 2 so that her name could be reused for USS Massachusetts. In 1921 she was scuttled in shallow water off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, the ship was never scrapped and in 1956 it was declared the property of the state of Florida. Since 1993 the wreck has been a Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve and is included in the National Register of Historic Places and it serves as an artificial reef and diving spot. Massachusetts was constructed from a version of a design drawn up by a policy board in 1889 for a short-range battleship. The original design was part of a naval construction plan to build 33 battleships and 167 smaller ships. The ships were limited to defense due to their moderate endurance, relatively small displacement and low freeboard, or distance from the deck to the water. They were however heavily armed and armored, Conways All The Worlds Fighting Ships describes their design as attempting too much on a very limited displacement, the total cost of the ship was almost twice as high, approximately $6,000,000. The contract specified the ship had to be built in three years, but slow delivery of armor plates and guns caused a delay and her keel was laid down on 25 June 1891 and she was launched two years later on 10 June 1893. The launching ceremony was attended by thousands of people, including Secretary of the Navy Hilary A. Herbert and her preliminary sea trial did not take place until March 1896 because of the delays in armor and gun deliveries. At this point Massachusetts was almost complete, and her trial was held a month later. Massachusetts was commissioned on 10 June 1896 with Captain Frederick Rodgers in command and she had her shakedown cruise between August and November 1896, followed by an overhaul at the New York Navy Yard. In February 1897 she made a voyage to Charleston, South Carolina
