USS Oregon in the Spanish American War

[jon_norstog]

Not exactly a Krag topic but I thought it might be of interest here. The USS Oregon was a pre-dreadnought ship - you could call her a pocket battleship, She was shorter than the Cruisers of the day - under 400 ft. - but had 18" of belt armor and twin 13" main turret guns. She was the first battleship stationed on the west coast, but didn't really have the range or seakeeping ability for operating in the Pacific.

When war broke out in 1898, she was ordered to join the North Atlantic Squadron off Cuba. She made the run through the Straits of Magellan in 66 days, could have done it quicker but she was slowed down by the accompanying gunboat Marietta. She joined the squadron in June and participated in the blockade of Santiago, where the Spanish fleet had gotten itself bottled up. On July 3, Admiral Cervera saw an opportunity to break through and made a run for it. Oregon happened to have steam up so she led the chase, with USS Brooklyn right behind her. When they got into range they started pounding the Spanish and it was pretty much over. Cristobal Colon almost got away but she was trapped inshore by Oregon and Brooklyn and went to the bottom before the day was half over.

Oregon went to Brooklyn Navy Yard for a refit and bottom job, participated in the Naval Review in New York Harbor, then went back to the west coast. She was subsequently sent off to join the forces attacking the Taku Forts during the Boxer War but ran aground and saw no action. During the Great War she was with the Pacific Fleet and was an escort vessel for the Siberian Intervention of 1918.

Oregon was a regular visitor to Portland, especially the Rose Festival, when the Navy came up the Columbia each year to spawn. She was decommissioned in 1919 and became a museum ship. During WW II she was taken back into service and used as a munitions barge in the Pacific. After the war she was sold for scrap. All that's left of her is her mast and shield in the waterfront park, plus bits and pieces here and there. Some pictures: she got the basketwork after mast later in life. In the pictures you can see a cross member on that mast, which I'm thinking is an optical rangefinder for fire control.

Oregon_Battleship,_Willamette_River_at_Portland_(1941).jpg 1280px-Oregon_(BB3)._Starboard_side,_1898.jpg IMG_2965.jpg IMG_2964.jpg

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jn

[jon_norstog]

And the shield!


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jn

[Dan Shapiro]

Neat!

[Art]

It's too bad about the old girl. I believe the only remaining pre Dreadnaught battleship is the Mikasa in Japan. The people of Oregon were shamed into donating her to the war effort because of the large amounts of strategic metals in her, brass, copper and stuff. Dismantling her made no difference to the war effort, easy to say now, right? but the world was deprived of one of the last of her kind and a ship with an interesting history. It has been written that the voyage of the Oregon to Santiago established the reputation of the United States as a real naval power and gave emphasis to the need for a Panama Canal.

[Kragrifle]

Don’t forget the USS Olympia! When in Philadelphia stop by and come aboard!

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Probably the last voyage of this class when she brought back the remains of the Unknown Soldier from WWI.

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And if you visit the Naval Academy at Annapolis stop by the cafe and see the bow and stern ornamentation she wore on that trip.....

[Dick Hosmer]

Last time I heard, the Olympia's preservation association was in a VERY bad way, financially, and that the ship has serious issues.

While it loses something in the translation, the Japanese approach (settling the vessel on dry land - the Mikasa is not afloat) might be the way to go, long term.

[jon_norstog]

Art, good to see you on this subforum. Look around, there is a lot to learn. You cannot visit the Oregon, but you can visit her sistership Massachusetts, in shallow water off Pensacola. Some of her is sticking out of the water, so you probably can get away with fins and a snorkel. There are a lot of pre-dreadnoughts on the bottom, many of them accessible to scuba divers. When the Washington Naval Treaty was signed, a lot of countries had to trim back their capital fleets, so naturally they shed the oldest ships first. All that metal coming on the maRKet must sent scrap prices into the toilet, because lot of the ships were scuttled or expended as targets. Billy Mitchell got a couple!

The Oregon and her sisterships were as heavily armed and armored as any ships in the world's navies, but she was shorter, with low freeboard, and squat as a toad with her 70+ foot beam. Those ships were designed for defense against a foreign invader, not for projecting American power abroad. They were short on endurance and range - the Oregon had to refuel twice on her run and arrived off Cuba with her bunkers pretty low.

The Santiago blockade was set up in two forces, one blocking the exit east, the other west. On the day of the fight, the capital ships of the east blocking force were off on other business leaving the way open for Cervera. He took his chance and lost, chased down by the ships of the western force.

jn

PS I did visit the Olympia when I lived in Philadelphia. It was really impressive, and the engine room was in good order. I think that it was old sailors that were maintaining her and as they passed away, the ship went into a decline as well.

[Dick Hosmer]

Is it true that the Oregon arrived on station under a full head of steam and IMMEDIATELY entered the fray, or had she been there for awhile?

[Griff Murphey]

We have our own problems here in Texas with the 1914 commissioned dreadnought BB USS TEXAS BB-35 which needs to be dry moored. It was dry-docked and the hull repaired at Todd Shipyard in Galveston in the 90's but.... surprise, almost 30 years later it needs it again. This time they don't think it could survive the voyage.

[Kragrifle]

I’m from Houston (live in Arkansas now) and remember running all over the Texas moored out by the San Jacinto battleground. I have not seen the USS Olympia since my daughter graduated from the Naval Academy in 2006. Time gets away from you! Always thought SOMEONE would maintain these historic ships, but maybe they’re tied up with their phones!