HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The fourth USS ''Philadelphia'' (C-4) (later IX-24) was the sixth protected cruiser of the United States Navy. Although designed by the Navy Department, her hull was similar to the preceding British-designed , but ''Philadelphia'' had a uniform main armament of twelve 6-inch guns.Gardiner and Chesneau, p. 152Bauer and Roberts, p. 143Friedman, pp. 26–27, 460 She was laid down 22 March 1888 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, launched 7 September 1889, sponsored by Miss Minnie Wanamaker, daughter of merchant and philanthropist
John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a ...
; and commissioned 28 July 1890, Capt.
Albert S. Barker Albert Smith Barker (March 31, 1843 – January 30, 1916) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served during the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War. Biography Barker was born on March 31, 1843 in Hanson, Massachusetts, the ...
in command.


Design and construction

''Philadelphia'' was built to Navy Department plans, with twelve 6-inch (152 mm)/30
caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...
guns.DiGiulian, Tony, US 6"/30, 6"/35, and 6"/40 guns at Navweaps.com
/ref> Two guns each were on the bow and stern, with the remainder in sponsons along the sides. Secondary armament was four 6-pounder () guns, four 3-pounder ()
Hotchkiss revolving cannon The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun; there were also a navy (47 mm) and a 3-inch (76&nbs ...
, two 1-pounder () Hotchkiss revolving cannon, and two
.45 caliber This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Length'' refers to the cartridge case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods) A case of some merchandise Merchandising is any practic ...
(11.4 mm)
Gatling gun The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon. The Gatling gun's operation centered on a cyc ...
s. Some of the weapons listed as Hotchkiss revolving cannon may actually have been rapid-firing guns. Four 14-inch (356 mm) torpedo tubes were included in the design but never mounted. References vary as to the ship's armor. ''Philadelphia'' probably had
gun shield A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery piece ...
s and a
conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...
. The armored deck was up to thick. The engineering plant included an unusual mix of boilers: four Scotch return-tube double-ended, one single-ended, and four locomotive boilers. These produced steam for two horizontal
triple expansion engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
s totaling (designed) for a designed speed of . This speed was attained on trials but the trial horsepower was only . As with other contemporary Navy Department designs, sails were fitted but soon removed. ''Philadelphia'' carried 525 tons of coal for a designed range of at . The ship's 6-inch guns were converted to rapid-firing in 1898. All armament was removed when ''Philadelphia'' was converted into a receiving ship in 1904.


Service history


Atlantic Squadron, 1890–1893

While fitting out at the
New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...
, ''Philadelphia'' was designated on 18 August as
flagship 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 lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Bancroft Gherardi, commanding the North Atlantic Squadron. The squadron departed New York on 19 January 1891 to cruise the West Indies for the protection of American interests until May. It was during this time Fred J. Buenzle had served aboard the ''Philadelphia'', as noted in ''Bluejacket; An Autobiography'', a part of the ''Classics of Naval Literature'' series. Then to the northern waters as far as Halifax, Nova Scotia. Early the following year, the flagship called at
Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, Uruguay, 6–18 February, after which she resumed cruising in the West Indies. ''Philadelphia'' continued operations with the Atlantic Squadron along the eastern seaboard of the United States and in the West Indies until 1 March 1893. She was then assigned to the
Naval Review Fleet A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...
as flagship of Rear Admiral Bancroft Gherardi. Charged with conducting the International Rendezvous and Review, with a fleet of twelve American ships, he received the visiting foreign ships as they commenced arrival in
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
on 8 April. The fleet steamed to New York 24 April, where it joined additional foreign visitors to form a combined fleet of 35 men-of-war. President Grover Cleveland reviewed the Fleet 27 April, after which appropriately festive ceremonies took place, initiating a parade through the streets of New York. The Naval Review Fleet disbanded 31 May and ''Philadelphia'' departed New York 30 June 1893, bound for the Pacific Squadron via Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and
Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...
, Peru.


Pacific Station, 1893–1902

''Philadelphia'' arrived San Francisco 22 August 1893. As the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station, she cruised with the squadron, engaging in drills and maneuvers, and visiting various ports on the west coast of the United States, Mexico, and South America, and in the
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
. She arrived at the Mare Island Navy Yard 14 October 1897 and decommissioned there 18 December. ''Philadelphia'' recommissioned 9 July 1898 and became the flagship of Rear Admiral
J. N. Miller ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...
, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Station. She steamed from San Francisco 2 July to participate in the ceremonies attending the assumption of sovereignty by the United States over the Hawaiian Islands. Flagship ''Philadelphia'' arrived Honolulu 3 August, and nine days hence her officers and those of the
steam sloop Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. There were some exceptions like for exam ...
, with a force under arms from the two warships, represented the US Navy at the ceremonies transferring the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. In March 1899, with Commander-in-Chief Rear Admiral
Albert Kautz Rear Admiral Albert Kautz (January 29, 1839 – February 6, 1907) was an officer of the United States Navy who served during and after the American Civil War. Biography Kautz was born in Georgetown, Ohio, one of seven children of Johann George ...
embarked, ''Philadelphia'' steamed to the Samoan Islands for duty in connection with the settlement of civil difficulties by the Samoan Commissioners of the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. A landing party from ''Philadelphia'' went ashore in the vicinity of Vailele 1 April to act in concert with a British landing party. The combined force, ambushed by adherents of Chief Mataafa, sustained seven killed and seven wounded, including two American officers, Lieutenant Philip Lansdale and Ensign John R. Monaghan, and two sailors killed, including Seaman Norman Edsall, and five bluejackets wounded. ''Philadelphia'' remained in the Samoan Islands until 21 May 1899, when she steamed for the west coast via Honolulu. ''Philadelphia'' served as flagship of the Pacific Station until 6 February 1900, when Rear Admiral Kautz transferred his flag to . The cruiser continued Pacific operations until 1902, conducting training cruises, drills, target practice, and port visits. Returning from a six-month cruise off the Panamanian coast, ''Philadelphia'' arrived San Francisco 17 July 1902. Needing extensive repairs, she was ordered to the Puget Sound Navy Yard for decommissioning. Arriving Bremerton, Washington 23 August, she decommissioned at Puget Sound 22 September 1902.


Receiving ship, 1904–1926

''Philadelphia'' was housed over and became a receiving ship at Puget Sound Navy Yard 12 May 1904. She continued this service until 4 November 1912, when she became a prison ship. Resuming service as a receiving ship 10 January 1916, she was redesignated with the hull number IX-24 (unclassified miscellaneous) on 17 July 1920. She was struck from the Navy List on 24 November 1926. Cruiser ''Philadelphia'' was sold at
public auction In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in 1927 to Louis Rotherberg.


References

*


Bibliography

* * *Burr, Lawrence. ''US Cruisers 1883–1904: The Birth of the Steel Navy.'' Oxford : Osprey, 2008. * * *''The White Squadron''. Toledo, Ohio: Woolson Spice Co., 1891. *United States
''Hand Book of the U.S.S. Philadelphia.''
lace of publication not identified U.S.S. Philadelphia, 1892. * * *


External links

*
USS ''Philadelphia'' (C-4) photos at Naval History & Heritage Command



Watch-, Quarter-, and Station-Bill of the U.S.S. ''Philadelphia'', 1892-1894, MS 112
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia (C-4) Cruisers of the United States Navy Spanish–American War cruisers of the United States World War I cruisers of the United States Protected cruisers of the United States Navy Ships built by William Cramp & Sons 1889 ships