laststandonzombieisland

Here at LSOZI, we are going to take out every Wednesday for a look at the old steampunk navies of the 1866-1938 time period and will profile a different ship each week.

– Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday,  April 11

Here we have the first-rate cruisers USS New York ACR-2 (left) and USS Brooklyn ACR- 3 (right) steaming in gleaming white and buff paint schemes past a fishing schooner about 1898. Note the two sea anchors on the port side of the Brooklyn. Brooklyn was just a tad larger and carried a few more large 8-inch guns than the New York, but both were flagships for most of their long and varied naval career.

These two ships were state of the art for the Spanish American War US Navy. They look very similar, with their tall triple funnels and twins masts but they are slightly different

New York

The New York about 1898

Commissioned: 1 August 1893
Displacement:     8,150 long tons (8,280 t)
Length:     384 ft (117 m)
Beam:     64.9 ft (19.8 m)
Draft:     23.3 ft (7.1 m)
Speed:     21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Armament:  6 × 8 in (200 mm)/35 cal guns (2×2, 2×1)
12 × 4 in (100 mm)/40 cal guns
8 × 6-pounder (57 mm (2.2 in)) guns
4 × 1-pounder (37 mm (1.5 in)) guns
3 × 14 in (360 mm) torpedo tubes

During the Spanish American War she  bombarded the defenses at Matanzas then at El Morro Castle at San Juan. She was the flagship of Admiral William T. Sampson’s squadron, as the American commander planned the campaign against Santiago. The Battle of Santiago de Cuba on 3 July resulted in complete destruction of the Spanish
fleet. During WWI, as a 24-year old veteran she escorted convoys and trained gunners.  She remained on active duty until decommission on 29 April 1933, completing almost 40 years of service as a warship which was very uncommon in the US Navy. She was stricken in 1938 and sunk in December 1941 to prevent her capture by advancing Japanese troops in the Philippines.

side scan sonar image of USS New York on sea floor in Manila Bay, Philippines as she appears today. Other than the USS Olympia preserved in Philidelphia, she is the best remaining example of a pre-dreadnought era armored cruiser.

Brooklyn
Commissioned:     1 December 1896
Displacement:     9,215 long tons (9,363 t)
Length:     402.6 ft (122.7 m)
Beam:     64.7 ft (19.7 m)
Draft:     28 ft (8.5 m)
Speed:     20 kn (23 mph; 37 km/h)
Complement:     561 officers and men
Armament:     8 × 8 in (200 mm)/35 cal guns
12 × 5 in (130 mm)/40 cal guns
5 × 18 in (460 mm) torpedo tubes

Brooklyn as she appeared in 1898, note her 8-inch guns swung out and her crew on the bow

The mighty Brooklyn was flagship of the Flying Squadron under Commodore W. S. Schley during the Spanish-American War. The Flying Squadron arrived at Cienfuegos, Cuba on 21 May 1898 and established the blockade of that port. On 26 May, the Squadron arrived at Santiago de Cuba, where the Spanish Fleet was being held behind the protection of the forts. Brooklyn was a key vessel in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on 3 July, in which the Spanish Fleet was destroyed. Although she was struck 20 times by whole shot, Brooklyn suffered only one man wounded (Fireman J. Bevins) and one man killed (Chief Yeoman George H. Ellis). Her postwar service was uneventful and she was retired in 1920 while serving as flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. She was scrapped in 1922.

dismantling the USS Brooklyn in 1922. Its always sad when they break out the torches