USS Panther (1889)
History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Panther |
Builder | William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia |
Laid down | 1889 as SS Venezuela[1] |
Acquired | by purchase, 12 April 1898 |
Commissioned | 22 April 1898, as USS Panther |
Decommissioned | 20 October 1899 |
Recommissioned | 19 June 1902 |
Decommissioned | 21 October 1903 |
Recommissioned | 8 November 1907 |
Decommissioned | May 1922 |
Reclassified | AD-6, 1920 |
Fate | Sold, 24 March 1923 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Auxiliary cruiser |
Displacement | 4,260 long tons (4,328 t) |
Length | 324 ft 4 in (98.86 m) |
Beam | 40 ft 6 in (12.34 m) |
Draft | 18 ft 2.5 in (5.550 m) |
Propulsion | Steam engine |
Speed | 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) |
Armament |
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The first USS Panther (AD-6), the former SS Venezuela, Panther was designated AD-6 in 1920.
Construction, acquisition, and commissioning
Panther was built by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, in 1889. As SS Venezuela, a merchant steamship, she was used for several years as a cargo freighter transporting bananas from Central and South America.[3][4] The U.S. Navy purchased Panther from the Red D Line Steamship Company on 12 April 1898, and commissioned her at New York on 22 April 1898, Commander George Cook Reiter in command.[5]
Service history
Spanish–American War, 1898–1899
Panther was pressed into service immediately after commissioning on the outbreak of the
On 9–10 June 1898 the Panther disembarked the First Marine Battalion at
From 11 to 14 June 1898 the Marines engaged Spanish forces in the land battles of the Guantánamo Bay campaign. After a series of sharp engagements, the marines routed the 500 Spanish defenders, while suffering casualties of six killed and 16 wounded.[3] The Panther then withdrew to her former position with the fleet in the successful campaign at Santiago. After the destruction of the Spanish fleet, Panther steamed to New York, to cruise between New York, Boston, Norfolk, and Portsmouth until 20 October 1899, when she went into ordinary at Philadelphia.
Caribbean Squadron, 1902–1903
She remained in ordinary until recommissioning on 19 June 1902, when she fitted out as a training ship. In July, she steamed to New York to begin operations with various state militias. In this connection, she embarked crews from New Jersey in July, Pennsylvania in early August, and Connecticut later that month. In 1902, disturbing conditions in the West Indies and Caribbean required the constant presence of U.S. ships to maintain order and preserve U.S. treaty rights. In September 1902, Panther embarked a Marine battalion and departed for Caribbean waters to serve as a station ship to protect American interests during unrest in Honduras. She continued with the Caribbean Squadron until 21 October 1903, when she decommissioned at Philadelphia.