USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4)
Tinted postcard of USS Pennsylvania, from around 1905–1908.
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name |
|
Namesake |
|
Ordered | 3 March 1899 |
Awarded | 10 January 1901 |
Builder | William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Cost | $3,890,000 (contract price of hull and machinery) |
Yard number | 317 |
Laid down | 7 August 1901 |
Launched | 22 August 1903 |
Sponsored by | Miss Coral Quay |
Commissioned | 9 March 1905 |
Decommissioned | 10 July 1931 |
Renamed |
|
Reclassified | CA-4, 17 July 1920 |
Stricken | 26 October 1931 |
Identification |
|
Fate | Sold for scrap, 21 December 1931 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Class and type | Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser |
Displacement | 13,680 long tons (13,900 t) (standard) |
Length | |
Beam | 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) |
Draft | 24 ft 1 in (7.34 m) (mean) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | |
Complement | 80 officers 745 enlisted 64 Marines |
Armament |
|
Armor |
|
General characteristics (Pre-1911 Refit)[1] | |
Installed power | 8 × Modified Niclausse boilers, 12 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers |
Armament |
|
General characteristics (Pre-1921 Refit)[2] | |
Armament |
|
The second USS Pennsylvania (ACR/CA-4), also referred to as Armored Cruiser No. 4, and later renamed Pittsburgh, was a United States Navy armored cruiser, the lead ship of her class. She was originally assigned the name Nebraska but was renamed Pennsylvania on 7 March 1901.[3]
Construction
She was
Service history
Pre-World War I
Pennsylvania operated on the east coast of the United States and in the
At 10:48, on 18 January 1911,
In another of these early demonstrations, civilian aircraft designer and entrepreneur
While in reserve at Puget Sound, from 1 July 1911 – 30 May 1913, the cruiser trained naval militia. She was renamed Pittsburgh on 27 August 1912, to free the name Pennsylvania for a new battleship.[4]
World War I
Recommissioning, Pittsburgh patrolled the west coast of
While at
Future Rear Admiral
Inter-war period
Returning to the east coast, Pittsburgh prepared for duty as flagship for Commander, US Naval Forces in the eastern Mediterranean, for which she sailed from Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 19 June 1919. Cruising the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, and Black Sea, she joined in the massive relief operations and other humanitarian concerns with which the Navy carried out its quasi-diplomatic functions in this troubled area. In June 1920, she sailed north to visit French and British ports and cruise the Baltic Sea on further relief assignments.[4]
On 9 September 1920, she ran aground on rocks in the Baltic Sea off Libau. She was assisted by HMS Dauntless and Frederick; Frederick escorted her to Sheerness Royal Dockyard, Kent, England which she reached at 10:00 o'clock in the morning of 23 September. Before 12 October she had moved up river to Chatham Dockyard where she went into dry dock. On that date a team from Pittsburgh routed a team of British officers 21–8 at baseball. The following month, with Pittsburgh still in dry dock, a court-martial absolved Captain Todd of blame for the grounding but the navigator and watch officer were held accountable.[6] She returned to decommission at Philadelphia, on 15 October 1921.[4]
Recommissioned on 2 October 1922, Pittsburgh returned to European and Mediterranean waters as flagship of
The ship arrived at New York on 17 July 1926, to prepare for flagship duty with the Asiatic Fleet, during which time she was partially refitted, including the removal of her forward stack (making her unique to her class)
Bow ornament
Pittsburgh's bow ornament was presented to the
Memorial bell
The number 3 bell at Rochester Cathedral, England, bears the inscription "U.S.S. PITTSBURGH IN MEMORY OF 1920".[9] For many years the reason for this inscription was a mystery. Then a researcher found the explanation in the Chatham News of 17 December 1920. That issue included a letter from Captain J.W. Todd, who commanded Pittsburgh in 1920. Captain Todd thanked the dean of the cathedral for various hospitality events during the two and a half months that Pittsburgh was in dry dock at Chatham. He enclosed a cheque for £52 10s to pay for the recasting of the bell, and suggested the inscription.[10]
References
Citations
- ^ "Ships' Data, U. S. Naval Vessels". US Naval Department. 1 January 1914. pp. 24–31. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels". US Navy. 1921. p. 50. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ISBN 9780313262029.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Pittsburgh II (Armored Cruiser No. 4)". Naval History and Heritage Command. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "G. B. Landenberger, Navy Captain, Dies: Retired Officer Served for 35 – Held Many Important Posts During Career". The New York Times. 16 January 1936. p. 21.
- ^ a b c "ACR-4 USS Pennsylvania / USS Pittsburgh". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-3724-5.
- ^ Smith, Craig (13 February 2008). "USS Pittsburgh treasure headed for Soldiers & Sailors museum". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008.
- ^ Love, Dickon. "Rochester, Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary". Love's Guide to the Church Bells of Kent. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
- ^ Chatham News, 17 December 1920 p. 7
Bibliography
- Alden, John D. American Steel Navy: A Photographic History of the U.S. Navy from the Introduction of the Steel Hull in 1883 to the Cruise of the Great White Fleet. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989. ISBN 0-87021-248-6
- Wikisource. Microfilmed copy available for consultation at Medway Archives . 20 December 1920 – via
- Friedman, Norman. U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1984. ISBN 0-87021-718-6
- Musicant, Ivan. U.S. Armored Cruisers: A Design and Operational History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0-87021-714-3
- Taylor, Michael J.H. (1990). Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. Studio. ISBN 1-85170-378-0.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Pennsylvania at NavSource Naval History
- hazegray.org: USS Pennsylvania
- The short film The Pittsburgh is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.