USS Olympia
USS Olympia is a protected cruiser which saw service in the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. This vessel became famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The ship was decommissioned after returning to the United States in 1899, but was returned to active service in 1902.
She served until World War I as a training ship for naval cadets and as a floating barracks in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1917, she was mobilized again for war service, patrolling the American coast and escorting transport ships.
Following the end of World War I, Olympia participated in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War in 1919, and conducted cruises in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas to promote peace in the unstable Balkan countries. Olympia was decommissioned for the last time in December 1922 and placed in reserve.
In 1957, the US Navy ceded title to the Cruiser Olympia Association, which restored the ship to its 1898 configuration. The Olympia is now a museum ship in Philadelphia Pennsylvania at the Independence Seaport Museum. However, the Museum, has been unable to fund essential maintenance. As of 2010, Olympia's future is uncertain; the museum may have to sell the ship for scrap or sink her as an artificial reef.
USS Olympia is a National Historic Landmark and its triple expansion engines are Historic Engineering Landmarks. It is the oldest steel warship still afloat. [Wikipedia/HNSA]
| Length | 344 feet |
| Beam | 53 feet |
| Draft: | 21 feet, 6 inches |
| Displacement | 5,870 tons |
| Crew | 33 Officers 396 enlisted men |
| Top Speed | 22 knots |
| Coal Consumption | 633 lbs./minute (at top speed) |
| Armaments | Four 8-inch guns Ten 5-inch guns Fourteen 6 pounder guns |
Additional Information:
Independence Seaport Museum
Friends of the Cruiser Olympia
HNSA