DaveBrt
1st Lieutenant
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2010
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
Derived from: Historic Ships, by Andrew K. Blackley, in Naval History, August, 2024, pp 8-9
The last monitors in the USN were brought about by the threat of a great naval power to the Pacific coast of the US. Chile took possession of the protected cruiser Esmeralda in 1884 with 10" guns that could out range anything in the US coast defense system and beat any US warship.
The Endicott Board was created to devise a protection system against such foreign threats and decided on a major string of new forts and four coast defense monitors. The ships were originally designed to carry a single 16" gun forward, in an open barbette, a 15" dynamite gun in a turret forward, and two 4" secondary guns, in a 4,000 ton ship. The 16" gun did not exist and was replaced by two 12-guns (like those being installed in USS Texas. The pneumatic dynamite gun proved unsatisfactory in testing and was replaced by two 10" guns in a revolving turret.
We will look at the Monterey -- laid down in San Francisco in 1889. She had a length of 261', a beam of 59', and a freeboard of 2' 3" (waterline to main deck). She had a speed of 13.6 knots and armor from 8-11" inches on the turrets and conning tower, 3" protecting the magazines and machinery rooms, nothing on the rest of the ship.
Monterey was commissioned in 1893. After cruising the Pacific coast of the Americas, she was sent to Manila a the start of the Spanish American War. She arrived on the day Manila surrendered. The next 18 months were spent doing shore bombardment in support of American pacification operations in the islands. She spent time supporting the Allied forces during the Boxer Rebellion and protecting American interests during the 1911 Chinese Rebellion.
Starting in 1917, she was reduced to the receiving ship at the submarine base in Pearl Harbor until she was sold for scrap in 1921.
The last monitors in the USN were brought about by the threat of a great naval power to the Pacific coast of the US. Chile took possession of the protected cruiser Esmeralda in 1884 with 10" guns that could out range anything in the US coast defense system and beat any US warship.
The Endicott Board was created to devise a protection system against such foreign threats and decided on a major string of new forts and four coast defense monitors. The ships were originally designed to carry a single 16" gun forward, in an open barbette, a 15" dynamite gun in a turret forward, and two 4" secondary guns, in a 4,000 ton ship. The 16" gun did not exist and was replaced by two 12-guns (like those being installed in USS Texas. The pneumatic dynamite gun proved unsatisfactory in testing and was replaced by two 10" guns in a revolving turret.
We will look at the Monterey -- laid down in San Francisco in 1889. She had a length of 261', a beam of 59', and a freeboard of 2' 3" (waterline to main deck). She had a speed of 13.6 knots and armor from 8-11" inches on the turrets and conning tower, 3" protecting the magazines and machinery rooms, nothing on the rest of the ship.
Monterey was commissioned in 1893. After cruising the Pacific coast of the Americas, she was sent to Manila a the start of the Spanish American War. She arrived on the day Manila surrendered. The next 18 months were spent doing shore bombardment in support of American pacification operations in the islands. She spent time supporting the Allied forces during the Boxer Rebellion and protecting American interests during the 1911 Chinese Rebellion.
Starting in 1917, she was reduced to the receiving ship at the submarine base in Pearl Harbor until she was sold for scrap in 1921.
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