Admiral David W. Bagley-- Part 5: Commander Battleship Division 2, Based in Pearl Harbor

In May 1935,orders were sent to Bagley in Newport, Rhode Island, to attend the Naval War College.  Upon completing his senior course, he remained there as a staff member.  Next came duty as Commander, Destroyer Squadron 20, Destroyers, Scouting Fleet.  

From July 1937 to May 1938, he served as Commander, Minecraft, Battle Force.  While in that position, he was promoted to flag rank, to date from April 1, 1938.  In May of that year, now Rear Admiral David W. Bagley, began a 32-month tour of duty as Commandant, Mare Island Navy Yard on the West Coast.

At the beginning of 1941, he broke his flag on the USS Tennessee (BB-43), as Commander, Battleship Division 2.  And they were based at a little-known to many Americans, island base  out in the Pacific Ocean called Pearl Harbor.

--Cooter

USS Oregon (BB-3)-- Part 3: The Battle of Santiago de Cuba

 The USS Oregon arrived off the port of Santiago de Cuba on June 1st and joined the blockading fleet.

At 8:45 am on July 1, Admiral Cervera sortied with his fleet on his flagship, the Infanta Maria Teresa.  Luckily for the Spanish, the Oregon was out of its usual position and another battleship, the USS Massachusetts was recoaling at Guantanamo Bay at the time.

Lookouts aboard the armored cruiser USS Brooklyn discovered the approach of the Spanish fleet and fired a gun as a warning and the battle was underway.  The goal of the Spaniards was to escape and put out to sea.  Cervera went after the Brooklyn

The Oregon took the lead in the ensuing chase as it was the only ship with its steam up.  It was followed by the Brooklyn.  American gunfire son set the Infanta Maria Teresa afire and fearing an explosion, Cervera ordered the ship run aground.  The Almirante Oquendo did likewise a short time later.  The Vizcaya was also forced aground and surrendered.  The two destroyers were particularly savaged by American gunfire.

Only the Cristobol Colon had a good six-mile lead and was still running west.  The American ships slowly caught up with her and struck its flag, running ashore and scuttling the ship.  Thus ended the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

The Oregon was not hit in the action owing to the poor quality of the Spanish gunfire.

With the American success here and in Cuba and the Philippines, Spain sued for peace on 17 July and the Spanish-American War ended 12 August 1898 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

It Wasn't Much of a Battle, Actually.   --Cooter

USS Oregon (BB-3)-- Part 1: Fought in Spanish-American War, Served in Two World Wars

I came across an article in the Naval History blog  "Whatever happened to the USS Oregon" and there was also an article in the National Interest site "How the US Navy battleship Oregon traveled 12,00 miles to win a war" so decided this would be an interesting ship to write about.

From Wikipedia.

USS OREGON (BB-3)

The third and final member of the Indiana class of battleships (also the USS Massachusetts BB-3).  All three of these ships fought in the Spanish-American War.    Commissioned 1896, decommissioned 1906.  Recommissioned in 1911, decommissioned 1919.  Stricken from Navy list  1941.

Besides the Spanish-American War, the ship also saw service in WW I and WW II.

351.2 feet length, 69.3 foot beam.

15 knot speed, 473 crew

ARMAMENT

four 13-inch

eight 8-inch

four 6-inch

twelve 3-inch

twenty 6-pounder

six 1-pounder

five torpedo tubes

Am Interesting and Heavily-Armed Warship.  --Cooter

15 Military Weapons That Changed the World-- Part 1

I'd have to call them Weapons, though.

From the May 24, 2020, Hot Cars site"15 Military Vehicles That Changed the World. Go to the site to find more information.  I'm just listing here.

15.  Wright Military Flyer  (airplane)

14.  British Mark I Tank  (WWI)

13.  French Voisin III  (WW I airplane)  First true bomber

12.  USS Monitor

11.  HMS Dreadnaught  (WW I)

10.  HMS Hermes  (First designed aircraft carrier)

9.  U-boat  (WW I and WW II)

--Cooter

America's Long Line of Presidential Military Heroes-- Part 4: More World War II Presidents

World War II presidents, continued.

Richard Nixon, Navy,  began the war in Iowa, despite its lack of a coast, then was transferred to the Pacific where he never saw action either.  Gerald Ford was on an aircraft carrier and won ten battle stars.  Jimmy Carter was still a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy during WW II and served on submarines and battleships in the late 1940s and 1950s and never saw action.

Ronald Reagan , who many thing never served, enlisted in the Army in 1942 but was classified 4F due to bad eyesight and remained stateside.

Of course, there was also George H.W. Bush, who flew planes off the USS San Jacinto aircraft carrier during the war and almost lost his life when he was shot down.  The other man in his plane did die.  Bush was rescued by a submarine.

--GreGen

Remembering Pearl Harbor on 78th Anniversary of the Attack

These are some headlines in newspapers around the country.

**  Pearl Harbor veteran is now the last survivor living in Butte County.

**  Pearl Harbor anniversary to be marked with events in Tucson and Hawaii.

**  Editorial:  How could Pearl Harbor be forgotten.

**  California man will be the 44th and final crew member interred in the USS Arizona.

**  78 years later, efforts continue to ID Pearl Harbor service members.

**  Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day:  Three local sailors were stationed on Battleship Row.

**  World War II veteran recalls Pearl Harbor attack.

Wreck of the Battleship HMS Vanguard, (WW I Ship)

From the January 19, 2017, North-West Evening Mail  "Wreckage of Barrow-built First World War battleship HMS Vanguard seen for the first time."

Almost 100 years after it sank.  Launched February 1909, St. Vincent-class dreadnought battleship served in the Grand Fleet under Captain J.D. Dick.

Fired its guns at the Battle of Jutland May 1916 for the first and only time and helped sink the German light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden.

But, while at Scapa Flow had catastrophic internal explosion at 11:20 pm on July 19, 1917 with a force so great it threw a 400-ton 12-inch gun to an island almost a mile away.

Eight hundred and forty-three killed instantly with only two survivors.  Fewer than fifty bodies recovered.

A section of it was raised in 1926.

It is thought that this was the result of an accidental magazine explosion.

The ship mounted ten 12-inch guns  and twelve 4-inch.  Could go 21.7 knots and was the 8th Royal Navy ship named the Vanguard.

--Cooter

Ships By the Name USS Missouri-- Part 4: SSN-780 (and Ships Named USS St. Louis)

Back in the 1900s state names were given to battleships.  Now, they are given to submarines.

The 5th USS Missouri (SSN-780) is a Virginia-class attack submarine. commissioned  31 July 2010.  In 2016 it was home ported at Pearl Harbor.

In addition, five U.S. warships have been named the St. Louis (Wikipedia lists seven):

USS St. Louis 1828 sloop  Civil War
USS St. Louis  1861  Ironclad  Civil War

USS St. Louis  1898   troop transport
USS St. Louis (C-20)  protected cruiser  1906-1922

USS St. Louis    (CL-49)  light cruiser 1939-1946  At Pearl Harbor
USS  St. Louis  (LKA-116)   Amphibious cargo ship 1969-1991
USS St. Louis  (LCS-19)  Littoral Combat Ship

Also there have been two ships with the name USS Kansas City.

--CootLouis

Ships By the Name USS Missouri-- Part 3: The Most Famous One

The 4th USS MISSOURI  (BB-63) by far was the most famous ship of the name.  Commissioned in 1944.

45,000 tons

Nine 16-inch guns in main battery, capable of throwing a 1,300  pound shell thirty miles.

The Japanese surrendered on this ship to end World War II.

This battleship is a museum ship in Pearl Harbor, moored by the USS Arizona.  Together they bookend World War II for the United States.

--Cooter

Ships By the Name of USS Missouri-- Part 2: 3rd One Was a Battleship

3rd USS MISSOURI

Commissioned December 1903.  Cost $5 million.  Main armament of four 12-inch guns able to throw a shell weighing 870 pounds almost eight miles.

The ship went around the world with the Great White Fleet from 1907-1908.

It was the second ship to pass through the Panama Canal.

It was scrapped in 1922.

The ship's punch bowl is at the governor's mansion.

--CooterMo

May 24-- Part 2: Brooklyn Bridge Opens 1883

1883--  The Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was opened to traffic.

1935--  Major League Baseball's first night game was played in Cincinnati.  The Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.

1941--  In World War II, the German battleship Bismarck sank the British battle cruiser HMS Hood in the North Atlantic.  Only three aboard survived.

1941--  Bob Dylan born.

1943--  Actor Gary Burghoff (MASH) born.

1951--  Cooter / RoadDog born.

--Cooter

Some More Famous U.S. Warships Built at Brooklyn Navy Yard

Yesterday, I wrote about some of the ships built at this famous navy yard.  Here are a few more:

Fulton--  Robert Fulton's steam frigate launched in 1815.

USS Ohio--  Launched 1820, ship-of-the-line

USS North Carolina--  battleship  (My favorite battleship).

USS Iowa--  battleship

USS California--  battleship at Pearl Harbor

--BattleCoot

World War I Chronology, December 1917: Sinking of the USS Jacob Jones

From the VFW magazine , April 1917.

DECEMBER 6--  The U.S. destroyer Jacob Jones is torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 64 lives near the Scilly Isles.

DECEMBER 6--  U.S. Battleship Division 9 arrives at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys to reinforce the British Grand Fleet as the 6th Battle Squadron.

--DaCoot

Battle of Jutland May 31-June 1, 1916: Battle of the Battleships

Today marks the conclusion of one of the last major clashes between battleships, the Battle of Jutland, between the German and British fleets.off Denmark.

The British had 151 combat ships, including 28 battleships and 9 battle cruisers fought the Germans who had 99 combat ships, including 16 battleships and 5 battle cruisers.  British losses included 3 battle cruisers and 6.094 killed and 624 wounded.  German losses were one battle cruiser and 2,551 killed.

--DaCoot

About Those Model Battleships

From the April 25, 2017, Shorpy Photo site "Fireside Cats: 1955."

Columbus, Georgia, circa 1955.  A boy and girl are posing in front of the home's fireplace.  She is holding a car, but the boy is proudly holding a battleship model.

I couldn't tell what model battleship it was, but a comment said it was definitely an Iowa-class battleship and that these were very popular with American boys at the time.  He described these warships as the "last and best true battleships built by the U.S. Navy.  Everything about them is superlative."

I always remember seeing a picture of the hull of the Oklahoma after it was uprighted.  It was tied up next to the new USS Iowa, which dwarfed the older battleship.

As proud as the boy was, he had not done a perfect job putting it together.

I was just four at the time so would have been unable to build a battleship model, but model ships were my favorite things to build by far.  Other friends of mine liked to build model planes or cars, but my forte was ships.

I built models of the Arizona, North Carolina and several of the Missouri, including a huge one.

Give Me a Battleship Model Anytime.  --Cooter

Battleships on Jeopardy

Yesterday, July 29, Jeopardy had a category of questions on "Battleships" during their Double Jeopardy round.  They contestants only got one of the questions right.

Since battleships are my favorite navy ships, I got them all right.

There were questions on the USS Maine, Russian battleship Potempkin, USS Missouri, HMS Dreadnaught and German battleship Bismarck.

But, then there are those other categories which I didn't do well on at all.

Blow Me Down.  --CootBattler

Naval Technology in 1916-- Part 1: Superdreadnaught USS Arizona Commissioned

From a 1916 Scientific American "Technology of Naval Warfare, 1916."  This is in the form of a slide show.

1.  Naval aviation.  A picture of a battleship carrying seaplanes.

2.  Catapult for aircraft on a battleship.

3.  Destruction of landmarks taken by Germany along the Belgium coast.  They destroyed anything that could be used by the Allies to navigate.  The picture showed a lighthouse being blown up.

4.  The USS Arizona, superdreadnaught, shown leaving Brooklyn Navy Yard after commissioning in 1916.  It was the U.S. navy's largest and most modern battleship.

5.  Submarine warfare.

Latest in 1916.  --Cooter

Battleships Ordered to Vera Cruz in 1914

On April 14, 1914, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet was ordered to Vera Cruz with all available battleships.  Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger went there in his flagship, the USS Arkansas.  Also ordered there were Leon Robinson's ship, the USS Vermont, the New Hampshire, New Jersey, Michigan, Louisiana and South Carolina.

Leon D. Robinson, from Sycamore, Illinois, was aboard the USS Vermont.

We sure had a lot of battleships.

--DaCoot

USS Vermont (BB-20)

From Wikipedia.

A Connecticut-class battleship commissioned in 1907 and decommissioned 1920.  Mounted four 12-inch guns.  Leon D. Robinson was serving on this ship.

On 12 February 1914 departed for Mexico during the Mexican Revolution to protect American interests in Vera Cruz.  Arrived Feb. 17 and remained there until April 29, when it returned to the United States.

--DaCoot

What Kind of Navy Did We Have Before World War I?-- Part 1

According to the U.S. Navy website.  By Joshua Keating.

For the years 1910 to 1916

BATTLESHIPS:  29, 30, 32, 32 (1913), 34, 32, 36

CRUISERS:  27, 25, 24, 27 (1913), 28, 30 30

MONITORS:  2, 3, 3, 3 (1913), 3, 3, 3

DESTROYERS:  27, 36, 42, 46 (1913), 50, 57, 61

TORPEDO BOATS:  31, 30, 30, 25 (1913), 19, 18, 18

--DaCoot's Boats