Work continues to save Span-Am War warship USS Olympia

[Captain Long Story, US Cavalry]

 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Caretakers of a deteriorating piece of maritime

military history hope to have its future secured by next summer and

continue working to ensure it stays afloat in the meantime.

The

USS Olympia, a one-of-a-kind steel cruiser from the Spanish-American

War, ideally would have been dry-docked every 20 years for maintenance

but has not been out of the water since 1945. Since taking stewardship

of the National Historic Landmark from a cash-strapped nonprofit in

1996, the Independence Seaport Museum has spent about $5 million on

short-term repairs, inspections and maintenance but cannot afford to

keep the ship.

A field of six

organizations initially vying for the Olympia has been narrowed to two

preservation groups — one in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the

5,500-ton warship was launched in 1892, and one in Port Royal, S.C., a

strategic support post for the Atlantic fleet during the

Spanish-American War.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/continues-save-historic-warship-philly-180421849.html

[Utah Bob #35998]

I hope they can get it done. The Olympia and her sister ships in the Great White Fleet cemented our status as a world power.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

I wonder how the SF and SC groups plan to get her their locations? She's a bit smaller than the USS Cole which was loaded aboard a barge/ship and hauled back to the US, so I suppose it's technically possible. I would expect that to be prohibitively expensive though, especially a trip to SF. As fragile as she is, I can't imagine she could take either trip under tow.

 

Hope she can bypass the ship breakers.

[Wolfgang, SASS #53480]

I'd think that a more practical solution ( and cheeper ) would be to put her into a temporary dock. Then fill it with dirt and have her a landlocked museum. Having been in the ship building and repair field I know the tremendous cost of repair and maintenance of aging ships. Much higher cost to have her float that to have her as a dry land museum.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

I'd think that a more practical solution ( and cheeper ) would be to put her into a temporary dock. Then fill it with dirt and have her a landlocked museum. Having been in the ship building and repair field I know the tremendous cost of repair and maintenance of aging ships. Much higher cost to have her float that to have her as a dry land museum.

They were planning to do that for the USS Texas, but shelved it due to cost and lack of funds.

 

Article

[Captain Long Story, US Cavalry]

I'd think that a more practical solution ( and cheeper ) would be to put her into a temporary dock. Then fill it with dirt and have her a landlocked museum. Having been in the ship building and repair field I know the tremendous cost of repair and maintenance of aging ships. Much higher cost to have her float that to have her as a dry land museum.

 

Already been investigated, from what I understand. There is no real suitable location for that on Philadelphia's waterfront, even down river as far as the old Navy Yard.

[Captain Long Story, US Cavalry]

I wonder how the SF and SC groups plan to get her their locations? She's a bit smaller than the USS Cole which was loaded aboard a barge/ship and hauled back to the US, so I suppose it's technically possible. I would expect that to be prohibitively expensive though, especially a trip to SF. As fragile as she is, I can't imagine she could take either trip under tow.

 

Hope she can bypass the ship breakers.

 

Submersible barge.

http://cdn1.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Untitled40.jpg

 

Gonna be interesting, I've read where the hull plates are paper thin and I can imagine the ribs are a bit weak.

[Bama Red]

I went aboard her in the early to mid 60's and was very impressed. Of course, I was probably 15-17 years old, so I was easily impressed. At the time, as I recall, we pretty much had the run of the ship on a self-guided tour. Sad that she was allowed to deteriorate so badly. She was a truly magnificent ship.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Submersible barge.

http://cdn1.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Untitled40.jpg

 

Gonna be interesting, I've read where the hull plates are paper thin and I can imagine the ribs are a bit weak.

Could be. I'm guessing the Cole might have been in worse shape structurally, but somehow they made it work. Interesting pic:

 

USS Cole

[Subdeacon Joe]

The Union Iron Works where she was laid down is no longer with us, sad to say. But wouldn't she be grand as a centerpiece for Mare Island?

[Chantry]

I've been aboard the USS Olympia and it is an interesting experience. Below decks she reminds me more of the USS Consitution then a WWII ship due to an absence of hatches or bulkheads and quite a bit of wood.

 

I suspect that she will undergo quite a bit of work before they tow or ship her to her final destination. I really don't think she would survive a tow or being shipped out of water in her current condition.