USS Olympia (C-6)

The ship is 344 ft 1 in (104.88 m) in overall length, has a beam of 53 ft (16 m) and a draft of 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m). Her design displacement was 5,865 long tons (5,959 t), with a full combat load of up to 6,558 long tons (6,663 t) displacement. The ship is powered by a pair of vertical triple expansion engines, each supplied with steam from three coal-fired cylindrical boilers. Her engines were rated at 13,500 ihp (10,100 kW) with a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), though on trials she achieved 17,313 ihp (12,910 kW) and a top speed of 21.67 knots (40.13 km/h; 24.94 mph).

Olympia's crew numbered between 411 and 447 officers and enlisted.[17][23]

Olympia is armed with a variety of weapons. The primary armament was four 8 in (203 mm)/35 caliber guns in two twin Mark 6 gun turrets, one forward and one aft of the superstructure.[17] These guns could fire 260 lb (120 kg) projectiles, either armor-piercing or high explosive, at a muzzle velocity of 2,100 ft (640 m) per second. The Mark 6 turret was designed for depression of the guns to −4° and elevation to 13°.[24] By 1916, the turrets and guns were considered woefully obsolete, and were subsequently removed and replaced with open gun platforms, each with a single 4"/40. These guns were then later replaced with 5"/51-caliber guns in 1917.

The secondary battery was ten 5 in (127 mm)/40 caliber guns mounted in casemates, five on each side of the ship. Each is placed to avoid the flash from the main battery.[17][23] These guns fired 50 lb (23 kg) armor-piercing shells at a muzzle velocity of 2,300 ft (700 m) per second.[25] These also were replaced with 5"/51s during the 1917 refit. Fourteen 6-pounder (57 mm (2.24 in)) antitorpedoboat guns are mounted in sponsons. Six one-pounder guns are mounted on deck, along with six 18 in (46 cm) abovewater torpedo tubes.[17] In 1898, The Olympia also boasted two Gatling guns and an arsenal of revolvers and rifles.

Olympia's conning tower is armored with 5 in (13 cm) thick steel plates. The ship has a 2 in (5.1 cm) thick armored deck that slopes on the sides; the slopes increase in thickness to 4.75 in (12.1 cm) amidships and 3 in (7.6 cm) at the ends. A 4 in (10 cm) thick glacis protects the engine rooms. Her main battery turrets are protected by 3.5 in (8.9 cm) of Harvey armor, while the barbettes upon which they rest have 4.5 in-thick (11 cm) nickel-steel armor. The 5-inch guns are protected by 4 in-thick (10 cm) gun shields.[17][23]

Olympia leading a column of cruisers, painting by Francis Muller.

As tensions increased and war with Spain became more probable, Olympia remained at Hong Kong and was prepared for action. When war was declared on 25 April 1898, Dewey moved his ships to Mirs Bay, China. Two days later, the Navy Department ordered the squadron to Manila in the Philippines, where a significant Spanish naval force protected the harbor.[33] Dewey was ordered to sink or capture the Spanish warships, opening the way for a subsequent conquest by U.S. forces.[34]

Olympia at the Battle of Manila Bay.

Gun crew of USS Olympia forward 8" turret that fired the first shot of the Battle of Manila Bay.

On the morning of 1 May, Commodore Dewey—with his flag aboard Olympia—steamed his ships into Manila Bay to confront the Spanish flotilla commanded by Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón.[34] The Spanish ships were anchored close to shore, under the protection of coastal artillery, but both the ships and shore batteries were outdated.[35] At approximately 5:40 a.m., Dewey instructed Olympia's captain, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley".[36] Gridley ordered the forward 8-inch gun turret, commanded by Lt. Stokely Morgan, to open fire, and the starboard 8-inch gun fired the first shell of the battle at the Spanish flagship Reina Christina, prompting the other American warships to begin firing.[37][36][38]

The Spanish ship and shore gunners were significantly less accurate than the Americans, and the battle quickly became one-sided. After initial success, Dewey briefly broke off the engagement at around 7:30 a.m. when his flagship was reported to be low on 5-inch ammunition, giving the order to serve a second breakfast to all his ships' crews. This turned out to be an erroneous report — the 5-inch magazines were still mostly full. He ordered the battle resumed shortly after 11:15 that morning. By early afternoon, Dewey had completed the destruction of Montojo's squadron and the shore batteries, while his own ships were largely undamaged. Dewey anchored his ships off Manila and accepted the surrender of the city.[36]

Dewey reviewing parade aboard Olympia in New York City Harbor, September 29, 1899

Word of Dewey's victory quickly reached the US; both he and Olympia became famous as the first victors of the war. An expeditionary force was assembled and sent to complete the conquest of the Philippines.[39] The Olympia remained in the area and supported the Army by shelling Spanish forces on land. She returned to the Chinese coast on 20 May 1899. She remained there until the following month, when she departed for the United States, via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. The ship arrived in Boston on 10 October.[33] Following Olympia's return to the United States, her officers and crew were feted, and she was herself repainted and adorned with a gilded bow ornament.[39] On 9 November, the Olympia was decommissioned and placed in reserve.[33]

The Olympia was recommissioned into the fleet in January 1902 and assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron. Her first duty was to serve as the flagship of the Caribbean Division. Over the following four years, the ship patrolled the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea;[33] her voyages included a visit to the Ottoman Empire.[40] During March through April 1903 she and four other U.S. Navy warships were involved in an intervention in Honduras.

Starting on 2 April 1906, she became a training ship for midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy. In this role, she conducted three summer training cruises: 15 May – 26 August 1907, 1 June – 1 September 1908, and 14 May – 28 August 1909. Between the cruises, the ship was placed in reserve, first in Norfolk, Virginia and later at Annapolis, Maryland. On 6 March 1912, Olympia arrived in Charleston, South Carolina.[33] There she served as a barracks ship until 1916.[17] In late 1916, the ship was recommissioned into the fleet, when it became increasingly clear that the U.S. would eventually enter World War I.[33]

USS Olympia in 1919 rearmed with 5-inch guns

The Unknown Soldier from World War I arriving at the Washington Navy Yard, circa 1921 (colorized)

After the U.S. entered the First World War by declaring war on Germany in April 1917, Olympia was mobilized as the flagship of the U.S. Patrol Force. She was assigned to patrol the eastern seaboard of the U.S. for German warships. She also escorted transport ships in the North Atlantic. On 15 June 1917, she ran aground in Long Island Sound, and she put in for repairs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, along with the replacement of her 8-inch and 5"/40-caliber guns with 5"/51-caliber guns, which took eight months, but a July, 1917 article about hitting the rocks says her original armament of four 8 inch and ten 5 inch guns had been replaced by twelve 5 inch guns 'a few years ago".[41][42] Olympia departed Charleston on 28 April 1918 carrying an expeditionary force bound for Russia. Russia, which had previously been a member of the Allied Powers, was in the midst of civil war and had signed a separate peace with Germany. On 9 June 1918, the ship arrived in Murmansk, Russia, and deployed the peacekeeping force.[40] She subsequently assisted in the occupation of Archangel against Bolshevik forces.

After the end of the war, Olympia sailed to the Mediterranean via Portsmouth, England.[33] In December 1918, the ship became the flagship for American naval forces stationed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. While on this assignment, she continued in her old role of showing the flag and conducting goodwill visits in various Mediterranean ports.[40] This included a period of policing duty in the Adriatic Sea from 21 January to 25 October 1919; the Dalmatian coast was in a state of turmoil following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the war. On 1 April 1919, she was in Spalato, now Split, with Israel and Lansdale.[43] On 18 August, she steamed to the Black Sea to aid the return of refugees from the Balkans who had fled during the war. She was back in the Adriatic Sea by 19 September, and four days later had to deploy a landing party to prevent an incident between Italian and Yugoslavian forces.[33]

The Olympia briefly returned to Charleston on 24 November 1919. The following year, she was reclassified CA-15.[44] She then prepared for another tour of duty in the Adriatic, departing from New York on 14 February 1920. This was concluded on 25 May 1921, when the ship returned to Charleston. A month after her arrival she was made the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet's training unit. She then participated in joint Army-Navy experiments in July, during which the former German warships Ostfriesland and Frankfurt were sunk off the Virginia Capes.[33] She was again reclassified as CL-15 that year.[44]

On 3 October 1921, Olympia departed Philadelphia for Le Havre, France, to bring the remains of the Unknown Soldier home for interment in Arlington National Cemetery. The cruiser departed France on 25 October 1921; she was escorted by a group of French destroyers for part of the voyage. At the mouth of the Potomac river on 9 November, the battleship North Dakota and the destroyer Bernadou joined Olympia as she steamed to the Washington Navy Yard. After transferring the remains ashore, the cruiser fired her guns in salute. She conducted a last training cruise for midshipmen in the summer of 1922.

The Independence Seaport Museum has renewed their commitment to restoring the vessel and has engaged in several preservation projects which were funded in large part by grants from the National Park Service, the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, the Jennifer Pritzker's Tawani Foundation, and Herman S. Pollock Foundation, as well as private donations. Over the past several decades, the Museum invested over $10 million to maintain the Olympia. Some of the most notable repairs to the cruiser before 2014 include removing 30 tons of asbestos and other contaminates, conducting safety upgrades, and drafting the necessary engineering and planning work.[52]

In 2015, the Olympia received multiple grants including $169,850.00 from the National Park Service's Maritime Heritage Program to continue work on interim repairs of deteriorating hull plates and deck leaks.[53] Between April and August 2015, four 4-foot by 7-foot sections of the hull at the waterline were cleaned, scaled to bare metal, and treated with ceramic epoxy, and new bottom paint. This was accomplished using a custom-made mobile surface-piercing cofferdam.[54] In 2017, the Museum replaced Olympia's old gangways for easier and safer access, restored the signal bridge,[55] restored the Admiral and Captain's skylights,[56] and constructed replicas of historic benches, mess lockers and mess tables.[57]

In 2017, the Museum announced that it will embark on a major national fundraising campaign to raise $20 million to drydock the vessel so that the hull can finally be fully repaired. The restoration efforts are part of a larger plan to make the vessel more accessible and to educate the public about the cultural and historic significance of Olympia. [57] In May 2017, the Independence Seaport announced a semipermanent exhibit featuring the Olympia, entitled "World War I USS Olympia," opening on June 16, 2017.[58]