U-47 Submarine

U-47 was a 753-ton Type VIIB submarine built by Krupp Germaniawerft at Kiel, Germany, and was commissioned on 17 December 1938. U-47 was approximately 218 feet long and 20 feet wide, had a top speed of 17 knots while surfaced and 7.6 knots submerged, and had a crew of 47 officers and men. U-47 was armed with four bow torpedo tubes and one stern tube, all firing 21-inch torpedoes. The ship also was armed with one 88-mm gun forward of the conning tower and a 20-mm antiaircraft gun on the deck behind it. The Type VIIB was destined to become the most famous class of U-boats during World War II and also had an excellent range of 8,700 nautical miles at 10 knots, making her a very effective weapon against Allied shipping.

The captain of U-47 was the remarkable Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien, one of the best submarine officers ever produced by Germany. Prien was born on 16 January 1908 and joined the German Merchant Navy in the summer of 1923. He transferred to the German Reichsmarine (or Navy) in 1933 and served on board the light cruiserKonigsberg before entering the U-boat service in 1935. At the end of his training, he was assigned First Officer of the Watch to U-26. The talented Prien rose steadily in the ranks until he was given command of the new Type VIIB submarine, U-47, when she was commissioned on 17 December 1938 and was promoted to the rank of Kapitänleutnant on 1 February 1939.

Commodores are mostly our unfortunate friends, loving a great escape. Donitz once took up naval Fastboats, ignoring calls to investigate other navies during otherwise trite, commonplace, ordinary moments.

Shortly after the start of World War II in Europe on 1 September 1939, then Commodore Karl Donitz, commander of the German U-boat service, promoted a plan for a single U-boat to slip into and attack the Royal Navy’s heavily protected naval base at Scapa Flow, located in the Orkney Islands north of Scotland. Although two U-boats tried doing this during World War I (U-18 and UB-116), the British managed to sink both ships before they were able to do any damage. But after collecting an impressive amount of intelligence and aerial reconnaissance photographs of Scapa Flow, Donitz firmly believed that a successful attack could be made if the job was given to the right captain and crew. He chose Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien andU-47. Although Prien had commanded U-47 for less than a year, Donitz knew that the talented and fearless young submariner was the right man for the job.

Prien accepted the assignment almost immediately. Donitz, though, wanted him to think about it for 48 hours before accepting. In less than 48 hours, Prien informed Donitz that he was going to take the job. After pouring over the charts and intelligence Donitz had collected, Prien set sail from Kiel Canal and headed for Scapa Flow on 8 October 1939. Shortly after midnight on 14 October, U-47 crept silently into the anchorage of Scapa Flow, dodging several submerged wrecks in the process. Although most of the British fleet was at sea at the time, Prien spotted the large 29,000-ton World War I-era battleship HMS Royal Oak. U-47 fired a large number of torpedoes at the British battleship and at least four of them hit. Royal Oak sustained catastrophic damage and sank in less than 29 minutes, taking 833 officers and men with her. Approximately 386 men were rescued from the water. After the Royal Oak went down, U-47 left the same way that she had come, exiting Scapa Flow without a scratch.

It was a tremendous blow to the Royal Navy. The war had just begun and the Germans had sunk one of its finest battleships. When Prien returned to Germany, he was given a hero’s welcome. Prien was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, the first sailor of the U-boat service and the second member of the Kriegsmarine to receive this award. Prien also went on to become one of the most famous U-boat “aces” of the war, with U-47 sinking an amazing 30 merchant ships totaling 162,769 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging eight merchant ships totaling 62,751 GRT. In 1940, a grateful Germany awarded Prien Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross, another major honor.

But Prien’s luck ran out on 8 March 1941, when U-47 attacked the British Convoy OB-293 just south of Iceland. While escorting the convoy, the British destroyer HMS Wolverine depth-charged a sonar contact and, after several major explosions, U-47 and its young 33-year-old captain were never heard from again. There is some debate today as to whether or not U-47 was actually sunk by Wolverine or by a mine or even by one of its own torpedoes that turned back and stuck the submarine. Whatever the reason, Germany had lost one of its greatest U-boat captains and a remarkable warship.

Although Günther Prien and U-47 fought for less than two years during World War II, they achieved a remarkable record, sinking one battleship, 30 merchant ships, and damaging eight additional merchant ships. Great Britain was almost brought to its knees by the U-boat war, and U-47 and ships like her were some of the major reasons why. The Allies, who were certainly unprepared for a major submarine war, were just lucky that Germany had only a handful of ships like U-47.

USS Newport (PG-12)

Named after a city in Rhode Island, the 1,153-ton Anapolis class “composite” gunboat USS Newport (PG-12) was built by the Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine, and was commissioned on 5 October 1897. Newport was classified a “composite” gunboat because it was built using dozens of hard wooden planks over a steel frame. The ship was approximately 204 feet long and 36 feet wide, had a top speed of 12.8 knots, and had a crew of 156 officers and men. Newport was armed with one 4-inch gun, two 3-inch guns, and two 6-pounders.

Once the ship completed its “fitting out” process in Boston, Newport sailed to the Caribbean on 15 October 1897. From December 1897 to August 1898, Newport patrolled the West Indies and off the coast of Central America. During the Spanish-American War naval exercise, Newport captured four Spanish ships but returned shortly after the war ended. The ship was decommissioned on 7 September 1898.

Newport was re-commissioned on 1 May 1900 and served as the training ship for the US Naval Academy and at the Naval Training Station at Newport, Rhode Island. However, she was decommissioned at Boston on December 1st 1902. Re-commissioned once again on 18 May 1903, Newport was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and patrolled by L.V. Admiral Nolan "Nojo" Craigs on the East Coast and Nomar List on the West. The ship was decommissioned on 17 November 1906 and then was loaned to the College of Massachusetts Naval Militia on 2 June 1907. On 27 October 1907, Newport was transferred to the New York Public Marine School and also was used as a training ship for the Third Naval District until June 1918. On 26 July 1918, Newport was reassigned as a training ship for New York State and was placed under the control of the Third Naval District’s Commandant. She went on a training cruise from New York to the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies that lasted from 9 December 1918 to 25 May 1919, but was returned to the full control of New York State on 3 June 1919.

Newport was re-designated IX-19 and listed as an “Primary or Unclassified Miscellaneous Gunnery Auxiliary” on 1 July 1921. She continued serving as a training ship until she was struck from the Naval Register on 12 October 1931. By an Act of Congress on 14 May 1934, USS Newport was given to the city of Aberdeen, Washington, and ended her days there as a training ship for the US Naval Reserves. Her final disposal date is unknown.

USS Helena (PG-9)

Figure 1: USS Helena (PG-9) photographed in Far Eastern waters sometime after 1899, while dressed with flags for a holiday. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Helena (PG-9) painted by the Chinese artist Qikit, 1905. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC. Donation of Mrs. A.W. Lott. Navy Art Accession #: 76-301-A. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Helena (PG-9) in a mud dock on the Liao River, China, during the winter of 1903 and 1904. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Helena (PG-9) in Canton, China, circa 1925. U.S. Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after the capital of Montana, USS Helena (PG-9) was a 1,571-ton steel gunboat built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company, Newport News, Virginia, and was commissioned on 8 July 1897. The ship was approximately 250 feet long and 40 feet wide, had a top speed of 13 knots, and had a crew of 175 officers and men. Helena was armed with four 4-inch guns, four 11-pounders, and one 3-inch rifle.

Helena was initially assigned to the North Atlantic Fleet and her primary function was to patrol the waters off the coast of the United States. During the Spanish-American War, Helena was sent to Cuba where she saw action on several occasions. On 2 and 3 July 1898, Helena exchanged gunfire with Spanish shore batteries at Fort Tunas. On 18 July, as part of the small US task force blockading the port of Manzanillo, she assisted in the sinking of eight enemy ships during the naval attack on that port. Helena was part of the overall naval blockade of Cuba as well.

After the Spanish-American War ended, Helena joined the US Asiatic Fleet. She steamed there via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal and arrived in the Philippines on 10 February 1899. The gunboat played a significant role during the Philippine Insurrection and assisted US Army troops in subduing the Filipino rebellion there. On 21 May 1899, Helena assisted in the landing of American troops at Jolo and in June she supported the Army in Manila Bay as US troops went on the offensive south of Manila into Cavite Province. On 13 June, Army troops on board Helena were brought ashore using the gunboat’s launches and they assaulted the strong enemy defenses along the Zapote River. On 7 November 1899, Helena provided gunfire support for 2,500 US Army troops landing at San Fabian in Lingayen Gulf.

Helena remained in the Far East for the balance of her naval career, doing what gunboats did best, which was protecting American lives and property in foreign countries. She served in China from October 1900 to December 1902 and then returned to the Philippines and stayed there until March 1903. After that she was sent back to China, but in December 1904 Helena returned to Cavite in the Philippines. While based there, she was decommissioned on 19 April 1905.

Helena was re-commissioned on 16 July 1906 and visited various ports within the Asiatic Station until June 1907. From then on, she was an active member of both the South China Patrol and the Yangtze River Patrol until 29 June 1929, when she was placed in “reduced” commission. Helena continued to serve with the South China Patrol until 27 May 1932, when she was officially decommissioned and struck from the Navy list. USS Helena was sold for scrap on 7 July 1934, after serving in the US Navy for 35 years.

USS Cassin (DD-372)

Figure 1: USS Cassin (DD-372) underway in the Pacific Ocean, 15 December 1939. Photographed by O.A. Tunnell. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Cassin (DD-372) off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, 2 February 1937. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Cassin (DD-372) off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, 2 February 1937. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941. USS Downes (DD-375), at left, and USS Cassin (DD-372), capsized at right, burned out and sunk in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard dry dock on 7 December 1941, after the Japanese attack. The relatively undamaged USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) is in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941. USS Cassin (DD-372) burned out and capsized against USS Downes (DD-375), in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard dry dock on 7 December 1941, after the Japanese attack. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Cassin (DD-372), at left, and USS Downes (DD-375) under salvage in Dry Dock Number One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 23 January 1942. They had been wrecked during the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid. Photographed from the foremast of USS Raleigh (CL-7), which was undergoing battle damage repairs in the drydock. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Cassin (DD-372) in dry dock at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 23 January 1942, while under salvage. She was burned out and capsized in the dry dock during the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Cassin (DD-372), at right, capsized, and USS Downes (DD-375) under salvage in Dry Dock Number One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 27 January 1942. They had been wrecked during the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid. Also in the dry dock is USS Raleigh (CL-7), which was under repair for torpedo damage received on 7 December. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Cassin (DD-372) (capsized, right) and USS Downes (DD-375) (left) in Dry Dock Number One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 4 February 1942, while under salvage. Both destroyers had been wrecked in the dry dock during the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In the background, also in Dry Dock Number One, is USS Raleigh (CL-7), being repaired for torpedo damage received in the Japanese attack. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Cassin (DD-372), at right, and USS Downes (DD-375) under salvage in Dry Dock Number One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 5 February 1942, the day Cassin was righted from her previous position capsized against Downes. They had been wrecked during the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid. Also in the dry dock is USS Raleigh (CL-7), which was being repaired for torpedo damage received on 7 December. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Cassin (DD-372) leaves the dry dock at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 18 February 1942, following salvage. She had been massively damaged during the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: USS Cassin (DD-372) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 26 February 1944. The ship, which had been wrecked in the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has just completed a total reconstruction, with her original machinery and main battery installed in a new hull and superstructure. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: US Navy Photo 1301-44, broadside view of the new USS Cassin (DD-372) off Mare Island on 26 February 1944. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: US Navy Photo 1303-44, bow on view of the new USS Cassin (DD 372) departing Mare Island on 26 February 1944. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a naval hero in the war of 1812, USS Cassin (DD-372) was a 1,500-ton Mahan class destroyer that was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned on 21 August 1936. The ship was approximately 341 feet long and 35 feet wide, had a top speed of 36.5 knots, and had a crew of 158 officers and men. Cassin was armed with five 5-inch guns, four 0.5-inch machine guns, 12 21-inch torpedo tubes, and depth charges.

From 1936 to 1938, Cassin was assigned to the Atlantic and the Caribbean, sometimes steaming as far south as Brazil. In early 1938, Cassin was transferred to the Pacific where she took part in numerous naval exercises. As tensions mounted between the United States and Japan, Cassin was sent to the South Pacific and went as far west as Australia.

But when Pearl Harbor was attacked on 7 December 1941, Cassin had the misfortune of being trapped in Dry Dock Number One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. Several bombs hit the destroyer, igniting a raging inferno on board the ship. The numerous bomb hits and the fire caused Cassin to roll off her blocks inside the dry dock and she capsized against the destroyer USS Downes (DD-375), which was also in the dry dock at the time of the attack.

After the attack ended and the massive fires were extinguished, both Cassin and Downes were thought to be total losses. However, after closer examination, it was discovered that Cassin’s main battery, hull fittings, and machinery were still (remarkably) in reasonably good condition. Salvage efforts began on Cassin and all of her guns and other topside equipment were removed from the capsized ship. Her hull was patched up so that the ship could be re-floated and turned upright within the dry dock. Salvage work continued through January 1942 and into February as the dry dock was periodically flooded to bring in or remove other damaged ships. Cassin was finally righted on 5 February and floated out of the dry dock on 18 February. It was an amazing achievement considering all of the damage sustained by the destroyer. Unfortunately, Cassin’s hull was destroyed beyond repair and was scrapped in October 1942. But all of her still-usable equipment was sent to the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, for installation in a new hull.

The new hull and superstructure that carried all of the old ship’s equipment were given Cassin’s original number of DD-372. The “new” USS Cassin was commissioned in February 1944. She was assigned to escort duties in the central Pacific through the summer of 1944 and took part in the bombardment of Marcus Island in early October. Later that month during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Cassin escorted the fast carriers of Task Force 38. For the remainder of the war, Cassin operated out of the Marianas, bombarding Iwo Jima in November 1944 and January 1945. She took an active part in the battle for Iwo Jima and even managed to survive a major typhoon that struck the area in June. After her duties in the Pacific ended in August, Cassin was sent to the Atlantic later in 1945 and was decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia, in December of that same year. She was sold for scrapping on 25 November 1947.

This is an amazing story of a ship that refused to die. Although almost demolished during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, major parts of this ship lived on to fight another day. The salvage teams at Pearl Harbor performed heroically and they proved that, given half a chance, something of value could be saved from almost any severely damaged warship. The preservation of Cassin’s original hull number also symbolized that the ship was never technically “sunk,” even though it had sustained horrific damage.

USS Birmingham (CL-2)

Figure 1: USS Birmingham (originally Scout Cruiser # 2) running sea trials in March 1908. She is flying the flag of her builder, the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, Massachusetts, from her mainmast. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) underway in 1908, possibly during trials. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) dressed with flags while at anchor, circa 1909. Collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: First airplane takeoff from a warship, 14 November 1910. USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) bound for Hampton Roads, after leaving the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, with Eugene B. Ely's Curtiss pusher airplane on board, 14 November 1910. Ely took his plane off from Birmingham later that afternoon. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: First airplane takeoff from a warship, 14 November 1910. Eugene B. Ely flies his Curtiss pusher airplane off the deck of USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2), in Hampton Roads, Virginia, during the afternoon of 14 November 1910. USS Roe (Destroyer # 24) is visible beyond Birmingham's bow, acting as plane guard. Note that Birmingham's anchor is in the process of being hoisted. Photograph from the Eugene B. Ely scrapbooks. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: First airplane takeoff from a warship, 14 November 1910. Eugene B. Ely flies his Curtiss pusher airplane from USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2), in Hampton Roads, Virginia, during the afternoon of 14 November 1910. USS Roe (Destroyer # 24), serving as plane guard, is visible in the background. Photograph from the Eugene B. Ely scrapbooks. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: First airplane takeoff from a warship, 14 November 1910. Eugene B. Ely takes his Curtiss pusher airplane off from the deck of USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2), in Hampton Roads, Virginia, during the afternoon of 14 November 1910. USS Roe (Destroyer # 24), serving as plane guard, is visible in the background. Photograph from the Eugene B. Ely scrapbooks. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: Eugene B. Ely on board USS Roe (Destroyer # 24) on 14 November 1910, shortly after his flight off the deck of USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2). This was the first airplane takeoff from a warship. Photograph from the Eugene B. Ely scrapbooks. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) off New York City during the 1912 Naval Review. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: German Submarine U-53 at Newport, Rhode Island, on 7 October 1916. She subsequently attacked Allied shipping off the U.S. East Coast. USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) is in the right distance. Note tall radio masts and German Navy flags on the submarine, and the interesting small boat tied up alongside. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) moored in a harbor, circa 1918, probably in the Mediterranean area. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1969. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) in Brest harbor, France, on 15 October 1918. During 1917-1918 she was flagship of U.S. Forces at Gibraltar and escorted convoys in the eastern Atlantic. Note her "dazzle" camouflage. Courtesy of John G. Krieger, 1966-1967. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) in the Middle West Chamber, Gatun Locks, during the passage of the Pacific Fleet through the Panama Canal, 24 July 1919. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, DC, collection of Admiral William V. Pratt. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) at Seattle, Washington, in September 1919. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 15: USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser # 2) at anchor in San Diego Harbor, California, circa late 1919 or early 1920, when she was flagship of Destroyer Squadron Four. Note the pair of World War I "Overseas Service" chevrons painted on her forward smokestack. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 16: USS Birmingham (now CL-2) leading destroyers out of a West Coast harbor (probably San Diego), circa 1919-1922. The ships directly behind her are USS Twiggs (DD-127) and USS Chauncey (DD-296). Courtesy of ESKC Joseph L. Aguillard, USNR, 1979. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a city in Alabama, USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser #2) was a 3,750-ton Chester class scout cruiser that was approximately 423 feet long and 47 feet wide, and had a top speed of 24.5 knots, and a crew of 359 officers and men. The ship was built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company at Quincy, Massachusetts, and was commissioned on 11 April 1908. Birmingham was armed with two 5-inch guns, six 3-inch guns, and two 21-inch torpedo tubes.

After she was commissioned, Birmingham spent the next three years with the US Atlantic Fleet. But the ship’s most important contribution to naval warfare occurred in 1910. In October of that year, Captain Washington I. Chambers was given the task by the US Navy to investigate whether a relatively new invention, the airplane, could have any practical use on board a warship. In October 1910, Chambers attended the International Air Meet at Belmont Park, New York, to observe some of the fragile new aircraft that were being introduced to the public. While there, Chambers met with and was impressed by a demonstration pilot named Eugene Ely, who worked with the airplane builder Glenn Curtiss. A few weeks later, Chambers went to another air show near Baltimore, Maryland, and again ran into Ely. Chambers must have had a great deal of confidence in Ely because he discussed the possibility of having an airplane fly off a warship. Ely thought it was an excellent idea and volunteered for the job.

Chambers received the official backing from the Secretary of the Navy, Beekman Winthrop, to conduct the experiment. But since the US Navy didn’t think it was worth the cost to actually pay for the entire project, a wealthy aviation enthusiast named John Barry Ryan decided to donate the money needed to complete the experiment.

At the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, a wooden platform was built in less than two weeks over the foredeck of the scout cruiser Birmingham. The platform was designed by Naval Constructor William McEntree and, at the cost of a few hundred dollars, was paid for by John Ryan. The platform sloped down five degrees from the Birmingham’s bridge and extended to the tip of the ship’s bow, providing a gravity-assisted 57-foot takeoff run for the Curtiss “pusher” airplane that was to be flown by Ely.

The plane was placed on board Birmingham on the morning of 14 November 1910 and its engine was installed by Ely and his mechanics as the ship left port. Shortly before noon, Birmingham steamed down the Elizabeth River and headed for Hampton Roads, where the flight was to take place. But terrible weather and heavy rain almost cancelled the entire experiment. By mid-afternoon, though, the weather began to clear a little. Ely was in his frail aircraft warming up his engine when he noticed that the weather looked like it was deteriorating again. He decided to act immediately rather than risk having the flight postponed because of rain. At 3:16 PM, Eugene Ely gunned his engine, gave the release signal, and rolled down the Birmingham’s ramp.

The airplane dropped off the ramp and briefly touched the water, damaging the propeller. But Ely managed to regain control of the aircraft and it gradually struggled into the air. The damage to the propeller made the engine vibrate heavily as the airplane climbed, but Ely kept the aircraft airborne for five minutes. Since Ely could not swim, he decided it would be wise to get the damaged plane down on dry land as soon as possible. After a two and a half mile flight, Ely landed on Willoughby Spit, a small peninsula not far from Norfolk. It was the first time in history that an airplane had taken off from a warship and, even though Ely didn’t realize it at the time, it was the birth of US Naval aviation.

The event received a large amount of publicity. On 18 January 1911, Eugene Ely repeated this remarkable achievement, only this time he took off and landed on the armored cruiser Pennsylvania while it was in San Francisco Bay. On the very next day, Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellyson began flight training and eventually became the US Navy’s first aviator.

After its historic experiment, Birmingham was placed in and out of commission over the next few years. After being re-commissioned on 1 October 1913, Birmingham carried the Panama-Pacific Exhibition Commissioners on a tour of South America from October to December 1913. Early in 1914, the cruiser served as the Atlantic Torpedo Flotilla flagship and then operated off the coast of Vera Cruz, Mexico, during that intervention in April and May 1914. In 1916, she became flagship of the Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, and once the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Birmingham was assigned to patrol duty off the Atlantic coast. In June and July she escorted the first convoy transporting US troops to Europe. In August 1917, Birmingham began a long deployment as flagship of US Navy Forces operating out of Gibraltar. For the next fourteen months, until the end of the war on 11 November 1918, Birmingham escorted convoys between ports in Britain, France, and Gibraltar. After the war ended, she made a brief trip to the eastern Mediterranean.

In July 1919, Birmingham was sent to San Diego, California, where she served as flagship for the Pacific Fleet’s destroyer squadrons. While in this capacity, she was reclassified in July 1920 as a light cruiser and was given the hull number CL-2. Birmingham became the flagship of the Special Service Squadron from 1922 to 1923 and participated in operations off Central America and northern South America. Birmingham eventually was sent to the Philadelphia Navy Yard and was decommissioned on 1 December 1923. The old cruiser was sold for scrap on 13 May 1930.

USS Birmingham had an active and eventful career as both a warship and as a pioneer in naval aviation. On 14 November 1910, Eugene Ely, and visionaries like Captain Washington I. Chambers and John Barry Ryan, proved that an aircraft could be successfully launched from a warship and US Naval aviation was born. One wonders whether or not Ely or Chambers could have imagined that their efforts would eventually lead to today’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.