Lost and Found
Written by PA Heritage Staff in the Lost and Found category and the Summer 1997 issue Topics in this article: Adm. George Dewey, Pearl Harbor, Penns Landing (Dock Creek), Philadelphia, Spanish American War, United States Navy, USS Olympia, USS Pennsylvania, World War I, World War IILost
Battleship Number 38, the third vessel christened USS Pennsylvania, was launched in March 1915. Between stints in World War I and World War II, she served as a flagship and took part in fleet exercises. USS Pennsylvania sustained only minor damage in the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, where she was dry-docked. After assisting in eight World War II campaigns, the ship was literally worn out, and in summer 1946 became a target in atom bomb and nuclear tests conducted at Bikini Atoll. After extensive radiological and structural studies, she was towed out to sea and scuttled on February 10, 1948.
Found
The USS Olympia, launched in November 1892, was one of the country’s first steel warships. She is best remembered for her role in the 1898 Battle of Manila Bay during which Commodore George Dewey gave the famous order, “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.” Her active career came to a close in 1921 when she sailed from France with the body of the Unknown Soldier. The USS Olympia is the only surviving vessel of the Spanish-American War fleets and the nation’s “New Navy” of the late nineteenth century. The ship, moored at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia, is open to visitors.
