For
four years the USS Chicago was the most
powerful seagoing warship in the United States Navy. Her reign would have been
longer, except that it took an absurdly long six years to build the ship. On
August 1, 1893 the much more powerful USS
New York was commissioned and clearly eclipsed the
Chicago
. The
Chicago
was built to an obsolescent design but she was a necessary first step in the
explosive rebirth of the USN in the last two decades of the 19th
century. Her substantial gestation pains eased the way for future designs.
The
Naval Appropriations Bill of August 1886 was groundbreaking, as it for the first
time provided for modern armored ships for the USN, the
Maine
and the
Texas
. However, this bill and these ships were not the birth of the modern American
Steel Navy. That occurred three years earlier in 1883. In 1881 the naval
advisory board had looked into the possibility of the
United States
building an armored ship of up to 8,500 tons but had rejected the idea. The
industrial infrastructure of the
United States
could not produce the armor plate, large caliber guns or other technologically
advanced features of a major warship. Not only was the technology required
beyond American shipyards but existing slips and docks were too small.
Instead
the USN had to comfort itself with beginner’s ships. It was better to build
ships of a substandard caliber and smaller dimensions, just for experience and
to get yards used to building modern construction than to continue in the
moribund state of the USN of 1881 with nothing other than rust and wood. The
1883 appropriations act actually had its genesis in the spring of 1881 when
William H. Hunt became Secretary of the Navy at the start of the term of
republican President James A. Garfield. He appointed a board to advise what new
construction was needed by the navy. There was a quite a disagreement among its
members as to what was needed but in the end they advised to start a very
ambitious program of 68 steel warships. Hunt knew that he couldn’t sell that
big of plan to Congress, then in the fall of 1881
Garfield
was killed in an assassination. The presidential successor, Chester Arthur,
used his elevation to the presidency to pay off old political debts and replaced
Hunt as Secretary of the Navy with William E. Chandler. Hunt was made ambassador
to
Russia
and he died at his post in 1884, two years before his vision of a modern steel
navy started to come to fruition with the launching of the first modern steel
cruiser, the USS
Atlanta. This would not be the first time that politics would
intervene drastically in the formation of a modern American steel navy, nor
would it be the most serious intervention. If any American naval building
program was fraught with political intervention and bungling it was the initial
program of 1883.
Congress
would have none of a program for 68 ships, so the program was whittled down to a
modest six cruisers and nine smaller ships. Even this was too grand for the
isolationist Congress. The final bill authorized only two small cruisers to be
paid out of existing naval funds with no extra money for their construction to
be administered under a new committee. This last provision, instead of being a
detriment was actually a benefit as the members of the new committee were more
practical, realistic and had the temper of the current political environment.
The new committee, headed by Commodore Robert W. Shufeldt, revised the plan by
deleting the largest of the approved cruisers, added three even smaller cruisers
and a dispatch boat, all to be paid out of additional construction funds. This
bill passed almost intact. The final approved act called for the smallest of the
two initial proposed cruisers, two of the smaller cruisers and the dispatch boat
but with an additional $1,300,000 in construction funds. On March 3, 1883 this
Bill was signed by President Arthur and the American Steel Navy was born.
These
first four ships were called the ABCD
ships because the names of the four ships started with those letters. The two
small cruisers were
Atlanta
and
Boston
, the larger cruiser left over from the earlier attempt was
Chicago
and the dispatch boat was Dolphin.
Secretary Chandler wanted to start on the ships as soon as possible so bids were
solicited in May 1883 before the final plans had been developed. Because of this
confusion some possible builders were frightened off, with good reason as it
turned out. There were only eight bidders and only two, William Cramp of
Philadelphia
and John Roach of
Chester
,
Pennsylvania
bid on all four. John Roach was the low bidder on all four, as the Roach
facility was the only one that had the infrastructure of rolling steel plates,
hull construction and erecting machinery already in place. All four ships were
given to Roach.
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Although
strictly in conformance with existing law, it was unfortunate that all four bids
went to this one company. Since Roach was a friend of the Secretary of the Navy
and had been involved in some earlier questionable dealings, the whole thing
became a political football, which the Democratic party seized upon as an
election issue. As construction started the Roach Yard experienced problems that
had been predicted by minority of the first advisory committee. This was the
first time that modern steel warships had been built for the USN and every step
in the construction process presented new unexpected challenges. Steel plates
were more difficult to produce than anticipated and the quality of the plates
varied. Some were rejected as not meeting naval specifications. A fire at the
Roach yard destroyed some of their critical machinery and it had to be replaced.
Even during construction different naval boards kept changing requirements on
the ships.
The
smallest of the ships, the Dolphin
was the first to be completed. Then, shortly after President Grover Cleveland
and the Democratic party came to power in November 1884, the steel propeller
shaft of Dolphin
shattered during trials. The new Secretary of the Navy was a political
hack named William C. Whitney who used minor deficiencies of the Dolphin to launch to outright
attack the naval program and the Roach yards. Whitney refused to accept the Dolphin
into the navy and refused to pay for it. What’s worse Whitney persuaded the
Attorney General to call the entire contract with Roach for all four ships void.
Work on all ships ceased and creditors besieged Roach demanding money, which the
constructor did not have because of the improper actions of the Secretary of the
Navy and Attorney General. Furthermore, the Attorney General threatened legal
action against Roach to return the money the company had already received from
the government. That put an end to Roach. John Roach placed his company into
bankruptcy and the New York World gleefully proclaimed; "John
Roach’s career as a naval barnacle is ended." Whitney was
dismayed to discover that even the biggest of the naval yards at
New York
was incapable of finishing the three cruisers’ hulls and engines. Roach had
been right in the problems that he had presented to the navy and had been amply
justified in his delays. Whitney seized the Roach yard and completed most of the
work on the three cruisers there, under the supervision of navy constructors.
It
was also realized that Whitney’s rejection of the Dolphin
and the Attorney Generals voiding of the contract with Roach were completely
improper. By then it was too late for the John Roach Shipyard. John Roach had
died broken hearted and the company that he had founded was bankrupt,
financially destroyed in the political hatchet job. One hack politician,
appointed as Secretary of the Navy, along with the help of his fellow hack
politician, appointed as Attorney General, had deliberately destroyed a shipyard
for political purposes. In 1883 this yard was the most advanced in the nation.
By 1886 it was no more. There is no telling what further contributions the John
Roach Shipyard may have made to the progress of the American Steel Navy if no
but for the misguided actions of Whitney et al. However, Whitney at least
partially redeemed himself in pushing the rapid expansion of the American Steel
Navy for the balance of his tenure as Secretary of the Navy.
The
design for the two small cruisers to be named
Atlanta
and
Boston
was by Francis Bowles who had studied his trade
Greenwich
,
England
. Many features of the design were very similar to those found in the Armstrong
export Elswick Cruisers. The design featured a cut back superstructure to allow
a greater arch of fire for the echeloned 8-inch guns. William Watts a mentor of
Bowles, and DNC of the Royal Navy, thought the design would cause too much blast
damage to the superstructure. The pair were powered by a plant of 4,030 ihp and
had a single screw. Capable of only 15 knots, they were far too slow for a
cruiser design. On a displacement of 3,189 tons with an armament of two 8-inch
and six 6-inch guns, the Atlanta
Class started a trend for the USN, heavy armament in warship
designs. The pair also featured a full brig sailing rig. Considering that the
USA
had no overseas ports or coaling facilities, it was considered imperative that
sail be incorporated in the design. The
Chicago
also fell within this requirement. Although
Chicago
at 4,500 tons was much larger, she too was equipped with masts.
Chicago
was given a full set of three masts plus bowsprit, compared to two masts and no
bowsprit for the Atlantas.
As built the
Chicago
was equipped with two vertical cylinders driving the twin shafts. The engine
design was not well thought out as the cylinders were connected to walker beams
above the deck. Having the upper portion of the engine above deck and subject to
enemy fire is obviously not a good idea. Fourteen boilers fed steam to the two
engines, which were rated at 5,248ihp on trials with a top speed of around 14
knots. The Atlantas were laid down in
November 1883 and the large
Chicago
followed the next month on December 29, 1883. The cruiser was launched on
December 5, 1885 but trouble had already started. For Roach trouble started in
November 1884 when Grover Cleveland was elected as president. All during 1885
Whitney, the new Secretary of the Navy attacked Roach and the new designs.
Payments were stopped and Roach went bankrupt with the navy taking over
completion of the ships. The navy initially did not have the ability to do so
and completion was greatly delayed.
Chicago
was the most affected ship by these actions. As the largest of the ABCD ships,
she had the furthest to go for completion.
Chicago
was not commissioned until April 17, 1889.
Chicago
was armed with four 8-inch/30 guns mounted on sponsons overhanging the hull, so
as not to interfere with the sail rig. Additionally the ship was equipped with
eight 6-inch/30 and two 5-inch/30 guns. Her firepower was about equal to
contemporary foreign cruiser designs. However, the propulsion plant was
definitely inferior and USN power plant designs lagged behind those of other
navies for some time. The Chicago
as well as the Atlantas
were protected cruisers. They had no side armor but did have 1 ½-inch armored
deck, which in theory would protect the engine spaces and lower ship from damage
and flooding. However, the magazine was given a paltry 3/4-inch armored deck. At
the time of their design
US
industry was not capable of rolling steel plate belt armor and this contributed
to the slowness of construction. It is interesting to note that after forcing
Roach into bankruptcy, the politicians and the navy saw the errors of their
ways. Yards capable of building warships do not pop up over night. After the
navy and Whitney discovered that the navy yards were hard pressed to complete
the three ABCD cruisers, other private yards such as Cramps of Philadelphia and
Union of San Francisco were given much more leeway in working on navy contracts.
Maybe it was just part of the learning curve. The USN had to learn how to build
warships and had to learn that shipyards are national assets and should not be
casually thrown away through partisan politics.
In
1889 the A,B,C ships, plus gunboat Yorktown,
were formed into the Squadron
of Evolution and were used to train the officers and crews of the new
Steel Navy in tactical and operational theories. They inaugurated the
squadron’s formation by cruising as a squadron to
Europe
. By 1894 the ships were part of a much larger assemblage called the White
Squadron after their paint schemes but by then new and better ships had
come into the fleet and their defects were more apparent. Here is where the
value of the cruisers came to the fore. By 1895 the new protected cruiser
designs, as well as
New
York
, had been commissioned and the first three battleships would be commissioned.
After only six years in commission
Chicago
was clearly obsolete so it was decided to try to bring her into line with a
complete refit. From May 1895 until December 1898
Chicago
underwent a complete refit. Two pole masts were retained but the main mast,
bowsprit, as well as sail set were removed. The 8-inch/30 guns were replaced by
8-inch/35 guns. The eight 6-inch/30 and two 5-inch/30 secondary guns were also
removed and replaced by fourteen 5-inch/40 QF guns. The 6-inch/30 of the 1880s
was a poor, slow firing design. Although the new 5-inch guns were listed as
rapid fire (RF) or quick firers (QF), in reality the new 5-inch guns were rather
slow firing themselves. She also received new machinery and had her funnels
considerably heightened. The new machinery almost doubled the power to 9,000ihp
and top speed was raised by 4 knots to 18 knots. A little extra armor was also
worked into the hull. She continued in her role as flagship on foreign stations
first back to Europe and then to
South America
. Reason for flagship status were the spaciousness of her hull and the luxurious
nature of the wardroom, captain’s and admiral’s quarters.
From
1910 to 1917
Chicago
was earmarked for a training ship of the naval reserve for the
Massachusetts
and Pennsylvania Naval Militia. From 1917 to 1923 she was flagship for the USN
submarine force.
Chicago
then went to
Pearl Harbor
, first as a submarine flotilla flagship, and then was made a barracks ship. On
July 16, 1928 the protected cruiser
Chicago
was renamed USS Alton in order to furnish
the name to a new heavy cruiser. She served in this capacity until 1935 and then
it was decided to tow her back to
San Francisco
. As more famed ships would do in the future,
Chicago
decided that she did not want to slowly disappear at a scrap yard. In July 1936
she sank while under tow to the mainland.
The Chicago
and two Atlantas
were the instruments that permitted the USN to train to the new standard of
naval warfare in the age of steel, until newer and better ships were designed.
They also allowed for US designers to cut their teeth in the designs of modern
steel warships and started the designs of unique American origin, that would
come to fruition with the first armored warship of the USN to be completed, the
armored cruiser
New
York
. However, their greatest value was in the realm of industrial capacity. In
spite of the unfortunate fate of the John Roach Shipyard, they also provided the
impetus for forging the industrial infrastructure that allowed the USN to be
truly independent of foreign warship and armament manufacturers and this was
accomplished with extraordinary speed. This happened not a moment too soon
because at the end of the next decade the new American Steel Navy was tried in
its first full test, the Spanish-American War. By then the USS
Chicago would be coming off her first rebuild and would be a
distinctly 2nd class ship. (History
from American Steel Navy,
1972, by John Alden; U.S. Cruisers: An
Illustrated History, 1984, by Norman Friedman)
USS Chicago Vital Statistics
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Dimensions: Length - 342
feet 2 inches (104.29m); Beam - 48 feet 3 inches
(14.70m); Draught - 19 feet mean (5.79m):
Displacement - 4,500 tons (4,864 tons fl) After
Refit - 5,000 tons:
Armament as Built - Four 8-inch/30; Eight
6-inch/30; Two 5-inch/30, Two 6pdr, Two 1pdr
Armament After Refit in 1898 - Four 8-inch/35;
Fourteen 5-inch/40
Armor As Built - Armored
Deck 1 1/2-inches over machinery, 3/4-inch over magazine: Armor
After Refit - As Before but armored deck extended over
steering gear, Conning Tower - 3-inches; Battery - 1-inch;
Bow reinforced for ramming
Machinery as Built - Two shaft vertical engines, 5
boilers, 5,000ihp; Top Speed - 14 knots: Machinery After
Refit - Two shaft Horizontal Triple Expansion (HTE)
engines; six boilers; 9,000ihp; Maximum Speed - 18 knots
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Combrig
Chicago
The Combrig Chicago
represents the cruiser after her 1895 to 1898 refit. Significant alterations
would be required to back date the kit to the as built status. These would
include addition of more substantial fore and mizzen masts, and a further
addition of the main mast and bowsprit removed during the refit. A complete set
of yards would have to be added as the original design contemplated and was
equipped with sail. Another change made during the refit was to land the
obsolete 6-inch/30 secondary gun for 5-inch/40. Fourteen of these weapons
replaced the eight 6-inch and two 5-inch/30 guns so the hull gun placements
would have to be rearranged. The funnels would also have to be shortened to
model the as built
Chicago
.
The
Chicago
as one of the original three cruisers of the new Steel Navy, was a mix of
features but in general reflected
America
’s lack of technology in the 1880s at large steel warship construction. The
design is almost all hull with very little superstructure and of course the Combrig
kit reflects this fact. The hull which measures slightly over 5 ¾-inches
overall is fortunately provided with plenty of detail by Combrig.
The hull has a very high freeboard with a slab sided, slightly tumble home
design. It is definitely a throw-back to the broadside designs of the 1860s. The
slab sides are broken by the two large sponsons for 8-inch guns and forward
enclosed 5-inch sponson. These positions are all smooth graceful curves and
provide an excellent contrast on the tall hull. Another unique feature found on
the hull is the merchant stern with a knuckle slightly above the waterline. Only
the first 5-inch/40 position on each side is in an enclosed sponson jutting from
the hull. The next six 5-inch/40 positions on each side are flush with the hull
sides. Each position is clearly indicated with hinged upper and lower doors on
each position incised in the hull. The doors are shown closed with just the
barrel protruding. Anchor plates are located very low on the bow, close to the
waterline. The hull has a variety of different portholes/windows. At gun deck
level they are portholes within square window ports that could be opened. As
with the 5-inch gun doors, these are portrayed in closed positions. A long row
of the standard circular portholes are on the next deck down. Also at this level
is a third type of port. These are rectangular and hinged at the top, without a
center porthole. A very nice touch are the large rectangular openings in the
forward bulkhead for cating home the anchors. There is a slight film in these
openings but this can easily be removed.
In
common with the Combrig Baltimore
(Click for Review), the Combrig
Chicago
has detail and fittings scattered throughout the deck. It comes as no surprise
that ship’s built during this period had a great number of ventilation
funnels. With the
Chicago
there is a short raised forecastle, which contributes to her old fashioned
appearance. At the stem of the forecastle is a short solid bulkhead slightly set
back from the hull edge. Going down the centerline are 19 assorted coamings,
skylights and deck plates of various natures, although two of these are side by
side and not on centerline. Additionally
there are the stack bases and two small deckhouses. With all of these fittings,
the deck is quite busy. Many of these fittings have very delicate detail such as
access doors, ventilation louvers and skylight windows. If that was not enough
detail, there are six twin bollard plates and 33 locator holes for various
fittings. Four of these are for the 8-inch gun mounts, a couple are for the pole
masts, some are for windlasses but most are for ventilator funnels. Each of the
paired 8-inch guns is under raised deck. The 8-inch guns are trained through
large rectangular openings with bulkheads fore and aft of each opening.
Smaller
Resin Parts
Considering that the
Chicago
is mostly hull with minimal superstructure, there is surprisingly a wide
variety of smaller parts with the kit. There is a small resin film wafer with
additional decking as well as fighting tops. Although the forecastle is cast as
part of the hull casting, there is an even shorter raised quarterdeck on this
wafer. This quarterdeck mounts a solitary QF gun on centerline. The two largest
parts on the wafer are the two butterfly shaped flying decks that lie over the
8-inch gun mounts. The forward flying deck also has a small pilothouse/conning
tower with numerous small vision ports along the upper edge. The front face of
this deck has a solid bulkhead/splinter shield. This is not fabric covered
railing. If you examine the photograph of
Chicago
in early 1889 on page 12 of John Alden’s American
Steel Navy, it is very clear that this is a solid steel splinter shield.
There are two small searchlight platforms that are on supports on each side of
the aft end on the rear flying deck. These present a problem in that this set
does not have photo-etch. The instructions show the searchlight platforms simply
fitting on top of the aft deck. This is wrong. These are decks for search light
towers that were of solid bulkheads, or more likely on lattice-work. These
platforms were added in the 1895 to 1898 refit. The Combrig
line drawing reflects the platforms on lattice-work but A.D. Baker’s drawing
on page 21 of U.S. Cruisers: An
Illustrated History is less clear. This drawing shows
Chicago
in 1918 but the searchlight structures are still there. A photograph on page 18
of the same source, same photo used for Combrig
box top, indicates that there were solid bulkheads here but this could be canvas
dodgers covering latticework. Also, the area appears to be lattice work from the
period postcard of the ship after refit, show in the vital statistics section.
In either case, the modeler will have to add a solid or latticework base to
these platforms. The searchlight platform and top for the foremast are also on
this sheet.
Of all of the
smaller resin parts, my favorites are the four open 8-inch/30 gun mounts. They
are not actually open as they are equipped with the characteristically American
slanted top gun shields. Each gun mount has the base with gun cradle,
multi-banded barrel and splinter shield. Unfortunately they are partially hidden
underneath the flying decks but they are nice nonetheless. You just get the
barrels for the five-inch/40 guns, since they protrude from closed shutters, but
they are well done themselves. Rounding out the armament are eight QF guns with
shields. These are delicate so be careful in removing them from the sprue. There
are two slender tall funnels of unequal height. The shorter of the two is the
fore funnel as it fits into the forward flying bridge. The tops of the funnels
are hollow to about 1/8th of an inch and both feature delicate
aprons. Eight of the resin runners contain parts associated with the boat
fittings. Five of the runners contain the ten ship’s boats, two contain the 26
davits in three sizes and the last has three boat skids that fit over the hull
side bulkheads, aft of the rear flying deck. That’s a total of 39 parts that
add even greater busyness to the already busy deck. Other deck detail parts come
in the form of 14 large ventilator funnels, nine medium ventilator funnels, four
small ventilator funnels, two windlasses, three searchlights, four anchors and a
binnacle. Also included are the multiple piece mast with yards.
As mentioned, the Combrig
Chicago
does not come with photo-etch. However, the model could certainly benefit from
at least a judicial use of photo-etch. First, the searchlight towers need
supplementation. Attaching the searchlight platforms directly to the aft flying
bridge is incorrect. My best guess is that they were on latticework, rather than
solid bulkheads. If your cache of spare photo-etch has some short lattice
towers, great. If not, consider fashioning two from what you do have. There are
six inclined ladders clearly visible on the plan view drawing. They are found in
the following locations: two from main deck to forward flying deck; one from
main deck to aft flying deck; two from aft flying deck to the two searchlight
platforms; and one from the main deck to the quarterdeck. Since these are
prominent positions, their addition will significantly enhance the detail on
your
Chicago
. Although the
Chicago
had solid bulkheads along the deck edge, these solid bulkheads also had awning
stanchions that could be added, as well as railing on the forecastle,
quarterdeck and tops. Lastly, even after the refit
Chicago
still retained ratlines. My understanding is that White Ensign Models does have appropriate photo-etch ratlines.
Instructions
The
Chicago
instructions are in the standard one sheet Combrig
format. The front page has a 1:700 scale plan and profile, that as always in a Combrig
kit, is used to finalize attachment of the different parts. With all of the
locator holes, attachment of almost all of the smaller parts is obvious, the
locations of some parts without locator holes, must be ascertained by reference
to the plan or profile. Another benefit of the drawings is that they provide a
good reference for supplementary photo-etched detail such as inclined ladder
positions. Also on the first page is a short history of the ship in English as
well as the vital statistics. However, the statistics reflect the as built
armament not the armament of the ship as rebuilt in 1898. The rear side of the
instructions has a reduced size photograph of all of the parts as well as the
assembly diagram. There is an inset of the 8-inch gun subassemblies but this is
not really needed. A note also states that the boat arrangement is not shown.
Some of the davits and the three boat skids are shown but the bulk of the 39
parts in this area is not shown. Pay special attention to the plan and profile
drawings for the exact location for these parts. There is a disconnect with the
boats in that the kit provides ten boats, yet the plan shows twelve. Of course
the small davits go with the small boats. The profile drawing will also greatly
help in supplementing the construction of the masts, since ratlines and rigging
is shown. I have already mentioned that the instructions incorrectly show the
attachment of the searchlight platforms directly to the aft flying deck. No, add
the towers.
Verdict
The Combrig 1:700 scale USS
Chicago has excellent resin parts. However, with no photo-etch
parts, there is room for supplementation and significant additional detail
through the addition of photo-etch. The first steel cruisers of the USN were
ordered from the John Roach shipyard and the Combrig
kit gives the modeler the chance to build the biggest Roach Coach of them all.
The USS
Chicago was the largest warship capable of being built in the
United States
in the 1880s. The ship was also the best warship in the growing fleet until
1893. The importance of the protected cruiser Chicago
is not in her battle history but as the starting block of all of USN steel
warship design.
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