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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Online Library of Selected Images
Spanish American War:
U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
Battleships, Armored Cruisers and Monitors

Battleships:

Battleships were large warships, armed with two or four very powerful heavy guns, plus numerous faster-firing smaller ones. They were heavily armored, in keeping with their main mission of fighting other battleships. Five U.S. Navy battleships were active in the Spanish-American War:

• USS Texas
• USS Indiana
• USS Massachusetts
• USS Oregon
• USS Iowa

Armored Cruisers:

Armored cruisers were second in rank to battleships--also large, but with less powerful main battery guns and lighter, though still substantial, armor. In keeping with the cruiser role, they were faster than battleships, with a long steaming range. Two U.S. Navy armored cruisers served in the war:

• USS New York
• USS Brooklyn

Monitors:

Modern monitors of the 1890s had heavy guns, but were smaller than battleships and had low freeboard and modest speed. They were not capable of effective operations on the high seas, though attempts were made to use them for this purpose. In 1898, the Navy also placed a number of old Civil-War-era monitors in service for the defense of the U.S. coast.

• Modern U.S. Navy Monitors
• Older U.S. Navy Monitors

If better quality reproductions than these digital images are desired, follow this link to "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

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18 February 1998