USS Severn (1899)

	United States Naval Academy Midshipmen furl sails aboard the ship in her period as Naval Academy training ship 1900–10
History
United States
Name:	USS Chesapeake and USS Severn
Namesake:	The Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia ; The Severn River in Maryland;
Builder:	Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Laid down:	2 August 1898
Launched:	30 June 1899
Sponsored by:	Miss Elise Bradford
Commissioned:	12 April 1900
Decommissioned:	3 October 1916 (final time)
Renamed:	USS Severn, 15 June 1905
Reclassified:	submarine tender 1910
Fate:	Sold 7 December 1916
General characteristics
Type:	Training ship (1900–10); Submarine tender (1910–16);
Displacement:	1,175 long tons (1,194 t)
Length:	224 ft 3 in (68.35 m)
Beam:	37 ft (11 m)
Draft:	16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion:	Sails plus auxiliary steam power
Sail plan:	Three-masted full-rigged ship
Complement:	As training ship:; 113 crew and 122 midshipmen ;
Armament:	6 × 4 inches (100 mm) guns; 4 × 6-pounder guns; 2 × 1-pounder guns;

Last updated May 20, 2019

The third USS Chesapeake and second USS Severn was a three-masted, sheathed, wooden-hulled full-rigged ship with auxiliary steam power in commission in the United States Navy during most of the period between 1900 and 1916.

The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sail, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation light, look-out position, signal yard, control position, radio aerial or signal lamp. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship. Nearly all sailing masts are guyed.

Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, or it is defined more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere such as in the roots of trees or shrubs. In a living tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients between the leaves, other growing tissues, and the roots. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, or wood chips or fiber.

A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. The hull may open at the top, or it may be fully or partially covered with a deck. Atop the deck may be a deckhouse and other superstructures, such as a funnel, derrick, or mast. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.

Construction and commissioning

USS Chesapeake was laid down on 2 August 1898 by Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine. She was launched on 30 June 1899, sponsored by Miss Elise Bradford, and commissioned on 12 April 1900 with Lieutenant Commander C. E. Colahan in command.

Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. BIW has built private, commercial, and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy. The shipyard has built and sometimes designed battleships, frigates, cruisers, and destroyers, including the Arleigh Burke class which are currently among the world's most advanced surface warships.

Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census, and 8,357 as of 2013; the population has had a change of -10.2% since 2000. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its 19th-century architecture. It is home to the Bath Iron Works and Heritage Days Festival, held annually on the Fourth of July weekend. It is commonly known as "The City of Ships". Bath is part of the metropolitan statistical area of Greater Portland.

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military forces. The ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries old naval tradition.

Service history

As Chesapeake

Chesapeake was towed to Annapolis, Maryland, where she assumed duties as station ship and as training ship for midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy. Renamed Severn on 15 June 1905, she decommissioned twice for repair and overhaul, provided facilities for seamanship drills at the Naval Academy and conducted summer cruises off southern New England through 1909.

Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Baltimore and about 30 miles (50 km) east of Washington, D.C., Annapolis is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. Its population was measured at 38,394 by the 2010 census.

A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms.

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy adjacent to Annapolis, Maryland. Established on 10 October 1845, under Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, it is the second oldest of the United States' five service academies, and educates officers for commissioning primarily into the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The 338-acre (137 ha) campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, 33 miles (53 km) east of Washington, D.C. and 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis.

As Severn

On 15 February 1910, Severn was ordered refitted as a submarine tender. On completion of that work in mid-May 1910, she reported for duty with the 3rd Submarine Division. Until 1913, she performed submarine tender duties off New England during the summer and in the Chesapeake Bay during the winter, her movements being accomplished under tow. She was decommissioned a third time for overhaul after summer maneuvers in 1913.

A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines.

Chesapeake Bay An estuary in the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia

The Chesapeake Bay is an estuary in the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula with its mouth located between Cape Henry and Cape Charles. With its northern portion in Maryland and the southern part in Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay is a very important feature for the ecology and economy of those two states, as well as others. More than 150 major rivers and streams flow into the Bay's 64,299-square-mile (166,534 km²) drainage basin, which covers parts of six states and all of Washington, D.C.

Severn was recommissioned on 15 November 1913 and transferred to the Panama Canal Zone. She arrived at Coco Solo, Panama, on 12 December 1913 and served as tender to the 1st Submarine Division until July 1916.

The Panama Canal Zone was an unincorporated territory of the United States from 1903 to 1979, centered on the Panama Canal and surrounded by the Republic of Panama. The zone consisted of the canal and an area generally extending five miles (8.0 km) on each side of the centerline, excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of the Zone. Its border spanned three of Panama's provinces. When reservoirs were created to assure a steady supply of water for the locks, those lakes were included within the Zone.

Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s. It was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on the Atlantic Ocean (northwest) side of the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama. Five C-class submarines were based there during 1914–1919.

Severn was ordered back to the United States in July 1916. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, under tow by collier Nereus, on 1 August 1916.

Norfolk, Virginia Independent city in Virginia, United States

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 242,803; in 2017, the population was estimated to be 244,703 making it the second-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Beach.

A collier is a bulk cargo ship designed to carry coal, especially for naval use by coal-fired warships.

USS Nereus (AC-10) was one of four Proteus-class colliers built for the United States Navy before World War I. Named for Nereus, an aquatic deity from Greek mythology, she was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. Nereus was laid down on 4 December 1911, and launched on 26 April 1913 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia, and commissioned on 10 September 1913.

Final decommissioning and disposal

Severn was decommissioned for the last time on 3 October 1916. She was sold to F. G. McDonald of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, on 7 December 1916.

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References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

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