USS Iris (1885)

Last updated

USS Iris NH92201.jpg
USS Iris off the coast of Guaymas, Mexico, 1915.
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Iris
Namesake Iris
Builder A. Leslie and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Launched1885
Acquired25 May 1898
Commissioned1 August 1898
Decommissioned2 May 1916
FateTransferred to the United States Shipping Board, 3 May 1917
General characteristics
Type Screw steamer
Displacement1,923 long tons (1,954 t)
Length321 ft (98 m)
Beam39 ft (12 m)
Draft24 ft (7.3 m)
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement124
ArmamentNone

USS Iris was a ship of the United States Navy which served in the Pacific in a variety of roles from 1899 until 1916. Originally fitted out as a distilling ship, she served as a general utility ship, then as a collier, before being refitted as a torpedo boat tender.

Contents

Service history

The ship was built in 1885 by A. Leslie and Company, Newcastle, England, and was purchased by the United States Navy from the Miami Steamship Co. on 25 May 1898 for service in the Spanish–American War. However, reconditioning and conversion to a water distilling ship was not completed until after the end of active operations against Spain. Iris was commissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard on 1 August 1898. [1]

The ship departed Norfolk on 31 August and arrived at Montauk Point, New York on 5 September. She departed New York Harbor on 14 October for the Philippine Islands, arriving at Manila on 18 March 1899. She acted as a general utility ship for the Asiatic Squadron in the Philippines during the occupation of the islands and during the subsequent insurrection. [1] Crewmembers serving on Iris during any of the periods 18 March to 16 November 1899; 14 December 1899 to 16 January 1900; 31 May to 21 June 1900; 1 August 1900 to 27 April 1901 or 18 July 1901 to 4 July 1902 qualified for award of the Philippine Campaign Medal. [2]

Iris was decommissioned for repairs at Hong Kong on 31 January 1900, and resumed duty in May [1] under the command of Lieutenant Dudley Wright Knox USN through June 1901. [3] During this time, Iris returned to duty in the Philippines during the insurrection and also served in the Boxer Rebellion. Crewmembers serving on her between 29 June to 24 July 1900 qualified for award of the China Relief Expedition Medal. [4]

Iris sailed for home in late 1903, arriving at San Francisco on 13 November and decommissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard on 18 December. She was overhauled there and was placed in service as a collier for the Asiatic Squadron. For the next five years, she fueled United States vessels in the Orient. [1]

She departed Manila on 20 May 1909 for San Francisco where she was converted to a torpedo boat tender. She was placed out of service on 15 October and recommissioned the same day. During the following years she served as parent ship for the Pacific Torpedo Fleet operating off the West Coast of the United States. [1]

Iris at anchor with four submarines alongside, 1913-16. An armored cruiser is in the background. USS Iris NH65153.jpg
Iris at anchor with four submarines alongside, 1913–16. An armored cruiser is in the background.

In late April 1914, under the command of Lieutenant Allen B. Reed, [5] Iris along with five torpedo boats from the Pacific Fleet Torpedo Flotilla, were ordered to the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez following the Tampico Affair. [6] They patrolled the vicinity of La Paz and Mazatlan, Mexico, during the ongoing civil unrest there. [7] [8] During May and June 1914, Iris evacuated American citizen refugees from Mazatlan and Acapulco, including the American consul, Hon. Clement S. Edwards. On 19 June, Iris departed Mazatlan for La Paz, Mexico. [9] Iris departed La Paz for San Diego on 28 August. [10] After arriving back to San Diego, Iris spent the next few months on regular patrol duty with the torpedo ships in her squadron, primarily operating off the coast of California between San Pedro and San Diego. [11] [12] Crewmembers serving on Iris during the period 29 April to 20 May 1914 or 4 to 12 June 1914 qualified for award of the Mexican Service Medal. [13]

In late 1915 disorder in Mexico again threatened American citizens and interests.[ citation needed ]Iris arrived Topolobampo, Mexico on 9 December to begin patrol duty on the Mexican coast. She remained in the area ready to act in the event of any emergency until departing La Paz on 30 January 1916. She arrived back at San Diego, California, on 4 February and began duty towing targets off southern California. [1]

Two months later Iris was ordered to San Francisco. After arriving on 16 April, she was decommissioned at Mare Island on 2 May 1916. Iris was transferred to the United States Shipping Board on 3 May 1917. [1]

Campaigns

Philippine Campaign Medal ribbon.svg China Campaign Medal ribbon.svg Mexican Service Medal ribbon.svg
Philippine Campaign Medal China Relief Expedition Medal Mexican Service Medal

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Wyoming</i> (BM-10) US Navy monitor

USS Wyoming was the second ship of the United States Navy to bear that name, but the first to bear it in honor of the 44th state. The first Wyoming was named for Wyoming Valley in eastern Pennsylvania.

USS <i>Buffalo</i> (1893) Tender of the United States Navy

The second USS Buffalo was an auxiliary cruiser of the United States Navy, and later a destroyer tender.

USS <i>Washington</i> (ACR-11)

The seventh USS Washington (ACR-11/CA-11/IX-39), also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 11", and later renamed Seattle and reclassified CA-11 and IX-39, was a United States Navy Tennessee-class armored cruiser. She was laid down on 23 September 1903 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, launched on 18 March 1905, sponsored by Miss Helen Stewart Wilson, daughter of United States Senator John L. Wilson of Washington state, and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 7 August 1906, Captain James D. Adams in command.

USS <i>Dolphin</i> (PG-24) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Dolphin (PG-24) was a gunboat/dispatch vessel; the fourth ship of the United States Navy to share the name. Dolphin's keel was laid down by Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works of Chester, Pennsylvania. She was launched on 12 April 1884, with Captain George Dewey in command, and commissioned on 8 December 1885 with Captain R. W. Meade in command. Dolphin was the first Navy ship to fly the flag of the president of the United States during President Chester A. Arthur's administration, and the second Navy ship to serve as a presidential yacht.

USS <i>Raleigh</i> (C-8) Cincinnati class cruiser

USS Raleigh (C-8) was a United States Navy protected cruiser of the Cincinnati class, commissioned in 1894 and in periodic service until 1919.

USS <i>Sacramento</i> (PG-19) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The second USS Sacramento (PG-19) was a gunboat in the United States Navy.

USS <i>Hopkins</i> (DD-6) Hopkins-class destroyer

USS Hopkins (DD-6) was a Hopkins-class destroyer, which was a sub-class of the Bainbridge-class destroyer, in the United States Navy. She was the first of three Navy vessels named in honor of Commodore of the Continental Navy Esek Hopkins.

USS <i>Denver</i> (CL-16) Denver-class cruiser

USS Denver (C-14/PG-28/CL-16) was the lead ship of her class of protected cruisers in the United States Navy. She was the first Navy ship named for the city of Denver, the capital of Colorado.

USS <i>Marblehead</i> (C-11) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The second USS Marblehead (C-11/PG-27) was a Montgomery-class unprotected cruiser in the United States Navy, authorized in the naval appropriations bill of September 7, 1888. Marblehead served in the Spanish–American War and World War I, and was the last ship of her class in service.

USS <i>Yorktown</i> (PG-1) PG-1, Yorktown-class gunboat

USS Yorktown was lead ship of her class of steel-hulled, twin-screw gunboats in the United States Navy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was the second U.S. Navy ship named in honor of the American Revolutionary War's Battle of Yorktown.

USS <i>Fox</i> (DD-234) Clemson-class destroyer

USS Fox (DD-234/AG-85) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the fourth ship named for Gustavus Vasa Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the Civil War.

USS <i>Milwaukee</i> (C-21) St. Louis-class cruiser

The second USS Milwaukee (C-21) was a St. Louis-class protected cruiser in the United States Navy. Entering service in 1906, Milwaukee was deployed to the Pacific Ocean. On 13 January 1917, while aiding a grounded submarine, the cruiser grounded herself. The ship was decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1919.

USS <i>Saturn</i> (AG-4) Collier of the United States Navy

The first USS Saturn (AG-4) was an iron collier in the United States Navy.

USNS <i>Salvor</i> Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship

USNS Salvor (T-ARS-52) is a Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship, the second United States Navy ship of that name.

USS <i>Machias</i> (PG-5) United States schooner-rigged gunboat

The first USS Machias (PG-5), a schooner-rigged gunboat, was laid down in February 1891 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine. She was launched on 8 December 1891. She was sponsored by Miss Ethel Hyde, daughter of President Hyde of Bath Iron Works and commissioned at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, 20 July 1893, Commander Charles J. Train in command.

USS <i>Robin</i> (AM-3) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Robin (AM-3) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS <i>Ortolan</i> (AM-45) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

The first USS Ortolan(AM-45/ASR-5) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper in the United States Navy. She was later converted to a submarine rescue ship. She was named after the ortolan, a European bunting.

USS <i>Oceanographer</i> (AGS-3) Survey ship of the United States Navy

USS Oceanographer (AGS-3) was a survey ship of the United States Navy during World War II that produced charts chiefly of passages in the Solomon Islands area of the Pacific Ocean. Upon transfer to the Navy, she had initially briefly been named and classed as gunboat USS Natchez (PG-85). Before her World War II Navy service, she had been USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS-26), a survey ship with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1930.

USNS <i>Marine Adder</i>

USNS Marine Adder (T-AP–193) was a troop ship for the United States Navy in the 1950s. She was built in 1945 for the United States Maritime Commission as SS Marine Adder, a Type C4-S-A3 troop ship, by the Kaiser Company during World War II. In 1950, the ship was transferred to the Military Sea Transport Service of the U.S. Navy as a United States Naval Ship staffed by a civilian crew. After ending her naval service in 1957, she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet, but was sold for commercial use in 1967. She was used in part to carry supplies to support the Vietnam War efforts. During the summer of ‘72 while in Da Nang harbor, South Vietnam a limpet mine was attached to the hull by a swimmer. The mine blew a hole in the hull. In order to save the ship the Skipper ran it aground in Da Nang harbor. The USS Navy standby salvage ship USS Grasp with its crew of divers installed a box patch over the hole and pumped the water from the bilges, before moving the ship to a pier. US Army tanks hung from ship booms to heel the ship so that a metal patch could be welded in place to return the ship to duty. SS Transcolorado, she was chartered by the Military Sealift Command as a civilian cargo ship designated T-AK-2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen B. Reed</span> US Navy officer (1884–1965)

Captain Allen Bevins Reed was a U.S. Naval officer whose career began aboard vessels in the Asiatic and Pacific Fleets. Early in his career he was Captain Takeshita Isamu's escort during a ceremonial visit to the mayor of San Francisco, and he was a member of a Naval Board of Inquiry. Reed assumed the command of a landing force of 120 men in Nicaragua in 1912, to protect a railway line following a coup d'état attempt by General Luis Mena.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "USS Iris". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "USN Philippine Campaign Medal". Naval History & Heritage Command. 1998. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Biography - Commodore Dudley Wright Knox, U.S Navy". Naval History & Heritage Command. 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "USN China Relief Expedition Medal". Naval History & Heritage Command. 1998. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "Register of the commissioned and warrant officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and reserve officers on active duty". United States Bureau of Naval Personnel. January 1915. p. 274.
  6. ↑ "71 U.S. Warships surround Mexico". El Paso Herald . 4 May 1914. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "A letter from Old Mexico". Marysville Globe . 15 May 1914. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  8. ↑ The Ogden Standard, 18 May 1914, p. 12
  9. ↑ "Movement of Vessels". The Washington Times . 20 June 1914. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  10. ↑ "Movement of Vessels". The Washington Times . 31 August 1914. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "Movement of Vessels". The Washington Times . 3 December 1914. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  12. ↑ "Movement of Vessels". The Washington Times . 6 May 1915. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  13. ↑ "Mexican Service Medal". Naval History & Heritage Command. 1998. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.