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USS ''Olympia'' (C-6/CA-15/CL-15/IX-40) is a protected cruiser that saw service in the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. This vessel became famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War in 1898. The ship was decommissioned after returning to the U.S. in 1899, but was returned to active service in 1902. She served until World War I as a training ship for naval cadets and as a floating barracks in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1917, she was mobilized again for war service, patrolling the American coast and escorting transport ships. After World War I, ''Olympia'' participated in the 1919 Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War and conducted cruises in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas to promote peace in the unstable Balkan countries. In 1921, the ship carried the remains of World War I's Unknown Soldier from France to Washington, D.C., where his body was interred in Arlington National Cemetery. ''Olympia'' was decommissioned for the last time in December 1922 and placed in reserve. In 1957, the U.S. Navy ceded title to the Cruiser ''Olympia'' Association, which restored the ship to her 1898 configuration. Since then, ''Olympia'' has been a museum ship in Philadelphia, where it is now part of the Independence Seaport Museum. ''Olympia'' is the oldest steel US warship still afloat. However, the Museum has been unable to fund essential maintenance for the aging vessel and attempts to secure outside funding have failed. Therefore, the current steward, under direction of the U.S. Navy, has put the ship up for availability to new stewards. It will take an estimated ten million dollars to restore ''Olympia'' to a stable condition. ''Olympia'' was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. , ''Olympia''s future was uncertain; repairs are desperately needed to keep her afloat. Two entities – one based on San Francisco and one in Port Royal, South Carolina (with four others, including one in Philadelphia and one in Washington, D.C. having dropped out) – are vying to serve as a new steward, but it is a race against time due to the waterline deterioration of the hull. While the current entities remain in competition for the ship, no significant repairs have been made, although the current steward has done some minor repairs. In reaction to this gap in coverage, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) has set up a fund repository that, if funds are raised, will be directly applied to immediate repairs of the vessel with the cooperation of the current steward. As of March 2012, the NTHP is considering a triple application by the Naval Historical Foundation, the Historic Naval Ships Association, and the National Maritime Association to have ''Olympia'' placed on the NTHP's list of the eleven most endangered "places". The steward applicants from San Francisco (Mare Island), and Beaufort, South Carolina, have endorsed the application. Despite these positive steps, ''Olympia'' is in critical danger due to the lack of funds. Since 2011, Independence Seaport Museum has renewed its commitment to the continued preservation of the cruiser ''Olympia'' until the Transfer Application Process reaches its conclusion in summer 2014. The museum has invested in extensive stabilization measures including reinforcing the most deteriorated areas of the hull, expanding the alarm system, installing a network of bilge pumping stand pipes (which will provide greater damage control capability in the unlikely event of a hull breach), extensive deck patching and extensive repair and recoating of the ship’s rigging. Although still in need of dry docking and substantial restoration, the ''Olympia'' is in a more stable condition now than it has been for years. This work was made possible by donations from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The U.S. Cruiser Sailors Association and many individual donors. Of the six candidates that originally applied for stewardship of ''Olympia'', only two remained as of 2013: an organization in California and an organization in South Carolina. In April, 2014 Independence Seaport Museum announced that neither of the two remaining organizations had presented a viable, long-term solution and that the ship would remain in Philadelphia and that the Seaport Museum would be launching a national fundraising campaign for her preservation. ==Background== When the first Cleveland Administration came to power in 1885, United States Secretary of the Navy William Collins Whitney continued the naval modernization program started during the preceding Arthur Administration. US naval policy at the time was focused on commerce raiding, which implied a defensive posture on the part of the United States.〔Friedman (1984), p. 22–23〕 In 1887, Whitney authorized the construction of two coastal defense battleships, that were to become and .〔Friedman (1985), p. 23〕 The emphasis was still on large and fast commerce-raiding cruisers, capable of destroying an attacking fleet's supply line. President Grover Cleveland was defeated in the election of 1888, but before he left office, Whitney managed to have Congress authorize two additional cruisers, one of which was the large, protected cruiser that was to become ''Olympia''.〔Friedman (1984), p. 27〕 Starting in 1887, the new Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Tracy, began to rethink naval policy. Although Tracy allowed the design and construction of ''Olympia'' to continue, he was a follower of Alfred Thayer Mahan. As such, Tracy advocated a battle fleet capable of engaging enemy fleets in their home waters.〔 This meant a shift away from large, fast, commerce-raiding cruisers. As a result, ''Olympia'', which would probably have been the first in a class of ships, was the only one of her type built.〔Friedman (1984) p. 29〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Olympia (C-6)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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