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USS ''Yorktown'' (Gunboat No. 1/PG-1) 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. ''Yorktown'' was laid down by William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia in May 1887 and launched in April 1888. She was just over long and abeam, and displaced . She was equipped with two steam engines which were supplemented with three schooner-rigged masts. The ship's main battery consisted of six guns and was augmented by an assortment of smaller-caliber guns. At launch, ''Yorktown'' joined the Squadron of Evolution of "New Navy" steel-hulled ships. Detached from that squadron, ''Yorktown'', under the command of Robley D. Evans, sailed to Valparaíso, Chile, during the 1891 ''Baltimore'' Crisis and relieved at that port. After that situation was resolved, ''Yorktown'' took part in the joint British–American sealing patrol in Alaskan waters and duty on the Asiatic Station before returning to the United States in 1898. ''Yorktown'' was out of commission during the Spanish–American War, but took part in actions in the Philippine–American War and the Boxer Rebellion in 1899 and 1900, respectively, after she had been recommissioned. After three years out of commission from 1903 to 1906, ''Yorktown'' hosted the Secretary of the Navy on board when he greeted the Great White Fleet on its arrival in San Francisco in May 1908. Over the next five years, most of ''Yorktown''s time was spent in sealing patrols in Alaska and duty in Latin American ports. From July 1912, ''Yorktown'' was out of commission for alterations, but resumed duties off the Mexican, Nicaraguan, and Honduran coasts beginning in April 1913. Through World War I, ''Yorktown'' continued in the same role, until she departed for the East Coast of the United States in April 1918. She served an escort for one convoy headed to Halifax in August, and remained in coastal escort duties in the east until January 1919. After arrival at San Diego in February, she was decommissioned for the final time in June 1919; she was sold in 1921 to an Oakland, California, firm and broken up that same year. == Design and construction == The ''Yorktown'' class gunboats—unofficially considered third-class cruisers—were the product of a United States Navy design attempt to produce compact ships with good seakeeping abilities and, yet, able to carry a heavy battery. ''Yorktown'' was authorized in the 1886 fiscal year, and the contract for her construction was awarded to the William Cramp and Sons shipyard of Philadelphia. The hull for ''Yorktown'' was designed by the Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair while the mechanical design was left to the Cramp yard.〔 ''Yorktown''s keel was laid on 14 May 1887.〔 The ship was launched on 28 April 1888 and sponsored by Mary Cameron, the daughter of U.S. Senator Don Cameron of Pennsylvania.〔 The dynamite-gun cruiser was launched a few minutes after ''Yorktown'' in the same ceremony. According to a news account, 25 United States Senators, 180 Congressmen, the Secretary of the Navy William Collins Whitney, and the governors of six states attended the dual ceremony, many arriving from Washington, D.C., via the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's passenger steamer . By 19 March 1889, Cramp had completed ''Yorktown'' and was prepared to turn her over to the Navy. 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 Yorktown (PG-1)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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