USS Chicago (1885)

The first USS Chicago (later CA-14) was a protected cruiser of the United States Navy, the largest of the original three authorized by Congress for the "New Navy" and one of the U.S. Navy's first four steel ships.

Design

Chicago was ordered as one of the "ABCD" ships, the others being the protected cruisers USS Atlanta and USS Boston and the dispatch vessel USS Dolphin. These were the Navy's first steel-hulled ships, and their ordering is generally taken to mark the beginning of the "New Navy."

Chicago was built with a displacement of 4,500 long tons (4,572 t) at an overall length of 342 ft 2 in (104.29 m) and 325 ft (99 m) at the perpendiculars. Her beam was 48 ft 3 in (14.71 m) with a draft of 19 ft (5.8 m). She had fourteen 100-psi boilers that powered two compound overhead beam steam engines, producing a total of 5,084 ihp (3,791 kW) to turn her two screws and achieve a speed of 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h). Chicago was capable of carrying 830 short tons (750 t) of coal. Like the other "ABCD" ships, Chicago — rigged as a bark — was built with a sail rig to increase her cruising range.

Chicago's original armament consisted of four 8-inch (203 mm)/30 caliber Mark 2 guns, eight 6-inch (152 mm)/30 caliber Mark 2 guns, two 5-inch (127 mm)/31 caliber Mark 1 guns, two 6-pounder 57 mm (2.24 in) guns, four 3-pounder 47 mm (1.85 in) guns, two 1-pounder 37 mm (1.46 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon, and two .45 caliber (11.4 mm) Gatling guns.

She had 4 in (100 mm) of armor on her gun shields, 1.5 in (38 mm) on her deck, and 3 in (76 mm) on her conning tower.

Construction and commissioning

All four "ABCD" ships were ordered from the same shipyard, John Roach & Sons of Chester, Pennsylvania.