Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet , dt .: Great White Fleet , was a federation of 16 battleships of the Atlantic Fleet of the US Navy , at the initiative of President Theodore Roosevelt about driving on 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 to once around the world. The fleet was so named because the hulls - except for gold decorations on the bow - were painted white. Only later was the term extended to the entire Atlantic fleet.
The fleet intended to demonstrate American naval power was impressive, but technically outdated. With the launch of the HMS Dreadnought on February 10, 1906, the prototype of the next generation of combat ships, the capital ship , was already in service, and the first American dreadnought ship, the USS South Carolina , was just being equipped. The fleet's two oldest ships, the USS Kearsarge and the USS Kentucky , were obsolete and inoperable, and two other liners, the USS Maine and the USS Alabama , had to be replaced in San Francisco due to technical difficulties.
The next orbit of the world by US Navy ships took place in 1964, when the three nuclear-powered ships Enterprise , Long Beach and Bainbridge orbited the world in 58 days as part of Operation Sea Orbit .
First leg (from Hampton Roads to San Francisco, 14,556 nautical miles)
With the USS Connecticut in command of Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans as its flagship , the fleet set sail from Hampton Roads , Virginia , for Trinidad on December 16, 1907 . The next stops were: Rio de Janeiro ( Brazil ), Sandy Point ( Chile ), Callao ( Peru ) and Magdalena Bay ( Mexico ). From Mexico she drove up the west coast of North America to San Francisco , where she arrived on May 6, 1908. During this first leg of her voyage, she was accompanied by a torpedo flotilla consisting of six destroyers and several auxiliary ships. The destroyers and their tender did not travel in a convoy with the liners, but on their own route to San Francisco.
After the arrival of the fleet off the west coast, the supply ship USS Glacier left the association; it later became the supply ship of the Pacific Fleet . The USS Nebraska (Captain Reginald F. Nicholson) and the USS Wisconsin (Captain Frank E. Beatty) were added to replace the former ships USS Maine and USS Alabama . Admiral Evans was relieved of his command and replaced by Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry because of his poor health, which prevented him from continuing his journey .
Route
| port | Arrivals | Departure | Distance to the nearest port |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton Roads , Virginia | December 16, 1907 | 1803 nautical miles | |
| Port of Spain , Trinidad | December 23, 1907 | December 29, 1907 | 3399 nautical miles |
| Rio de Janeiro , Brazil | January 12, 1908 | January 21, 1908 | 2374 nautical miles |
| Punta Arenas , Chile | February 1, 1908 | February 7, 1908 | 2838 nautical miles |
| Callao , Peru | February 20, 1908 | February 29, 1908 | 3010 nautical miles |
| Magdalena Bay , Mexico | March 12, 1908 | April 11, 1908 | 1132 nautical miles |
| San Francisco , California | May 6, 1908 |
Ships
The fleet
| 1st Squadron Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans |
|
|---|---|
| 1st Division Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans |
2nd Division Rear Admiral William H. Emory |
|
USS Connecticut (BB-18) , flagship of the fleet Captain Hugo Osterhaus |
USS Georgia (BB-15) , flagship of the Division Capt.Henry McCrea |
|
USS Kansas (BB-21) Capt. Charles E. Vreeland |
USS New Jersey (BB-16) Capt.William HH Southerland |
|
USS Vermont (BB-20) Captain William P. Potter |
USS Rhode Island (BB-17) Capt.Joseph B. Murdock |
|
USS Louisiana (BB-19) Capt. Richard Wainwright |
USS Virginia (BB-13) Capt.Seaton Schroeder |
| 2nd Squadron Rear Admiral Charles M. Thomas |
|
|---|---|
| 3rd Division Rear Admiral Charles M. Thomas |
4th Division Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry |
|
USS Minnesota (BB-22) , flagship of the squadron Capt.John Hubbard |
USS Alabama (BB-8) , flagship of the Division Capt.Ten Eyck De Witt Veeder |
|
USS Maine (BB-10) Capt. Giles B. Harber |
USS Illinois (BB-7) Capt.John M. Bowyer |
|
USS Missouri (BB-11) Capt. Greenlief A. Merriam |
USS Kearsarge (BB-5) Captain Hamilton Hutchins |
|
USS Ohio (BB-12) Capt.Charles W. Bartlett |
USS Kentucky (BB-6) Captain Walter C. Cowles |
The auxiliary ships
USS Culgoa , a supply ship (Lieutenant Commander John B. Patton), USS Glacier , a supply ship (Commander William S. Hogg), USS Panther , a repair ship (Commander Valentine S. Nelson), USS Yankton , a tender (Lieutenant Walter R. Gherardi) and the USS Relief , a hospital ship.
The destroyers' “torpedo flotilla”
USS Hopkins (Lieutenant Alfred G. Howe), USS Stewart (Lieutenant Julius F. Hellweg), USS Hull (Lieutenant Frank McCommon), USS Truxton (Lieutenant Charles S. Kerrick), USS Lawrence (Lieutenant Ernest Friedrick), USS Whipple (Lieutenant Hutch I. Cone) and the USS Arethusa (Commander Albert W. Grant) as tenders.
Third stage (from San Francisco to Manila, 16,336 nautical miles)
After the fleet left San Francisco on July 7, 1908, it called Honolulu in Hawaii and then turned via Oceania to Asia: Auckland (New Zealand), Sydney , Melbourne and Albany (Australia), Manila (Philippines), Yokohama ( Japan) Colombo (Ceylon) and arrived in Suez, Egypt on January 3, 1909.
Route
| port | Arrivals | Departure | Distance to the nearest port |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco , California | July 7, 1908 | 2126 nautical miles | |
| Honolulu , Hawaii | July 16, 1908 | July 22, 1908 | 3870 nautical miles |
| Auckland , New Zealand | August 9, 1908 | August 15, 1908 | 1307 nautical miles |
| Sydney , Australia | August 20, 1908 | August 28, 1908 | 601 nautical miles |
| Melbourne , Australia | August 29, 1908 | September 5, 1908 | 1368 nautical miles |
| Albany , Australia | September 11, 1908 | September 18, 1908 | 3458 nautical miles |
| Manila , Philippines | October 2, 1908 | October 9, 1908 | 1795 nautical miles |
| Yokohama , Japan | October 18, 1908 | October 25, 1908 | 1811 nautical miles |
|
Amoy , China (2nd Squadron) |
October 29, 1908 | 5th November 1908 | |
| Manila, Philippines (1st Squadron) |
October 31, 1908 | ||
| Manila, Philippines (2nd Squadron) |
November 7, 1908 |
Fourth leg (Manila to Hampton Roads, 12,455 nautical miles)
Route
| port | Arrivals | Departure | Distance to the nearest port |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manila , Philippines | December 11, 1908 | 2985 nautical miles | |
| Colombo , Ceylon | December 13, 1908 | December 20, 1908 | 3448 nautical miles |
| Suez , Egypt | January 3, 1909 | January 4 to January 6, 1909 | 2443 nautical miles |
| Gibraltar | January 31 to February 1, 1909 | February 6, 1909 | 3579 nautical miles |
| Hampton Roads , Virginia | February 22, 1909 |
literature
- Robert A. Hart: The Great White Fleet: Its Voyage Around the World, 1907-1909. Little, Brown, New York 1965
- Robert D. Jones: With the American Fleet from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Harrison Publishing, Seattle WA 1908 (contains full crew lists for each ship)
- Franklin Matthews: With the Battle Fleet: Cruise of the Sixteen Battleships of the United States Atlantic Fleet from Hampton Roads to the Golden Gate, December 1907 – May 1908. BW Huebsch, New York 1908
- Franklin Matthews: Back to Hampton Roads: Cruise of the US Atlantic Fleet from San Francisco to Hampton Roads, July 7, 1908 - February 22, 1909. BW Huebsch, New York 1909
- James R. Reckner: Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1988, ISBN 0-87021-697-X (Paperback: Bluejacket Books, 2001, ISBN 1-55750-972-7 )
- US Navy Department: Information Relative to the Voyage of the United States Atlantic Fleet Around the World, December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909. United States Government Printing Office, Washington DC 1910 (Provides detailed route descriptions for each ship)
- Kenneth Wimmel: Theodore Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet: American Sea Power Comes of Age. Brassey's, London / Washington DC 1998, ISBN 1-57488-153-1 (paperback edition ibid., 2000, ISBN 1-57488-239-2 )
Web links
- The Great White Fleet; A collection of postcards, photographs, and memorabilia , by William Stewart; contains an extensive collection of historical postcards and photos
- History of GWF (English)