U.S.S. Scipio (1880)

U.S.S. Scipio (1880)
Hull Number:	None
Builder:	William Denny & Brothers
Purchased:	5 May, 1898
Launched:	12 Mar, 1880
Stricken:	15 Jun, 1899
Sold:	28 Dec, 1899

U.S.S. Scipio was a iron-hulled collier purchased by the U.S. Navy during the Spanish-American War after being salvaged. Never commissioned, her unusual history is worth recounting nonetheless.

History

Built by William Denny & Brothers as the Ravenna and launched on 12 March, 1880. She was found abandoned off Cuba by George P. Walford, who salvaged her and then sold her to the Navy on 5 May 1898. She was tranferred to the New York Navy Yard for conversion to a collier, but her material condition was so poor she was placed "in ordinary" on 23 May, and the conversion was cancelled outright on 20 June after an alternate plan to convert her to a coal barge for duty at Newport, Rhode Island, was found to be too expensive.

Idle for almost a year, Scipio was stricken on 15 June, 1899 and sold on 28 December back into mercantile service, being purchased by Ludwig Rubelli of Philadelphia. Retaining the name Scipio in civilian service, she was transferred to Italian registry in 1900, but her poor condition resulted in her destruction by fire on 3 January, 1902 while en route from Cartagena to Antwerp.

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

• Commander John P. Merrell, 28 May, 1898

Armament

• nil

See Also

• Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Silverstone, Paul H. (2006). The U.S. Navy Warship Series: The New Navy 1883-1922. New York: Routledge.

Collier U.S.S. Scipio