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Gunboat Photo Archive

Elcano (PG-38)



Call sign (1920):
George - Quack - King - Mike

ex-Gunboat No. 38



Call sign (1912):
Nan - Fox - Easy
Patrol Gunboat:

  • Laid down 3 March 1882 by Carraca Arsenal, Cadiz, Spain
  • Launched 28 January 1884
  • Captured by the U.S. Army at Manila, Philippines 1 May 1898
  • Turned over to the Navy 9 November 1898
  • Outfitted at Cavite Naval Yard, Philippines
  • Commissioned USS Elcano, Gunboat No. 38, 20 November 1902
  • Decommissioned 1 November 1907
  • Recommissioned 5 December 1910
  • Decommissioned
  • Recommissioned 11 July 1911
  • Designated PG-38, 17 July 1920
  • Decommissioned 30 June 1928
  • Sunk as a target 4 October 1928.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 620 t
  • Length 165' 6"
  • Length between perpendiculars 157" 11"
  • Beam 26'
  • Draft 10'
  • Speed 11 kts.
  • Complement 101
    1914 - 103
    1921 - 99
  • Armament: Four 4" mounts and four 6-pounders
    1905 - Four 4" rapid fire guns, four rapid fire 6-pounders, two .30 cal. Colt machine guns and one 3" field gun
    1911 - Four 4"/40 rapid fire mounts
    1914 - Four 4"/40 rapid fire mounts and four 3-pounder rapid fire mounts
    1918 - Four 4"/50 mounts and four 3-pounders
  • Propulsion: Two single ended Scotch boilers, two 300ihp vertical compound engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Elcano
    120903812    		 52k RPPC of Elcano anchored in a unknown location, probably Chinese waters. Postmarked at Shanghai 15 August 1912, the postcard's message partially reads: "I find her a neat little ship, not much work to do." Dave Wright
    Elcano 52k U.S. Navy photo
    Elcano 111k Somewhere in China
    Courtesy U.S. Warships of World War I    		 Mike Green
    Elcano 111k At anchor off Hangchow, China.
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo from "Gunboats and Marines: The United States in China, 1925-1928" by Bernard D. Cole    		 Robert Hurst
    Elcano 280k At Cavite Navy Yard, Philippine Island circa 1900, before being refitted for the U.S. Navy
    Courtesy of LCDR John E. Lewis, 1945
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 54353    		 Mike Green
    Elcano 173k In the Dewey Drydock, Olongapo Naval Station, Philippines, circa 1910. The submarine Shark (SS 8) is off her starboard bow
    Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1978
    U.S. Navy photo NH 86963    		 Naval Historical Center
    Elcano
    120903813    		 74k RPPC of Elcano moored off Cavite Navy Yard, circa 1915. The hulk of Mohican is visible serving as receiving ship. Dave Wright
    Elcano 152k In dry dock, probably at her base at Shanghai, while part of the Yangtze River Patrol, circa 1917
    Courtesy of Arthur B. Furnas, Corte Madera, California, 1969
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 69695    		 Mike Green
    Elcano 166k During the Christmas season, circa December 1917, while on the Yangtze River Patrol
    Courtesy of Arthur B. Furnas, Corte Madera, California, 1969
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 69697
    Isabel 94k Hangchow, China. Some of the ships of the U.S. Navy's Yangtze River Patrol at Hangchow during the 1920s, with several local junks and sampans also present. U.S. Navy ships are (from left to right): USS Isabel (PY-10); USS Villalobos (PG-42); and Elcano
    Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1969
    U.S. Navy photo NH 67127    		 Naval Historical Center
    Elcano 137k Airing her sails in Chinese waters during the 1920s
    Courtesy of Mr. Donald M. McPherson, Corte Madera, California, 1972
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 75577    		 Mike Green
    Elcano 145k Showing a 4" gun in action during battle practice aboard Elcano, circa early 1920's
    Courtesy of Mr. Donald M. McPherson, Corte Madera, California, 196
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 68980
    Elcano 150k In dry dock at Shanghai, China, circa early 1920's
    Courtesy of Mr. Donald M. McPherson, Corte Madera, California, 1969
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 68978
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR Albert Gustavus Winterhalter, USN - USNA Class of 1877
    Retired as Admiral    		20 November 1902
    02LCDR John Hood, USN - USNA Class of 1879
    Retired as Rear Admiral    		20 May 1903 - 28 March 1905
    03LCDR Hugh Rodman, USN - USNA Class of 1880
    Retired as Admiral    		28 March 1905 - 12 February 1907
    04LCDR William Daniel Brotherton, USN5 December 1910
    05LCDR Sinclair Gannon, USN - Retired as Rear Admiral26 April 1911
    06CDR Victor Stuart Houston, USN - USNA Class of 18977 October 1911
    07CDR Wilbur Gerheart Briggs, USN - Retired as Captain1917
    08LCDR William Denny Brereton, Jr., USN1917 - May 1918
    09LCDR Arthur Rudolph Pontow, USNMay 1918 - 1919
    10LCDR Alfred Hart Miles, USN1919 - 21 February 1921
    11LCDR Ames Loder, USN - USNA Class of 192310 June 1923 - 11 March 1924
    12LCDR Rush Southgate Fay, USN - USNA Class of 190911 March 1924 - 1924
    13CDR Charles Andrews Lockwood, Jr., USN - USNA Class of 1912
    Awarded three Navy Distinguished Service Medals (Two 1945 - one 1942) and the Legion of Merit (1944)- Retired as
    Vice Admiral    		11 March 1924 - July 1925
    14LCDR Aaron Stanton "Tip" Merrill, USN - Awarded the Navy Cross (1943) and two Legion of Merits (1943)
    Retired as Vice Admiral    		July 1925 - 1 July 1926
    15LCDR Jefferson Davis Smith, USN1 July 1926
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler,Ron Reeves and Joe Radigan
    View the Elcano (PG-38)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Website
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    This page created by Gary P. Priolo and maintained by Dave Wright
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    Last Updated 16 February 2024