USS Elcano (PG-38)

USS Elcano USS Elcano
Career (USA)
Name:	USS Elcano
Launched:	1885
Acquired:	9 November 1899
Commissioned:	20 November 1902
Decommissioned:	30 June 1928
Fate:	Sunk as target 4 October 1928
General characteristics
Type:	Gunboat
Displacement:	620 long tons (630 t)
Length:	165 ft 6 in (50.44 m)
Beam:	26 ft (7.9 m)
Draft:	10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion:	Steam engine
Speed:	11 kn (13 mph; 20 km/h)
Complement:	103
Armament:	4 × 4 in (100 mm) guns

USS Elcano (PG-38) was a gunboat captured by the United States Navy from the Spanish Navy during the Spanish-American War. It was officially commissioned as a ship of the fleet in 1902 and served until decommissioning in 1928.

Elcano was built of iron in Spain in 1885, and was in the service of the Spanish navy in the Port of Manilla when it was seized during the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898. It was refit in preparation for official commissioning four years later.

Elcano saw service in China prior to the Revolution of 1911; and even afterwards continued to work from its base in Shanghai. Upon decommissioning, it was sunk for target practice.

References

• This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.