USS New York (ACR-2)

Acquisition In 1888, during the 50th Congress, 3.5 million dollars was authorized for the construction of New York. She was designed by the Navy Department. Secondary armament was twelve /40 caliber rapid fire (RF) guns in sponsons along the sides, along with eight 6-pounder () Driggs-Schroeder RF guns, four 1-pounder () Driggs-Schroeder RF guns, and three torpedo tubes for Howell torpedoes. New York had a greater number of heavy guns than the French cruiser. The hull protection of both ships was superior to their main rival, the British , which were the largest cruisers at the time but had no side armor. The British had switched from building armored cruisers to favor very large, first class protected cruisers, and stuck with this policy until after the . Engineering Along with having competitive weapons and armor, New York was intended to be relatively fast at , and achieved on trials. This was achieved with four triple-expansion engines totaling , two clutched in tandem on each of two shafts. As built, eight coal-fired cylindrical boilers supplied steam to the engines. The new turrets and barbettes had improved Krupp cemented armor, with up to on the turrets and - on the barbettes. The side 8-inch guns and torpedo tubes were removed. The secondary armament was replaced as well, with ten /50 caliber Mark 6 guns and eight /50 caliber guns. She also received twelve Babcock & Wilcox boilers and the funnels were extended to improve natural draft through the boilers. A further refit during World War I removed two 5-inch and all of the 3-inch single-purpose guns, adding two /50 anti-aircraft guns. In 1927 her boilers were reduced to four with two funnels, leaving only . ==Service==

In July 1893 New York performed sea trials using the Five Fathom Bank light station and the North East End light station as markers, achieving with at a displacement of 8,480 tons; at the time she was said to be the fastest armored vessel in the world. On 1 August 1893 New York was commissioned at Philadelphia, Captain John Philip in command. USS New York (ACR-2) Assigned to the South Atlantic Squadron, New York departed New York Harbor on 27 December 1893 for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Arriving at Taipu Beach in January 1894, she remained there until heading home on 23 March, via Nicaragua and the West Indies. Transferred to the North Atlantic Squadron in August, the cruiser returned to West Indian waters for winter exercises and was commended for her aid during a fire that threatened to destroy Port of Spain, Trinidad. Returning to New York, New York joined the European Squadron in 1895, and steamed to Kiel, where she represented the United States at the opening of the Kiel Canal. Rejoining the North Atlantic Squadron, she operated off Fort Monroe, Charleston, and New York through 1897. The Battle of Santiago de Cuba on 3 July resulted in complete destruction of the Spanish fleet. In the early 1920s, she operated along the east coast. ==Awards==

• Sampson Medal • Spanish Campaign Medal • Philippine Campaign Medal • World War Victory Medal with "ARMED GUARD" and "ESCORT" clasps • Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal • Yangtze Service Medal ==Dive site Rochester==

Since being scuttled, Rochester has been transformed into an artificial reef and is popular with divers given its somewhat shallow depth of , ease of access, and proximity to other wrecks. There is minimal damage to the vessel when it was scuttled and the wreck is relatively intact. From 11 July 1967 to 20 July 1967 Harbor Clearance Team Four and Yard Light Lift Craft Two attached to Harbor Clearance Unit One conducted demolition as the U.S. Navy decided to try to flatten the wreck. Large charges were used on the central hull and these resulted in extensive damage around the midsection. This lowered the wreck; enabling deep draft tankers to approach and moor to the POL buoy planned for Subic Bay (at the same time, Navy divers helped to clear more than 650 wrecks from Manila bay). In 2001, two divers, a Hong Kong national and his American instructor, died while exploring the wreck. ==References==