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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25)
ex
 USS Reina Mercedes (1905 - 1920)

1957 International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Golf - Lima
 NIGL

1913 International Radio Call Sign:
Nan - Rush - Fox
NRF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - World War I Victory Medal - American Defense Service Medal
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Unprotected Cruiser/Barracks Ship:
  • Laid down for the Spanish Navy at Cartagena, Spain
  • Launched, 12 September 1887
  • Captured as a war prize, 17 July 1898, at Santiago de Cuba, during the Spanish-American War
  • Salvaged 2 January 1899 to 1 March 1899
  • Converted to a Non-self Propelled Receiving Ship at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H.
  • Commissioned USS Reina Mercedes in May 1905
  • Towed to Annapolis MD. in 1912 to serve as a Barracks Ship
  • Designated Miscellaneous Unclassified USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25), 17 July 1920
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 6 September 1957
  • Decommissioned 6 November 1957
  • Final Disposition, sold to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, MD., for scrapping
    Specifications:
    Displacement 2,835 t.
    Length 296'
    Beam 43' 3"
    Draft 16' 9"(lim)
    Complement 91
    Armament (none)
    Machinery
    two single-ended Scotch boilers
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Spanish Cruiser Reina Mercedes
    Reina Mercedes
    094602531    		 529k
    Namesake
    Reina Mercedes - María de las Mercedes of Orléans (24 June 1860 – 26 June 1878) was Queen of Spain as the first wife of King Alfonso XII. She was born in Madrid, the daughter of Antoine of Orléans, Duke of Montpensier, and Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain.
    Oil on canvas "La reina María de las Mercedes de Orleans" by Manuel Cabral Aguado-Bejarano (1827 - 1891).    		 Tommy Trampp
    Reina Mercedes 396k Port quarter view of the Spanish Cruiser Reina Mercedes taken before 1896, when she was sent to Cuba along with her sister Alfonso XII. About two thirds of her artillery were removed and used as shore batteries at Punta Gorda and La Socapa, but with her remaining guns she helped sink USS Merrimac before she reached an obstruction position. Sisters Reina Cristina and Alfonso XII were lost during the Spanish-American War, at Cavite and Santiago, respectively.
    Photo from the collection of the late Antoni Blasi, with permission to publish them, by Camil Busquets. This photo, and several hundred more, can be found in Camil Basquets book "50 Años de Retrato Naval Militar (1870-1920)", ("50 Years of Naval Photography,") published in 2010.    		 Col·lecció Antoni Blasi, via Camil Busquets and Fabio Peña
    Reina Mercedes 92k Spanish Cruiser Reina Mercedes (1887-1898). photographed prior to 1898. She was scuttled at Santiago, Cuba, in July 1898. Later raised by the U.S. Navy, she served as an accommodation ship at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, until scrapped in 1957. Her sister ship, Reina Cristina, was the Spanish flagship in the Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898, and was lost in that action. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy, 1941.
    US Navy photo # NH 61231 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Reina Mercedes 57k Spanish Cruiser Reina Mercedes at anchor, circa 1898, location unknown.
    Photo from Museo Naval de Madrid.    		 Robert Hurst
    Reina Mercedes 633k Postcard image of the Spanish Cruiser Reina Mercedes scuttled at Santiago de Cuba, photo circa 1898. Arnold A. Putnam
    Reina Mercedes 1179k The wreck of the Spanish Reina Mercedes, after being sunk as a block ship in the entrance channel of the harbor at Santiago de Cuba. circa 1898.
    US Army photo. Exact Date Shot Unknown NARA FILE #: 111-SC-101564 WAR & CONFLICT #: 288. ID: HD-SN-99-01947.
    Photo from Museo Naval de Madrid.    		 Robert Hurst
    Reina Mercedes 46k Original caption, "Raising the 'Reina Mercedes'-The mast end of Hobson's 'Merrimac'-looking from Morro, Santiago."
    Taken from a stereoscopic photo by ©Strohmeyers & Wyman Publishers, N. Y., 1899.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Reina Mercedes 72k The wreck of the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes, 1899, sunk at Santiago de Cuba the previous year. Tommy Trampp
    Reina Mercedes 80k
    Reina Mercedes 65k The wreck of the Spanish Reina Mercedes, after being sunk as a block ship in the entrance channel of the harbor at Santiago de Cuba. circa 1898. Tommy Trampp
    USS Reina Mercedes
    Reina Mercedes 269k Post card image of Reina Mercedes drydocked at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H., circa 1900-1902. Arnold A. Putnam
    Reina Mercedes 62k Reina Mercedes re-floated, refurbished and commissioned USS Reina Mercedes, moored to a buoy, date and location unknown.  
    Reina Mercedes 194k Post card image of USS Reina Mercedes serving as a Receiving Ship at Newport, R.I., circa 1905 to 1912. Arnold A. Putnam
    Reina Mercedes
    094602529    		 227k Undated post card image of Receiving Ship USS Reina Mercedes, circa 1907-1915.
    Manufactured by Edward H. Mitchell, San Francisco.    		 nky-photos, James Bass
    Reina Mercedes
    094602528    		 123k Post card (dated 23 July 1909) image of USS Reina Mercedes and USS Constellation at the US Naval Training Station, Newport, R.I. Sandra Dunlap
    Reina Mercedes 216k Post card image of USS Reina Mercedes USS Cumberland (Training Ship #1) and USS Constellation serving as Receiving/Training Ships at Newport, R.I., circa 1905 to 1911. Arnold A. Putnam
    Reina Mercedes 336k Post card image of USS Reina Mercedes USS Cumberland (Training Ship #1) and USS Constellation serving as Receiving/Training Ships at Newport, R.I., circa 1905 to 1911. Tommy Trampp
    Reina Mercedes
    094602527    		 211k Post card image of USS Reina Mercedes serving as Barracks/Accommodation Ship probably at Annapolis, MD., circa 1912. David Wright
    USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25)
    Reina Mercedes 54k Vessels present in US Naval Academy basin, circa the 1920s or 1930s are (from left to right center) USS SC-229, USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) and USS Cumberland (IX-8).
    US Navy photo # NH 105485. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2008.    		 Ramon Jackson
    Reina Mercedes 35k USS Reina Mercedes(IX-25) Barracks/Accommodation Ship, Naval Station Annapolis MD Haze Gray & Underway web site
    Reina Mercedes 77k USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) Barracks/Accommodation Ship, Naval Station Annapolis MD Tommy Trampp
    Reina Mercedes 144k Post card image of USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) Barracks/Accommodation Ship, Naval Station Annapolis MD Arnold A. Putnam
    Reina Mercedes 89k USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) Barracks/Accommodation Ship, Naval Station Annapolis, MD., circa 1927. Tommy Trampp
    Reina Mercedes 166k USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) Barracks/Accommodation Ship, Naval Station Annapolis, MD., circa 1940.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 61229    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Reina Mercedes 39k USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) Barracks/Accommodation Ship, Naval Station Annapolis MD, circa 1946
    US Navy photo    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Reina Mercedes
    094602530    		 217k USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) Barracks/Accommodation Ship, Naval Station Annapolis MD. David Wright
    Reina Mercedes 79k USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) at left, serving as Barracks/Accommodation Ships, Naval Station Annapolis MD., circa 1930. USS Mahan (DD-102) at anchor, center background.
    From the collection of CAPT. Norman J. Sampson and his sister.    		 Bob Sampson
    Reina Mercedes
    094602515    		 54k Reina Mercedes (IX-25), left, and USS Cumberland (IX-8), right, serving as Barracks/Accommodation Ships, Naval Station Annapolis MD., circa 1930.
    From the collection of CAPT. Norman J. Sampson and his sister.    		 Bob Sampson
    Reina Mercedes 54k USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25), left, and USS Cumberland (IX-8), right, serving as Barracks/Accommodation Ships, Naval Station Annapolis MD., 1939. In the foreground is the Naval Academy sail training yacht, Alligator. Ric Hedman
    Reina Mercedes 59k USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25), left, and USS Cumberland (IX-8), right, serving as Barracks/Accommodation Ships, Naval Station Annapolis MD. In the foreground are the Naval Academy's sail training yachts, Alligator, Bullfrog, Crocodile and Turtle, circa 1939 Ric Hedman
    Reina Mercedes 54k USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) under tow enroute to Norfolk in 1939 for an overhaul. The smoke coming from her stack is a smoke bomb. See the newspaper article below, "Aboard the old Reina Mercedes ship again, at least in their minds." The Washington Post, 6 February 2011 Ramon Jackson
    USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Davis, Archibald Hilliard 10 September 1912 - 17 May 1913
    02CDR. Phelps, William Woodward :RADM17 May 1913 - 9 July 1915
    03CAPT. Christy, Harley Hannibal :VADM9 July 1915 - 15 March 1917
    04CDR. Claude, Abram15 March 1917 - 26 April 1918
    05CDR. Strong, James Hale26 April 1918 - 23 April 1919
    06CDR. Allen, Burrell Clinton23 April 1919 - 18 September 1921
    07CDR. Claude, Abram18 September 1921 - 23 June 1923
    08CDR. Zogbaum Jr., Rufus Fairchild23 June 1923 - 27 August 1924
    09CDR. McNair, Laurance North27 August 1924 - 25 January 1927
    10CAPT. Halsey Jr., William Frederick (Bull) :FADM25 January 1927 - 9 June 1930
    11CAPT. Giles, William Jefferson9 June 1930 - 25 April 1932
    12CAPT. Bryan, George Sloan :RADM25 April 1932 - 15 July 1934
    13CAPT. Shafroth Jr., John Franklin15 July 1935 - 8 July 1938
    14CAPT. Benson, Howard Hartwell James :COMO8 July 1938 - March 1941
    15CDR. Christian, Kemp Catlett21 April 1941 - 2 June 1943
    16CDR. Nielson, Henry Sophus2 June 1943 - 21 June 1943
    17CAPT. Jasperson, Robert Edward USN (USNA 1921-b)21 June 1943 - 11 October 1944
    18CAPT. Christoph, Karl John USN (20)11 October 1944 - 8 October 1946
    19CAPT. Petersen, Wallis Frederick :RADM8 October 1946 - 1948
    20CAPT. Freeman, Charles Lawrenceno dates
    21CDR. Loughlin, Charles Elliott :RADM1951
    22CAPT. Westholm, Rollin Everton1955 - 6 November 1957
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    "Answer Man takes a voyage into the history of another ship once here, but now gone." The Washington Post, 8 January 2011
    "Aboard the old Reina Mercedes ship again, at least in their minds." The Washington Post, 6 February 2011
    "The Reina Mercedes May Come" The New York Tribune, May 28, 1898, Page 4, Image 32
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Type Index Back To The Miscellaneous Unclassified Ship (IX) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 3 March 2023