Wreck of USS Rochester/Saratoga/New York (ACR/CA-2)

 Second World War 1939-1945, military, scuba diving facility / area, place with historical importance, shipwreck, cruiser, United States Navy

Laid down in September 1890 as the sole member of her class of Armored Cruisers at the William Cramp and Sons Shipyard in Philadelphia, the USS Rochester entered US Navy service in August 1893 as the USS New York (ACR-2) and was promptly dispatched for service with the South Atlantic Squadron.

Operating out of Rio de Janeiro for the first two years of service protecting American commerce in the South Atlantic, the New York and her crew briefly joined the European Squadron to represent the United States at 1897 ceremonies opening the Kiel Canal, after which she returned stateside for operations with the North Atlantic Squadron. So assigned in April 1898 when war was declared between Spain and the United States, the New York and her crew stood out of Key West and conducted shore bombardments of Matanzas, Cuba and San Juan, Puerto Rico through mid-May while unsuccessfully hunting for the Spanish Fleet. Taking her first combat casualty during a gunnery duel with the El Morro Fortress protecting San Juan Harbor, New York and her crew remained in Cuban waters enforcing a blockade of Havana for the next month until word was received that their counterparts had finally been located at Santiago de Cuba.

Serving as Flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron during the subsequent blockade and Battle of Santiago de Cuba, the New York and her crew lent their fire to the total destruction of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron on the 3rd of July, after which she assisted with enforcing the total blockade of Cuba until the cessation of hostilities in August 1898. Continuing to serve with the North Atlantic Squadron until 1901, New York and her crew were assigned for duty with the US Asiatic Fleet which would occupy her through her 1905 return to the US East Coast for her first major overhaul and modernization period.

Returning to service with the North Atlantic Squadron in 1909 for a period of training, New York resumed her post with the US Asiatic Fleet in 1910 and was so occupied when her crew received word that their ship would be renamed Saratoga in order to free up her original name for a Battleship then under construction. Beginning service under new name in February 1911, the Saratoga remained on duty with the Asiatic Fleet through 1916, at which point she returned to the United States and entered reduced commission with the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Bremerton, where she would stay for two years before the American build-up in response to World War I brought her back into action.

Recommissioned in April 1917 as part of the Pacific Patrol Force, the Saratoga operated primarily off the Mexican coast for her first months in service before receiving orders to rejoin the US Atlantic Fleet in November. Transiting the Panama Canal in and joining the Atlantic Fleet's Cruiser Force, Saratoga arrived at Norfolk in early December 1917 and was shortly thereafter renamed and reclassified as the Heavy Cruiser USS Rochester, allowing the name Saratoga to be applied to a Battlecruiser (and later Aircraft Carrier) then planned for construction. Beginning her service in World War I under her new name and hull number in early 1918, the Rochester drew duty as a convoy escort ship and screened several Europe-bound convoys against Submarine attack before the Armistice came into effect, ending her last official combat operations. Remaining in commission and on duty with the Atlantic Fleet, the Rochester operated along the US East Coast, Caribbean and South American Atlantic Coast for the next thirteen years before the aging ship was once again ordered to Pacific waters to resume her former station with the Asiatic Fleet.

Dropping anchor at Shanghai in April 1932 and remaining on station with the Yangtze River Patrol protecting American interests in China as tensions between that nation and Japan continued to break down, Rochester and her crew nevertheless performed their duties until she was relieved of her post for the final time in early April 1933. Steaming for the Olongapo Shipyard at Subic Bay, the Rochester was formally decommissioned for the final time on April 29th, 1933 and entered inactive layup with the Asiatic Reserve Fleet. Remaining in sporadic use as a workshop and receiving ship for the next eight years while moored at the Olongapo shipyard, the Rochester’s career came to an abrupt end as simmering hostilities between the United States and Japan led to outright War on December 7th, 1941, followed by the rapid assault on the Philippines by Imperial Japanese Army and Naval forces. With American and Philippine forces mounting a largely ineffective effort to repulse the overwhelming Japanese assault, the immobile Rochester and her still-installed battery of four 8in main guns became too much of a liability should she fall into enemy hands.

Following a December 13th Japanese airstrike that could have sank her at her shallow pierside location, the Rochester was towed from her berth to this location over deep water and scuttled in the early morning hours of December 14th, 1941, eventually settling onto her Starboard side in 88ft of water. Today, the wreck of the USS Rochester/Saratoga/New York is a very popular dive site for tourists visiting Subic Bay, as the relatively shallow depth of her Port side at 59ft puts her well within reach of novice SCUBA divers, while more advanced divers can easily penetrate the vessel as far as her engine and boiler rooms. Largely intact due to the nature of her sinking, the Rochester’s wreck is in excellent condition and remains the sole example of her type of turn-of-the-century warship design.

www.navsource.org/archives/04/acr2/acr2.htm