"U.S.S. OREGON" BATTLESHIP POSTCARD COLLECTION (74 Items)

Published by Publication Date: 1940

A collection of 70 unique postcards, 2 postal envelopes, 1 stereocard, and one "Roll of Honor" card that all commemorate the impressive Battleship Oregon. 36/70 postcards are colorized; 19/70 postcards have handwriting on the back; 16/70 postcards have cancelled stamps on the back, with postmarks dating back to 1906. The The vast majority of the cards were printed in 1900s - 1940s, are in very good plus condition, with age-toning to several. One postal envelope and a couple postcards date from the 1980s. Includes four-page typed essay entitled "U.S.S. Oregon: The Bulldog of the Navy" written by Eric Becklund that details the long history of the battleship. From the opening of Becklund's essay: ""The pride of the fleet, the Battleship Oregon was the heroine of the Spanish-American War and served as a training vessel and standard bearer during World War I. At the beginning of World War II our ship was honorably offered back to full service. Instead, the U.S.S. OREGON was plundered for her metals. She was taken from her honored position as a maritime museum and given to the scrappers. They started with her thirty piece silver set, an appropriate payment, and she was left with a broken and dishonored hulk. "Commissioned in 1895, her finished cost was $6,230,000. She was normally crewed by 32 officers and 441 men. Her major defensive armor consisted of an 18-inch thick steel belt. This was backed by six inches of wood, two and three quarters inch steel plates and a 10-foot belt of bunkered coal. The U.S.S. OREGON's offensive armament made it the most heavily armed and armored battleship in the world. The armament included four thirteen-inch guns, firing shells of 1,100 pounds each, eight eight-inch guns, back of and flanking the thirteen inch pieces, four six-inch guns, twenty four rapid-fire guns of smaller caliber, and six torpedo tubes. "It is interesting to compare this ship with her foreign contemporaries, the Renown and the Jaureguiberry classes of England and France, respectively. Oregon weighed 10,288 tons. The Renown was 12,350 tons and the Jaureguiberry 11,824, both larger than Oregon. On the other hand, Oregon's armor was inches thicker than either of the foreign battleships. Total muzzle energy of Oregon's broadside was 169,152 foot-tons, as compared to 72,237 for Renown and 81,346 for Jaureguiberry. Thus, on a slightly lesser tonnage, American designers had produced a ship of more twice the firepower of foreign battleships at the same date. The U.S.S. OREGON's greatest contributions occured during the 1898 Spanish-American War." The story goes on to document its naval history, decommission, and modern tribute. Seller Inventory # 87626

Bibliographic Details

Title: "U.S.S. OREGON" BATTLESHIP POSTCARD ...
Publication Date: 1940
Binding: Postcards
Condition: Very Good