Twenty Pound Gun on
USS Oregon
Above: The twenty pound gun on the USS Oregon
that fired the first shot of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba. It
was widely debated which U.S. ship (USS Oregon or USS
Iowa) fired the warning shot to alert the American fleet that
the Spanish fleet was departing. This particular photo from a stereocard made after the Spanish-American War states the USS Oregon
was the first to fire. Based on this photo, and how the twenty
pound guns were arranged on the ship, it can be said that this
gun was located aft above the after bridge.
End of Weapons Section.
Back to the Main deck