USS Vesuvius ( 1888 ) USS " Vesuvius " , the third ship of the United States Navy named for the Italian volcano , was a unique vessel in the Navy inventory which marked a departure from more conventional forms of main battery armament . She is considered a dynamite gun cruiser . " Vesuvius " was laid down in September 1887 at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , by William Cramp and Sons Ships and Engine Building Company , subcontracted from the Pneumatic Dynamite Gun Company of New York City . She was launched on 28 April 1888 sponsored by Miss Eleanor Breckinridge and commissioned on 2 June 1890 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with Lieutenant Seaton Schroeder in command . Dynamite guns . " Vesuvius " carried three 15 - inch ( 38 - cm ) cast iron pneumatic guns , mounted forward side - by - side at a fixed elevation of 16 degrees . Gun barrels were 55 feet ( 17 meters ) long with the muzzles 15 feet ( 4 . 6 meters ) above the deck 37 feet ( 11 meters ) abaft the bow . In order to train these weapons , the ship had to be aimed , like a gun , at its target . Compressed air from a 1000 psi ( 70 atm ) reservoir projected the shells from the " dynamite guns . " Two air compressors were available to recharge the reservoir . The shells fired from the guns were steel or brass casings 7 feet ( 2 meters ) long with the explosive contained in the conical forward part of the casing and spiral vanes on the after part to rotate the projectile . The explosive used in the shells themselves was actually a " desensitized blasting gelatin " composed of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine . It was less sensitive to shock than regular dynamite but still sensitive enough that compressed air , rather than powder , had to be utilized as the propellant . Shells containing 550 pounds ( 250 kg ) of explosive had a maximum range of 1 mile ( 1 . 6 km ) , but range could be extended to 4000 yards ( 3 . 7 km ) by reducing projectile weight to 200 pounds ( 100 kg ) . Maximum muzzle velocity was 800 feet ( 250 meters ) per second . Range could be reduced by releasing less compressed air from the reservoir . Ten shells per gun were carried on board , and 15 shells were fired in 16 minutes 50 seconds during an 1889 test . The shells employed an electrical fuze which could be set to either explode on contact or delayed to explode underwater . Service history . Shakedown cruise . " Vesuvius " sailed for New York shortly after commissioning and then joined the Fleet at Gardiner ' s Bay , New York , on 1 October 1890 . She operated off the east coast with the North Atlantic Squadron into 1895 . Highlights of this tour of duty included numerous port visits and participation in local observances of holidays and festivals , as well as gunnery practice and exercises . Experience showed that the ship ' s unique main battery had two major drawbacks : first , the range was too short ; second , the method of aiming was crude and inaccurate . Spanish - American War . Decommissioned on 25 April 1895 for major repairs , " Vesuvius " re - entered service on 12 January 1897 with Lieutenant Commander John E . Pillsbury in command . The ship got underway from Philadelphia Navy Yard , bound for Florida , and operated off the east coast through the spring of the following year , 1898 . By this time , American relations with Spain were worsening . The American Fleet gathered in Florida waters , and " Vesuvius " hurried south from Newport , Rhode Island , and arrived at Key West , Florida , on 13 May . She remained there until 28 May , when she headed for blockade duty in Cuban coastal waters . " Vesuvius " performed special duties at the discretion of the Fleet Commander in Chief and served as a dispatch vessel between Cuba and Florida into July 1898 . On 13 June , " Vesuvius " conducted the first of eight shore bombardment missions against Santiago , Cuba . The cruiser stealthily closed the shore under cover of darkness , loosed a few rounds of her 15 - inch dynamite charges , and then retired to sea . Psychologically , " Vesuvius " s bombardment caused great anxiety among the Spanish forces ashore , for her devastating shells came in without warning , unaccompanied by the roar of gunfire usually associated with a bombardment . Admiral Sampson wrote accordingly , that " Vesuvius " bombardments had " great effect . " Although the dynamite guns were relatively quiet , detonation of their large high explosive shells sounded different than contemporary gunpowder - filled artillery shells ; and soldiers observed the explosions " made holes like the cellar of a country house . " Post - war conversion . After hostilities with Spain ended later that summer , " Vesuvius " sailed north and called at Charleston , South Carolina , New York , and Newport , before reaching Boston , Massachusetts . Taken out of active service on 16 September 1898 , " Vesuvius " remained at the Boston Navy Yard until 1904 , when she began conversion to a torpedo - testing vessel . " Vesuvius " lost her unique main battery and acquired four torpedo tubes — three 18 - inch and one 21 - inch . Recommissioned on 21 June 1905 , " Vesuvius " soon sailed for the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport , Rhode Island to begin her new career . She conducted torpedo experiments at the station for two years until decommissioned on 27 November 1907 for repairs . Recommissioned again on 14 February 1910 , " Vesuvius " remained at Newport for the next 11 years , on occasion serving as station ship , into 1921 . In May 1915 the " Vesuvius " fired a torpedo which ran a circular course and punctured a hole in the side of the ship . Damage control efforts by her crew and the quick judgment of her commanding officer , Chief Gunner Thomas Smith , prevented her from sinking before she was intentionally run aground on Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay . She was decommissioned and ordered appraised for sale on 21 April 1922 to J . Lipsitz and Company of Chelsea , Massachusetts . In popular culture . A model of the ship appears in Jack ' s office ( Alec Baldwin ) in the NBC comedy 30 Rock .