This is an attempt to represent the U.S.S. Olympia in FlightGear.

This project is a sandbox for me to learn the ins-and-outs of Flightgear development and play in the virtual water. Don't expect a professional level experience! This first release is based on Anders Gidenstam's U.S.S. Monitor for FlightGear and, in fact, uses that ship's hydrodynamics.

To install the Olympia simply unzip the files into your Aircraft directory. Remember to start in the water. Starting FlightGear with parameters:

--lat=38.98664614201565 --lon=-76.48263438612488 --heading=90

will start you just off-shore Dewey Field at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, USA--an appropriate starting location for the Olympia!

The Olympia was authorized by Congress under the Act of Sept. 9th, 1888, laid down in 1891, launched in 1892 and finally commissioned in 1895. Built by Union Ironworks of San Francisco, California, she was a sign that the American Navy was awakening from 25 years of slumber. A heavily armed cruiser—not a battleship as many erroneously call her, the Olympia was flagship of the Asiatic Squadron for a number of years including those of the Spanish-American War of 1898. She is most famous for her role during the battle of Manila Bay when Commodore George Dewey uttered his famous phrase: “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.” Captain Gridley commenced firing and propelled the United States onto the world stage. After the war, the Olympia saw service around the world, receiving major refits in 1899 and 1906. She was retired from service in 1922. One of her last acts was to ceremoniously return the 1st American Unknown Soldier home to native soil from the battlegrounds of the Great War.

The Olympia initially carried four 8-inch guns in fore and aft turrets, ten 5-inch guns in broadside barbettes and a number of 6-pounders, Gatling guns, 1-pounders and 18-inch torpedoes. I have depicted her as she would have looked at commissioning, in her peace time white and buff. During war-time she was painted gray and most of the interior woodwork went over the side.

The Olympia is one of a handful of remaining pre-dreadnoughts. Others include the Mikasa (Japan), the Huascar (Chile), the Aurora (Russia), the Averoff (Greece), the Buffel and the Schorpion (the Netherlands), and of course, H.M.S. Warrior (Great Britain). The Olympia is berthed as a museum ship at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

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