USS Ajax, a 9250-ton (displacement) collier, was built in 1890 at Glasgow, Scotland. Under the name Scindia, she was purchased in the spring of 1898 for Navy service in the Spanish-American War. Commissioned in May 1898 as USS Scindia, in June and July she carried coal to the newly-established base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to support combat operations nearby. Later in 1898, after the return of peace, the ship took a cargo of coal to Hawaii by way of Cape Horn, then went to California. Decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard in May 1899, Scindia returned to active service in December of that year, and soon steamed across the Pacific to deliver coal to the Philippines. She continued on westward via the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal route, reaching the U.S. East Coast after picking up a coal cargo at Cardiff, Wales. At the beginning of January 1901, during the course of this voyage, Scindia was renamed Ajax.
Out of commission for overhaul between March and October 1901, USS Ajax made two more voyages to the Philippines up to September 1903, then operated in Far Eastern waters until late in 1904, when she returned to the U.S. The ship was laid up for most of 1905 and all of 1906, spent nearly all of 1907 in the East Coast area, and in December of that year began a long cruise supporting the "Great White Fleet" during its voyage around the World. Arriving back at Norfolk, Virginia, in February 1909, Ajax was in the Atlantic area, in both active and reserve status, for nearly four years. In December 1912 she began another deployment to the Philippines, this time transporting the submarines B-2 and B-3.
Ajax served with the Asiatic Fleet for the remainder of her career, initially carrying coal and other cargo to support the Navy's operations in that region. She was designated AC-14 in mid-1920, when the Navy implemented its hull number system, and was receiving ship at the Cavite Navy Yard, near Manila, during much of the early 1920s. In addition, during part of 1923 Ajax was stationed at Chefoo, China, as a submarine tender. Duty as an aircraft tender followed in 1924-1925, accompanied by redesignation to AG-15 in July 1924. The now quite-elderly USS Ajax was decommissioned in July 1925 and sold at Cavite a month later.
This page features, and provides links to, all the views we have related to USS Ajax (1898-1925, later AC-14 and AG-15), which was named Scindia until 1901.
For other images related to this ship, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 69851 USS Scindia (1898-1925, later renamed Ajax) Moored in the stream off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, circa 1899. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1969. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 76KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 71734 USS Scindia (1898-1925, later renamed Ajax) Off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, with the tug Unadilla alongside, circa 1899. Courtesy of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco, California, 1970. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 65KB; 740 x 585 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 71719 USS Solace (1898-1930), with white hull, USS Scindia (1898-1925, later renamed Ajax) At the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, circa 1899. USS Ranger (1873-1940) is moored in mid-channel, at the far left. Courtesy of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco, California, 1970. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 77KB; 740 x 570 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 61904 USS Ajax (1898-1925) In port, circa the early 1900s. The stripped hull of a smaller steamer is alongside her. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 61KB; 740 x 475 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 75647 USS Ajax (1898-1925) At the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, in October 1901. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 74KB; 590 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: 111-SC-5354 USS Ajax (1898-1925) Anchored in the Hudson River, off New York City, circa 1911. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 75KB; 740 x 620 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 88563 USS Ajax (1898-1925) At Olongapo Naval Station, Philippine Islands, 22 February 1915. She is dressed with flags in honor of George Washington's birthday. The masts of USS Pompey (1898-1922) are visible behind Ajax. Collection of C.A. Shively, 1978. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 59KB; 740 x 435 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 88564 USS Ajax (1898-1925), larger ship USS Pompey (1898-1922) Dressed with flags in honor of George Washington's birthday, at Olongapo Naval Station, Philippine Islands, 22 February 1915. Collection of C.A. Shively, 1978. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 68KB; 740 x 435 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 76073 USS Ajax (AC-14/AG-15) Off Shanghai, China, circa 1924, while serving as an aircraft tender. A Doutlas DT torpedo plane (marked "20-T-1") is on her deck. Ajax was reclassified AG-15 from AC-14 in mid-1924. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1972. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 95KB; 740 x 490 pixels |
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USS Ajax appears distantly or in the background in
the following views:
For other images related to this ship, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 11 November 2003