USS Paragua information

History
Spain
Name	Paragua
Builder	Manila Ship Company, Cavite, Philippines
Laid down	March 1887
Launched	January 1888
Homeport	Manila, Philippines
United States
Name	USS Paragua
Namesake	The pre-1905 name for the Philippine island of Palawan
Acquired	Acquired by U.S. Navy by purchase 29 May 1899
Commissioned	29 May 1899
Decommissioned	19 April 1911 at Cavite, Philippines
Homeport	Philippine Islands
Fate	Sold 18 November 1912
General characteristics
Type	Gunboat
Displacement	243 long tons (247 t)
Length	121 ft (37 m)
Beam	17 ft 10 in (5.44 m)
Draft	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	30 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 6-pounder gun 3 × 3-pounder guns

USS Paragua was a schooner-rigged iron gunboat in the United States Navy during the Philippine–American War. Paragua was one of four Arayat class gunboats built by the Manila Ship Co. for the Spanish navy in 1887–88. Her sister ships were the USS Samar (PG-41), USS Pampanga (PG-39) and USS Arayat.

Arayat, Samar, Pampanga and Paragua all were 243 tons. Samar was the first completed in 1887 and was 116 ft, while the other three, built at the same time in 1887–88, were 121 ft long. They were a scaled down design based on the larger El Cano at 620 tons and 166 ft that had been built in Spain. The primary design criterion was a shallower draft, seven feet or less, and length, in order to better adapt to the shallow reefs and rivers of the Philippines. For their small size, the boats were quite fast, maneuverable, and heavily armed.

Paragua was laid down for the Spanish Navy by the Manila Ship Company, Cavite, Philippine Islands, in March 1887 and launched in January 1888. She was named for the island of Palawan, known as Paragua prior to 1905. When the Spanish–American War broke out in April 1898, Paragua was part of the Spanish Pacific Fleet based at Manila, Philippines^[1][2] Paragua was one of ten gunboats put up for sale in early 1899 by the Spanish navy at its former base on the southern island of Basilan following the signing of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish–American War. The gunboats were purchased by a syndicate of private individuals put together by General Elwell Otis, the U.S. Army commander, in order to prevent their being acquired by the Philippine Revolutionary government. The Army bought the ships from the syndicate and then sold them to the U.S. Navy in early May 1899. Paragua was commissioned on 29 May 1899, Ensign W.C. Davidson, commanding.