Baltimore carried four eight-inch and six six-inch guns and could make twenty knots. Raleigh combined a single six-inch gun with ten five-inch guns at nineteen knots, giving Dewey three ships capable of more than eighteen knots when Olympia was included. Boston had two eight-inch and six six-inch guns but could make only thirteen knots in her condition. Concord carried six six-inch guns and could make seventeen knots, while Petrel carried four six-inch guns and could make twelve. McCulloch added four three-inch guns and a reputation for accurate shooting, although her seventeen-knot trial speed overstated her operational performance. Dewey would fight Manila Bay with this mixed force and no battleship.
Chapter · 50:01-52:37
The unequal speeds and batteries in Dewey's squadron
Dewey's protected cruisers and gunboats carried useful firepower, but their speeds ranged from twelve knots to more than eighteen.