Eagle class patrol craft
Eagle 35 and Eagle 58
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Eagle |
| Operators: |
 United States Navy
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| Completed: | 60 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Patrol craft |
| Displacement: | 615 long tons (625 t) |
| Length: | 200.8 ft (61.2 m) |
| Beam: | 33.1 ft (10.1 m) |
| Draft: | 8.5 ft (2.6 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 18.32 knots (33.93 km/h; 21.08 mph) |
| Complement: | 5 officers, 56 men |
| Armament: |
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The Eagle class patrol craft were a set of steel ships smaller than destroyers but having a greater operational radius than the wooden-hulled, 110-foot (34 m) submarine chasers developed in 1917. The submarine chasers' range of about 900 miles (1,400 km) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h) restricted their operations to off-shore anti-submarine work and denied them an open-ocean escort capability; their high consumption of gasoline and limited fuel storage were handicaps the Eagle class sought to remedy.
They were originally commissioned USS Eagle Boat No.1 (or 2,3..etc.) but this was changed to PE-1 (or 2,4.. etc.) in 1920. They never officially saw combat in World War I, but some were used during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. PE-19, 27, 32, 38, 48 and 55–57 survived to be used in World War II.
Attention turned to building steel patrol vessels. In their construction, it was necessary to eliminate the established shipbuilding facilities as possible sources of construction as they were totally engaged in the building of destroyers, larger warships, and merchant shipping. Accordingly, a design was developed by the Bureau of Construction and Repair which was sufficiently simplified to permit speedy construction by less experienced shipyards.
In June 1917, President of the United States Woodrow Wilson had summoned auto-builder Henry Ford to Washington in the hope of getting him to serve on the United States Shipping Board. Wilson felt that Ford, with his knowledge of mass production techniques, could immensely speed the building of ships in quantity. Apprised of the need for antisubmarine vessels to combat the U-boat menace, Ford replied, "what we want is one type of ship in large numbers."
On 7 November, Ford accepted membership on the Shipping Board and an active advisory role. Examining the Navy's plans for the projected steel patrol ships, Ford urged that all hull plates be flat so that they could be produced quickly in quantity and he also persuaded the Navy to accept steam turbines instead of reciprocating steam engines.
At this point, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels was drawn into the project. He recognized that no facilities were available at the Navy yards for building new craft and asked Ford if he would undertake the task. Ford agreed, and, in January 1918, he was directed to proceed with the building of 100 of them. Later on, 12 more were added for delivery to the Italian government.
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Wikipedia