USS Katahdin (1893)
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| History | |
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| Name: | USS Katahdin |
| Builder: | Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine |
| Launched: | 4 February 1893 |
| Commissioned: | 20 February 1896 |
| Decommissioned: | 8 October 1898 |
| Struck: | 9 July 1909 |
| Fate: | Sunk as target, September 1909 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Steel armored ram |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 250 ft 9 in (76.43 m) |
| Beam: | 43 ft 5 in (13.23 m) |
| Draft: | 15 ft 1 in (4.60 m) (mean) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft horizontal triple expansion steam engines |
| Speed: | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement: | 97 |
| Armament: | 4 × 6-pounder rifled guns |
| Armor: |
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USS Katahdin, a harbor-defense ram of innovative design, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Mount Katahdin, a mountain peak in Maine.
The inspiration behind Katahdin was Rear Admiral Daniel Ammen, an advocate of a coastal defense navy. Ammen was impressed by the British torpedo ram HMS Polyphemus. Unlike Polyphemus, which was primarily a torpedo boat, with ramming a secondary function, the American design was for a pure ram, with no torpedoes carried.
Katahdin's design was a new departure in naval architecture, built to ride extremely low in the water with her bow awash while under way. Her hull embodied several new features later used in early submarines.
An order was placed for construction of a prototype armored ram in 1889. Her keel was laid down by the Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine in July 1891. She was launched on 4 February, 1893, sponsored by Miss Una Soley, daughter of James R. Soley, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 20 February 1897 with Commander Richard P. Leary in command.
Although Katahdin's engines were more powerful than specified, Katahdin failed to reach the contracted speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), requiring the passing of special legislation to allow her to be accepted by the Navy. Conditions aboard the ship were extremely uncomfortable, as it was cramped and had very poor ventilation, leading to almost intolerable temperatures being recorded.
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