USS Wampanoag (1864)
USS Florida, formerly Wampanoag. Probably photographed at New York, 1869.
|
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Name: | USS Wampanoag |
| Builder: | New York Navy Yard |
| Laid down: | 3 August 1863 |
| Launched: | 15 December 1864 |
| Commissioned: | 17 September 1867 |
| Decommissioned: | 5 May 1868 |
| Renamed: | Florida, 15 May 1869 |
| Fate: | Sold, 27 February 1885 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Screw frigate |
| Displacement: | 4,215 long tons (4,283 t) |
| Length: | 355 ft (108 m) |
| Beam: | 45 ft 2 in (13.77 m) |
| Draft: | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Armament: | |
The first USS Wampanoag was a screw frigate in the United States Navy built during the American Civil War.
Commerce raiding by CSS Alabama and CSS Florida, both built in English yards, reached a point in 1863 where continued peaceful relations between the United States and Great Britain were seriously jeopardized. As a result, Congress responded by authorizing construction of a new class of screw frigates as part of the naval procurement bill of that year. These vessels, designed to be the fastest in the world, were intended for use in hit-and-run operations against British ports and commerce in the event of war. Wampanoag was the lead ship of this class.
Wampanoag contained numerous design features unprecedented in American naval construction. Her hull — designed by clipper ship architect Benjamin Franklin Delano — was unusually long and tapered relative to the vessel's beam. Her machinery, developed by controversial Naval Engineer Benjamin F. Isherwood, was unique for its geared steam engine in which slow-moving machinery coupled to fast-moving propulsion gear. Tremendous debate caused by this design delayed construction, preventing Wampanoag from being completed in time to serve in the American Civil War.
Wampanoag was laid down on 3 August 1863 by the New York Navy Yard; launched on 15 December 1864; sponsored by Miss Case, daughter of Capt. Augustus Ludlow Case, second-in-command of the navy yard; and commissioned on 17 September 1867, Capt. J. W. A. Nicholson in command.
The screw frigate finally left New York for sea trials on 7 February 1868. On 11 February, she commenced speed tests, running flat-out in rough weather from Barnegat Light, New Jersey, to Tybee Island, Georgia. She covered the distance of 633 nautical miles (1,172 km) in 38 hours for an average sustained speed of 16.6 knots (31 km/h), at one point making 17.75 knots (33 km/h). However, the validity of these trials have been called into question: all speeds were recorded out of sight of land, making their measurement less accurate, and may have been assisted by offshore currents. This record for a United States Navy vessel stood for 21 years until it was broken by USS Charleston (C-2), though HMS Mercury (1878) achieved 18.6 knots on her trial a decade later. However, the wooden gear wheels used in the ship's unique geared engine wore down by 5/8 of an inch during the first voyage alone.
...
Wikipedia