War of the Americas Reboot

[emperor_andreas]

Awesome work!

[WWII44]

Can't Wait to see the Dreadnought era.

[StealthJester]

Greetings!

US destroyers 1901-1910:

Edmondson class (US):


The Edmondson class was basically an enlarged Henley class design with a heavier gun armament and more powerful engines. Nine ships were built in this class; Edmondson, Conroy, Hallett, Walston, Parkhurst, Hirsch, Stewart, Ryder, and Whitmore. Hull numbers ran from TBD-31 to TBD-39.

The Edmondson class was 278 feet overall, with a beam of 25 feet and a nominal draft of 8 feet. They displaced 1,020 tons normal and 1,090 tons full load. Main armament was three 3”/50 Mk.4’s all mounted on the centerline and a 6-pounder to port and starboard. Torpedo armament was two twin centerline swivel mounts for Mk.11 18” torpedoes – twelve reloads were carried. These were the last US destroyers with reciprocating engines – two five-cylinder quad expansion units producing 15,310 horsepower gave a design speed of 27 knots. Range was 3,500 nautical miles. Crew numbered 103.

Commissioned between 1902 and 1904, the new destroyers served mainly in the Pacific. Re-classed as destroyers (DD-31 to DD-39) in the fleet-wide reorganization of 1920, they would go on to suffer serious wartime losses - with Conroy, Hirsch, Stewart and Whitmore lost in the Western Pacific War and Edmondson, Hallett, and Ryder lost during the War of the Americas. Postwar the two survivors of this class served in the peacetime navy until the fall of 1933, when they were retired.

Duvall class (US):


The first turbine-powered destroyers built for the USN, the Duvall class was based on the previous Edmondson class design – with a longer hull allowing two additional boilers necessary to supply steam to the more powerful engines while larger coal bunkers increased range. Nine Duvall’s were built; Duvall, Hough, Naylor, Sherrill, Rhinehart, Dubose, Rosenthal, Lentz, and Redd. Hull numbers ran from TBD-40 to TBD-48.

The Duvall class was 283 feet overall, with a beam of 28 feet and a nominal draft of 8 feet. They displaced 1,080 tons normal and 1,110 tons full load. Main armament was four 3”/50 Mk.4’s mounted one forward, one aft and one each to port and starboard. Torpedo armament remained two twin 18” centerline swivel mounts with twelve reloads carried. Two Avondale direct-drive steam turbines rated at 18,250 shaft horsepower total drove these ships to a design speed of 28 knots while range increased to 4,000 nautical miles. Crew increased to 108.

All nine members of this class entered service during 1905 and were widely deployed during the Western Pacific War losing Duvall, Naylor, Dubose, Rosenthal, and Lentz. Re-classed as destroyers (DD-40 to DD-48) in 1920 the surviving ships served during the War of the Americas, but without the loss of a single ship as they spent the war as convoy escorts – although Hough, Sherrill, and Redd were all damaged on separate occasions by Confederate submarines and surface raiders. After the war ended in 1927, the four remaining ships remained on active duty until 1935, when they were decommissioned and scrapped.

Lockwood class (US):


The next class of destroyers to enter service with the USN was in many ways a progenitor of all US destroyers through the end of the War of the Americas. Although the Lockwood class (named for Lieutenant Clarence Lockwood – who was instrumental in rescuing survivors from the USS Condor when she was sunk in a collision in 1899) carried the same armament and was only slightly faster than the Duvall class – its hull was completely redesigned from the keel up – over twenty feet longer and three feet wider, with a raised forecastle and better hydrodynamics which also allowed better internal compartmentalization and machinery arrangement. Twelve of these ships would be built in all; Lockwood, Theisen, Hotchkiss, Witkowski, Rahn, Hollander, Lowrey, McClelland, Parnell, Denson, Albrecht, and Kimbrough. Hull numbers were TBD-49 to TBD-60.

The Lockwood class was 308 feet long overall, with a 31 foot beam and a nominal draft of 8 feet. They displaced 1,090 tons normal and 1,190 tons full load. Armament was identical to the Duvall class save that sixteen reload torpedoes could be carried. Two direct-drive turbines rated at 19,030 shaft horsepower propelled these ships to 29 knots and gave a range of 4,500 nautical miles on 220 tons of coal. Normal crew complement was 115.

Laid down between 1905 and 1906, and commissioned between 1908 and 1909, the new class entered service just as the Western Pacific War was winding down and saw no combat. Like all earlier classes of TBD’s, the Lockwood’s were re-classed as destroyers in 1920 (hull numbers DD-49 to DD-60), and were refit with oil-fired boilers, hydrophones and depth-charge racks shortly before the outbreak of the War of the Americas. During that conflict three; Theisen, McClelland, and Albrecht were all sunk by Confederate submarines either while on convoy duty or when escorting other warships and several of their sisterships were damaged to varying degrees. After the war five surviving ships; Lockwood, Rahn, Parnell, Denson, and Kimbrough were transferred to the Peruvian Navy in 1930 and saw considerable action in the Peru-Chilean War of 1932-1934. Meanwhile, the four members of this innovative class still in USN service were finally retired in 1936.

Next up: Early US submarines.

Cheers!
Stealthjester

[Tank man]

Beautiful work, as usual.

[emperor_andreas]

Awesome job!

[StealthJester]

Greetings!

Early US submarines, A to C class:


The introduction of military submarines by the USN in the early 20th Century would not have been possible without the ingenuity and persistence of one man. Connecticut native Xavier Haversham had been tinkering with submarine design for nearly two decades before he designed and built an advanced “submersible boat” he christened the Sailfish, which was completed in the summer of 1900. Haversham had been following the work of John Holland – a native of Ireland – who was building experimental submarines for the Royal Navy and Sailfish bore several similarities with Holland’s designs including a duel propulsion system consisting of a gasoline internal combustion engine for surface running and a battery-powered electric motor for use while submerged. Demonstrated before US Navy representatives, Sailfish proved quite successful and prompted the purchase of two modified submarines from Haversham. To produce the new boats (which would become the A-class), Haversham founded Connecticut Submarine Company in his home town of Groton.

The A-class was 64 feet long overall, with a 12 foot beam and a nominal draft of 11 feet. They displaced 109 tons normal and 131 tons submerged. Armament consisted of a single bow torpedo tube with three 18” Mk.8 “short” torpedoes as reloads. They were single-shaft and powered by a four-cylinder Haynes-Apperson gas engine producing 115 horsepower. Surface speed was 6 knots while submerged speed was 5 knots. The subs had a range of 500 nautical miles and a crew of 12.
Two A-class boats were built; A-1 and A-2, both entered service in 1902 and served until 1912 – primarily as training vessels. Both were decommissioned and scrapped beginning in 1913.

The second class of submarines; the B-class (B-1, B-2, and B-3) entered service two years after the A class and were basically enlarged versions of the earlier class but did include a small “sail” conning tower for the first time. They were 85 feet long, with a 13 foot beam and a nominal draft of 11 feet. They displaced 138 tons surfaced, and 167 tons submerged. They were armed with two 18” bow torpedo tubes with five reloads available. Retaining the single-shaft gasoline-electric system of the A-class, the new subs were slightly faster at 7 knots surfaced; 6 knots submerged using a 140 horsepower gas engine. They had a range of 500 nautical miles and a crew of 17.
While USS B-2 was lost with all hands in a diving accident in 1910, her two sisters continued in active service as experimental and training vessels until 1916 when they were retired.

The last of the original “prototype” US submarines was the C-class of 1907. They were larger and had greater displacement than the B-class using a redesigned hull with more efficient tail-planes and control surfaces. They were 106 feet long, with a 13.5 foot beam and a nominal draft of 11.5 feet. They displaced 162 tons surfaced and 198 tons submerged. They retained the twin 18” bow torpedo tubes of their predecessors but could carry seven reload torpedoes instead of five. Power came from a 195 horsepower gas engine driving a single shaft capable of speeds of 9 knots surfaced and 8 knots submerged. Range increased to 800 nm, while maximum diving depth increased to 150 feet. Crew numbered 20.
Four C-class boats (C-1 to C-4) were built – all entered service during 1907. They were the first to see combat when they were shipped to Hawaii to run patrols of the islands during the last year of the Western Pacific War and made several, albeit unsuccessful, attack runs on Confederate ships. After the war they became the first US subs to receive official hull numbers. They were designated SS-1 to SS-4 in 1918, but were kept in service for only another eight months, being decommissioned by the end of 1919 and subsequently scrapped.

D-class (US):


The first US submarines not considered experimental by the USN, the D-class was also the first diesel-electric boats as well as the first twin-shaft designs. Five (D-1 to D-5) were laid down at Connecticut Submarine’s yard in Groton between 1907 and 1908 and commissioned between 1909 and 1910.

The D-class was 135 feet long, with a 13.5 foot beam and a nominal draft of 12 feet. They displaced 289 tons surfaced, and 353 tons submerged. They were armed with four 18” bow torpedo tubes with stowage for nine Mk.8 short or five Mk.11 standard torpedoes. Two Eigner & Sons (latter Eigner Motor Company) diesel engines producing a combined 365 horsepower allowed surface speeds of 11 knots while the electric motors were capable of 9 knots submerged. These ships had a range of 1,200 nautical miles (surfaced) and could dive to a maximum depth of 200 feet. They had a crew of 22.

After commissioning, the D-class began regular patrols – primarily off the East Coast and in the Caribbean. In September of 1916 while on neutrality patrol during the Great War, USS D-4 was rammed by a coastal freighter and lost with all hands. In 1918, the four survivors were given hull numbers (SS-5 to SS-9) and continued to patrol US territorial waters until 1922, when they were deemed obsolete and retired. One, USS D-3 (SS-7), was preserved on the grounds of Connecticut Submarine’s administrative offices near the shipyard as a memorial to Xavier Haversham (who had died a year earlier) and those lost in the creation of the USN’s “Silent Service”.

Next up: Confederate battleships (including the first true dreadnought in North America)

Cheers!
Stealthjester

[emperor_andreas]

Nice work...looking forward to the next post!

[StealthJester]

Greetings!

Florida class (CSA):


Four years passed between the commissioning of CSS Kentucky (B-4) and the keel-laying of the next class of Confederate battleship. However, the rapid pace of naval technological advancement meant the new ships – which appeared at first glance to be weaker overall than their predecessors – were in fact more capable in nearly every respect. They were patterned after the Royal Navy’s Formidable/London class ships, albeit lighter, shorter, and narrower, but were similar in main and secondary armament, maximum speed and range and were more effectively armored than the British ships.
Compared to the US Vermont class which also entered service in 1903, however, the Confederate ships had several shortcomings – namely the lack of a heavy secondary battery and lighter main battery armor. Despite this the new Florida class was considered successful and was popular with their crews. Four ships were originally ordered, however, lack of funding lead to the cancellation of the fourth unnamed member of this class in May of 1900 (she was never laid down). The three ships completed were Florida, Arizona, and North Carolina. Hull numbers ran from B-5 to B-7.

The Florida class was 397 feet long overall, with a 72 foot beam and a nominal draft of 26 feet. They displaced 12,360 tons normal and 13,110 tons full load. They were armed with four Tredegar Mk.VI 12”/45 guns in two twin turrets fore and aft, twelve 6”/45 Mk.VIII guns in hull casemates, and sixteen 12-pounders in open deck mounts. Three submerged 18” torpedo tubes mounted port, starboard, and stern completed the weapon suite. Two four-cylinder triple expansion steam engines producing a total of 12,640 horsepower propelled these ships to a design speed of 18 knots. Range was 6,000 nm. Armor comprised an 11” belt, 3” deck, 12” main turrets and barbettes, 7” casemates, and a 12” conning tower. Crew complement was 673.

Commissioned in 1903, the new battleships were home-ported at the Santiago de Cuba Naval Base in Cuba until the outbreak of the Western Pacific War when they were relocated to Guaymas in the state of Independence. During the conflict two; CSS Florida (B-5) and CSS North Carolina (B-7), were sunk and the third; CSS Arizona (B-6) was severely damaged during the Second Battle of Hawaii and was still under repair at war’s end. Finally returned to service in 1910, she continued to serve in the peacetime CSN – primarily as a training vessel, until she was struck in early 1920 and was broken up soon after.

Cheers!
Stealthjester

[emperor_andreas]

Awesome work!

[Tank man]

Wonderful submarines, they're an oft overlooked branch of AH navies and I'm glad to see that you're doing them.