Kalamazoo-class monitor
 Engraving of Kalamazoo
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kalamazoo-class |
| Operators |  United States Navy |
| Planned | 4 |
| Scrapped | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Monitor |
| Displacement | 5,600 long tons (5,700 t) |
| Tons burthen | 3,200 |
| Length | 345 ft 5 in (105.3 m) |
| Beam | 56 ft 8 in (17.3 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 6 in (5.3 m) |
| Installed power | list error: <br /> list (help) 2,000 indicated horsepower (1,500 kW) (estimated) 8 × Tubular boilers |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 × Shafts 2 × Direct-acting steam engines |
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Armament | 2 × 2 - 15-inch (380 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns |
| Armor | list error: <br /> list (help) Gun turret: 10 in (254.0 mm) Hull: 6 in (150 mm) Deck: 3 in (76 mm) |
The Kalamazoo class monitors were a class of ocean-going ironclad monitors begun during the American Civil War. Unfinished by the end of the war, their construction was suspended in November 1865 and the unseasoned wood of their hulls rotted while they were still on the building slips. One was scrapped in 1874 while the other three were disposed of a decade later.
Design and description
John Lenthall, Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, ordered Benjamin F. Delano, naval constructor at New York, to design a wooden-hulled ironclad that would carry her armament in two gun turrets. The deck was to be 3 feet (0.9 m) above the waterline and protected by 3 inches (76 mm) of armor. The ship's side armor was to be 10 inches (254 mm) thick, backed by 12–15 inches (305–381 mm) of wood; it was to cover the entire ship's side, down to a depth three feet below the waterline. It should carry enough coal to steam one week at full power with "sufficient speed to make good use of its ram".[1] Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, as enlarged versions of the Miantonomoh-class monitors with greater speed and "adapted to coast service", which likely meant more seaworthy.[2]
The Kalamazoo-class ships were 345 feet 5 inches (105.3 m) long overall and had a length between perpendiculars of 332 feet 6 inches (101.3 m). They had a beam of 56 feet 8 inches (17.27 m) and a draft of 17 feet 6 inches (5.3 m). The ships were designed to displace 5,660 long tons (5,750 t) and had 3,200 tons burthen.[3]
They were powered by two 2-cylinder horizontal direct-acting steam engines, each driving one 15-foot (4.6 m) using steam generated by eight tubular boilers.[2][Note 1] The engines were rated at 2,000 indicated horsepower (1,500 kW) and designed to reach a top speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[4] They had a bore of 46.5 inches (1,181 mm) and a stroke of 50 inches (1,270 mm). Two large funnels were positioned between the turrets to handle the combustion gases from the boilers.[2]
The ships' main armament consisted of four smoothbore, muzzle-loading 15-inch (381 mm) Dahlgren guns mounted in two twin gun turrets.[2] Each gun weighed approximately 43,000 pounds (20,000 kg). They could fire a 350-pound (158.8 kg) shell up to a range of 2,100 yards (1,900 m) at an elevation of +7°.[5]
Ships
| Ship | Builder | Namesake | Renamed | Laid down | Suspended | Scrapped |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalamazoo | Brooklyn Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York | Kalamazoo River[6] | Colossus, 15 June 1869 | 1863 | 17 November 1865 | 1884 |
| Passaconaway | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine | Mount Passaconaway[7] | Thunderer, 15 June 1869; Massachusetts, 10 August 1869 | 18 November 1863 | ||
| Quinsigamond | Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, Massachusetts | Lake Quinsigamond[8] | Hercules, 15 June 1869; Oregon, 10 August 1869 | 15 April 1864 | ||
| Shackamaxon | Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shackamaxon[9] | Hecla, 15 June 1869; Nebraska, 10 August 1869 | 1863 | 1874 |
Notes
- ^ Chesneau & Kolesnik claim that these were Martin boilers.[4]
Footnotes
References
- Canney, Donald L. (1993). The Old Steam Navy: The Ironclads, 1842–1885. Vol. 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-586-8.
- Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- Olmstead, Edwin; Stark, Wayne E.; Tucker, Spencer C. The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon. Alexandria Bay, New York: Museum Restoration Service. ISBN 0-88855-012-X.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1989). Warships of the Civil War Navies. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-783-6.
External links
- [1] Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships entry on Kalamazoo
- [2] Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships entry on Passaconaway
- [3] Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships entry on Quinsigamond
- [4] Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships entry on Shackamaxon