Algoma-class sloop

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NH 85516-KN USS Plymouth Screw-sloop, 1869-84.jpg
Painting of USS Plymouth from 1884
Class overview
NameAlgoma class
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded by Ticonderoga-class sloops
Built1867–1868
In service1869–1891
Planned11
Completed4
Retired4
General characteristics
Class & type Screw sloop
Displacement2,394 long tons (2,681 short tons)
Length250.4 ft (76.3 m) lbp
Beam38 ft (12 m)
Depth16.5 ft (5.0 m)
PropulsionSails and steam
Complement291
Armament
  • 10 × 9 in (23 cm) guns
  • 1 × 60 lb (27 kg) rifle
  • 1 × 11 in (28 cm)-inch pivot gun

The Alaska or Algoma-class sloop was a series of screw sloops operated by the US Navy during the later parts of the 19th century. Designed during the American Civil War, only 4 of the 11 planned ships were built, all after the war's end. The class had a brief service life and were all out of service by the early 1890s.

Contents

Development and design

Following the end of the American Civil War, the Union Navy transitioned between wartime mass production and began to develop doctrine for the post-war era. [1] :121 Development of the class began in 1864 with the construction of the ships' engines, although work on building the ships themselves did not start until 1867. [1] :121,125 The classes' design was based on the Ticonderoga-class sloops, and was intended to be an economic alternative to the Contoocook-class and Java-class frigates. [1] :125 Of the 11 ships initially planned, only four were laid down as the other engines were redirected for installation on Swatara-class sloops. The rest of the class was cancelled in 1866, and is sometimes referred to as the Alaska-class. [1] :125 [2] :28

The ships were designed to carry a broadside of ten 9 in (23 cm) guns along with a 60 lb (27 kg) rifle mounted on the bow and a 11 in (28 cm)-inch pivot gun, although the exact loadout varied from ship to ship. [2] :28 [1] :125 They had a length between perpendiculars of 250.4 ft (76.3 m), beam of 38 ft (12 m), depth of 16.5 ft (5.0 m), a displacement of 2,394 long tons (2,681 short tons), and two funnels. The ships carried 150 long tons (170 short tons) of coal which supplied a 950  ihp (710  kW ) engine that turned one propeller and a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). [3] :127 Including the barque-rigged sails, speeds up to 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) were achieved. [1] :126 The ships had a complement of 291. [2] :28

History

In 1869, the Secretary of the Navy disapproved of the large number of warships named after Native American tribes and the incoherent naming conventions used across the fleet. As a result, he ordered a systematic renaming of vessels. [4] That year, Algoma was renamed Benicia , Kenosha became Plymouth , and Astoria to Omaha. [3] :127 While in service, the ships spread out across the world as they were attached to different squadrons. Alaska took part in the Korean Expedition in 1871, and the ships were gradually decommissioned by the 1880s. [2] :26 Omaha, the last in use, was rebuilt in the 1880s and was repurposed as a quarantine ship before she was sold off in 1915. [3] :127

Ships in class

Data [2] :27-28
NameBuilderLaid downLaunchedCommissionedDecommissioned
Alaska Boston Navy Yard 186731 October 18688 December 18691883
Benicia Portsmouth Navy Yard May 186718 August 18681 December 186929 November 1875
Plymouth Brooklyn Navy Yard 27 June 18678 August 186820 January 186917 May 1879
Omaha Philadelphia Navy Yard 186710 June 186912 September 18711891
ConfianceBoston Navy Yard   Cancelled 1866
DetroitBrooklyn Navy Yard   
Meredosia    
PeacockBrooklyn Navy Yard   
SerapisBoston Navy Yard   
Taghkanic    
Talladega    

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Canney, Donald L. (January 1, 1990). The Old Steam Navy Volume 1: Frigates, Sloops and Gunboats, 1815–1885. Naval Institute Press. ISBN   978-0870210044.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Silverstone, Paul H. (2006). "The United States Navy, 1794–1854". Civil War Navies, 1855–1883. The U.S. Navy Warship Series. New York: Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-97872-9. OCLC   63178925.
  3. 1 2 3 Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860–1905. Internet Archive. New York : Mayflower Books. 1979. ISBN   978-0-8317-0302-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  4. "The Evolution of Ship Naming in the U.S. Navy". Naval History and Heritage Command . Archived from the original on 10 Feb 2025.