Dubuque-class gunboat

USS Paducah (PG-18)
Class overview
Builders	Gas Engine & Power Company & Charles L. Seabury Company, Morris Heights, New York City
Operators	United States Navy
Built	1903-1905
In commission	1905-1946
Planned	2
Completed	2
Retired	2
General characteristics [1] [2]
Type	Gunboat
Displacement	1,174 tons
Length	200 ft (61 m)
Beam	35 ft (11 m)
Draught	12 ft (3.7 m)
Propulsion	2 × 500ihp Gas Engine Power Co. vertical triple-expansion engines 2 × 623.5ihp vertical triple-expansion engines (1921)
Speed	13 knots
Complement	162 161 (1921)
Armament	1905- 6 × 4 in (100 mm)/40 cal rapid-fire guns 4 × 6-pounder (57 mm (2.2 in)) rapid-fire guns 2 × 1-pounder (37 mm (1.5 in)) rapid-fire guns 1 × .30 cal Colt machine gun 1911- 6 × 4 in (100 mm)/50 cal rapid-fire guns 4 × 6-pounder (57 mm (2.2 in)) rapid-fire guns 2 × 1-pounder (37 mm (1.5 in)) rapid-fire guns 1918- 4 × 4 in (100 mm)/50 cal rapid-fire guns 4 × 6-pounder (57 mm (2.2 in)) rapid-fire guns 1921- 4 × 4 in (100 mm)/50 cal rapid-fire guns 1 × 3 in (76 mm)/23 cal anti-aircraft gun 1940- 1 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal DP gun 2 × 4 in (100 mm)/50 cal guns 1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal anti-aircraft gun

The Dubuque class gunboats were a class of gunboats built by the United States prior to World War I. The class was designed in 1903. The United States Navy commissioned 2 Dubuque-class gunboats in 1903. Dubuques had a design speed of 12 knots, and a main armament of six 4" rapid-fire guns and four 6-pounder rapid-fire guns in single mounts.

Design

In 1902, two gunboats, Dubuque and Paducah were ordered from Gas Engine & Power Company & Charles L. Seabury Company of New York for survey and patrol duties in the Caribbean. They were 174 feet (53.04 m) long between perpendiculars and 200 feet 5 inches (61.09 m) long overall, with an unusual high and rounded bow, fitted with a bowsprit. Beam was 35 feet (10.67 m) with a draft of 13 feet 4 inches (4.06 m). Displacement was 1,084 long tons (1,101 t). The hull was of composite construction, with steel above the waterline and wood below. Two Babcock & Wilcox boilers fed vertical triple-expansion steam engines rated at 1,250 indicated horsepower (930 kW), driving two shafts and giving a speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph). Two tall and thin funnels were fitted. ^{[3] [4]}

Ships

Ship	Laid down [5]	Launched [5]	Completed [5]	Fate
Dubuque	22 September 1903	15 August 1904	31 May 1905	Sold 19 December 1946 [6]
Paducah	22 September 1903	11 October 1904	31 August 1905	Sold 19 December 1946 [7] Purchased by Haganah and renamed Geulah, caught trying to smuggle Jewish refugees to Palestine 2 October 1947. Merchant ship 1948, scrapped 1951. [1]

References

1. "PG-18 Paducah". NavSource. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
2. "PG-17 Dubuque". NavSource. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
3. Friedman 2009, p. 417.
4. Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 167.
5. Friedman 1987, p. 462.
6. "Dubuque (Gunboat No. 17) i 1905-1946". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
7. "Paducah (Gunboat No. 18) i". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

• Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-85177-133-5.
• Friedman, Norman (1987). U.S. Small Combatants: Including PT-Boats, Subchasers and the Brown Water Navy. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   0-87021-713-5.