USS Ajax (1864)

Last updated

USS Ajax - 19-N-19-11-1.jpg
Ajax during the Spanish–American War
History
US flag 45 stars.svgUnited States
Name
  • Manayunk
  • Ajax
Namesake
Ordered15 September 1862
BuilderSnowden & Mason, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Laid down1862
Launched18 December 1864
Completed27 September 1865
Commissioned1 January 1871
Decommissioned1 September 1898
RenamedAjax, 15 June 1869
FateSold for scrap, 10 October 1899
General characteristics
Class and type Canonicus-class monitor
Displacement2,100 long tons (2,100  t)
Tons burthen1,034 tons (bm)
Length235 ft (72 m)
Beam43 ft 8 in (13.31 m)
Draft13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed8  kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)
Complement100 officers and enlisted men
Armament2 × 15-inch (381 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore guns
Armor

USS Ajax, originally named USS Manayunk after a town in Pennsylvania, was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Completed after the end of the war, Ajax was laid up until 1871, although she received her new name in 1869. The ship was briefly activated in 1871, before a much longer commission began in 1874–1875. She was assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron during this time. Ajax was again placed in reserve in 1891. The ship was on militia duty when the Spanish–American War began and she was recommissioned in 1898, to defend Baltimore, Maryland, although she was decommissioned later in the year before the necessary refit could be completed. Ajax was sold for scrap in 1899.

Contents

Design

Ajax was 235 ft (72 m) long overall, had a beam of 43 ft 8 in (13.31 m) and had a maximum draft of 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m). Ajax had a tonnage of 1,034 tons burthen and displaced 2,100 long tons (2,100  t ). [1] Her crew consisted of 100 officers and enlisted men. [2]

Ajax was powered by a two-cylinder horizontal Ericsson vibrating-lever steam engine [3] that drove one propeller using steam generated by four Stimers horizontal fire-tube boilers. [4] The 320- indicated-horsepower (240 kW) engine gave the ship a top speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). She carried 140–150 long tons (140–150 t) of coal. [2] Ajax's main armament consisted of two smoothbore, muzzle-loading, 15-inch (381 mm) Dahlgren guns mounted in a single gun turret. [3] 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]

The exposed sides of the hull were protected by five layers of 1-inch (25 mm) wrought iron plates, backed by wood. The armor of the gun turret and the pilot house consisted of ten layers of one-inch plates. The ship's deck was protected by armor 1.5 inches (38 mm) thick. A 5-by-15-inch (130 by 380 mm) soft iron band was fitted around the base of the turret to prevent shells and fragments from jamming the turret as had happened during the First Battle of Charleston Harbor in April 1863. [4] The base of the funnel was protected to a height of 6 feet (1.8 m) by 8 inches (200 mm) of armor. A "rifle screen" of 1⁄2-inch (13 mm) armor 3 feet (0.9 m) high was installed on the top of the turret to protected the crew against Confederate snipers based on a suggestion by Commander Tunis A. M. Craven, captain of her sister ship Tecumseh. [6] The only known modification after the ship's completion was the addition of a hurricane deck between the turret and the funnel sometime after the end of the Civil War. [7]

Construction

The contract for construction of Ajax, originally named Manayunk, after a town in Pennsylvania, [8] was signed by Snowden & Mason, on 15 September 1862. [9] Her keel was laid down later in the year in Snowden & Mason's new shipyard at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. [10] The ship's construction was delayed by multiple changes ordered while she was being built that reflected battle experience with earlier monitors. This included the rebuilding of the turrets and pilot houses to increase their armor thickness from 8 inches (203 mm) to 10 inches and to replace the bolts that secured their armor plates together with rivets to prevent them from being knocked loose by the shock of impact from shells striking the turret. Other changes included deepening the hull by 18 inches (457 mm) to increase the ship's buoyancy, moving the position of the turret to balance the ship's trim and replacing all of the ship's deck armor. She was ready to be launched in April 1864, but the very low level of the Ohio River rendered that impossible. She was finally launched on 18 December. While fitting out, Ajax was ripped loose from her moorings on 5 March 1865, and she had to be towed back to her berth. The following day she was towed to Mound City, Illinois, where she arrived on 11 March. Snowden & Mason had to pay $7,000 for the tow as well as ship 400 long tons (410 t) of material needed to finish the ship. [11]

Service history

The monitor joined her sisters Oneota and Catawba [12] in ordinary [9] opposite Cairo, Illinois, [12] when she was completed on 27 September 1865, [10] although they drew enough water that they had to be anchored in the main channel where they were often struck by debris, drifting ice, and were vulnerable to accidents. This was a persistent problem and the Navy finally decided to move the ships down to New Orleans, in May 1866. [12] The ship was renamed Ajax, on 15 June 1869. [9]

The monitor was briefly commissioned on 1 January 1871, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Charles Love Franklin, and transferred to Key West, Florida, to participate with the North Atlantic Squadron on coast defense maneuvers. She was decommissioned on 1 July 1871, and laid up at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. After a thorough overhaul, Ajax was recommissioned on 13 January 1874, with Commander Joseph N. Miller in command. The ship was assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron and was based at Key West, until she was decommissioned again on 27 July 1875, and laid up at Port Royal, South Carolina. Recommissioned on 5 November 1875, the ship remained at Port Royal, until moved to the James River. She was moored at Brandon and at City Point, Virginia, before being placed in ordinary at Richmond, on 30 June 1891. [9]

On 26 September 1895, Ajax was loaned to the New Jersey Naval Militia and moored at Camden, New Jersey. She was recommissioned for local defense duties on 9 July 1898, during the Spanish–American War in response to pressure from local politicians. The ship was intended for service at Baltimore, but she was decommissioned on 1 September 1898, before the necessary refit had been completed. Ajax was sold at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 10 October 1899. [9]

Notes

Related Research Articles

USS Agamenticus was one of four Miantonomoh-class monitors built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Commissioned as the war was ending in May 1865, the ironclad saw no combat and was decommissioned in September and placed in reserve. The ship was reactivated in 1870, having been renamed Terror the previous year, and was assigned to the North Atlantic Fleet where she served in the Caribbean Sea. The monitor was decommissioned again in 1872 and was sold for scrap two years later. The Navy Department evaded the Congressional refusal to order new ships by claiming that the Civil War-era ship was being repaired while building a new monitor of the same name.

USS <i>Onondaga</i> (1863) American ironclad monitor

USS Onondaga was an ironclad monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Commissioned in 1864, the ship spent her entire active career with the James River Flotilla covering the water approaches to the Confederate States capital of Richmond, Virginia, although her only notable engagement was the Battle of Trent's Reach. After the war, she was purchased by France where she served as a coastal defense ship in the French Navy.

USS <i>Canonicus</i> (1863) 1863 Canonicus-class monitor

USS Canonicus was a single-turret monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War, the lead ship of her class. The ship spent most of her first year in service stationed up the James River, where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against a sortie by the Confederate ironclads of the James River Squadron. She engaged Confederate artillery batteries during the year and later participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, defending the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina, from December 1864 to January 1865.

USS <i>Tecumseh</i> (1863) Canonicus-class monitor

USS Tecumseh was a Canonicus-class monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Although intended for forthcoming operations against Confederate fortifications guarding Mobile Bay with Rear Admiral David Farragut's West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Tecumseh was temporarily assigned to the James River Flotilla in April 1864. The ship helped to plant obstacles in the river and engaged Confederate artillery batteries in June.

The first USS Miantonomoh was the lead ship of her class of four ironclad monitors built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Completed after the war ended in May 1865, the ship made one cruise off the East Coast before she began a voyage across the North Atlantic in May 1866 to conduct a lengthy showing the flag mission in Europe. Miantonomoh was decommissioned upon her return in 1867, but was reactivated two years later and assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron before decommissioning again in 1870. The monitor was sold for scrap three years later as part of a scheme where the Navy Department evaded the Congressional refusal to order new ships by claiming that the Civil War-era ship was being repaired while building a new monitor of the same name.

USS <i>Saugus</i> (1863) 1863 Canonicus-class monitor

USS Saugus was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The vessel was assigned to the James River Flotilla of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron upon completion in April 1864. The ship spent most of her time stationed up the James River where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against a sortie by the Confederate ironclads of the James River Squadron. She engaged Confederate artillery batteries during the year and later participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, defending the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina, in December 1864 – January 1865. Saugus returned to the James River after the capture of Fort Fisher and remained there until Richmond, Virginia, was occupied in early April.

USS <i>Roanoke</i> (1855) Merrimack-class screw frigate

USS Roanoke was a wooden-hulled Merrimack-class screw frigate built for the United States Navy in the mid-1850s. She served as flagship of the Home Squadron in the late 1850s and captured several Confederate ships after the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The ship was converted into an ironclad monitor during 1862–63; the first ship with more than two gun turrets in history. Her conversion was not very successful as she rolled excessively and the weight of her armor and turrets strained her hull. Her deep draft meant that she could not operate off shallow Confederate ports and she was relegated to harbor defense at Hampton Roads, Virginia for the duration of the war. Roanoke was placed in reserve after the war and sold for scrap in 1883.

USS <i>Neosho</i> (1863) Lead ship of Neosho-class

USS Neosho, the lead ship of her class, was an ironclad river monitor laid down for the Union Navy in the summer of 1862 during the American Civil War. After completion in mid-1863, the ship spent time patrolling the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes as part of Rear Admiral David Porter's Mississippi Squadron. She participated in the Red River Campaign in March–May 1864. Neosho resumed her patrols on the Mississippi after the end of the campaign. She supported the Union Army's operations on the Cumberland River and provided fire support during the Battle of Nashville in December 1864. Neosho was decommissioned after the war and remained in reserve until sold in 1873.

USS <i>Puritan</i> (1864) American Ironclad monitors

USS Puritan was one of two ocean-going ironclad monitors designed by John Ericsson during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. Launched in mid-1864, construction was suspended sometime in 1865. The Navy Department had specified two twin-gun turrets over Ericsson's protests, but finally agreed to delete the second turret in late 1865. The Navy Department evaded the Congressional refusal to order new ships in 1874 by claiming that the Civil War-era ship was being repaired while building a new monitor of the same name.

USS <i>Ozark</i> (1863) American river monitor

USS Ozark was a single-turreted river monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship served in the Mississippi River Squadron during the war, and participated in the Red River Campaign shortly after she was commissioned in early 1864. Ozark patrolled the Mississippi River and its tributaries after the end of the campaign for the rest of the war. She was decommissioned after the war and sold in late 1865.

USS <i>Dictator</i> American Ironclad monitor

USS Dictator was a single-turreted ironclad monitor, designed for speed, and to sail on the open sea. Originally to be named Protector, the Navy Department preferred a more aggressive name, and she was renamed Dictator. Despite her being designed for speed, design problems limited her to a maximum of 10 knots. She served in two different periods; from 1864 to 1865, serving with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and from 1869 to 1877, with the North Atlantic Fleet. After her final decommissioning in 1877, she was sold for scrap in 1883.

USS <i>Oneota</i> (1864) Canonicus-class monitor

USS Oneota was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Completed shortly after the end of the war, Oneota was laid up until sold to her builders in 1868, and then resold to the Peruvian Navy. Renamed BAP Manco Cápac, the ship participated in the defense of Arica during the War of the Pacific. When the town was taken by Chilean troops in 1880, she was scuttled to prevent her capture. Her wreck was rediscovered in 1960 and it has been heavily looted.

USS <i>Catawba</i> (1864) Canonicus-class monitor

USS Catawba was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Completed shortly after the end of the war, Catawba was laid up until sold to her builders in 1868, and then resold to the Peruvian Navy. Renamed BAP Atahualpa, the ship participated in the defense of main port of Peru, Callao, during the War of the Pacific. When the city of Lima was taken by Chilean troops in 1881, she was scuttled to prevent her capture. Atahualpa was later refloated and used as a storage hulk until scrapped in the early 20th century.

USS <i>Monadnock</i> (1863) Miantonomoh-class monitor

USS Monadnock was one of four Miantonomoh-class monitors built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Commissioned in late 1864, she participated in the First in December and Second Battles of Fort Fisher in January 1865. The ship was later assigned to the James River Flotilla on the approaches to the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia and then sailed to Spanish Cuba to intercept the Confederate ironclad CSS Stonewall.

USS <i>Tonawanda</i> (1864) Miantonomoh-class monitor

USS Tonawanda was one of four Miantonomoh-class monitors built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. Commissioned in 1865 after the war ended in May, the ship was decommissioned at the end of the year, but was reactivated to serve as a training ship at the United States Naval Academy in 1866. She was renamed Amphitrite in 1869 and was decommissioned again in 1872. The monitor was sold for scrap the following year. The Navy Department evaded the Congressional refusal to order new ships by claiming that the Civil War-era ship was being repaired while building a new monitor of the same name.

USS <i>Wyandotte</i> (1864) Canonicus-class monitor

Originally named USS Tippecanoe, after the river in Indiana, USS Wyandotte was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Completed after the end of the war, Wyandotte was laid up until 1876, although she received her new name in 1869. The ship was commissioned in 1876 and assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron for the next three years. She became a receiving ship in 1879 until she was placed in reserve again in 1885. Wyandotte was on militia duty when the Spanish–American War began and she was recommissioned in 1898 to defend Boston, Massachusetts from any Spanish raiders. The ship was decommissioned after the end of the war and sold for scrap in 1899.

USS <i>Manhattan</i> (1863) Canonicus-class monitor

USS Manhattan was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. After commissioning in 1864 the ship was assigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay. At the end of the battle, Manhattan took the surrender of the Confederate casemate ironclad ram Tennessee. She bombarded Fort Morgan during the Siege of Fort Morgan and later blockaded the mouth of the Red River until the end of the war.

USS <i>Mahopac</i> (1864) Canonicus-class monitor

USS Mahopac (1864) was a Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The vessel was assigned to the James River Flotilla of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron upon completion in September 1864. The ship spent most of her time stationed up the James River where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against sorties by the Confederate ironclads of the James River Squadron. She engaged Confederate artillery batteries during the year and later participated in both the first and second battles of Fort Fisher, defending the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina, in December 1864 – January 1865. Mahopac returned to the James River after the capture of Fort Fisher and remained there until Richmond, Virginia was occupied in early April.

<i>Kalamazoo</i>-class monitor United States Navys Kalamazoo-class monitors

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 stocks. If the four ships had been finished they would have been the most seaworthy monitors in the US Navy. One was scrapped in 1874 while the other three were disposed of a decade later.

The Milwaukee-class monitors were a class of four riverine ironclad monitors built during the American Civil War. Several supported Union forces along the Mississippi River in mid-1864 before participating in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August. Chickasaw and Winnebago bombarded Confederate coastal fortifications during the battle and during subsequent operations as well as engaging the ironclad Tennessee II. The other two ships arrived at Mobile Bay after the battle and all four supported the land attacks on Mobile in March–April 1865. Milwaukee struck a torpedo during this time and sank. The surviving three ships were sold in 1874; Chickasaw was converted into a ferry and survived until 1944 when she was scuttled. Her wreck was discovered in 2004.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.