Suncook was a Casco-class, light-draft monitor intended for service in the shallow bays, rivers, and inlets of the Confederacy. These warships sacrificed armor plate for a shallow draft and were fitted with a ballast compartment designed to lower them in the water during battle.
Design revisionsedit
Though the original designs for the Casco-class monitors were drawn by John Ericsson, the final revision was created by Chief Engineer Alban C. Stimers following Rear AdmiralSamuel F. Du Pont's failed bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1863. By the time that the plans were put before the Monitor Board in New York City, Ericsson and Simers had a poor relationship, and Chief of the Bureau of Construction and RepairJohn Lenthall had little connection to the board. This resulted in the plans being approved and 20 vessels ordered without serious scrutiny of the new design. $14 million US was allocated for the construction of these vessels. It was discovered that Stimers had failed to compensate for the armor his revisions added to the original plan and this resulted in excessive stress on the wooden hull frames and a freeboard of only 3 inches. Stimers was removed from the control of the project and Ericsson was called in to undo the damage. He was forced to raise the hulls of the monitors under construction by 22 inches to make them seaworthy.
Fateedit
As a result, the Suncook was laid up at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 1866 to 1874. Her name was changed to USS Spitfire on 15 June 1869, but she resumed the name Suncook on 10 August 1869. The monitor was broken up at Philadelphia in July 1874.
suncook, 1865, other, ships, with, same, name, suncook, spitfire, suncook, single, turreted, twin, screw, monitor, built, globe, works, south, boston, delivered, government, boston, navy, yard, july, 1865, history, united, states, nameuss, suncook, orderedapri. For other ships with the same name see USS Suncook and USS Spitfire USS Suncook a single turreted twin screw monitor was built by the Globe Works South Boston and delivered to the government at the Boston Navy Yard on 8 July 1865 History United States NameUSS Suncook OrderedApril 1863 BuilderGlobe Works Boston Acquired8 July 1865 CommissionedNever commissioned FateBroken up July 1874 General characteristics Class and typeCasco class monitor Displacement1 175 long tons 1 194 t Length225 ft 69 m Beam45 ft 14 m Draft9 ft 2 7 m PropulsionScrew steamer Speed9 knots 10 mph 17 km h Complement69 officers and enlisted Armament2 11 in 280 mm smoothbore Dahlgren guns ArmorTurret 8 in 200 mm Pilothouse 10 in 250 mm Hull 3 in 76 mm Deck 3 in 76 mm Suncook was a Casco class light draft monitor intended for service in the shallow bays rivers and inlets of the Confederacy These warships sacrificed armor plate for a shallow draft and were fitted with a ballast compartment designed to lower them in the water during battle Design revisions editThough the original designs for the Casco class monitors were drawn by John Ericsson the final revision was created by Chief Engineer Alban C Stimers following Rear Admiral Samuel F Du Pont s failed bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1863 By the time that the plans were put before the Monitor Board in New York City Ericsson and Simers had a poor relationship and Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair John Lenthall had little connection to the board This resulted in the plans being approved and 20 vessels ordered without serious scrutiny of the new design 14 million US was allocated for the construction of these vessels It was discovered that Stimers had failed to compensate for the armor his revisions added to the original plan and this resulted in excessive stress on the wooden hull frames and a freeboard of only 3 inches Stimers was removed from the control of the project and Ericsson was called in to undo the damage He was forced to raise the hulls of the monitors under construction by 22 inches to make them seaworthy Fate editAs a result the Suncook was laid up at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 1866 to 1874 Her name was changed to USS Spitfire on 15 June 1869 but she resumed the name Suncook on 10 August 1869 The monitor was broken up at Philadelphia in July 1874 References editThis article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS Suncook 1865 amp oldid 1164015196, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
