Squib-class torpedo boat

Add links
This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Squib class
Design plans for Squib
Class overview
NameSquib class
Builders
  • Hunter Davidson
  • William A. Graves
Operators Confederate States Navy
Built1863 - 64
In commission1864–1865
Planned15
Completed4
Cancelled11
Lost4
General characteristics
TypeTorpedo boat
Length
  • 30 to 35 feet (9.1 to 10.7 m) (Squib)
  • 46 feet (14 m) (others)
Beam
  • 6 feet (1.8 m) (Squib)
  • 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) (others)
Depth of hold3 feet 9 inches (1.14 m)
Propulsion
  • 1 × double-cylinder steam engine (Squib)
  • 2 ×
    oscillating condensing engines
    (others)
Complement5 or 6
Armament1 × spar torpedo
ArmorThin iron plates

The Squib class torpedo boats were built for the

tender CSS Drewry exploded on January 24. She was later captured by Union
forces and may have been burned. Hornet was sunk in a collision with another vessel on January 27, and Wasp was scuttled on the night of April 2/3, as the Confederates were abandoning Richmond.

Description and construction

During the

aft. Squib was reportedly quite fast.[4]

The other three vessels of the class were longer than Squib and were very similar amongst themselves.

oscillating condensing engines, which had a 7-inch (18 cm) cylinder and a 6-inch (15 cm) stroke, as well as a single boiler. The vessel was described as having "fair speed for a boat of her kind" by a Union engineer.[3] All of the vessels of the class carried a crew of five or six.[10] They were armed with a single spar torpedo, which was mounted on a shaft that was either 18 feet (5.5 m) according to naval historian Paul H. Silverstone[9] or 16 feet (4.9 m) long according to naval historian John M. Coski.[11] The spar could be raised or lowered by the ship's crew using a chain and tackle system.[12] The ships's sides were armored by thin plates of iron.[10]

Squib was

Stephen R. Mallory ordered six Squib-class boats from England in July 1864, but they were never delivered.[10] Additionally, two others were still under construction at Richmond in April 1865;[14]
the Confederates abandoned Richmond early in that month. Incomplete vessels at the Confederate naval facilities were burned when the city was abandoned.[15] Construction had been started on another in South Carolina and two more in Columbus, Georgia.[3]

Ships

Ship Laid down Fate
Squib 1863 Scuttled February 1865, off Cape Fear
Scorpion 1864 Captured, January 24, 1865; possibly burned
Wasp 1864 Scuttled on night of April 2/3, 1865, near Richmond, Virginia
Hornet 1864 Sunk in collision, January 27, 1864

Squib

Main article: CSS Squib

Squib was also known as Infanta.

scuttled by her crew at Point Peter on Cape Fear.[17]

Scorpion

Main article: CSS Scorpion
Ships in obstructed river with projectiles exploding around them
Confederate vessels at the Battle of Trent's Reach

Commanded by Lieutenant Edward Lakin,[18] Scorpion performed guard duty on the James River as part of the James River Squadron.[7] On the night of January 23, 1865, Scorpion participated in the Confederate offensive known as the Battle of Trent's Reach. When the Confederate vessels present reached Union obstructions at

tender CSS Drewry to explode. The explosion killed two crew members from Scorpion and swept four others overboard.[21] Efforts to rescue her that night failed.[22] She was later captured by Union forces,[7][21] and may have been burned.[9][23]

Wasp

Wasp was commanded by

Battery Dantzler. Wasp then served as a picket boat for Virginia II.[8] She was burned on the night of April 2/3, as the Confederates abandoned Richmond.[24]

Hornet

Hornet was commanded by Master Samuel P. Blanc. On January 23 and 24, 1865, she also took part in the action at Trent's Reach.[6] After Scorpion ran aground, Hornet, who had been proceeding towards the ironclad CSS Richmond, encountered her and tried to get her unstuck, but was unable to do so due to the shallowness of the water. Hornet then moved upriver towards Battery Dantzler, arriving around the time of daylight. On January 27, Hornet collided with the steamer CSS Allison and sank.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Pry & Zeitlin 1984, pp. 384–385.
  2. ^ a b Campbell 2000, p. 92.
  3. ^ a b c d Campbell 2000, p. 105.
  4. ^ Campbell 2000, p. 93.
  5. ^ a b c "Squib". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Hornet". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Scorpion". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Wasp". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d Silverstone 1989, p. 219.
  10. ^ a b c d Pry & Zeitlin 1984, p. 385.
  11. ^ Coski 2005, pp. 125–126.
  12. ^ a b Coski 2005, p. 126.
  13. ^ Campbell 2000, pp. 91–92.
  14. ^ Coski 2005, p. 125.
  15. ^ Coski 2005, pp. 218–219.
  16. ^ a b Pry & Zeitlin 1984, p. 387.
  17. ^ Campbell 2000, pp. 100, 102.
  18. ^ Campbell 2000, p. 111.
  19. ^ Coski 2005, pp. 198–202.
  20. ^ Coski 2005, pp. 201–203.
  21. ^ a b Coski 2005, p. 204.
  22. ^ Campbell 2000, p. 114.
  23. ^ Pry & Zeitlin 1984, p. 392.
  24. ^ Campbell 2000, p. 218.
  25. ^ Campbell 2000, pp. 114–115.

Sources

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Squib-class_torpedo_boat&oldid=1230085962"