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Friday, January 09, 2009

USS Wampanoag fast cruiser

I recently became interested in the fast American cruiser USS Wampanoag, laid down in 1863. The purpose of the Wampanoag class was to catch the 16 and 17 knot blockade runners built in Britain that were trying to enter Southern ports. David Dixon Porter was in an internal political struggle with Benjamin Isherwood and succeeded in stopping the construction of these ships until they no longer had a mission. the Wampanoag apparently could sustain 16.6 knots and could be pressed up to 17.75 knots, making her the fastest American warship until the USS Charleston was completed about 20 years later. This is my edited Wampanoag photograph and I did a Springsharp design:
Wampanoag, United States Cruiser laid down 1863 (Engine 1864)

Displacement:
 4,724 t light; 4,947 t standard; 5,401 t normal; 5,763 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
 (365.00 ft / 355.00 ft) x 45.20 ft x (19.00 / 20.08 ft)
 (111.25 m / 108.20 m) x 13.78 m  x (5.79 / 6.12 m)

Armament:
      10 - 8.00" / 203 mm 20.0 cal guns - 177.02lbs / 80.30kg shells, 100 per gun
   Muzzle loading guns in deck mounts, 1863 Model
   10 x Single mounts on sides, evenly spread
      2 - 6.70" / 170 mm 22.0 cal guns - 104.52lbs / 47.41kg shells, 150 per gun
   Muzzle loading guns in deck mounts, 1863 Model
   2 x Single mounts on sides, forward deck aft
      Weight of broadside 1,979 lbs / 898 kg

Machinery:
 Coal fired boilers, simple reciprocating steam engines, 
 Geared drive, 1 shaft, 9,198 ihp / 6,862 Kw = 17.75 kts
 Range 1,500nm at 10.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 816 tons (100% coal)

Complement:
 314 - 409

Cost:
 £0.572 million / $2.288 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 124 tons, 2.3 %
    - Guns: 124 tons, 2.3 %
 Machinery: 2,607 tons, 48.3 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,992 tons, 36.9 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 677 tons, 12.5 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   1,291 lbs / 585 Kg = 8.5 x 8.0 " / 203 mm shells or 0.5 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.69
 Metacentric height 3.6 ft / 1.1 m
 Roll period: 10.0 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 93 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.35
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.86

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has raised forecastle, raised quarterdeck ,
   a normal bow and a round stern
 Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.620 / 0.626
 Length to Beam Ratio: 7.85 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 18.84 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 45 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 10.00 ft / 3.05 m
 Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
    Fore end,  Aft end
    - Forecastle: 28.00 %,  18.00 ft / 5.49 m,  16.00 ft / 4.88 m
    - Forward deck: 30.00 %,  11.00 ft / 3.35 m,  11.00 ft / 3.35 m
    - Aft deck: 17.00 %,  11.00 ft / 3.35 m,  11.00 ft / 3.35 m
    - Quarter deck: 25.00 %,  14.00 ft / 4.27 m,  14.00 ft / 4.27 m
    - Average freeboard:  13.37 ft / 4.08 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 164.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 78.3 %
 Waterplane Area: 11,734 Square feet or 1,090 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 96 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 109 lbs/sq ft or 530 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.94
  - Longitudinal: 1.70
  - Overall: 1.00
 Cramped machinery, storage, compartmentation space
 Cramped accommodation and workspace room
 Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
 Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

3 comments:

leslie said...

Do you know of any source that would offer a name log of the crew of the old HMS ships? Specifically, I want a source of information for the Royal Battleship HMS Agamanon. Can you point me in a direction? I have a clock with a placard that says it was presented to a fellow from the workmen crew on the HMS Agamanon and dated early 1900's.

Jim said...

This is a link to online records search for Royal Navy personel:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/royal-navy-service.asp

You may be able to find the sailor by searching at this page.

leslie said...

Thank you! I will let you know if I find the family name.

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