Published Resources Details Journal Article
- Title
- Torpedo boat design
- In
- The Engineer
- Imprint
- vol. 85, 1 April 1898, p. 312
- Description
Accession No.526
- Abstract
The continuation of the text of a paper read by Assistant Naval Constructor H. G. Gillmor, U.S.N. at the annual meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers ("Torpedo boat design." The Engineer, vol. 85, 28 January 1898, p. 88.), held in New York in September 1897, Gillmor reviewed torpedo boat construction in the United States of America from 1876 to 1896. From the time of construction of the Lightning in 1876 nothing was done towards providing torpedo boats for the United States Navy until 1888 when the Navy Department purchased the wooden yacht Stiletto (length 86 feet 6 inches, beam 11 feet, displacement 31 tons; trial speed 18 knots) from the Herreschoff Manufacturing Company. The first modern torpedo boat to be added to the United States Navy was the Cushing, built by the Herreschoff Manufacturing Company for the Navy Department and commissioned in 1890. In 1894 the construction of torpedo boats was taken up in earnest and an appropriation was made for three boats (length 160 feet, displacement 140 tons; speed 24.5 knots). Congress made provision for three larger and faster boats, and in June 1896, provision was made for the construction of three 30-knot torpedo boats, and ten lower speed torpedo boats at a cost of 500,000 dollars.