USS Intrepid (1874)

USS Intrepid (1874)

The second USS "Intrepid", was a steam-powered torpedo ram built in 1874 that had the distinction of being the first U.S. Navy ship armed with self-propelled torpedoes. In concept and design she was roughly comparable to the Royal Navy's HMS "Polyphemus", although "Intrepid" was completed more than half a decade earlier.

Construction

"Intrepid", like the other torpedo rams, was a product of the confusion that followed the invention of the self-propelled torpedo, which saw the world's navies struggle to find a way to effectively utilize the earliest torpedo designs. Her keel was laid down at the Boston Navy Yard and she was launched on 5 March 1874, sponsored by Miss H. Evelyn Frothingham Pooke. After construction completed, "Intrepid" was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on 31 July. Her commanding officer was Commander Augustus P. Cooke.

ervice

As with most of the earliest torpedo-armed warships, "Intrepid" was a largely experimental vessel of little true value as an actual fighting ship. After her commissioning ceremony, she departed Boston on 3 August for the naval base at Newport, Rhode Island. Since she was a new and untried design, "Intrepid" remained in coastal waters for the majority of the voyage, and arrived in Newport the next day. After a little less than a month at Newport she was transferred to New York. Leaving on 31 August, she arrived at the New York Navy Yard on 1 September. The following two months were devoted to torpedo trials along the North Atlantic Coast, which showed that "Intrepid's" design was generally unsatisfactory. Her final trial cruise ended when she returned to New York Navy Yard on 24 October, and she was decommissioned a week later on 30 October.

"Intrepid" remained out of service at New York for the remainder of 1874 and the first half of 1875 before being recommissioned on 28 August. Even though she would remain in commission for the remainder of the decade, with the exception of brief visits to New England ports in 1875 and 1876, she remained at the Navy Yard.

Despite her unsatisfactory and experimental nature, the financially-starved Navy Department looked for ways to utilize her to some good purpose, since money and congressional support for new warships was almost non-existent during this period. The Navy eventually decided to convert "Intrepid" to a light-draft gunboat for service in Chinese waters. As a result she was decommissioned on 22 August 1882 and moved to the shipyard at the New York Navy Yard for conversion. The work proceeded slowly and was suspended altogether in 1889. Years of inactivity had taken their toll on the ship, and a survey undertaken in early 1892 found that she had become unserviceable. Since the funding needed to restore "Intrepid" would be far more than could be possibly be justified by her future value as a gunboat, it was decided to dispose of her. "Intrepid" was stricken from the Navy List and on 9 May 1892 she was sold to a certain Mathew Gill, Jr., of Philadelphia. She was probably broken up soon afterwards.

References

*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/i2/intrepid-ii.htm


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • USS Intrepid — may refer to:*USS|Intrepid|1798, was an armed ketch captured as a prize by the US Navy on 23 December 1803 and later exploded in the harbor of Tripoli 4 September 1804 *USS|Intrepid|1874, was an experimental steam torpedo ram commissioned 31 July …   Wikipedia

  • USS Intrepid — ha sido el nombre utilizado por los siguientes cuatro buques de guerra de la Armada de los Estados Unidos: USS Intrepid (1798), fue un queche armado capturado por la US Navy el 23 de diciembre de 1803, que explotó en el puerto de Tripoli el 4 de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • USS Intrepid — (engl. unerschrocken/furchtlos) war der Name mehrerer Schiffe der United States Navy: eine 1798 gebaute Ketsch, siehe USS Intrepid (1798) ein 1874 gebautes Torpedoboot, siehe USS Intrepid (1874) eine 1904 vom Stapel gelaufene Bark, siehe USS… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • USS Brooklyn (1858) — was a sloop of war authorized by the U.S. Congress and commissioned in 1859. Brooklyn was active in Caribbean operations until the start of the American Civil War at which time she became an active participant in the Union blockade of the… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Constitution — For similarly named ships, principles of government, and other uses, see Constitution (disambiguation). Constitution on her 213th birt …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Schiffe der United States Navy/I — Schiffe der United States Navy A B …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of United States Navy ships, I — I * USS I. J. Merritt (ID 3780) * USS Ibex (1863, IX 119) * USS Ibis (SP 3051, AM 134) * USS Ice Boat (1861) * USS Ice King (SP 3160) * USS Icefish (SS 367) * USS Ida (1863) * USS Idaho (1864, BB 24, SP 545, BB 42) * USS Idalis (SP 270) * USS… …   Wikipedia

  • 1943 — This article is about the year 1943. For the 1987 arcade game, see 1943: The Battle of Midway. Millennium: 2nd millennium Centuries: 19th century – 20th century – 21st century Decades: 1910s  1920s  1930s  – …   Wikipedia

  • List of United States Navy ships, C — C * USS C 1 (SS 9) * USS C 2 (SS 13) * USS C 3 (SS 14) * USS C 4 (SS 15) * USS C 5 (SS 16) * SSV C Champion () * SSV C Commando () * USS C. F. Sargent (ID 3027) * USS C. P. Williams (1861) * USS C. W. Morse (ID 1966) Ca * USS Cabana (DE 260) *… …   Wikipedia

  • Doom Bar — Coordinates: 50°33′47″N 4°56′17″W / 50.563°N 4.938°W / 50.563; 4.938 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”