U.S.S. Kathadin (1893)
| U.S.S. Katahdin (1893) | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Bath Iron Works |
| Ordered: | 2 March, 1889 |
| Launched: | 4 February, 1893 |
| Commissioned: | 20 February, 1896 |
| Sunk: | September 1909 |
| Fate: | Target Ship |
Construction
Katahdin was launched by Bath Iron Works on 4 February, 1893; sponsored by Miss Una Soley, daughter of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
Service
Kathadin commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 20 February, 1896, Commander Richard P. Leary in command.
The experimental, harbor-defense ram was a new departure in ship design, built to ride extremely low in the water with her bow awash while under way. Her hull embodied several new features later used in early submarines.
Katahdin departed New York Harbor on 4 March, 1897, the day of President McKinley's first inauguration, and sailed to Norfolk before decommissioning at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 17 April. A year later, with the Navy preparing for an impending war with Spain, she recommissioned there 10 March, 1898. She was attached to the North Atlantic Squadron and operated along the Atlantic Coast from New England to Norfolk, protecting the cities of the eastern seaboard from possible attack. After decisive American naval victories at Manila Bay and Santiago Harbor eliminated this threat, the ram decommissioned for the last time at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 8 October.
Katahdin was struck from the Navy List 9 July, 1909. Redesignated "Ballistic Experimental Target 'A'", Katahdin was sunk by gunfire at Rappahannock Spit in September.
Captains
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
- Commander Richard P. Leary, 12 February, 1896[1] – 17 April, 1897
- Commander George F. F. Wilde, 10 March, 1898[2][3] – September, 1898[4]
Armament
- four 6-pounder guns
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1897. p. 8.
- ↑ List and Station, July 1898. p. 6.
- ↑ Records of Living Officers (6th ed). p. 85.
- ↑ Records of Living Officers (7th ed). p. 106.
Bibliography
- Chesneau, Robert; Kolesnik, Eugene (editors) (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
- Guthrie, J. A. (July, 1898) "A Cruise on a Modern Ram." The Strand Magazine XVI (91): pp. 61-64.
- "The Harbor Defense Ram Katahdin." (February 18, 1893) Scientific American LXVIII (7): pp. 97, 100.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (2006). The U.S. Navy Warship Series: The New Navy 1883-1922. New York: Routledge.
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