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USS Chimo (1864)
Encyclopedia
USS Chimo, a single-turreted, twin-screw
monitor
, was built by the Aquila Adams, South Boston, MA, and launched 5 May 1864, and commissioned 20 January 1865, Acting Master
John C. Dutch in command.
Chimo was a Casco-class, light-draft monitor intended for service in the shallow bays, rivers, and inlets of the Confederacy
. These warships sacrificed armor plate for a shallow draft
and were fitted with a ballast
compartment designed to lower them in the water during battle.
, the final revision was created by Chief Engineer Alban C. Stimers following Rear Admiral
Samuel F. Du Pont's failed bombardment of Fort Sumter
in 1863. By the time that the plans were put before the Monitor Board in New York, NY, Ericsson and Simers had a poor relationship, also Chief of Naval Construction John Lenthall had little connection to the board. This resulted in the plans being approved and 20 vessels ordered without serious scrutiny of the new design. $14 million US was allocated for the construction of these vessels. It was discovered that Stimers had failed to compensate for the armor his revisions added to the original plan and this resulted in excessive stress on the wooden hull frames and a freeboard of only 3 inches. Stimers was removed from the control of the project and Ericsson was called in to undo the damage. He was forced to raise the hulls of the monitors under construction by nearly two feet and the first few completed vessels had their turrets removed and a single pivot-mount 11 inch Dahlgren
cannon mounted. These same few vessels had a retractable spar torpedo
added as well.
where she arrived on the 9th. On 28 April she sailed for Point Lookout, NC, where she served as a station ship until 28 May 1865. Arriving at Washington Navy Yard
7 June 1865, she was decommissioned 24 June 1865. Her name was changed to Orion 15 June 1869; to Piscataqua 10 August 1869, and she was sold in 1874.
The plans for the torpedo mechanism on the modified Casco-Class monitors.
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
, was built by the Aquila Adams, South Boston, MA, and launched 5 May 1864, and commissioned 20 January 1865, Acting Master
Master Chief Petty Officer
- Master Chief Petty Officer :U.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar deviceU.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerinsigniaGood conductRating badgeMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar Insignia...
John C. Dutch in command.
Chimo was a Casco-class, light-draft monitor intended for service in the shallow bays, rivers, and inlets of the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. These warships sacrificed armor plate for a shallow draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
and were fitted with a ballast
Sailing ballast
Ballast is used in sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the sail. Insufficiently ballasted boats will tend to tip, or heel, excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the boat capsizing. If a sailing vessel should need to voyage without cargo then ballast of...
compartment designed to lower them in the water during battle.
Design revisions
Though the original designs for the Casco-class monitors were drawn by John EricssonJohn Ericsson
John Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother Nils Ericson. He was born at Långbanshyttan in Värmland, Sweden, but primarily came to be active in England and the United States...
, the final revision was created by Chief Engineer Alban C. Stimers following Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Samuel F. Du Pont's failed bombardment of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
in 1863. By the time that the plans were put before the Monitor Board in New York, NY, Ericsson and Simers had a poor relationship, also Chief of Naval Construction John Lenthall had little connection to the board. This resulted in the plans being approved and 20 vessels ordered without serious scrutiny of the new design. $14 million US was allocated for the construction of these vessels. It was discovered that Stimers had failed to compensate for the armor his revisions added to the original plan and this resulted in excessive stress on the wooden hull frames and a freeboard of only 3 inches. Stimers was removed from the control of the project and Ericsson was called in to undo the damage. He was forced to raise the hulls of the monitors under construction by nearly two feet and the first few completed vessels had their turrets removed and a single pivot-mount 11 inch Dahlgren
Dahlgren gun
Dahlgren guns were muzzle loading naval artillery designed by Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren USN, mostly used in the period of the American Civil War. Dahlgren's design philosophy evolved from an accidental explosion in 1849 of a 32-pounder being tested for accuracy, killing a gunner...
cannon mounted. These same few vessels had a retractable spar torpedo
Spar torpedo
A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls...
added as well.
End of Civil War and fate
As a result, the Chimo sailed for New York, arriving 26 January 1865, to be refitted with the torpedo gear. On 1 April 1865 she departed for Hampton RoadsHampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
where she arrived on the 9th. On 28 April she sailed for Point Lookout, NC, where she served as a station ship until 28 May 1865. Arriving at Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
7 June 1865, she was decommissioned 24 June 1865. Her name was changed to Orion 15 June 1869; to Piscataqua 10 August 1869, and she was sold in 1874.
The plans for the torpedo mechanism on the modified Casco-Class monitors.
See also
- See USS OrionUSS OrionUSS Orion is a name used more than once by the U.S. Navy]:, a wooden schooner used as part of the Stone Fleet of the Union Navy during the American Civil War., a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor of the Union Navy during the American Civil War, the name used only briefly following the original...
for other ships of this name. - See USS PiscataquaUSS PiscataquaUSS Piscataqua may refer to:, a screw steamer commissioned 21 October 1867; renamed Delaware on 15 May 1869; decommissioned 5 December 1870., a light-draft monitor originally named Chimo; renamed Orion 15 June 1869 and Piscataqua 10 August 1869; broken up for scrap in 1874, a screw tug built as W. H...
for other ships of this name.