The United States ship Intrepid ( USS Intrepid ) is a torpedo-ramous destroyer built for the US Navy in 1874. The first American ship to receive Whitehead self-propelled torpedoes . It was intended for night torpedo-ram attacks on enemy ships, based on the experience of similar actions in the US Civil War , but was not very successful due to its low speed and remained in service for long.
Content
History
The civil war in the USA brought to the military science an innovative tactic of using warships to deliver ram attacks on the enemy or destroy it with the help of mines fixed on a long pole. In a crisis of naval artillery of the 1860s, when traditional smooth-bore guns ceased to be somewhat effective against shipboard armor, and new heavy guns capable of piercing armor had not yet been created, the active use of mines and rams seemed more effective way to destroy the enemy than almost ineffective skirmishes from long distances.
In 1865, the United States Naval Department decided to build two seaworthy ramming ships designed to protect the coast and night attacks on enemy ships. The ships were to have a powerful ram, capable of piercing the enemy, and underwater mines for the advanced pole mines . After the end of the civil war, the construction of ships was delayed and they entered service only in the 1870s.
Construction
Being built in parallel with the USS Alarm , the Intrepid was almost a third larger, shorter by 15 meters and much more massive than its fellow. It was entirely made of iron. Its main armament was also a massive 10-meter ram, which looked even more awkward on the shorter Intrepid case. It was assumed that due to more rounded contours, the Intrepid will have better maneuverability.
Torpedo armament "Intrepida" originally had to consist of three submarine mines for pole mines. But by the time of construction, progress in the field of self-propelled torpedoes was so obvious that the ship was upgraded to use Whitehead torpedoes. In principle, the design did not change: the Whitehead torpedoes were launched through a hole under the ram (also served as a pole mine), and were simply pushed out by a long pole through the hole. Two more mines on the sides of the ship could be used for extending the pole mines (on a pole 9 meters long) at an angle of 45 degrees from the diametral line, in case of a miss during ram attack.
Unlike "Alarm", "Intrepid" had a full armor belt on the waterline, made of wrought iron and reaching a thickness of 127 millimeters. There was no horizontal protection, which made the ship vulnerable to shelling from masts and superstructures during ram attacks. The armament of the ship consisted of four light 24-pound howitzers, which were supposed to fire at the battleships of enemy battleships at a rapprochement (most of the ships of that time did not have armor protecting from attacking the attack) and when approaching for a ram attack - to shoot a canister over the deck and light guns.
The “Intrepid” movement was driven by a steam engine with a power of 1890 hp, which worked (in contrast to “Alarm”) with a conventional screw. Although the power plant was twice as powerful as the “Almarma”, and the propeller - more efficiently than the horizontal wheel used in the “Alarme”, the final speed was only 11 knots - only one more node than the “Alarm”. To save coal, the ship carried sailing equipment of a schooner with two masts, which strong unmasked the silhouette in night attacks.
Service
Intrepid was commissioned in 1874, and was used mainly for torpedo tests. A series of tests carried out at the Norfolk torpedo station clearly demonstrated that the slow, large ramming destroyer was practically incapable of carrying out its task: the breech-loading cannons that appeared in the 1870s could simply shoot the Intrepid while it was approaching the launch distance. Immediately after the test, the ship was temporarily placed in reserve, returned to service in 1875, and remained in service until the end of the decade, almost without leaving the ports of New England.
In 1882, the naval department proposed to convert the outdated but still strong "Intrepid" into a light gunboat for service in China. Congress supported the project, and the ship was delivered to the shipyard for rearmament. The works were very slow, and in 1889, after inspecting the hull, it was decided that the wooden structure of the ship had fallen into disrepair. In 1889, work was stopped and in 1892 the ship was sold for scrap.