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[[File:300px-Uss_Spuyten_Duyvil_1864.jpg|thumb]] <span style="font-weight: bold;">USS ''SPUYTEN DUYVIL ''(1864)</span>
 
[[File:300px-Uss_Spuyten_Duyvil_1864.jpg|thumb]] <span style="font-weight: bold;">USS ''SPUYTEN DUYVIL ''(1864)</span>
   
'''Service: '''1864-1866
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'''Built: '''Mystic, Connecticut
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'''Commissioned:''' October, 1864
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'''Service: '''James River Flotilla
   
 
'''Home Port: '''Norfolk, Virginia
 
'''Home Port: '''Norfolk, Virginia
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'''Speed: '''5 Knots
 
'''Speed: '''5 Knots
 
'''Built: '''Mystic, Connecticut
 
 
'''Commissioned:''' October, 1864
 
   
 
'''Crew: '''23
 
'''Crew: '''23
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'''Summary'''
 
'''Summary'''
   
''Spuyten Duyvil ''was an experimental torpedo boat designed by Captain William W. Wood, with the Navy contracting for her construction in June, 1864. Originally built as USS ''Stromboli'', she was soon rennamed for the Spuyten Duyvil section of New York City.
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''Spuyten Duyvil ''was an experimental torpedo boat designed by Captain William W. Wood, with the Navy contracting for her construction in June, 1864. Originally built as USS ''Stromboli'', she was soon rennamed for the Spuyten Duyvil section of New York City.
   
The ship was an experimental boat in that she was intended as a means of providing multiple torpedo attacks at enemy vessels and river obstructions. Although the precise mechanisms involved are still debated, the concept essentially revolved around a firing "torpedo gun" that was intended to fire a shell rather than the traditional means of mounting a [[Spar Torpedo|spar torpedo ]]on the end of a pole. Period illustrations clearly show a mechanism by which [[Torpedoes|torpedoes]] were to be launched - either as shells or strapped to smaller spars and fired like rockets, from within the interior of the ship.
+
The ship was an experimental boat in that she was intended as a means of providing multiple torpedo attacks at enemy vessels and river obstructions. Although the precise mechanisms involved are still debated, the concept essentially revolved around a firing "torpedo gun" that was intended to fire a shell rather than the traditional means of mounting a [[Spar Torpedo|spar torpedo&nbsp; ]] at the end of a pole. Period illustrations clearly show a mechanism by which [[Torpedoes|torpedoes]] were to be launched - either as shells or strapped to smaller spars and fired like rockets, from within the interior of the ship.
   
Whatever the case, her use against enemy warships was minimal; the most significant military action for ''Spuyten Duyvi''l occurred at the [[Battle of Trent's Reach]] in 1865, during which time [[Spuyten Duyvil]] supported USS [[Onondaga]] against the Confederate James River Squadron. For most of her career, however, she used her unique armament to help clear away Confederate river obstructions. The Navy was not terribly impressed with the concept, but apparently thought enough of her to keep her in service for a full year after the end of hostilities. European observers were fascinated with her, however, and believed that she might herald a new type of naval warfare. She was kept in mothballs for several years before being scrapped and disposed of in 1880.
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Whatever the case, her use against enemy warships was minimal; the most significant military action for ''Spuyten Duyvi''l occurred at the [[Battle of Trent's Reach]] in 1865, during which time she supported USS[[ USS Onondaga | ''Onondaga&nbsp;'']]against the Confederate James River Squadron. For most of her career, however, she used her unique armament to help clear away Confederate river obstructions. The Navy was not terribly impressed with the concept, but apparently thought enough of her to keep her in service for a full year after the end of hostilities. European observers were fascinated with her, however, and believed that she might herald a new type of naval warfare. She was kept in mothballs for several years before being scrapped and disposed of in 1880.
 
[[Category:Ships]]
 
[[Category:Ships]]
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[[Category:James River Flotilla]]

Revision as of 21:04, 26 October 2011

300px-Uss Spuyten Duyvil 1864

USS SPUYTEN DUYVIL (1864)

Built: Mystic, Connecticut

Commissioned: October, 1864

Service: James River Flotilla

Home Port: Norfolk, Virginia

Dimensions: 84' 2" Length, 20' 2" Beam, 7' 6" Draft.

Armor: 5" Pilothouse; 5" Hull; 3" Deck. Iron with wood backing.

Armament: Experimental Torpedo "Tube"

Engines: Single Screw

Speed: 5 Knots

Crew: 23

Fate: Decomissioned, 1866. Sold and Scrapped, 1880.

Summary

Spuyten Duyvil was an experimental torpedo boat designed by Captain William W. Wood, with the Navy contracting for her construction in June, 1864. Originally built as USS Stromboli, she was soon rennamed for the Spuyten Duyvil section of New York City.

The ship was an experimental boat in that she was intended as a means of providing multiple torpedo attacks at enemy vessels and river obstructions. Although the precise mechanisms involved are still debated, the concept essentially revolved around a firing "torpedo gun" that was intended to fire a shell rather than the traditional means of mounting a spar torpedo  at the end of a pole. Period illustrations clearly show a mechanism by which torpedoes were to be launched - either as shells or strapped to smaller spars and fired like rockets, from within the interior of the ship.

Whatever the case, her use against enemy warships was minimal; the most significant military action for Spuyten Duyvil occurred at the Battle of Trent's Reach in 1865, during which time she supported USS Onondaga against the Confederate James River Squadron. For most of her career, however, she used her unique armament to help clear away Confederate river obstructions. The Navy was not terribly impressed with the concept, but apparently thought enough of her to keep her in service for a full year after the end of hostilities. European observers were fascinated with her, however, and believed that she might herald a new type of naval warfare. She was kept in mothballs for several years before being scrapped and disposed of in 1880.