The Bainbridge-class destroyers were a class of United States Navy Torpedo Boat Destroyers (TBDs) built between 1899 and 1903. The first class so designated, they comprised the first 13 of 16 TBDs authorized by Congress in 1898 following the Spanish–American War (the remaining three authorised comprised the Truxtun-class destroyers). One ship of the class was lost at sea during service in World War I: , which collided with the British merchant ship SS Rose in 1917. The balance were decommissioned in 1919 and sold postwar in 1920, eleven to Joseph G. Hitner of Philadelphia, and the to the Denton Shore Lumber Company in Tampa, Florida.
Subclasses
Some sources subdivide the Bainbridge class into subsidiary classes based on their builders' differing designs.
- the first five vessels – Bainbridge, Barry, Chauncey, Dale and Decatur – shared a raised forecastle and had two widely spaced pairs of funnels.
- Hopkins and had a turtledeck forward and may be considered to be Hopkins class. These had their two single torpedo tubes replaced by two twin torpedo tubes during World War I; total torpedoes remained at four.
Design
Origins
Some references, including contemporary ones, describe four ocean-going torpedo boats launched in 1898–1899 as the first US destroyers based on their tonnage, which ranged from . These were , , , and . Stringham, the largest of these, was larger than some contemporary British destroyers. However, at the Bainbridges were considerably larger and had a significantly greater gun armament than the four 6-pounders of the torpedo boats.
The Bainbridge class were produced on the recommendation of an 1898 war plans board formed to prosecute the Spanish–American War and chaired by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt. The poor sea-keeping qualities of existing torpedo boats (such as the ) and the existence of Spanish torpedo boat destroyers (such as the ) were cited as reasons for the US to build its own destroyers. (with the remaining three being ).
Due to construction difficulties the Bainbridges were completed 1901–02, thus too late for the Spanish–American War.
The gun armament of two /50 caliber guns and five 6-pounder () guns was a great increase over the four 6-pounder guns of the torpedo boat Farragut. It reflected a desire to quickly disable torpedo boats before they could get within range of friendly battleships. Future destroyer classes included progressive increases in armament.
The class was equipped with one or two depth charge racks during World War I for their anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission.
Engineering
The best available technologies of coal-fired boilers and triple-expansion engines were used for propulsion, although steam turbines would be adopted in the next generation of US destroyers, beginning with the launched in 1908. The need for faster destroyers was to be a significant driver of naval propulsion technology throughout the type's future development.
Bainbridge had four Thornycroft boilers supplying steam to two triple-expansion engines totaling (design).
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" style="max-width: 9em;" | Builder
! scope="col" style="max-width: 6em;" | Laid down
! scope="col" style="max-width: 6em;" | Launched
! scope="col" style="max-width: 6em;" | Commissioned
! scope="col" style="max-width: 6em;" | Decommissioned
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 1
| rowspan= 3 | Neafie and Levy Ship and Engine Building Company, Philadelphia
| 15 August 1899
| 27 August 1901
| 12 February 1903
| 15 September 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company for merchant conversion
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 2
| 2 September 1899
| 22 March 1902
| 24 November 1902
| 28 June 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 3
| 2 December 1899
| 26 October 1901
| 21 February 1903
| data-sort-value="19 November 1917" | 19 November 1917 (sunk)
| Sunk in collision with British SS Rose
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 4
| rowspan= 2 | William R. Trigg Company, Richmond, Virginia
| 12 July 1899
| 24 July 1900
| 13 February 1903
| 9 July 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 5
| 26 July 1899
| 26 September 1900
| 19 May 1902
| rowspan= 2 | 20 June 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 6
| rowspan= 2 | Harlan & Hollingsworth Company, Wilmington, Delaware
| 2 February 1899
| 24 April 1902
| 23 September 1903
| Sold to Denton Shore Lumber Co., Tampa, FLorida
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 7
| 22 February 1899
| 21 June 1902
| 20 May 1903
| 7 July 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 8
| rowspan= 2 | Fore River Ship & Engine Company, Quincy, Massachusetts
| rowspan= 2 | 10 April 1899
| 7 November 1900
| 7 April 1903
| 20 June 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 9
| 24 December 1900
| 5 September 1903
| 3 September 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company for scrapping
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 10
| rowspan= 3 |Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California
| 20 April 1899
| 14 June 1902
| 19 July 1902
| 15 September 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company for scrapping
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 11
| 19 April 1899
| 27 October 1900
| 4 September 1902
| 2 July 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company for scrapping
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 12
| 21 April 1899
| 2 March 1901
| 14 December 1903
| 11 July 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
|-
! scope="row" |
| Destroyer No. 13
|Gas Engine and Power Company, Morris Heights, New York
| 24 January 1900
| 10 May 1902
| 1 December 1902
| 9 July 1919
| Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company for scrapping
|}
See also
References
Bibliography
- Simpson, Richard V. Building The Mosquito Fleet, The US Navy's First Torpedo Boats. Charleston, South Carolina:Arcadia Publishing, 2001, .
External links
- Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org - Bainbridge class destroyer
- Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org - Hopkins class destroyer
- Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org - Lawrence class destroyer
- Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org - Destroyer classes
- DestroyerHistory.org Bainbridge class destroyer
- DestroyerHistory.org Hopkins class destroyer
- DestroyerHistory.org Lawrence class destroyer
- DestroyerHistory.org First US destroyers
- NavSource Destroyer Photo Index Page
- DiGiulian, Tony Navweaps.com Pre-WWII US Torpedoes
- DiGiulian, Tony Navweaps.com 3"/50 Mks 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8
- DiGiulian, Tony Navweaps.com USN 6 pdr Mks 1 through 13
- US Navy Torpedo History, part 2