Bainbridge-class destroyer

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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.
• and had a turtledeck forward, Fore River boilers, carried their funnels in only one group of four, and may be considered to be Lawrence class. In 1906 two additional 6-pounder guns were substituted for the two 3-inch guns to save weight.
• , and carried one twin torpedo tube instead of two singles beginning in World War I and may be considered to be Paul Jones class.
• was equipped with Seabury boilers and was the fastest of the 400-tonners on trials at Template:Cvt, but her trial displacement of Template:Cvt is described as unrealistically light.

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 Template:Cvt. These were , , , and . Stringham, the largest of these, was larger than some contemporary British destroyers. However, at Template:Cvt 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. The 13 Bainbridges were officially designated as the Navy's first TBDs when authorized by an Act of Congress on 4 May 1898 under the fiscal year 1899 program (with the remaining three being ).

Due to construction difficulties the Bainbridges were completed 1901–02, thus too late for the Spanish–American War. However, the destroyer type was thereby instituted in the US Navy, as it had been in the Royal Navy around 1893 with the "26-knotter" torpedo-boat destroyers and the follow-on "27-knotters", of which the survivors of the later group in 1913 were redesignated as the "A" class destroyers. No further torpedo boats were constructed for the US Navy until the outbreak of World War II in Europe, and by then they had no design relationship to destroyers (see PT boats). The Imperial German Navy of 1898–1918 used the term "torpedo boat" for anything up to a large destroyer in size.

Armament

At 420 long tons normal displacement, the Bainbridges were twice as big as most previous torpedo boats. The extra displacement was used for a greatly increased gun armament and a sufficient engineering plant to rival the torpedo boats in speed (Template:Cvt vs. Template:Cvt). The torpedo armament remained at two torpedo tubes; although the torpedo boat's mission was being transferred to the destroyer, apparently increased gun armament was more important to the designers than increased torpedo armament.

The gun armament of two /50 caliber guns and five 6-pounder (Template:Cvt) 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 Template:Cvt steam to two triple-expansion engines totaling Template:Cvt (design). She made Template:Cvt on trials at Template:Cvt. Normal coal capacity was Template:Cvt.

Hopkins also had four Thornycroft boilers supplying steam to two triple-expansion engines totaling 7,000 ihp (design). She made Template:Cvt on trials at Template:Cvt. Normal coal capacity was lower though, at Template:Cvt.

Lawrence had four Normand boilers supplying steam to two triple-expansion engines totaling Template:Cvt (design). She made Template:Cvt on trials 8,400 ihp. Normal coal capacity was even lower, at only Template:Cvt.

An interesting note on destroyers is that they have continuously increased in size since their inception. The Bainbridges were under Template:Cvt full load; some s in service in 2013 displace Template:Cvt full load, more than the standard displacement limit on 1920s "Treaty cruisers".

Service

A few Bainbridges were deployed to the Philippines 1904–1917. During the US participation in World War I, these were redeployed to the Mediterranean as convoy escorts. Others of the class served in the Atlantic, on the US East Coast, or guarded the Panama Canal. Chauncey collided with the British merchant ship SS Rose in 1917 and was lost. Following the Armistice, the remainder were sold for scrapping or merchant conversion in 1920.

Ships in class

The ships were given the prefix "DD-" before their official numbers, on 17 July 1920, after they had all been decommissioned.

Ships of the Bainbridge destroyer class

Name	Hull class and no.	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Fate
	Destroyer No. 1	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
	Destroyer No. 2		2 September 1899	22 March 1902	24 November 1902	28 June 1919	Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
	Destroyer No. 3		2 December 1899	26 October 1901	21 February 1903	19 November 1917 (sunk)	Sunk in collision with British SS Rose
	Destroyer No. 4	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
	Destroyer No. 5		26 July 1899	26 September 1900	19 May 1902	20 June 1919	Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
	Destroyer No. 6	Harlan & Hollingsworth Company, Wilmington, Delaware	2 February 1899	24 April 1902	23 September 1903		Sold to Denton Shore Lumber Co., Tampa, FLorida
	Destroyer No. 7		22 February 1899	21 June 1902	20 May 1903	7 July 1919	Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
	Destroyer No. 8	Fore River Ship & Engine Company, Quincy, Massachusetts	10 April 1899	7 November 1900	7 April 1903	20 June 1919	Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
	Destroyer No. 9			24 December 1900	5 September 1903	3 September 1919	Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company for scrapping
	Destroyer No. 10	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
	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
	Destroyer No. 12		21 April 1899	2 March 1901	14 December 1903	11 July 1919	Sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company
	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

References

• Public Domain This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

Bibliography

• Simpson, Richard V. Building The Mosquito Fleet, The US Navy's First Torpedo Boats. Charleston, South Carolina:Arcadia Publishing, 2001, Template:ISBN.

External links

• Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org - Bainbridge class destroyer Template:Webarchive
• Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org - Hopkins class destroyer Template:Webarchive
• Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org - Lawrence class destroyer Template:Webarchive
• Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org - Destroyer classes Template:Webarchive
• 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 Template:Webarchive