USS Sandusky (1865)
| Career | 100x35px |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Sandusky |
| Ordered: | 16 May 1862 |
| Builder: | Tomlinson & Hartupee, Pittsburgh |
| Laid down: | 1862 |
| Launched: | Between 13–17 January 1865 |
| Completed: | 26 December 1865 |
| Acquired: | 25 April 1866 |
| Renamed: | Minerva, 15 June–10 August 1869 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 17 April 1873 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Monitor |
| Displacement: | 479 long tons (487 t) |
| Length: | 170 ft (51.8 m) |
| Beam: | 50 ft (15.2 m) |
| Draft: | 5 ft (1.5 m) |
| Propulsion: |
4 × horizontal tube boilers 2 × steam engines 4 × 6 ft 6 in (2 m) screws |
| Speed: | 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
| Complement: | 100 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 2 × 11 in (280 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns |
| Armor: |
Turret: 6 in (150 mm) Pilothouse: 1.25 in (32 mm) Hull: 1.25 in (32 mm) Deck: 1.25 in (32 mm) |
USS Sandusky, a light draft, Marietta-class, single‑turreted, ironclad, screw monitor, was laid down in the summer of 1862. Primary construction was at the Tomlinson and Hartupee yard in Pittsburgh, PA, owned by Joseph Tomlinson and Andrew Hartupee. However, Hartupee had a separate partnership with a man named Samuel Morrow and they operated a secondary company that was also heavily involved in the construction process. Though the three men knew each other, it appears that they were not full partners as Tomlinson and Hartupee Co. had a different location from Hartupee and Morrow Co. The US government allocated $188,000 US for the construction of the Sandusky.
Construction
Construction of the Sandusky was slow and time consuming. The reports of the hull and machinery inspectors often mentioned that more men needed to be employed. Letters were sent to the contractors stressing the need for haste, but nothing seemed to alter the continued slow pace of construction. The many changes were incorporated during the construction by Navy inspectors further lengthening the process.
Original plans for the Sandusky resembled the USS Ozark in many ways. The turret was 20 feet wide and was followed with an aft deckhouse. There were also twin smokestacks similar to the Mississippi River steamboat designs. The original plans also called for a forward, pyramidal pilothouse, similar to the one on USS Monitor, however it is believed that the pilothouse was moved to the top of the turret before construction was completed. The Sandusky had four horizontal, tubular steam boilers powering two western steamboat-type engines that propelled the vessel with four 6 feet 6 inch (2 meter) propellers. She also had three rudders.
History
Sandusky launched as a gunboat early in January 1865; completed 26 December 1865; and accepted by the Navy 25 April 1866. She was never commissioned. Soon after her acceptance Sandusky was laid up at Mound City, Illinois. Renamed Minerva on 15 June 1869, the gunboat carried that name only until 10 August, when she was again named Sandusky. Remaining at Mound City, Sandusky was sold 17 April 1873 to David Campbell.
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
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