Dubuque-class_gunboat
The Dubuque class gunboats were a class of gunboats built by the United States prior to World War I. The class was designed in 1903. The United States Navy commissioned 2 Dubuque-class gunboats in 1903. Dubuques had a design speed of 12 knots, and a main armament of six 4" rapid-fire guns and four 6-pounder rapid-fire guns in single mounts.
USS Paducah (PG-18)
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Gas Engine & Power Company & Charles L. Seabury Company, Morris Heights, New York City |
| Operators |  United States Navy |
| Built | 1903-1905 |
| In commission | 1905-1946 |
| Planned | 2 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics [1][2] | |
| Type | Gunboat |
| Displacement | 1,174 tons |
| Length | 200 ft (61 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Draught | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 13 knots |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
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In 1902, two gunboats, Dubuque and Paducah were ordered from Gas Engine & Power Company & Charles L. Seabury Company of New York for survey and patrol duties in the Caribbean. They were 174 feet (53.04 m) long between perpendiculars and 200 feet 5 inches (61.09 m) long overall, with an unusual high and rounded bow, fitted with a bowsprit. Beam was 35 feet (10.67 m) with a draft of 13 feet 4 inches (4.06 m). Displacement was 1,084 long tons (1,101 t). The hull was of composite construction, with steel above the waterline and wood below. Two Babcock & Wilcox boilers fed vertical triple-expansion steam engines rated at 1,250 indicated horsepower (930 kW), driving two shafts and giving a speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph). Two tall and thin funnels were fitted.[3][4]
| Ship | Laid down[5] | Launched[5] | Completed[5] | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubuque | 22 September 1903 | 15 August 1904 | 31 May 1905 | Sold 19 December 1946[6] |
| Paducah | 22 September 1903 | 11 October 1904 | 31 August 1905 | Sold 19 December 1946[7] Purchased by Haganah and renamed Geulah, caught trying to smuggle Jewish refugees to Palestine 2 October 1947. Merchant ship 1948, scrapped 1951.[1] |
- "PG-18 Paducah". Navsource.org. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
- "PG-17 Dubuque". Navsource.org. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
- Friedman 2009, p. 417.
- Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 167.
- Friedman 1987, p. 462.
- "Dubuque (Gunboat No. 17) i 1905-1946". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- "Paducah (Gunboat No. 18) i". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
- Friedman, Norman (1987). U.S. Small Combatants: Including PT-Boats, Subchasers and the Brown Water Navy. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-713-5.