Shipbucket

The Wilmington Class armored cruisers!



-Ordered as part of the 1885 fleet expansion program, these two armored cruisers (Wilmington and Charleston) were designed originally in 1885, but were re-designed later that year with a layout based on the contemporary cruisers of the US and British navies. They were based on a mixture of different vessels, and the design was submitted by the British Armstrong's yard. They were armed with a 4 x 8-inch guns in pillbox turrets and carried a secondary battery of 6 x 4.5-inch weapons. No torpedoes were carried, and the British request to fit a ram bow was rejected. They were to rely purely on their gunpower. For this, their main battery weapons were some of the most sophisticated and powerful weapons ever produced. The design came from the US Bethlehem Steel Corporation, but where manufactured by the Armstrong's of England. The engines and boilers were made in England, consisting of 22 x Coal-Fired HP boilers and a pair of compound-expansion engines. The first two vessels came off the slipways at Armstrong's in 1887, but fitted out until 1888 and entered service that same year. They formed the first cruiser squadron of the Carolinian Fleet and were the most modern cruisers in service for a few months. They were modernized in 1904, receiving new guns of the same caliber but manufactured by Raleigh Ordnance Works, and they had a barrel length of 40-calibre. The secondary guns were swapped for 3-inch QF weapons in casemates, and a pair of single-tube revolving torpedo sets were fitted. Also altered was the superstructure and the masts were changed to have steam-heated crow's nests. These vantage points mounted 1-pounder anti-torpedo boat guns. The boilers were fitted with oil sprayers and the engines were changed to triple-expansion type. They remained in service as coast-defense ships until 1917, when one was torpedoed by a German U-Boat while on convoy duty and the other ran aground trying to leave the Carolina Sounds and flooded. She was used as a target ship for air force bombers and new naval vessels until she completely slipped below the surface in 1931.

Next: The navy's 1895 program will include troop transports, destroyers, torpedo boats, and most of all... SUBMARINES!!! I hope to get some more stuff done on the CCCN AU and will try to alternate uploads between the two.

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RegiaMarina1939