Well, I believe I have the basic hull and major deck stuff mostly done, just need to start with some details now.
![[ img ]](http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/3528/templateusapatroleaglec.png)
![[ img ]](http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5989/eagleboat33.jpg)
The Eagle Patrol Boats were an interesting class in that they are, to my knowledge, the only warships ever built on an assembly line. In 1918, Pres. Wilson asked Henry Ford to serve on the Shipping Board. Ford came up with the idea of building ships on an assembly line, the same as he did with his cars. The Eagles were the result of that.
Built in a factory in a suburb of Detroit, they were indeed assembly line built. Using flanged flat plate steel for the hulls instead of rolled plate, they went together fairly quickly. The only problem was that they weren't on the water. So, once one was finished, they loaded it onto a large flatcar pulled by tractors, slowly moved it to the water, then lowered it in on a hydraulic platform. Definately not your traditional launching. Initially a class of 100 was planned, increased to 112, then at the end of the war reduced to 60.
Class overview
Name: Eagle
Operators: United States Navy
Completed: 60
General characteristics
Type: Patrol craft
Displacement: 615 long tons (625 t)
Length: 200.8 ft (61.2 m)
Beam: 33.1 ft (10.1 m)
Draft: 8.5 ft (2.6 m)
Propulsion: Poole geared steam turbine, 2,500 shp (1,864 kW)
1 screw
Speed: 18.32 knots (33.93 km/h; 21.08 mph)
Complement: 5 officers, 56 men
Armament: • 2 × 4"/50 caliber guns
• 1 × 3"/50 caliber gun
• 2 × .50-caliber machine guns
• 1 × Y gun (Eagles 4 through 7 only)
