Shipbucket

Greetings!

I'll answer both your questions:

In the context of this timeline, "impeached" means the individual was removed from office, having been found guilty of charges leveled by that country's congress, i.e "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" as defined in each country's constitution.

The Oliver Perry class of armored heavy frigates (i.e. early ironclad battleships) is next up. In the reboot I'm listing the back history by decade so eventually all classes of warship built or planned by the US and CSA will be posted (time permitting).

Hope that helps!

Cheers!
StealthJester

Can't wait to see it. I like this thread and the drawings. I've always loved alternate history.

Thanks!

I think that a scale down Brandywine class would be useful to my AU as well. And I am also waiting to see next ships.

Hi StealthJester :

May I ask why not the Confederacy took over all the Baja California peninsula? The southern tip which is part of Mexico will be ill connected with the rest of the Mexican Republic, but also is blocking (potentially) the access to the confederate inner portion of Sea of Cortez.

Another pair of questions about the artillery of your nice and well balanced Constitution: Why are you arming the boardside battery with "yankee" Parrott rifles instead of "rebel" Brooke guns? Do you think as a future choice the change of the smooth bore Dahlgrens to Armstrong rifles (or even breech loading french or German ordnance)? Cheers.

Excellent questions Reytuerto!

The situation in Baja was deliberate - the Confederacy had designs on the entire peninsula but didn't get everything it wanted from the Treaty of Baltimore. This will cause trouble down the road.

As for the armaments of the Brandywine class, Parrott rifles would be appropriate for a post-Civil War US ship, they were substantially updated to address their shortcomings starting with the Oliver Perry class (they had a tendency to burst when fired) but will not survive much past the early 1880's as "modern" breech-loaders are developed for the US Navy a few years earlier than in our timeline.

This illustrates the major change for the US Navy in this timeline. In our history, the US Navy was allowed to deteriorate after the Civil War until by 1880 it was little more than a third rate coast defense force. In this timeline, the continued presence of a potentially hostile Confederacy forces the US Navy to continuously update its ships and equipment as well as maintaining a larger fleet than historically.

The Confederacy will continue to innovate (as it did historically) in order to stay ahead of the US in technology as it will never be able to keep parity in strength of numbers.

Hope this answers your questions.

Cheers!
StealthJester

Oliver Perry class (US):


The Oliver Perry class was initially intended to be larger, more powerful versions of the Brandywine class when first proposed in late 1872. After an extensive design review, which looked to the newest designs coming out of Europe, the decision was made to rework the new ships as central battery armored frigates. The final design drew some inspiration from HMS Sultan – a British central battery ironclad commissioned in 1871. Six ships of this class were authorized in 1873.
These ships would be the only warships of this configuration built for the US Navy, and their final design was not without controversy. A number of naval architects within the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) which oversaw design, construction, and maintenance of Navy ships, favored turret designs and proposed a larger version of the Illinois class monitors with better sea-keeping capabilities. This “Turret Faction” led by a young Hiram Langford (later Chief of the BuC&R) was ultimately proven right, but was overruled at the time due primarily to stability concerns – exacerbated by the recent loss of HMS Captain (a British turreted full-rigged ship) with great loss of life.
Regardless, USS Oliver Perry was the most powerful ship in the fleet – arguably the Americas – when she commissioned in 1876 and greatly alarmed the Confederates – who immediately accelerated construction of the armored frigates of the Memphis class.

The Oliver Perry class was 343 feet long overall and displaced 5,177 tons normal and 5,698 tons full load. They were armed with eight 10” muzzle-loading rifles in the central casemate. These weapons were upgraded from the wartime 300-pounder Parrott gun used by the US Army and were more reliable and less prone to failure than their Civil War-era counterparts. The secondary battery was comprised of sixteen improved 5.3” (60-pounder) Parrott-type rifles in broadside mounts with four additional 5.3” guns as bow and stern chasers.
Propulsion was very similar to the Brandywine class; two direct-drive compound steam engines generated 2,700 horsepower and drove twin-shafts. Design speed was 13 knots, but was rarely achieved in service with sustained speeds of 12.5 to 12.75 knots more common. They also carried three masts with tripod bases and were the last new construction US warships to be full ship-rigged. Range under steam was an impressive 3,500 nautical miles on 1,173 tons of coal.
Armor was the familiar wrought-iron with wood backing type and consisted of a 5” belt tapering to 4” at bow and stern with a 6” thick casemate. Crew complement was 396.

Oliver Perry, Thomas Truxton, Isaac Hull, William Bainbridge, Edward Preble, and Steven Decatur, all named for early US naval heroes, commissioned between 1876 and 1877. They served almost their entire careers in the Atlantic Fleet and made a number of goodwill trips to South America and Europe during the early 1880’s as the US adopted a more open foreign policy.
During the Mexican-Confederate War they conducted a number of training exercises off the CSA’s Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico in order to “impress” the Confederates, who always managed to get a ship into the area to observe these exercises, viewing them more as “antagonizing” lodging several formal protests with the US Government. One particularly zealous captain of USS Isaac Hull was actually court-martialed for repeated violations of Confederate waters. On the plus side for the CS Navy, it is thought that many of the changes mandated to the Memphis class were based on these observations.
Following the War, the class returned to its regular duties. In 1883, two years following the signing of the Vargas-Ashley Treaty, USS William Bainbridge was transferred to the Mexican Republic where she was renamed NRM (Nave de la Republica de Mexico – Republic of Mexico Ship) Democrata, after Commodore Martinez’s flagship at the Battle of Veracruz. Democrata served in the Republic Navy for the next twenty years – most of the time as fleet flagship - before being retired and scrapped in 1903.
The remaining five ships continued to serve well into the 1890’s with Edward Preble and Steven Decatur becoming the first ships permanently assigned to the Pacific Fleet when it was established in 1897 – headquartered in the city of San Diego, California. All five underwent periodic refits, including the replacement of their old guns with modern 8” and 4” breech-loaders in 1885.
By 1902, however, they were thoroughly obsolete as well as structurally worn-out, and so were decommissioned. Sold off for scrapping two years later, one ship escaped the breakers. The city of San Diego purchased the USS Steven Decatur for refurbishment as a museum ship. Permanently moored near the San Diego Naval Base, Decatur was opened to the public in 1907. Although she never fired her guns in anger, the frigate was damaged twice by enemy action; first in 1923 by Confederate aircraft and airships during the War of the Americas, and second, when the Japanese bombed the harbor during the Great Pacific War (1942-1948). She was repaired both times, and later underwent a complete reconstruction which restored her original 1877 appearance. Affectionately known as “The Old Bulldog” by the people of San Diego, she can still be visited today.

Next up: Memphis class

Cheers!
StealthJester

Very nice drawing. Can't wait to see more.

Amazing.

_________________

Nobody expects the Imperial Inquisition!

Excellent design! The coles tripods for the masts are a very interesting detail, and combined with the central casemate gives a very good looking image! Very well done!

Memphis class (CSA):




The only major warships built for the CS Navy during the 1870’s, the Memphis class frigates suffered from a prolonged design period and frequent construction delays – the last two members of this class did not officially commission until 1880. This was entirely due to the ambitious nature of the project – these ships were not only the first iron-hulled vessels built for the CS Navy, they were the largest, most heavily armed ships built in the Confederacy up to that time.
First proposed in 1870 to supplement and eventually replace the North Carolina and Stonewall class ironclads, they were quickly re-envisioned as armored broadside frigates armed with Tredegar-built 9” Dahlgren smoothbores intended to counter the US Brandywine class laid down that year.
As design work continued, however, a conversation over dinner would change the entire scope of the project. In the summer of 1872, the CS Secretary of the Navy, Jean-Phillip Lagrange met his friend and colleague Nigel Armtiage – the British Naval Attaché to the Confederacy – for dinner at the exclusive Heritage Club in downtown Richmond. The conversation soon turned to the subject of naval matters and Armitage inquired about the new frigates. Over cigars and brandy, the pair discussed the new ships and how best to compete with the US Navy. Armitage, who had no love for the United States, offered to let his friend look over the plans for a pair of central battery ships (HMS Alexandra and HMS Temeraire) the UK was planning to build. Lagrange was impressed and soon after directed the Confederate Naval Design and Construction Bureau (BuD&C) – the equivalent of the BuC&R in the US, to redesign the ships as central battery armored frigates to be armed with the heaviest guns available – license-built copies of the Armstrong 300-pounder rifle. Known to the CSN as the 10-inch Armstrong BLR, the gun was one of the largest breech-loaders in use anywhere in the world and was thought to allow the new frigates to outgun their US counterparts. With the final design in hand, BuD&C went to the CS Congress for funds. That body debated the issue for several months before authorizing eight ships (out of a planned class of twelve) for immediate construction.
The first three were all laid down in late 1873, with two more the following year, with the final three scheduled for 1875. Almost immediately, the project ran into trouble. The Confederate iron industry, although much stronger than during the Civil War, was still unable to provide all the material needed for the hulls of the new ships, to say nothing of the wrought-iron armor plate that would be required. This delay was short, however, as negotiations with the British and French (both at that time building a large number of ironclads) meant that high-quality armor could be supplied.
Although this put construction back on track, the delays caused by the domestic iron industry “ramping up” meant growing cost overruns. In 1875, the project was dealt a blow when the CS Congress cancelled the last three ships (provisionally named Pensacola, Little Rock, and St. Louis) in an effort to control costs. In mid-1876, the fifth ship, Jacksonville, was also cancelled incomplete and was soon broken up on the slipway.
Despite the setbacks and delays, however, the first two ships; Memphis and Savannah, were launched successfully, but fitting out as well as completion of the second pair; Houston and Richmond, were delayed by the outbreak of the Mexican-Confederate War.
When the first two ships were commissioned in 1878, they were immediately dispatched to join the squadron stationed at Veracruz. During the conflict the ships were plagued by bad luck in the form of issues with their main guns (mostly misfires and breech seating failures), the engine difficulties that sent Memphis back to Mobile for repairs causing her to miss the remainder of the War, and Savannah gaining the dubious distinction of being the only Confederate ship lost during the conflict.
After the War ended, construction resumed on Houston and Richmond, but yet another change brought about by the powerful new Oliver Perry class frigates, occurred. These ships had spent the war under close scrutiny during their regular training exercises and impressed the CS Navy with their capabilities. It was therefore decided to arm the ships with the British RML 11 inch 25-ton gun instead of the 10” Armstrong rifle. A total of twenty of these weapons were purchased from the UK by the end of 1879 – enough to arm the three remaining ships plus two spares. The CS Congress, however, refused to fund the refit of Memphis so she retained her original armament for the remainder of her career.

As built, CSS Memphis and CSS Savannah were 302 feet long overall and displaced 4,968 tons normal and 5,370 tons full load. Their main armament was pattered after HMS Temeraire and consisted of eight 10” guns; two in single barbettes, six in the central casemate. Four light 70-pounders were included as chasers and defense against gunboats and the newly emerging threat; torpedo boats.
Propulsion was provided by two compound engines producing 2,800 horsepower driving twin-shafts. Design speed was 13 knots and range was 2,500 nautical miles. Their auxiliary sail rig was also borrowed from the Temeraire and configured as a two-masted brig. They utilized the tripod lower masts now commonplace in American ships to provide additional clearance for their barbette guns.
Armor was of the wrought-iron type and comprised a 6” belt tapering to 3” at bow and stern, 8” barbettes, and a 5” casemate. For the first time, an armored deck was featured and consisted of 1” plates over the entire main deck save the extreme fore and quarterdecks. Crew complement was 378.
The second pair; CSS Houston and CSS Richmond, differed in some important ways from their sisters. Their main armament was six of the British 11” rifled muzzleloaders (and were the only ships outside the UK to use these weapons), two in barbettes, four in the redesigned central casemate. Displacement rose to 5,023 tons normal and 5,428 tons full load which reduced maximum speed to 12.8 knots and range to 2,470 nautical miles, while crew complement rose to 387, but in all other particulars, they were identical to the first two ships.

After they joined Memphis in 1880, the three frigates formed the core of the Confederate Navy’s Home Squadron when it was established in April of 1883. The most powerful ships in the CSN at the time, they were quickly rendered obsolete by the rapid advance of warship development over the next twenty years and were relegated to second-line duties by the early 1890’s. Memphis was decommissioned in 1903 with Houston and Richmond retired two years later. Both Memphis and Houston went to the breakers beginning in 1906, but CSS Richmond was refurbished and re-commissioned as a gunnery training ship serving the Confederate Naval Academy in Mobile, Alabama. She was finally retired and scrapped in 1921.

A Class (CSA):


The first torpedo boats built for the CS Navy, the A Class (Confederate torpedo boats were not named) were copies of the British Lightning type boats built by Thornycroft in 1878-79. The vessels were contracted through the Thornycroft Company’s Chiswick Shipyard and when completed were shipped without armament to the Norfolk Navy Yard where they would finish fitting out. After being armed (equipment also obtained from Britain), they were immediately commissioned with the CSN.

The A Class boats were 90 feet long overall and displaced 28 tons. The first four (A.I to A.IV) were armed with two license-built 14” Whitehead torpedoes in drop collars amidships, while the final four (A.V to A.VIII) mounted a torpedo tube on a swivel mount on the foredeck, with two reloads carried in place of the drop collars of the earlier boats. They were powered by a single 460 horsepower compound engine which could propel these vessels to speeds up to 20 knots and had a crew of 15.

After they entered service with the Confederate Navy in late 1880, the A Class was split between the newly established Home Squadron in Norfolk and the Gulf Squadron based in Mobile. Considered experimental by the CSN, these boats were used primarily to develop tactics and operational doctrine for torpedo warfare. They were very successful in this role and led to the CS Navy acquiring many more increasingly sophisticated torpedo boats; at first foreign built, but later designed and constructed entirely within the Confederacy. A total of over forty were in service by the end of the decade, which gave the CSA one of the only instances where they held a numerical advantage against the United States.
The US Navy, meanwhile, was initially unsure about how best to counter this new threat. Although a number of torpedo boats were built for the USN during the 1880’s, they were largely experimental, and with the increasing number of Confederate vessels of this type entering service, it was decided to skip further development of the torpedo boat in favor of building ships specifically designed to deal with them; torpedo gunboats during the 1880’s and the torpedo boat destroyer (TBD) starting in the 1890’s. This would force the CSN to build torpedo boat destroyers of its own, and by the turn of the century both navies would be building true destroyers in considerable numbers.
For the pioneering A Class, however, their active service lives would be relatively brief. A.I, A.II, A.III, and A.IV were decommissioned in 1891, while A.V, A.VI, A.VII, and A.VIII were decommissioned a year later. All were broken up beginning in 1893.

Cheers!
StealthJester