User:Gatoclass/SB/Screw tugs/USS Standish

History
Name	USS Standish
Namesake	Myles Standish
Builder	James Tetlow (Chelsea, MA)
Completed	1866
In service	1871—after WWI
Stricken	1919 or 1920
Fate	Sold, 5 Aug 1921
General characteristics
Type	Armed tugboat
Tonnage	350 register tons
Displacement	420 long tons (430 tonnes)
Length	137 ft (42 m)
Beam	26 ft (7.9 m)
Draft	9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
Sail plan	Schooner
Speed	10 knots
Armament	2 guns

Construction and design

Standish was one of nine Pinta-class tugboats ordered by the Navy in the closing stages of the American Civil War, and one of six Pintas built by James Tetlow of Boston, Massachusetts. The Pintas were large, iron-hulled, screw-propelled tugboats designed to replace the Navy's fleet of ageing wooden-hulled sidewheel tugs. Since tugs had also proven their value as littoral warships, the Pintas were also designed to carry armament.

Standish was built in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1864–65 by Boston boilermaker James Tetlow, presumably at the James Tetlow Boiler and Iron Ship Building Works in that city. She was named after Captain Miles Standish, a Dutch soldier of fortune hired by the Pilgrim fathers to accompany them to America aboard Mayflower in 1620.

Standish was 137 feet in length, with a beam of 26 feet and draft of 9 feet 6 inches. She had a displacement of 420 long tons (430 tonnes) and a registered tonnage of 350. Standish was powered by a 44-inch bore, 30-inch stroke single-cylinder vertical inverted steam engine with jet condenser, independent steam reversing cylinder and no independent cut-off, driving a single four-bladed propeller. Steam was supplied by two return-horizontal tube boilers with two furnaces apiece. A Sewall steam pump, which doubled as a fire pump, was used to pump water into the boilers or from the bilge. Standish had a service speed of 10 knots, and was schooner-rigged for auxiliary sail power. Her armament was two guns of unspecified type.

Service history

Standish's launch and completion dates are not known, but she completed her trials in January 1866. Too late to see service in the Civil War and with the massive postwar downsizing of the Navy, Standish's services were surplus to requirements and she was consequently laid up at Norfolk until 1871, when she was placed in service as a yard tug at the Norfolk Navy Yard. After repairs at Philadelphia in 1878–79, she served briefly as a yard tug at Newport, Rhode Island. Subsequently, Standish was transferred to the Naval Academy at Annapolis to serve as a naval cadet practice ship, in which role she would remain for the balance of her long career.

References

Bibliography

Capt. Miles Standish was a soldier of fortune in Holland who was hired by the Pilgrims to accompany them to America in Mayflower. He was in the party which landed at Plymouth in 1620, and was a leader in establishing the colony in its early years. In 1631, he was a co-founder of Duxbury, Mass., and he lived in that settlement until he died there in 1656.

(ScTug: t. 350; l. 137'0"; b. 26'; dr. 9'6"; s. 10 k.; a. 2 guns)

Standish-an iron-hulled screw tug built at Boston in 1864 and 1865-was completed too late to serve in the Civil War. After completing her trials in January 1866, the ship was laid up at Norfolk until 1871 when she was placed in service at the Norfolk Navy Yard. After repairs at Philadelphia in late 1878 and 1879, the tug- served briefly at Newport, R.I., before moving to Annapolis for service as a practice ship at the United States Naval Academy. Except for occasional visits to navy yards for repairs, she remained at the Naval Academy serving as a station tug when not on duty as a practice ship-through World War I. She was sold on 5 August 1921 to B. Wever & Sons, Baltimore, Md.

Construction and design

Service history

References

Bibliography

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