David (ship)

David

Ship data flag  Confederate States of America Ship type Torpedo boat Launch 1863

Ship dimensions and crew length 15.0 m ( Lüa ) width 1.8 m Draft Max. 1.5 m   crew 4 men

Machine system machine Steam engine propeller 1

Armament a spar torpedo

The David was a torpedo boat built by the Southern Navy during the American Civil War . Its construction was privately financed by Theodore Stoney. According to the plans of its partner, the scientist and physician St. Julian Ravenel, David Ebaugh built in 1863 in Charleston , the David . Other boats of the same type were later built according to the same plans. Their exact number is unknown, but certainly between 4 and 50 boats.

The David had a cigar-shaped hull at the top of which a spar torpedo , a 10 m long tube with an approx. 50 kg heavy black powder charge , was attached. With a heavy ballast of iron bars in the hull, the David lay very deep in the water. It was built to approach the enemy ships blocking Charleston Harbor and ram them with the spar torpedo. In the southern states, because of the overwhelming superiority of armored and heavily armed naval ships of the northern states, such tactics were used to exploit the element of surprise. This is where the name of David comes from: The attack on the much larger New Ironsides is said to have reminded Ravanels wife of the fight between David and Goliath.

Even if its shape is strongly reminiscent of submarines, such as the Hunley , which was built at the same time , the David could only be used on the surface due to its steam engine drive. However, she was also used to tow the Hunley out of the harbor.

During her first deployment on October 5, 1863 , the David was able to slip through the blockade under cover of night and, although not sinking the American flagship New Ironside , it did cause severe damage.

An attack on the Memphis on March 6, 1864 failed when the charge of the spar torpedo did not detonate during the second pile-driving maneuver.

Your last proven mission was an attack on the steam frigate Wabash . However, the David was spotted early and the Wabash escaped.

The whereabouts of the David are not certain. Several of its sister ships fell into enemy hands when Charleston was captured by US troops in 1865, while the remains of others remained on the riverside off Charleston.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} The CSS David - In a class of its own : The Washington Times Communities
2. ↑ ^{a b} The David ( Memento of July 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ): Charleston illustrated