HMCo #64p [Torpedo Boat for Russian Navy]

"After this, they began building so-called 'spar torpedo' boats for several governments. They were about fifty-six feet long and only six feet six inches beam. They were nearly perfect double-enders and intended to run either end first just as well and at about the same speed. Previous spar torpedo boats had only carried one spar with its bomb in place over the bow, but these double-enders were, you might say, repeaters. For those who are not familiar with the spar torpedo, I will say this weapon was developed just at the close of the Civil War when many of the fighting ships had armor plate which extended only a little below the water line. These early torpedo boats were intended to sneak up quietly to a ship at anchor and thrust the spar with the bomb on its end against the wooden underbody of the ship below the armor plate, when the resulting explosion right against the ship's side, and backed up by the incompressible surrounding water, caused a terrific local concussion.
These little torpedo boats were painted gray and could run very smoothly and quietly up to around twenty-one miles per hour. One of the most remarkable things about them was that they could slow down or stop quickly; this was because the boats were very light and because they had relatively large propellers connected to engines which could be instantly reversed with the throttle wide open, and, of course, the engine developed the same power running either way. The propellers, being quite near the middle of the boats, did not cavitate. It is said that these craft could stop within a few lengths when running at full speed, and a few seconds later would be going some twenty miles per hour astern which, of course, was a most valuable accomplishment in the life and death feat of launching a spar torpedo.
Another unusual feature of these craft was that the propeller shaft was run on a slight curve so that the engine, which was forward of the boiler, was on quite an angle, while the shaft at the propeller was more horizontal. The shaft, which was of steel or iron, ran in a snug-fitting brass tube its full length, and as the tube was well lubricated, you might say the shaft ran in a continuous bearing. This shaft ran very smoothly and with little friction. The long strut which supported this curved propeller shaft was made up of brass or bronze plates which acted as a stream-lined keel condenser. These little vessels were light enough to hoist aboard a man-of-war. They were very reliable when kept in good condition, and good sea boats when slowed down. Incidentally, with these coil or flash boilers they could get up steam from a cold boiler in about three minutes with a specially built fire of split hard pine saturated with oil, and I believe in about five minutes had a full head of steam." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Wizard of Bristol. The Life and Achievements of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, together with An Account of Some of the Yachts he Designed. New York, 1953, p. 97-98.)

"One of the last of the spar torpedo boats built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company was hull No. 64, built in 1880 for the Russian Navy, fifty-nine feet long, six feet six inches beam. She made a record speed for those days of twenty-three miles per hour on her trial trip. The model of this steamer is now at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was higher at the ends than the previous spar torpedo boats built by the Herreshoff s. This was accomplished by having depressions or launching ways on her four quarters so that she could carry four spar torpedoes. Although this craft had several hatches she was run and steered mostly from below deck with the helmsman's head only above deck. Altogether, she was more streamlined than any modern craft." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Wizard of Bristol. The Life and Achievements of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, together with An Account of Some of the Yachts he Designed. New York, 1953, p. 98, 100.)

"... A torpedo-boat for the Imperial Government of Russia is in an advanced state of completion; length 60 ft. and beam 7 ft. Engine, 120 h. p. She is expected to steam twenty miles per hour, and will probably leave this country early in May. ..." (Source: Anon (C. P. Kunhardt?). "The Herreshoff System of Steam Propulsion." Forest and Stream, March 11, 1880, p. 115-116.)

"THE KELPIE. --- At the recent World's Regatta at Providence the Herreshoffs furnished one of their famous launches, the Kelpie [HMCo #43p], as judges' and press boat. ... Their torpedo boat [apparently HMCo #64p] opened the day by successfully firing a torpedo, the water being thrown to a height exceeding a hundred feet, making a beautiful and instructive sight to the crowds assembled.
THE HOME OF HIGH SPEEDS. --- The summer months have opened busily at the constructing and machine shops of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol. R. I. ... The Eastern Rowing Association recently chartered two of this Company's steamers for the World's regatta, last Thursday. The Kelpie [HMCo #43p] served general uses, carrying press reporters, etc., and the torpedo boat [apparently HMCo #64p] was for the use of the referees." (Source: Anon. (C. P. Kunhardt?) "Yachting News." Forest and Stream, June 24, 1880, p. 419.)

"THE fastest time on record! The Herreshoffs have succeeded in beating the world under steam. A speed of 19.87 knots, or 22.89 miles, uninfluenced by tide or current, and witnessed by experts, is a record as yet unequalled by any vessel under steam, and the credit of producing such speed places the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company at the head of the list of builders of 'high speeds.' As the boat in question which developed such swiftness is only 60ft, long, and was built for torpedo service, precluding the attainment or the highest possible, her recent trial opens up new vistas of extremely high velocities to be obtained on the water, and places the modern steam yacht on a par with an average railroad train. That a full twenty-live miles can be made, and that in a very serviceable type of boat, now seems no longer open to doubt, and we expect before long to be able to announce such a rate as an fait accompli.
The torpedo boat which has transferred the coveted honor of making tne fastest time of anything afloat from England to America's shores has just been completed for the Russian government, and is 60ft, long, 7ft. beam, aud 5ft deep. After close inspection and official trial under the observation of the agent of the Russian authorities, Mr. Geo. R. Dunnell, the boat has been accepted as giving the highest satisfaction and was shipped last Thursday for Europe per steamship Holland, of the National Line. Mr. Dunnel was kind enough to furnish the following particulars about the new craft during a visit to our office.
The conditions or the contract called for a speed of 18 knots, which has therefore been exceeded by nearly 2 knots, evidence enough of the character and quality of the work delivered, and the hull was to be strong enough to admit of hoisting to davits, engine and all onboard; the boat not to weigh more than 9 tons. The trial runs were made Wednesday, Sept. 1st [1880], in Narragansett Bay, with the following results: ---
The course was laid out at 6 knots, starting from near Bristol ferry light and running 3 knots down and return. The boat passed the first mark at 10h. 32m. 41s. a.m., reached the turn at 10h. 41m. 30s., and again came on the course after rounding at 10h. 43m. 13a., reaching the finish at l0h. 53m. 31s. The run down was therefore made in 8m. 49s., and the run up in 9m. 18s , giving the result of 18m. 7s., for the distance of 6 Knots. The tide was three quarters ebb, wind light from northeast, and the sea smooth. This is at the rate of 19.87 knots or 22.89 miles per hour, and is extraordinary in a boat of her dimensions and strong build. The highest ever obtained by Thorneycroft's Lightning, 84ft. long, was 19.4 knots when flying light. The Russians are therefore now in possession of the fastest boat afloat. During the trials the steam pressure was steady at 145 pounds, vacuum 19 1/4 to 20 inches; the power developed about 140 to 150 H. P. indicated. The boat is supplied with a safety coil boiler of an improved type, a great advance upon the former style, and has inverted compound surface condensing engines, with cylinders 8 and 14 inches, and a stroke of 9 inches. The hull is divided into 5 water-tight compartments by bulkheads, the engines and boilers occupying 2 of them. The fires are forced by a powerful blower, which takes air from the engine room, and blows directly into the boiler room, the latter being air-tight, thus creating a sufficient pressure for rapid combustion. When the Herreshoff Company took the contract for the torpedo boat for the British Government some 18 months ago, the highest speed then obtained by boats of same size was 15 1/2 knots in one of Thorneycroft's launches. The Bristol firm beat them by more than three quarters of a knot, obtaining full 16 on the official trial trip, which at the time was the best speed on record. The highest made since then, by boats similar to the new Russian launch, was also by a Thorneycroft, the result showing 16 1/2 knots. The Herreshoffs have now beaten this by 3 1/2 knots, a difference so marked that it will astonish English engineers in general and the Thorneycrofts especially when they read the news in these columns. In addition, the readiness with which steam is raised in the coil boiler upon a few minutes' notice, its immunity from explosion, and its light weight and economy in cost of fuel, are factors of such importance in torpedo service that we must regard the Russian launch as the forerunner to a vast fleet of similar fighting hornets, the construction of which will shed fresh luster upon American engineering skill, which brings its undertakings to the highest pitch of refinement." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "19.87 --- 22.89." Forest and Stream, September 9, 1880, p. 116.)

"Hull No. 64.
One of the last spar torpedo boats built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company was Hull No. 64, constructed in 1880 for the Russian navy. Some 59 feet long and 6 feet 6 inches abeam, the boat had a 4-foot 7-inch draft. She made a record speed for those days of 23 knots [sic, i.e. statute miles] on her trial run. Her double cedarwood hull was higher at the ends than the Herreshoffs' previous spar torpedo boats. This was achieved by having depressions or launching ways on her four quarters so that she could carry four spar torpedoes. Although this craft had several hatches, she was run and steered mostly from below deck with only the helmsman's head above deck. She was more streamlined than any other craft of her kind at the time.
The last of the double-enders, this craft is not listed in Moissev's list of Russian warships of 1861-1948. This suggests that she was never commissioned as an operational ship after running trials." (Source: Simpson, Richard V. Building the Mosquito Fleet: The U.S. Navy's First Torpedo Boats. Charleston, S.C., 2001, p. 34-35.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Copy of a photograph of Russian torpedo boat [#64p] labeled in pencil on verso in what may be a modern hand 'Herr[eshoff?] 1880. Russian Torpedo boat. Speed 23 mph, a record. 60ft LOA, 6ft 5in beam, steam engine and coil boiler'." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.153. Photograph. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photographs. 1880.)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Penciled dimensioned technical drawing on brown paper of what appear to be 8" & 14" bore x 9" stroke cylinders. This might be related to the engine built for #64p [Torpedo Boat for Russian Navy], #74p 149 and #75p 150 built between 1880 and 1881. Untitled, a few notes, undated (filed with steam engine plans from 1885)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Technical Drawing. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE11_02380. Folder [no #]. No date (1881 ???).)
①

"[Item Description:] One original woodblock for woodblock printing. Size: 12in x 9 3/8in x 1in. Depicted are a 33ft Launch [probably #62p Launch for U.S. Navy], a 60ft Steam Yacht, a Compound Engine, a 100ft Yacht [#65p GLEAM], a stationary Single Engine, a Double Coil Boiler, a Torpedo Boat [probably #64p Torpedo Boat for the Russian Army], a Single Coil Boiler, and the Plan of a 100ft Yacht [probably #65p GLEAM] --- all built by HMCo. Undated, but this woodblock was most certainly first used for printing the cover page of the Scientific American of February 12, 1881 which was reprinted in Yachting Magazine of February 1932, p. 70 and also in HMCo-created promotional book 'Yachts by Herreshoff' of 1935 on p. 6." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.148. Printing Woodblock. Box HAFH.6.6B, Folder Engravings (Artifacts). No date (ca1881).)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥

"[Item Transcription:] Penciled experiments booklet titled in ink on cover 'H.M. Co. Experiments. 1880 - 1881'. Relevant contents:
§8: U.S. Navy Launch Steam Engine Trial (also data for #63p and #64p) (1880-08-13)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Experiments Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_02030. Folder [no #]. 1880-08 to 1881-06.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓

"[Item Description:] Photocopy of a photograph of four photographs tacked to a wall as part of NGH's collection in 1931, showing 10. Torpedo boat #61p, 1879 and 1880, 11. Torpedo boat #64p, 1880 for Russian Navy, 12. IBIS JR. #45p and GYMNOTUS #47p, 1878, 13. Launch, steamer #24p, 1876-1878." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.163. Photograph (photocopy). Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photographs. No date (1931 ?).)
①

"[Item Transcription:] [Advertisement by HMCo titled 'From An Old Plate Found in a Loft at Herreshoff Mfg. Co., Dec. 1931. Explanations by N.G. Herreshoff, Esq.' and showing 10 woodcuts with the following explanations:] 1 Represents the early Navy Launches that started in 1879-80. Commodore Isherwood of the U. S. Navy carried on an extensive program of tests and experiments with two of them, No. 62 [#62p] and 63 [#63p], and a Navy launch built in the Washington Navy Yard, in the summer of 1880, lasting over two months. The Board consisted of Com. B. P. Isherwood, Com. T. Zeller and 3 or 4 assistants from the School of Marine Engineers of U. S. N. The Herreshoff launches proved superior to the Navy built and designed launch in every way. Illustration does not do justice to the launch.
2 Represents a class of cabin launches, between 55 and 68 ft long-built in the 80's. JAVELIN, No. 52 [#52p] , was the original (1879).
3 Steam yacht GLEAM, No. 65 [#65p], built for Mr. William Graham of Baltimore in 1880. Length on deck about 115 ft; w. l. 105 ft.
4-5 The general type of steam engines, 1878 to 1885. No. 4 is a marine type compound engine with cut-off valves riding on back of main slide valves. No. 5 stations-type such as used in small shops, as our own machine shop and another for wood working machinery. This type was given up in 1885. Replaced by triple expansion engines with valves worked from side shaft.
6-7 Early coil boilers, given up in 1881 or '82. The vertical drum at side is a steam separator and a good one, but it is not correctly represented.
8 A poor representation of 4 or 5 torpedo boats in 1879 and 1880. One was built for the British Admiralty [#44p HERRESHOFF], two for Chili [sic, i.e. Peru #53p REPUBLICA, #55p ALIANZA (a third boat, #60p, was never delivered)], one for Russia [#64p].
9 Typical cabin arrangement of early steam yachts 80 to 90 ft long.
10 Steam yacht STILETTO [#118p] rated in her time as one of the fastest yachts in the world." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Advertisement Broadside. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE14_01240. Folder [no #]. 1931-12.)
①

"[Item Description:] Photocopy of 11. above 'Herreshoff Torpedo Boat' [Copy of photograph, part of NGH's collection 1931, 11. Torpedo boat #64p, 1880 for Russian Navy]." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.170. Photocopy. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photographs. No date.)
①

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #64p [Torpedo Boat for Russian Navy] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Simpson, Richard V. Building the Mosquito Fleet: The U.S. Navy's First Torpedo Boats. Charleston, S.C., 2001.
  Description of the first American torpedo boats, with strong emphasis on Herreshoff-built vessels. Unfortunately, numerous small factual inaccuracies.

• Torpedo Boat for Russian Navy (HMCo-made index card)
• Note: The vessel index cards comprise two sets of a total of some 3200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and information regarding drawings, later or former vessel names, and owners. They were compiled from HMCo's early days until 1920 and added to in later decades, apparently by Hart Nautical curator William A. Baker and his successors. While HMCo seems to have used only one set of index cards, all sorted by name and, where no name was available, by number, later users at MIT apparently divided them into two sets of cards, one sorted by vessel name, the other by vessel number and greatly expanded the number of cards. Original HMCo cards are usually lined and almost always punched with a hole at bottom center while later cards usually have no hole, are unlined, and often carry substantially less information. All cards are held by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass.

Year: 1880
E/P/S: P
No.: 064
OA: 59'

Source: Vermilya, Peter and Maynard Bray. "Transcription of the HMCo. Construction Record." Unpublished database, ca. 2000.

Note: The transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Peter Vermilya and Maynard Bray was performed independently (and earlier) than that by Claas van der Linde. A comparison of the two transcriptions can be particularly useful in those many cases where the handwriting in the Construction Record is difficult to decipher.

"Exported to Russia." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

Note: Research notes contain information about a vessel that is often random and unedited but has been deemed useful for future research.