HMCo #152p Cushing

"[1887-12-07] Wed 7: Notified that Navy has awarded us the contract for torpedo boat [#152p Cushing].
[1888-11-06] Tue 6: Began riveting keel of St[eame]r 152 [torpedo boat Cushing].
[1888-11-19] Mon 19: Began setting up frames in torpedo boat [#152p Cushing].
[1889-04-19] Fri 19: ... Put condenser in st[eame]r 152 (Torpedo boat) [#152p Cushing].
[1889-04-23] Tue 23: ... R[e]c[eive]d plans of Thornycroft boiler for steamer 152 [#152p Cushing].
[1889-08-31] Sat 31: Put second engine in torpedo boat [#152p Cushing].
[1889-11-23] Sat 23: ... Put forward boiler in torpedo boat [#152p Cushing].
[1889-12-27] Fri 27: Finished tubing 2nd boiler for torpedo boat [#152p Cushing].
[1889-12-31] Tue 31: Put aft boiler in torpedo boat [#152p Cushing].
[1890-01-22] Wed 22: ... Launch of Cushing #152 postponed on acc[oun]t of high wind. ...
[1890-01-23] Thu 23: Launched Cushing [#152p] at 9-45 a.m. successfully. Tried engines in afternoon.
[1890-01-29] Wed 29: Successful trial of Cushing [#152p] at moderate speed. ...
[1890-01-30] Thu 30: Progressive trial of Cushing [#152p] in afternoon. ...
[1890-02-01] Sat 1: Off on trial of Cushing [#152p].
[1890-02-04] Tue 4: Off on trial of Cushing [#152p]; also adjusting compass.
[1890-02-06] Thu 6: Off on trial of Cushing [#152p].
[1890-02-10] Mon 10: Tested Cushing's [#152p] boilers to 500 lbs.
[1890-02-13] Thu 13: Off in Cushing [#152p].
[1890-02-17] Mon 17: Off in Cushing [#152p], made 23 1/4 knots over Rose Is[land] course.
[1890-02-26] Wed 26: Off in Cushing [#152p].
[1890-02-27] Thu 27: Off in Cushing [#152p]. Successful 2 hour run at 22 knots.
[1890-03-10] Mon 10: Board to try Cushing [#152p] for acceptance here.
[1890-03-12] Wed 12: Trial of Cushing [#152p] for turning over. ...
[1890-03-17] Mon 17: Took Cushing [#152p] to Providence drydock.
[1890-03-20] Thu 20: Off in Cushing [#152p].
[1890-03-22] Sat 22: Off in Cushing [#152p].
[1890-03-24] Mon 24: 3 hour trial of Cushing [#152p].
[1890-03-25] Tue 25: Went around Block Is[land] in Cushing [#152p].
[1890-03-26] Wed 26: Loaded Cushing [#152p] with 33 tons [of] coal.
[1890-03-27] Thu 27: Finished trials of Cushing [#152p]. ...
[1890-03-28] Fri 28: Board to try [trial board] Cushing [#152p] departed. ...
[1890-04-03] Thu 3: John and Mr. Young left for Washington to settle for Cushing [#152p].
[1890-04-11] Fri 11: John started for Washington to settle for Cushing [#152p].
[1890-04-16] Wed 16: Off in Cushing [#152p] to try distiller.
[1890-04-17] Thu 17: Off in Cushing [#152p] to try distiller. ...
[1890-04-22] Tue 22: Delivered Cushing [#152p] to torpedo station.
[1890-04-26] Sat 26: ... Put distiller in Cushing [#152p].
[1890-05-01] Thu 1: Cushing [#152p] went from Newport to New York in 6 hours, 57 minutes. ...
[1890-05-04] Sun 4: Cushing [#152p] arrived in Washington 28-1/2 hours from New York (on) one boiler.
[1890-07-16] Wed 16: Cushing [#152p] arrived to paint, and rest crew.
[1890-09-26] Fri 26: Com. Converse & Constructor Nixon here. Also Cushing [#152p].
[1890-12-25] Thu 25: Cushing [#152p] arrived from N. Y.
[1891-01-21] Wed 21: Cushing [#152p] left for New York and Washington.
[1896-08-07] Fri 7: Hon. H. H. Herbert here Sec'y of Navy --- and Capt. Sampson in Cushing [#152p].
[1896-08-20] Thu 20: Capt. Converse here in Cushing [#152p].
[1896-08-25] Tue 25: Capt. Converse here in Cushing [#152p].
[1896-09-01] Tue 1: Capt. Converse here in Cushing [#152p].
[1896-10-09] Fri 9: Capt. Converse here in Cushing [#152p].
[1896-10-26] Mon 26: Capt. Converse here in Cushing [#152p]. ...
[1896-11-06] Fri 6: Cushing here [#152p].
[1896-11-16] Mon 16: Capt. Converse here in Cushing [#152p].
[1896-12-12] Sat 12: Capt. Converse here in Cushing [#152p].
[1897-01-06] Wed 6: Capt. Converse here in [torpedo boat] Cushing [#152p]. ...
[1897-01-14] Thu 14: Off in [torpedo boat] No 6 [#184p Porter]. Capt. Converse here in [torpedo boat] Cushing [#152p] & took her to Newport.
[1897-01-16] Sat 16: Capt. Converse here in [torpedo boat] Cushing [#152p].
[1897-01-31] Sun 31: Took [torpedo boat] Cushing [#152p] to Prov[idence] to go on dry dock.
[1897-02-07] Sun 7: Capt. Converse here in [torpedo boat] Cushing [#152p]. ...
[1897-02-12] Fri 12: Capt. Converse here in [torpedo boat] Cushing [#152p]. [Torpedo boat] No. 6 [#184p Porter] accepted by Secr[etary of the NavyHilary Abner] Herbert conditionally. Began [rest of sentence blank]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1887 to 1897. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection [1887-1897]. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection, Pinheiro Loan [1888].)

"Steamer no. 152.
Torpedo boat for U.S. Navy.
Length 138f. Breadth 15f. Scale of model 1/24.
Frame spaces 18". Deduct for plating 3/16" from offsets dimensions.
Plating in and out. Garboard, 3rd strake and topstrake are in. Keel, 2nd and 4th strakes are out.
Intended trial draft is 4.60 above base line.
Offsets for outside of laps are given on every 4th frame. Laps to be 1 3/4".
Keel plate 9" wide (4 1/2 each side of centre)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.021.1] Undated, ca. 1887 or 1888. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"In 1887 the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company got the contract to build a steel torpedo boat for the U.S. Navy. She was classed in the Navy as 'Seagoing Torpedo Boat No. 1,' and when completed was christened 'Cushing.' She was one hundred and forty feet long and, I believe, she was the first vessel built in the south shop. She was lightly built but most of her steel parts were electrogalvanized. Captain Nat designed a new model of engine for the 'Cushing,' and these engines were so unusual that I will describe them briefly. They were five cylinder, quadruple expansion engines with two low pressure cylinders. If the valve gear had been between the cylinders, like the usual engines, the engine would have been abnormally long, so he had adopted the scheme of having the valves at the side of the cylinders, and the valves were driven by a separate crankshaft as nearly all internal combustion engines today have their camshaft at one side. This separate valve crankshaft also much simplified the reversing mechanism for the valves could be put in position for going ahead or reverse by changing the timing of the valve crankshaft in relation to the main crankshaft. This was accomplished by having the driving gear on the valve crankshaft mounted on a spiral cut in the valve crankshaft, and by shifting a sliding nut on the valve shaft the desired valve position was accomplished.
I believe these were the first large engines mounted on diagonally braced forged steel columns, an arrangement that saves much weight. In fact there were no parts between the engine bed and cylinders that were not forged steel with the exception of the crossheads. There were many features about these engines that Captain Nat used on several later models and much that was copied by the light steam engine designers of the world. I believe there were five of these engines built --- two for the 'Cushing,' one each for the 'Ballymena,' 'Say When' and 'Vamoose.' Although these engines were a designing triumph, as far as the mechanical parts were concerned, they did have too many cylinders so that they often gave trouble from the steam condensing and causing water knocks in the low pressure cylinders. In fact some of them cracked their low pressure cylinder heads so that Captain Nat never designed more than a triple expansion engine after this model. I also believe these engines did not develop as much power as was expected, or as their general size might indicate, so that the 'Cushing' only exceeded her contract speed by about half a knot. However, her trials were run in February which may have somewhat slowed her down, but it is rather surprising that she did not go materially faster than 'Stiletto,' or somewhere around twenty-six miles per hour. But the most surprising thing about the 'Cushing' was that she only cost $82,750, while it is likely a similar vessel today would cost the best part of a million." (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. 105-106.)

"The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., of this town has just received a contract from the United States government for the construction of a submarine torpedo boat at a cost of $82,750." (Source: Anon. "US Navy Contract." Bristol Phoenix, April 7, 1888.)

"The Ballymena [#151p], a large and very handsome steel yacht, 148 feet in length, was launched from the boat works of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., about half past 8 o'clock last Saturday morning [October 6, 1888]. ... The building of a steel torpedo boat [#152p Cushing] for the U. S. Government will be begun immediately by the Herreshoff Mnfg. Co., in the same place where the Ballymena was constructed." (Source: Anon. "Local Affairs." Bristol Phoenix, October 13, 1888, p. 2.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., March 27 [1889] --- The work on the new torpedo boat for the navy is fast nearing completion, and the Herreshoffs expect to have it ready for trial during the coming May. Its hull is all in place, and the turtle-back shaped deck is finished except the fitting of a few more steel plates. On Saturday last the two conning towers were erected, but again taken down, and shipped in pieces to Brooklyn in order to have their steel plates galvanized.
The starboard engine is practically finished, and as it stands erected in the shops of the company it is a handsome specimen of workmanship. Alongside of it is the port engine, in process of erection. This engine is about half finished. It will of course be an exact counterpart of the starboard engine. Both engines will be erected in the torpedo vessel before the latter is launched. When this event takes place only a few days will be required by the Herreshoffs to get the boat ready for the speed test. The shafts have not yet arrived from the Midvale works, neither are the two screws on hand.
The Herreshoffs say that they are not to make the torpedo tubes. The probability is that these will be fitted to the vessel after she goes into commission at one of the navy yards.
Looking at the torpedo boat as it lies in the stocks in one of the shiphouses it presents to the eye of a seaman beauty and speed in every one of its under-water lines. Judging from the vessel's hull, nothing will be wanting that will aid in procuring the contractor's estimated 23-knots-per-hour speed on trial. There is something business-like about the sloping whale back forward, the curving ram bow, and the stern piece aft.
Will the boat compete successfully with the noted torpedoes of Europe? This question involuntarily occurs to the naval officer as he glances at the first torpedo craft ever built for the United States Navy. He knows that the Thornycrofts of England have turned out large numbers of sea-going torpedo craft having speeds of 23 knots, and he further recalls the fact that the famous Ariete, built by the Thornycrofts, and now owned by the Spanish Government, made a run of 26 knots an hour.
The United States Government demands that this vessel shall make 20 knots an hour on the official trial. At the same time that the contract was signed the Herreshoffs estimated the boat's speed for the trial run at 23 knots an hour. Knowing, as naval officers do, how careful these contractors are not to give out too great hopes, it is confidently believed that this new torpedo boat will prove as great a wonder as did the Vesuvius. The design for the vessel originated in a crude form, with the Navy Department, the contractors having left to them the development of much of the detail, though all ideas and newly-conceived plans on the part of the latter have had to be submitted to and approved first by the department before they were authorized.
The new torpedo boat is 137 feet in length, has a beam of 14 feet and 6 inches, and a depth of hold of 8 feet. Its draught will be 3 feet and 7 inches. As it will lie in the water it will present only 3 feet of freeboard along its whole hull, save at the forward part, where the whale-back deck will have a rise of some 5 feet from the water's edge. The length of this whale-back deck, which runs from the stem aft, cannot be over 20 feet. Just at its break is erected the forward conning tower, which will project above the whale-back. It will be a wet place when the torpedo boat is driving full speed into a seaway. The chances are that the long, low craft will go right through the seas like a swordfish, without waiting to mount the waves. Under the whale back will be mounted the torpedo tubes, two in number, their forward ends projecting through each bow a few feet forward of its 'bluff' on each side. The tubes will of course be loaded with the torpedoes at the breach, the working being down right at the conning tower. The magazine is under the whale-back deck, and will contain three torpedo stores. The after conning tower sits up about one-third the length of the vessel from the stem, the communication with the forward one having to be made by running over the top of the turtle-back main deck. Two life lines will be set fore and aft, leaving just space enough between them to permit of one passing and holding on.
The boilers for the vessels are to be mounted fore and aft. There will be two boilers, and consequently two engine rooms, each boiler having three furnaces. The engines will be directly opposite eaoh other, and it goes without saying that it will be little else than a squeeze in passing between them. The weight of the machinery is specified not to exceed 47 tons, and the displacement of the vessel with all her machinery, armament, boilers, water in boilers, and coal in bunkers, crew, and stores, must not exceed 99 tons. When it is taken into consideration that the average horse power ascribed to a vessel is two per ton of displacement, and that only three and four are given where great speed is demanded, the horse power of the engines for the torpedo boat might readily be placed at 300 or 400; but the Herreshoffs are actually giving 1,500 horse power to this frail, light craft. The boat's speed must certainly be tremendous.
As Mr. J. B. Herreshoff remarked to-day, the engines would be likely to make some 300 to 350 revolutions per minute when the vessel was being subjected to the speed test.
The engines of the torpedo vessels have each five cylinders, measuring respectively 11 1/4, 16, 22 1/2, 22 1/2, 22 1/2 inches in diameter. The shafts are 5 1/4 inches in diameter. They are of solid steel, and are the work of the Midvale Works of Philadelphia. The coal capacity of the little vessel will be about 25 tons, according to Mr. J. B. Herreshoff. There will be little chance to wedge in an extra ton or so. But, then, as the torpedo boat will be wanted for coast service it need give little concern to the question of how far she can run without recoaling.
The officers' quarters in the torpedo boat necessarily have little room, but it may be remembered that the torpedo boat, as well as all the new war vessels, is intended for fighting craft and not as abodes for the engendering of luxurious habits. There will be room enough below aft for three officers to find sleeping space, and but precious little more. As for the men, the crew is estimated at 16 forward, all told; it looks as if some hammocks will have to swing under the others. The torpedo boat's rudder is fitted well forward of the stern and is under the vessel's hull, though Mr. Herreshoff says that its lower portion will not be below the midship section. It would of course be a serious error if it were. It has not yet been placed in position.
Let the reader who is somewhat at sea regarding torpedo boats and their use imagine a hostile fleet lying outside one of our great seaports, and the Herreshoff torpedo boat detailed to attack it. On the one side is a squadron of powerful ironclads carrying guns of enormous weight, and possessing tremendous power, and all supplemented by numerous groups of those rapid-fire guns and Hotchkiss revolving cannon so deadly to torpedo boats, while on the other side is a single, long, low craft, manned by 16 men and 3 officers, and having for its fighting powers two wicked torpedo throwers. As is usual, the darkest night is selected for a torpedo-boat attack, and under cover of darkness the torpedo boat creeps down within a mile of the hostile squadron, until it becomes certain that the sweeping electric search lights will detect its presence. When with throttles wide open and engines at full speed the little craft dashes for the nearest iron-clad, it must get within a certain range before it can discharge its torpedoes. So frail are its plates that one shot from a rapid-fire gun will go right through engines, boilers, and all, and the boat will become a total wreck. It is, then, a question of speed. She must calculate the time in which to reach the enemy in fractions of minutes, seconds, if need be, for until she can come near enough to discharge her own weapons she is under the concentrated fire of all the squadron's batteries. Once she gets into a position where she can discharge a torpedo, it will be all over with the iron-clad struck, and even if the little torpedo boat does go down from a shot at the last moment her officers have the gratification of knowing that they pulled down with her one of the enemy's finest ships, a vessel worth ten times perhaps the value of the little torpedo boat. This style of warfare calls for bravery of the highest order. To be successful as a torpedo officer demands an utter disregard of his own life and the perseverance of one fixed object ahead, 'to reach the enemy and sink him.'
The possession of just such qualities made the late Commander W. B. Cushing, United States Navy, the most successful torpedo officer the world has ever known, and it is what will be needed of the commander of the new torpedo craft if he hopes to merit achievement in any duty he may be called upon to perform.
The contract price to be paid by the Government for the new torpedo boat is $82,750, the requirements being that she show on trial a speed of 20 knots an hour. The coming July ought to see her on the active list and in commission. She is to carry a secondary battery of two 6-pounder rapid-fire guns, presumably to be mounted somewhere on her turtle back. The only vessels the little craft can expect a hostile attack from by way of a surprise will be from hostile torpedo vessels or the enemy's small boats sent out to board her. Against such attacks Gatling guns would prove of little use except to clear the way of small boats. But against the sides of the attacking torpedo vessels their fire would be futile. It is here that rapid-fire guns will play a prominent part and be the only means of saving the vessel. The same reasoning has been applied to the arming of the Vesuvius with a secondary battery as was in the case of the torpedo vessel.
The Herreshoffs have at present at work in. their yards a force of between 125 and 150 men. Forty of this number are at work on the hull of the torpedo vessel above described. They are in charge of an experienced man, one of Thorneycroft's former foremen, and a master builder of the Lairds.
The Government Inspector at the yard is Lieut. Converse, United States Navy. He has charge of the work on the hull. There is no engineer officer at present attached, the antipathy of the Herreshoffs to any Government supervision apparently having caused the department to allow them to proceed unmolested, and be subjected to one final and thorough inspection on the completion of the vessel." (Source: Anon. "A New Torpedo Thrower. The Herreshoffs At Work On A Deadly War Vessel. An Effective Little Engine Of Destruction Ordered By The Government Almost Completed." New York Times, March 28, 1889, frontpage.)

"Bristol, R. I., Jan. 23 [1890]. --- At precisely 9:45 o'clock this morning, with a word from Superintendent Nat G. Herreshoff and a stroke or two upon the hydraulic jack, the cradle which bore the handsome hull of the United States torpedo boat No. 1 began to slide down the ways toward the sheet of water that makes into the shore at the Herreshoff Shipbuilding Works. On the forward tip of the whale back, erect and intent, stood Miss Katherine K. Herreshoff, daughter of the blind President of the Herreshoff Company. One hand grasped the rakish jack staff for support, and in the other she swung from, a small white cotton line a quart bottle of champagne. The bottle was held in a network sack made of the white line, and was gayly docked with red, white, and blue ribbons. As the cradle started, Miss Herreshoff sent the bottle with pretty precision crashing to the starboard bow. It rebounded, and, dancing merrily from the end of the white line, jumped across the cutwater and crashed again on the port side of the stem aft.
'I name thee Cushing,' cried Miss Herreshoff.
With the first movement of the cradle the fires had been lit, and the Cushing glided swiftly out of the boathouse, with black smoke pouring from the smoke pipes. The torpedo boat entered the water swiftly, but with hardly a splash, and brought up without; moving beyond the docks. Is was one of the most successful launches ever made at the works. At 10:17 o'clock steam was up and the Cushing saluted with her whistle. All the engines and machinery were then given a turn. The vessel will be kept constantly under steam now while her builders get her machinery in condition for the dock trial. She lies with her painted water line several inches out of water, due to the absence of her torpedo tubes and other armament.
...
The new United States torpedo boat Cushing is the first vessel of her type to be built in this country, and in many respects she is one of the most remarkable craft ever turned out of an American shipyard. In general design, construction, and inner fittings the Cushing is essentially a Thornycroft boat, but her hull and the speed lines, are unmistakably American.
...
On the reconstruction of the navy during the past Administration the building was authorized of one sea-going torpedo boat, at a cost of $82,750. The contract was awarded to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol, R. I., a firm already noted for its swift steam yachts, but more particularly for a peculiar coil boiler known as the 'Herreshoff boiler.' The specifications furnished the Herreshoffs by the Navy Department were general in scope, the policy being to leave much to the ideas of these experienced boatbuilders. The contract called tor the completion of the torpedo boat in May, 1890. At the last moment, however, the Herreshoffs asked and obtained permission to substitute a Thornycroft boiler for one of their own. The request was granted, and with it an extension of six months in the lime limit. The boilers, though English, in design, were made in this country, the work being done by the Continental Iron Works of Brooklyn. The guaranteed speed demanded in the new boat was placed at twenty-three knots. For every one-quarter of an knot in excess of twenty-three the contract stipulated a bonus of $1,500, and for every one-quarter of a knot in excess of twenty-four a bonus or $2,000.
The Cushing is 138 feet in extreme length, has a beam of 15 feet amidships, and an extreme depth of hold of 10 feet. The draught of water is 4 feet. 4 inches. The engines are quadruple in expansion, with five cylinders. These cylinders are respectively 11 1/4 inches for the high pressure, 10 inches for the first intermediate, 22 inches for the second intermediate, and 22 inches for the two final low-pressure cylinders. There are two propellers of manganese bronze, set in steel shafts 5 1/2 inches in . diameter and 61 feet in length. The engines are necessarily two in number. Their stroke is 15 inches. The valve shaft is geared by the main shaft, and a single eccentric and a reducing valve allows the use of direct steam in starting. The displacement of the Cushing is but little over 100 tons. Of this weight the engines and boilers are 25 tons. It is calculated that a horse-power development of at least 1,600 will be recorded. This will be ten times the horse power developed by the City of Paris per ton of displacement. The Cushing's machinery is calculated as weighing roughly about 8 tons. On a horse-power development of 1,600 there will be recorded a ratio of about sixteen horse power per ton of displacement. The vessel is divided into eleven water-tight compartments. In order, running aft from the bow, is the collision department, the steam capstan room and torpedo magazine. Quarters for the men, galley and lavatory, forward boiler room, engine room, after boiler room, engineer's quarters, officers' quarters, officers' pantry, and steering gear. With the exception of the two forward rooms, the only connection between the apartments is effected by going on deck and thence down the hatch of each apartment. The men's quarters forward are intended for twelve men. The bunks for the men are light, frail affairs, filled with laths. They are made to swing up against the side of the boat, one bank being over the other. Along the sides of the small living space run the lockers.
The loading of the torpedo tubes will be done in this part of the ship, the tubes running from, there forward through the bow. A light iron ladder is placed at the after end of the living quarters as a means of egress. It loads up through the forward conning tower in which the commanding officer will stand when making the attack. This conning tower is of steel, one-quarter of an inch thick. This is a sufficient thickness to turn aside small projectiles. Just abaft the living space is a small room large enough for three men to stand in. This is the galley. On the stand rests an oil stove for cooking. There is also a small wood stove for use in the event of the oil stove giving out. Cooking can also be done by steam. There is no opening below abaft the galley. One must go on deck up through the conning tower, and then down through a hatchway so small that a man possessed of large shoulders will have difficulty in getting below. A narrow, upright iron ladder serves for steps. This apartment is the forward fireroom. There is barely room enough for one man to swing his coal shovel in. On each side the coal bunkers open into the fire-room, while just behind the fireman is placed the forced draft blower. It is feared by critics that there will be trouble in getting the coal to the opening, inasmuch as there is apparently no tend from forward or aft. The coal bunkers line up each side of the boilers, and so long as they remain full should afford protection against small rapid-fire projectiles.
The boilers are models of workmanship. There is one boiler to each fireroom, each boiler being fitted with three furnaces. Inside each boiler there is no less than two miles of tubing. It is intended that one man shall do the firing on each boiler, and to permit of this much has been done to make the work as light as possible. A strong spring and heavy weight to each furnace door causes the door to fly wide open by a mere touch of the shovel, and again shut by a rap on the upper rim of the door. Abaft the forward fireroom is the engine room. Between the two engines there is barely enough space for one man to pass. In compactness the engines are minimized to a degree difficult to realize. In this small space six men will be detailed --- two engineers, two oilers, and two water tenders. A system of oil pipes running from one general vat will convey oil to all parts of the machinery, time doing away in a great degree with personal oiling. The engines can be handled by one engineer, who will stand at the forward end of the engine room. The throttles of both engines are within his grasp, as are also the reversing levers. It is more than likely, though, that in action one engineer will be required to stand by each throttle to assure speedy execution of all orders from the conning tower.
It is said by the Herreshoffs that the running of the machinery will be well nigh noiseless. Exit from the engine room can be made at either end. Abaft the engine room is the after fireroom. It is similar to the forward fire room, one boiler supplying each engine. Abaft the after fire room is the engineer's quarters. Bunks are here arranged for six men. There is barely enough room, though, for six men to turn around in. The bunks are arranged as are those of the men forward. In connection with the engineer's quarters is the magazine for the. rapid-fire gun projectiles. The Cushing will carry either two or three six-pounder rapid-fire guns. Abaft all comes the officers' quarters. No distinction is made for the commanding officer. The room is miserably small, though larger than any on the English-built boats. There is a skylight overhead protected by steel shutters. In the centre of the alleyway is a small table. The trunks of the officers serve as chairs, for indeed there is no room for furniture below decks. A small cuddy opening off the wardroom serves as a pantry.
The detail for the Cushing will, it is thought, consist of three line officers, an engineer officer, and a Surgeon. As a senior Lieutenant has been given the command, it is thought he will have with him a junior Lieutenant and an ensign. The vessel is furnished with two small boats, which hang on davits amidships, also with two small anchors. The anchors are run up by a steam capstan, the chain leading through the whaleback deck well abaft the stem and going overboard through a bell-mouthed hawsepipe fitted to the stem. Of all the machinery the condenser alone is single, but all steam machinery is fitted to exhaust into the atmosphere. It is thought that the flooding of any one compartment would not seriously interfere with the working of the boat. In connection with the bilge system of centrifugal and donkey pumps the Cushing should be able, it is said, to blow out a volume of water equal to its own bulk in eight minutes.
The fighting powers of the boat consist in discharging torpedoes through tubes in the bow, the object being to get near enough to an enemy before being hit to discharge a torpedo. To do this requires great speed to cross the danger space before being discovered or struck. The Cushing will have to approach as close as 200 yards to be within effective firing range. The torpedoes are discharged by an explosive compound. They will travel at the rate of forty feet per second over the surface of the water. It means sure destruction to the ship that is struck squarely by one of these bolts." (Source: Anon. "Launch Of The Cushing. The New Torpedo Boat Slips Into The Water." New York Times, January 24, 1890, p. 5.)

"... In this country the Ward and the Herreshoff boilers are, so far, the only tubulous boilers of note, but both systems appear to be unsuitable for use other than in very small craft. ... The Herreshoff boiler ... has been tested in both this country and in England, and while the British Government rejected the Herreshoff in favor of its own Thornycroft, this Government, on the other hand, has fitted all its new navy steam launches with the system. It is said that the large number of tubes in the Herreshoff boiler stand in the way of any increase being made in the size of the boiler beyond that suitable for small boats. Any needed cleaning in a small Herreshoff boiler can readily be performed by hand, but when the boiler is enlarged the difficulty encountered in reaching interior parts is altogether too great, it is thought, to make the boiler fit for practical use.
This is said to be the reason why the Herreshoff Company requested permission to substitute a Thornycroft boiler in the torpedo boat Cushing in lieu of one of their own, it being known that in a Thornycroft boiler of the size required for the Cushing the parts readily admitted of cleaning, while a Herreshoff boiler that would generate steam sufficient to develop 1,600 horse power would take up altogether too much space: in fact, the design, displacement, & c., of the boat would not, it was thought carry the weight of a large Herreshoff.
No one seems to doubt the ability of a Herreshoff boiler to give all the steam required so long as the boiler is made large enough. But here, it is pointed out, is where the rub comes in. A Thornycroft boiler, which will do the same work as a Herreshoff, appears to be lighter, more compact, and offers better facilities for cleaning than the American system. ..." (Source: Anon. "The Question Of Boilers. Tubulous Types Unsuitable For War Ships." New York Times, February 13, 1890, p. 9.)

"Bristol R. I., March 10 [1890]. --- The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company was compelled to announce to-day its inability to proceed with the trial test of the torpedo boat Cushing. All of the members of the official naval board were present when the announcement was made, including Commander T. S. Jewell, John S. Newell, Lieut. T. C. McLean, Passed Assistant Engineer T. M. Potts, and Assistant Naval Constructor J. T. Woodward.
No specific reason has been assigned by the Herreshoff people for to-day's announcement other than that they are 'not ready.' The failure of the contractors to proceed with the tests set for to-day is a sore disappointment in navy circles. This is the third failure in the history of the new torpedo boat of the contractors to keep faith with the Government.
The contract under which the new torpedo boat was let specified that she should be launched and ready for trial by May 1, 1889. In April of last year the Herreshoffs informed the Navy Department that they doubted the ability of their boiler to perform the work demanded by the boat on trial, and permission was asked and granted for an extension of six months' time in the construction work, with the right of substituting an English Thornycroft boiler in lieu of their own. The Navy Department was specially anxious for the completion of the craft and her trial last May, hoping to create a favorable impression in Congress before the close of the session on the progress and development of the new navy.
The six months' extension of time passed and again the Herreshoffs failed to announce the torpedo boat as completed. The launch was finally set for the last of January. Numerous invitations were sent out. Large numbers of navy and army officers and citizens put in an appearance. Little Bristol assumed all the features of gala day, only to be disappointed by the Herreshoffs announcing to the assembled guests that the launch could not be effected that day. It has been confidently expected that the Cushing would be prepared for her speed trials during the middle of February. The appropriations calling for more torpedo boats have for some time been held in abeyance in anticipation of the reports from the trial showings. Over a week ago the Herreshoffs declared themselves prepared for the Government trial, the official trial board was ordered, and all the officers were here this morning, only to be informed that the company was unprepared to go ahead with the test.
The majority of the board left Bristol tonight for Newport, there to await instructions from the Navy Department. It is expected that the board will be disbanded, not to be again assembled until positive assurances can be given the secretary of the Navy that the Herreshoffs are in reality prepared to subject their vessel to Government inspection. The test to which the Cushing is required to submit is a run over the Government measured course in Narragansett Bay to demonstrate her ability to steam 22 knots an hour. For every quarter of a knot in excess of 22 and under 23 the contractors are to receive a bonus of $2,000, and for every quarter of a knot in excess of 23 knots an hour a bonus of $3,000.
...
Inquiries of the Herreshoff firm to-day failed to elicit any information regarding the postponement of the test further than that it was for an indefinite period. The failure in this instance is regarded as little else than bad faith on the part of the contractors. Considerable reticence was exhibited by the Herreshoffs, and, as the members of the official board are without information, the real cause of the delay is a matter of conjecture on all sides.
Since the Cushing has been launched and opened up somewhat to inspection rumors have been in circulation among navy officers who have seen the vessel that her inside finishings are of a cheap and tawdry nature, evidently put in with the object of incurring as little expense as possible. The machinery and boilers, however, cannot be found fault with. They have been, of necessity, well made to withstand the test for speed, but the quarters, the living space for the men forward the galley, are said to be flimsy and anything but substantial. The specifications for the torpedo boat left such matters to the contractors, and the latter, it is said, naturally improved the opportunity to save as much out of the contract price as possible.
Ever since the Herreshoffs substituted a Thornycroft tubulous boiler in lieu of one of their own cast boilers, it has been recognized in naval circles that any feat of the Cushing must of necessity be accredited to an English-designed steam generator. The boiler in a torpedo boat is its most important factor, and, inasmuch as an English design has had to be accepted, the question is asked why award the contract for a practically English torpedo boat to an American firm when the article can be obtained direct and much cheaper than when it passes through a second hand. Whatever may be the outcome of the speed trials of the Cushing, it is generally recognized that the Herreshoffs have lost their opportunity to make any gain from them." (Source: Anon. "The Test Again Postponed. The Torpedo Boat Cushing Not Ready For Trial. No Reasons Given By The Builders For Again Failing To Meet The Terms Of Their Contract." New York Times, March 11, 1890, p. 5.)

"Washington, Sept. 27 [1891]. --- Naval engineers are much interested in the proposed race of steam yachts at New-York, and are in hopes that it may be arranged. They have very little doubt that the torpedo boat Cushing could beat any of them if she were allowed to enter.
It is said, however, that she would be greatly handicapped if she were entered in such a race, for the reason that, owing to the lack of a sufficient number of trained machinists and stokers in the navy, the Cushing, like every other vessel of the navy, is so short-handed in the engine and fire rooms that to run her at her highest speed for any length of time would be impossible. It would not do to fill up the crew with inexperienced men, as was shown in her recent horse-power trial in the lower Potomac, on which occasion the best men available were put in her firerooms, and yet the highest speed gotten out of her was only 17 1/2 knots, and the fault was altogether in the inability of the green firemen to keep up the steam pressure in the boilers. No stronger argument could be made in favor of the maintenance of a trained corps of firemen than was made by the spectacle of the Cushing --- a 24-knot boat --- not being able to get a speed over 17 1/2 knots.
It has been suggested that if the owners of the crack yachts are really anxious to compare their speed with that of Government vessels they can take them to Newport and run them over the measured mile course there under the same conditions that the Government vessels are tried. If any of them can come up to the Cushing's record of 24 1/2 knots over this course they can fairly be put down in her class. There is little faith among naval officers in the ability of any other vessel in this country to make that record, though it is confidently expected that torpedo boat No. 2 will beat it when she is ready for trial." (Source: Anon. "The Cushing's Speed. Necessity Shown of a Trained Force of Engineers and Firemen." New York Times, September 28, 1891, P. 4.)

"Construction, Launching and Trials of the U.S.S. Cushing
A Most Creditable Addition to the Navy
by Carlton J. Pinheiro
In the final three decades of the 19th century, a number of steam driven torpedo boats were designed and built at the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company for the Navies of the United States, Great Britain, Russia, Chile and Peru. Refinements in hull design and revolutionary engineering developments in steam engines and boilers, made these Herreshoff vessels among the best of their day. In 1876, the U.S. Navy's first torpedo boat, LIGHTNING, was built at Herreshoffs. In 1887, the Navy acquired Herreshoff's fast 1885 steam yacht STILETTO and had the Shop convert her to a torpedo boat with a single torpedo tube built into her bow just above the waterline. STILETTO became the first U.S. Navy Torpedo Boat to fire a self-propelled torpedo.
It was not unusual, considering the Navy's knowledge of Herreshoff boats, for the U.S. Navy contract for its first 'sea-going' torpedo boat to go to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol, RI. Designed by Nathanael G. Herreshoff and built in the South Construction Shop in 1889 and 1890, 'Seagoing Torpedo Boat No. 1' was probably the first steel vessel built in the building that would ultimately see the construction of the Herreshoff Cup Defenders.
The vessel was 138' overall, had a 15' beam, and a draft of 10'. Although designed with the traditional late 19th century naval slanted back profile, as was probably specified by the government contract, her crowned or turtle shaped deck was typical Nat Herreshoff. Both VAMOOSE and JAVELIN, non-military yachts, had this feature. A conning tower was placed forward and according to the naval report, 'When the roofs of the conning tower were raised, the air was deflected above the head of the man at the wheel; and even at the highest speed, against the wind, a person standing on the platform of the conning tower, was able to look in any direction and would not feel wind pressure.'
During the construction, her steel framing, deckbeams, and bulkheads were electrogalvanized for longer life in salt water. Her two smoke stacks were set apart with the machinery in between. This machinery consisted of two Herreshoff five cylinder quadruple expansion engines. (Five cylinders of 11 ½ ", 16", 22 ½", 22 ½", 22 ½" in diameter, by 15" stroke, each working through reciprocating pistons and rods to five cranks beneath.) These engines developed 2,000 horsepower at 400 rpm and were the type used on the yachts BALLYMENA, SAY WHEN and VAMOOSE. Two Herreshoff-built boilers which developed 250 lbs. of steam pressure were fired by coal. Her two manganese bronze propellers were 51" in diameter. She carried a standard Herreshoff anchor in chocks on her foredeck, an interesting departure from the traditional navy anchor.
As the 'U.S. Navy Torpedo Boat No. 1' was nearing completion in the South Construction Shop, plans were being made for the official launching on January 22, 1890. The new vessel was to be named the U.S.S. CUSHING. Because of bad weather, the launching was postponed one day. Miss Katherine Kilton Herreshoff, the nineteen year old daughter of John B. Herreshoff, President of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, christened the new torpedo boat on the morning of January 23, 1890. As a souvenir of this important occasion, she kept the neck of the champagne bottle with its red, white and blue ribbons. (This artifact is on display in the A. Sidney DeW. Herreshoff Room of the Museum.) On the afternoon of the launching day, CUSHING's engines were tried at the dock.
The official trials of the U.S.S. CUSHING began on March 10, 1890 and continued until March 25, 1890. The Secretary of the Navy, B.F. Tracy, appointed Commander Theodore F. Jewell of the Newport Torpedo Station and Naval War College senior member of the trial board. Assisting him were Commander John S. Newell, Lieutenant Thomas C. McLean, Engineer Stacy Potts, and Assistant Naval Constructor Joseph J. Woodward, U.S.N. The trials began with the removal of all movable articles from the boat in order that an examination could be conducted of the hull, machinery and fittings. According to the official report, 'After the boat was stripped of all movable weights and fittings, a careful examination of the hull showed first class workmanship throughout.'
Maneuvering trials were conducted in Narragansett Bay on March 12, 1890 and these were most satisfactory. The first speed trial ran for l ¾ hours in the bay again. This particular excursion was mainly to drill the men for later trials. The second speed trial was held on March 24 and lasted for 3 ¼ hours. CUSHING achieved a speed of 22.5 knots with the steam pressure at 245 lbs. During the trial she used 3,446 lbs. of coal per hour. On March 25, a 3 hour run around Block Island was conducted at a mean speed of 22.52 knots. The coal bunker was filled to its capacity of 9 tons of Pocahontas Bituminous and some Cross Creek Anthracite coal. She carried 1 ton of water for her boilers. On March 27, another run off Point Judith, with the boat deeply loaded, lasted for 4 ½ hours. For the trials, in addition to the officers, the 8 man crew was distributed as follows: 2 men at the throttle valves and oiling the forward part of the engines, I man tending the oil and the feed pumps, 2 men in the forward fire room and 2 men in the aft fire room. Under actual naval conditions the entire crew of the U.S.S. CUSHING would be 24 persons. Her armaments consisted of 2 tubes and 2 torpedoes under the decking, 2 spare torpedoes under the floor, and 2 torpedoes and guns on deck between the funnels.
The final paragraph of the official trial report to the Secretary of the Navy is a tribute to the design of N.G. Herreshoff and the craftsmanship of the Shop employees. 'In conclusion, the Board desires to express its opinion that, notwithstanding the fact that this boat is the first of its class built in this country, it compares favorably with the best results obtained abroad after years of experience with similar work; that the speed is satisfactory, and is not obtained by sacrificing either strength or durability; and finally that the excellent construction of the hull and machinery, its desirable maneuvering qualities, its stability and seaworthiness, make the CUSHING a most creditable addition to the Navy.'" (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum Chronicle, 1990, p. 4.)

"USS Cushing (Torpedo Boat # 1, TB-1), 1890-1920
USS Cushing, a 116-ton torpedo boat, was built in Bristol, Rhode Island. When commissioned in April 1890, she was the Navy's only modern torpedo boat, and spent most of her career assisting in torpedo development efforts. In 1898, Cushing operated out of Key West and off Cuba in support of Spanish-American War naval efforts. She was generally in reserve status after that conflict and was finally expended as a target in September 1920." (Source: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-c/tb1.htm, retrieved March 23, 2007.)

"Name: USS Cushing
Namesake: William B. Cushing
Ordered: 3 August 1886 (authorised)
Builder: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company
Laid down: April 1888
Launched: 23 January 1890
Sponsored by: Miss K. B. Herreshoff
Commissioned: 22 April 1890
Decommissioned: 8 November 1898
Fate: sunk as target, 24 September 1920
Type: Torpedo boat
Displacement: 116 long tons (118 t)
Length: 140 ft (43 m)
Beam: 15 ft 1 in (4.60 m)
Draft: 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m)
Installed power: 1,600 ihp (1,200 kW)
Propulsion: 2 × vertical quadruple-expansion reciprocating steam engines
2 × Thornycroft boilers
2 × screws
Speed: 23 kn (26 mph; 43 km/h)
Complement: 22 officers and enlisted
Armament: 2 x 6-pounder (57 mm (2.24 in)) guns
3 x 18 in (460 mm) torpedo tubes (3x1)[4]" (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cushing_(TB-1), December 21, 2011.)

"Cushing was equipped with two of the largest and most powerful steam engines ever produced by the Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; similar ones had been in use for the past year or two on the Herreshoff steam yachts Ballymena [#151p] and Say When [#150p]. NGH designed these as five-cylinder quadruple-expansion engines, each with two low-pressure cylinders that measured nearly 2 feet in diameter. Cushing's speed at sea trials matched Stiletto's [#118p] of about 26 m.p.h." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 45.)

"N/A"

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary plan with profile and technical details of an unidentified torpedo boat. Possibly related to #152p CUSHING." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE02_07520. Folder [no #]. No date (1887 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] HMCo Plan HH.5.01601 (022-015). Blueprint steam engine detail titled 'Machinery for Seagoing Torpedo Boat [#152p]. Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Bristol, R.I. 1888. Pumping System. Scale 1/4 Size'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0078. WRDT08, Folder 8, formerly MRDE11. 1888.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary plan with deckplan and outboard profile of the forward half of what appears to be #152p CUSHING. Compare with WRDT08_06570 which shows the aft half of the same design. Untitled, some annotations, undated (CUSHING was designed in 1887/1888)." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Preliminary Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0575. WRDT08, Folder 44. No date (1887 or 1888 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary plan with deckplan, sections and outboard profile of the aft half of what appears to be #152p CUSHING. Compare with WRDT08_06600 which shows the forward half of the same design. Untitled, some annotations, undated (CUSHING was designed in 1887/1888)." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Preliminary Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0576. WRDT08, Folder 44. No date (1887 or 1888 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary plan with deckplan, sections and outboard profile of the forward half of what appears to be #152p CUSHING. Compare with WRDT08_06630 which shows the aft half of the same design. Untitled, some annotations, undated (CUSHING was designed in 1887/1888)." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Preliminary Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0577. WRDT08, Folder 44. No date (1887 or 1888 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary plan with deckplan and outboard profile of the forward half of what appears to be #152p CUSHING. Compare with WRDT08_06660 which shows the aft half of the same design. Untitled, some annotations, undated (CUSHING was designed in 1887/1888)." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Preliminary Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0578. WRDT08, Folder 44. No date (1887 or 1888 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Untitled penciled calculations, apparently about steam machinery, mentioning among others 'H[igh] P[ressure] 8in valve' and 'L[ow] P[ressure] 11 1/4in V[alve]. Filed in folder for item no. HH.6.3 which refers to #150p SAY WHEN, #151p BALLYMENA, and #152p CUSHING. Undated, but other material in this folder dates from January 1, 1888." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.003. Calculations. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull Nos. 150p, 151p, 152p. No date (1888-01 ???).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Penciled sheet of paper titled 'Order for cylinders for st[eame]rs 150, 151, and 152 [#150p SAY WHEN, #151p BALLYMENA, and #152p CUSHING]'
To be cast of fine hard cast iron of best quality, and carefully moulded'." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.003. Memorandum. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull Nos. 150p, 151p, 152p. 1888-01-01.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled 'Memorandum regarding 15in stroke quadruple Expansion Engine for Steamers Nos. 150, 151 and 152 [#150p SAY WHEN, #151p BALLYMENA, and #152p CUSHING]'." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.003. Memorandum. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull Nos. 150p, 151p, 152p. 1888-01-01.)
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"[Item Description:] Casting Book # 2 [B (there is another Casting Book # 2)] showing hull castings as per title only for steamers #148p Our Mary and #149p Jersey Lily. Contents, however, also include castings for other boats including #188903es Yawl Boat for #157p Aquila, #405s Alice, #406s Iris, #54p Dolphin, #65p Gleam, #104p Magnolia, #104p Magnolia, #133p Henrietta, #151p Ballymena, #152p Cushing, #155p Augusta [III], #156p Antoinette, #157p Aquila, #158p Launch for Seal Fishing, and #162p Judy. Also listed are many parts for a quadruple engine (probably for #152p Cushing or for #150p Say When or #151p Ballymena). While other casting lists record both castings made at home and at outside foundries, this book appears to list only castings made at outside foundries and none at home. A first part of the booklet from front to about the middle shows casting numbers, descriptions, numbers of castings and foundry where made with dates ranging from Sept 10, [1887] to Dec 14 [1889]. A second, upside down, part of the booklet begins at the end and then goes back to the middle showing for the same date range 'Patterns sent away' with pattern numbers and names of foundries these were sent to. A further section then shows castings required for #152p Cushing and as well as castings required for Lagging, Pumping Engines, Feed Pump and Air Pump, all these possibly also for #152p Cusing. A final section shows 'Patterns ordered home' with pattern numbers, foundry names these were received from and dates ranging from Sept 12 [1887] to Dec 16 [1889]." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-03. Castings Book 2B. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Hull Castings Order Book 2. 1888-09-10 to 1889-12-14.)
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"[Item Description:] Photograph, uncaptioned, showing #152p CUSHING's steam engine under construction." (Source: Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE14_01880. Photograph. Folder [no #]. No date (1889 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] HMCo Plan HH.5.02001 (028-005). Blueprint construction plan with plan view and inboard profile titled 'Row boat [#188901es] for Torpedo Boat St[eame]r 1[52] [#152p CUSHING]. Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Bristol, R.I. July [2, 1889]'. With list of particulars 'Length 11ft. Breadth 5ft. Depth 23in'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0377. WRDT08, Folder 18, formerly MRDE08. 1889-07-02.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Papermount of HH.6.191-HH.6.192 annotated in ink 'Herreshoff Machine Shop - Bristol, R.I.
Photos by James Henry Shaw - About 1890.
Where Engines for Torpedo Boat CUSHING [#152p] were built'. With penciled annotation in lower right corner 'Hart Nautical Museum. Gift of Mrs. S.B. Marlow. 8/[19]72'." (Source: Shaw, James Henry (creator). Papermount. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.193. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photograph. 1890.)
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"[Item Description:] Photograph with HH.6.195 (Herreshoff Machine Shop - Bristol, R.I. Photos by James Henry Shaw - About 1890. Where Engines for Torpedo Boat CUSHING [#152p] were built, 1890)." (Source: Shaw, James Henry (creator). Steam engine in Machine Shop. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.194. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photograph. 1890.)
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"[Item Description:] Papermount for HH.6.194 'Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Engines built and Trial Runs were made by James Henry Shaw, 1890'. For Torpedo Boat CUSHING [#152p].' With penciled annotation in lower right corner 'Hart Nautical Museum. Gift of Mrs. S.B. Marlow. 8/[19]72'." (Source: Shaw, James Henry (creator). Papermount. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.195. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photograph. 1890.)
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"[Item Description:] Photo with mount HH.6.197 (Engine built and trial Runs were made by James Henry Shaw-about 1890, For Torpedo Boat CUSHING [#152p])." (Source: Shaw, James Henry (creator). Steam engine in Machine Shop. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.196. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photograph. ca1890.)
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"[Item Description:] Mount for HH.6.196 labeled 'Engine built and trial Runs were made by James Henry Shaw-about 1890', For Torpedo Boat CUSHING [#152p]'. With penciled annotation in lower right corner 'Hart Nautical Museum. Gift of Mrs. S.B. Marlow. 8/[19]72'." (Source: Shaw, James Henry (creator). Papermount. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.197. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photograph. ca1890.)
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"[Item Description:] Blueprint diagram titled 'CUSHING [#152p]. During Builder's Trials. February and March 1890' and showing curves titled 'Knots per Hour. 6 1/2 ton on Board. 2 knots Pr Inch', 'Knots per ton on Board', 'Revolution per Minute. 6 1/2 tons on Board. Scale 40 Rev. Per Inch. Rev. per ton on Board', and 'Approximate Coal Consumption per Hour. Scale 400lbs per inch'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (?) (creator). Diagram. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_08990. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1890-03).)
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"[Item Description:] Ink on paper diagram on curly paper titled 'CUSHING [#152p] During Builders Trials. February and March 1890'. X-axis with values from 0 to 260[lbs] 'Pressures above atmosphere' and Y-axis with values from 120 to 280 [lbs steam pressure] and 6 to 15 [knots speed]. Plots are labeled 'Knots p[e]r hour. 6 1/2 ton on board, 2 knots p[e]r inch', 'knots 17 tons on board', 'Revolution p[e]r minute. 6 1/2 tons on board. Scale 40 rev[olutions] p[e]r inch', 'Rev[olutions] 17 ton on board', 'Approximate Coal Consumption p[e]r hour. Scale 400bs p[e]r inch'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Diagram. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_09750. Folder [no #]. 1890-03 or later.)
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"[Item Description:] Handwritten (in ink) trials booklet titled 'Steamer no 152 [#152p] CUSHING] Trials. Jan[uary] & Feb[ruary] 1890. (Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Bristol, R.I.')' with performance data recorded between January 29, 1890 and March 13, 1890." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. creator. Trials Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_03090. Folder [no #]. 1890-01 to 1890-03.)
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"[Item Description:] Ink on paper diagram titled 'CUSHING [#152p] During Builders Trials. February and March 1890'. X-axis with values from 0 to 260[lbs] 'Pressures above atmosphere' and Y-axis with values from 40 to 400 [lbs steam pressure' and 2 to 22 [knots speed]. Plots are labeled 'Knots per hour. 6 1/2 tons on board, Scale 2 knots p[e]r inch', 'knots 17 tons on board', 'Revolution per minute. 6 1/2 tons on board. Scale 40 rev[olutions] p[e]r inch', 'Rev[olutions] 17 ton on board', 'Approximate Coal Consumption p[e]r hour. Scale 400bs p[e]r inch'." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Diagram. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0621. WRDT08, Folder 46. 1890-03 or later.)
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"[Item Description:] Detailed typewritten 'Report of Trial Board to the Secretary of the Navy, on Trials of U.S. Torpedo-Boat No. 1 CUSHING [#152p]. March 31, 1890. Property of the Herreshoff Mfg. Co.' (25 pages, gift of R. F. Haffenreffer III, Dec. 1977)" (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_0390. Report. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Box 1), Folder [no #]. 1890-03-31.)
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"[Item Description:] would like to make photos of #450s ISOLDE and #451s NIAGARA for the New York Times; was in Bristol with Com. Converse during building of #152p CUSHING" (Source: Child, Frank H. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_02700. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly 231. 1895-04-10.)
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"[Item Transcription:] The Secretary has this morning awarded the contract for building two (2) of the torpedo boats [#184p PORTER and #185p DUPONT] to your firm, substantially in accordance with the plans and specifications submitted, the only modifications being some which Mr. J.B. [JBH] readily agreed to.
A very unusual departure from ordinary custom prevailing in awarding contracts has been made in the present case. As the designs, plans, etc. are prepared by you, many of the restrictions imposed, contemplated by the original proposals have been removed and these boats will be constructed under circumstances similar to those which existed when the CUSHING [#152p] was built.
I am detailed as the Inspector and will probably have an assistant, as was the case of the CUSHING.
In awarding the contract, the Secretary has based his reasons for so doing solely on the remarkably good record made by the CUSHING and the belief that other boats made by by your firm, if unhampered, would be equally successful. I sincerely trust that you will join in doing all in your power to accomplish the results desired, feeling sure that there is an opportunity now for you to make a reputation in steamers equal to that you have made in the 'Cup Defender' [#452s]. Secretary has awarded contract for 2 torpedo boats [#184p PORTER and #185p DUPONT]; restrictions to the builder have been removed based on good experiences with #152p CUSHING; Converse will be inspector" (Source: Converse, George Albert (USN inspector) . Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_03140. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly 230. 1895-09-27.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled table titled 'Steering engines' and showing data for 'CUSHING's [#152p] 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 cyls', 'same eng[ine] geared for # 6 & 7 [#184p PORTER and #185p DUPONT]', and 'Design using 3 1/2 x 5 cyls'. On verso a plan view sketch of a torpedo boat marked '175.5 = 117 framespaces' [PORTER and DUPONT were 175.5ft long] and calculations, apparently to determine various weights." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_01040. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1897 or later ?).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Many thanks for your kind letter of the 17th instant and copy of specifications for thirty knot Torpedo Boats and the blue print of the CUSHING's [#152p] speed curve, which were duly received.
There is no reason why as much time as may be necessary for the purpose, should not be given to the progressive trials of Torpedo Boat 'No 6' [#184p PORTER] and I shall endeavor to carry out thoroughly the programme which you suggest. I trust you may find it convenient to be present on board during these trials. If you can spare the time, the boat can call for you at Bristol and devote as many hours or days to making the series of trials as you may desire.
Since my visit to Bristol, I have been reflecting a great deal upon the subject of the grating, and while I was at first disposed to favor the placing of the grating directly in contact with the deck, it has recently occurred to me that this plan was open to the most serious objection; --- the ashes and cinders from the smoke-stack will accumulate in the pockets formed by the grating, and cannot be thoroughly removed without taking the grating up, which would, therefore, necessarily have to be done after every steaming. Moreover, if these ashes remain and get wet with salt water, as they are likely to do, they will be sure to cause rust and corrosion of the plates. It, therefore, seems to me that it would be most desirable to provide a grating which shall be well clear of the deck, at least for the spaces between the deck beams; i.e. that the bearings of the grating on deck should not be nearer together than these beams. It also seems to me that the proposed midship batten for securing the inner edges of the grating, would be equally objectionable on account of not allowing water or cinders to pass through from side to side with the roll of the vessel. These objections are somewhat emphasised by the fact that the deck is so nearly flat, particularly aft.
Please think this matter over and let me know what conclusions you arrive at.
'No. 6' [#184p PORTER] has not yet reached this Station, and if she comes this week will have to return at once to New London to participate in the trials of Gunboats Nos. 8 and 9. The LEYDEN and the STILETTO [#118p] have already left for that port and so I am without any conveyance until they return; hence shall find it impossible to go to Bristol for several days." (Source: Converse, George Albert. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_34360. Subject Files, Folder 41, formerly 28-30. 1897-03-19.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) trials booklet 'Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Experiments & Trial Trips. 1890. N.G. Herreshoff'. Relevant contents:
§2: #152p CUSHING Trial Run (1890-01-29)
§3: #152p CUSHING Trial Run (1890-01-30)
§4: #152p CUSHING Trial Run (1890-02-01 & 1890-02-04)
§5: #152p CUSHING Trial Run (1890-02-06 & 1890-02-13)
§6: #152p CUSHING Trial Run (1890-02-14 & 1890-02-17)
§8: #152p CUSHING Trial Run (1890-02-26)
§9: #152p CUSHING Trial Run (1890-02-28)
§10: #152p CUSHING Trial Run (1890-03-12)
§11: #152p CUSHING Trial Run Lt. Winslow on board (1890-03-13&17&18 &1890-05-01)
§19: Trial Run of a 2 steam engine boat, probably #152p." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Trials Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_02260. Folder [no #]. 1890-01 to 1898-08.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞ ㉟ ㊱ ㊲ ㊳ ㊴ ㊵ ㊶ ㊷ ㊸ ㊹ ㊺ ㊻ ㊼ ㊽ ㊾ ㊿
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"[Item Description:] Photograph. [Backside of Trophy Cup shown in HH.6.208:] ANEMONE [#4p] 1870, LIGHTNING [#20p] 1876, STILLETO [#118p] 1885, HENRIETTA [#133p] 1886, NOW THEN [#142p] 1887, BALLYMENA [#151p] 1888, CUSHING [#152p] 1890, VAMOOSE [#168p] 1891, PORTER [#184p] 1896, MORRIS 1897 [#190p]." (Source: Anderström (creator). Photograph. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.209. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photograph. No date (1899 ?).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Your letter of December 27th has just arrived. What you have written is most interesting and will be of great value to the Board. I think perhaps we are asking a little too much of the destroyer. Twenty-five knots at sea on deep load displacement is a pretty high speed. My own idea is that the speed of the destroyer should be a little greater than that of the armored cruiser which is our fastest ship which belongs to the line of battle. I doubt very much if any of our armored cruisers building would do much better than twenty knots when deeply loaded. It seems to me that twenty-three knots sea speed of the destroyer on deep load displacement would be ample. Would not this reduction of speed from twenty-five knots to twenty-three knots make the problem much easier for the designer and at the same time possibly enable greater strength to be put in the vessel, give her a little more coal endurance and perhaps admit of the size of the destroyer being somewhat reduced. Of course as you increase the dimensions of the destroyer the monied value is also increased and at the same time the vessel becomes less handy and if too large would require torpedo boats to protect the destroyer. It is desirable to secure strength, habitability, sea-worthiness and coal endurance on the smallest practicable displacement even though the speed on deep load displacement falls to approximately twenty-three knots. Our Board meets again next Tuesday and we want to conclude our report next week. If the slow mail arrangements which exist between Washington and Bristol will permit of your sending me a reply to this letter covering the points which I have brought out and any other information which in your opinion would be of value to us in time for the next meeting of the Board, I shall be greatly obliged.
Heretofore the Navy has apparently been asking for vessels with a paper record but what we desire to obtain this time is something of practical value which will perform well after the boats are turned over to the Government, and therefore we do not wish to present to the constructor a problem which is for practical purposes absolutely impossible of solution. Incl NGH reply: I agree with what you say in yours of 29. I think that if 23 knots were required instead of 25, it would be possible to construct a destroyer with good sea going qualities and have the steaming radius required.
I have not had time to make any calculations, but it is my impression that a vessel of about 240' w.l. and 25 to 26ft beam with fairly good freeboard and strong construction, but underwater something like CUSHING [#152p] would give maneuvering qualities as well as easy motion at sea, could be driven to about 23 k at sea when loaded, and between 26 & 27 k in measured mile light. I think it would take a vessel of about this size to have a steam radius of 3000 miles at 15 k rate. If the steam radius was a little easier a smaller vessel would have the 23 k speed and be more handy, as a protection of the warship and herself." (Source: Winslow, Capt. C. McR. (incl NGH reply). Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_33430. Subject Files, Folder 38, formerly 28-30. 1904-12-29.)
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"[Item Description:] Photocopy of a photograph Torpedo boat cruising - USS CUSHING #152p." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.171. Photocopy. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photographs. No date.)
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"[Item Description:] Copy of HH.6.171 USS CUSHING #152p." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.172. Photocopy. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photographs. No date.)
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"[Item Description:] Copy of HH.6.171 USS CUSHING #152p." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.173. Photocopy. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photographs. No date.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #152p Cushing 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.
• Herreshoff Manufacturing Company (John B. Herreshoff). [Specifications for #152p Cushing, Torpedo Boat No. 1.] DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University Collection, George Albert Converse Papers and Photographs, 1861-1897, Box 1, Folder 11, http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/gcp/id/651/rec/23, retrieved June 6, 2018. February 27, 1888. (3,372 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: No known copyright restrictions. Copyright holder: DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University. Detailed description and specifications including additions to specifications. 10 pages.
• United States Department of the Navy and Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Contract for #152p Cushing, Torpedo Boat No. 1.] DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University Collection, George Albert Converse Papers and Photographs, 1861-1897, Box 1, Folder 11, http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/gcp/id/655/rec/8, retrieved June 6, 2018. March 1, 1888. (3,855 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: No known copyright restrictions. Copyright holder: DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University. Original building/sales contract. Vessel description, scantlings, promised speed, trial conditions, secrecy, payment terms. Unsigned (unclear if contract was actually executed). 4 pages.

• Cushing (HMCo-made index card)
• Cushing (MIT Museum-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.

Name: Cushing
Type: Steam Torpedo Boat
Length: 138'
Owner: U.S. Navy

Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "A Partial List of Herreshoff Clients." In: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Herreshoff Yachts. Bristol, Rhode Island, ca. 1931.

• Cushing
• Note: The L. Francis Herreshoff index cards comprise a set of some 1200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and / or ownership information. Apparently compiled in the early 1930s, for later HMCo-built boats like the Fishers Island 23s or the Northeast Harbor 30s are not included. Added to in later decades, apparently by L. F. Herreshoff as well as his long-time secretary Muriel Vaughn and others. Also 46 cards of L. F. Herreshoff-designed vessels. The original set of index cards is held by the Herreshoff Marine Museum and permission to display is gratefully acknowledged.

Name: Cushing
Type: 138' steam torpedo boat
Owner: U.S. Navy
Row No.: 140

Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. "Partial List of Herreshoff-Built Boats." In: Herreshoff, L. Francis. Capt. Nat Herreshoff. The Wizard of Bristol. New York, 1953, p. 325-343.

Year: 1890
E/P/S: P
No.: 152
Name: Cushing
OA: 138'

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.

"[See also:] Order for cylinders for strs. # 150, 151, 152 (1/1/1888) - Calculations - Memo regarding 15" stroke quadruple expansion engine for strs. # 150, 151, 152 (1/1/1888). In: Technical and Business Records pertaining to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Series VI, Folder HH.6.3 (Hull Nos. 150, 151, 152), Box HAFH.6.1B." (Source: Hasselbalch, Kurt and Frances Overcash and Angela Reddin: Guide to The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1997, p. 63-79.)

[Note: Additional photos and information about 1890s Herreshoff Torpedo Boats can be found in Mss 0068 and Mss 0068x which comprise the George Albert Converse papers and photographs, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University (as per http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00106/00106-P.html, retrieved November 3, 2010). Converse instructed at the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I., from 1875 to 1878, was an inspector of torpedo boats at Bristol, R.I., from 1889 to 1890, Commander of the USS Enterprise from 1890-1891), and assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance from 1891 to 1892.] (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 3, 2010.)

"Marine Engine of Open Type. 11 1/4 & 16 & 22 1/2 & 2x22.5 x 15, 430[rpm], 1050[hp]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten List of HMCo-Made Steam Engines. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum, MRDED1_00220. Undated, between 1903 and 1918.)

"Built in 778 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $106/day, 334 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"Displacement 116 long tons (118 t)" (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cushing_(TB-1), December 21, 2011.)

"Was sunk 24 September 1920 after use as a target." Source: http://hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/tb1.htm, retrieved March 16, 2007.)

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