Gen. E. O. C. Ord (1909 Mineplanter)

Gen. E. O. C. Ord was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps mine planter built in 1909 by Pusey & Jones of Wilmington, Delaware to an Army Quartermaster Corps design. The mine planter was among the first vessels specifically designed to plant controlled mines in association with coastal fortifications. The first group had been built in 1904 with a second group built in 1909. Four of the 1909 planters, the first to be specifically designed for mine planting, were 165 ft (50.3 m), steam-powered, twin-screw vessels.[note 2] At the time the vessels were civilian crewed. In 1918 the Army Mine Planter Service of uniformed Army personnel was formed to operate the vessels.[1][3][4]

History
Name: Gen. E. O. C. Ord
Namesake: Major General Edward Otho Cresap Ord
Owner: U.S. Army
Operator:
  • U.S. Army (civilian operators) (1909–1918)
  • U.S. Army Mine Planter Service (1918–1948)
Builder: Pusey & Jones, Wilmington, Delaware
Yard number: 335
Launched: 13 February 1909
In service: 1909
Out of service: 1948
Fate: Scrapped 1948
General characteristics [1]
Type: Mine planter
Tonnage:
Length:
  • 165 ft (50.3 m) length on deck
  • 154 ft (46.9 m) length on load line
Beam: 32 ft (9.8 m)
Draft: 10 ft (3.0 m)
Depth: 17 ft (5.2 m)
Installed power: Steam, 2 boilers, for engines and auxiliaries. 1 20 kW (27 hp) generator for electrical
Propulsion: 2 compound vertical, 2 cyl, 345 ihp (257 kW) each
Speed: 13 mph (11 kn; 21 km/h)[note 1]

The vessel was constructed by Pusey & Jones as hull number 335, contract 1158 with the hull in very early stage of construction on 8 October 1908 with launching on 13 February 1909.[5][6][7]

The steel hull was divided into five compartments by watertight bulkheads with the double bottom running the entire length and also divided into compartments. Fresh water storage was in fore and aft bottom compartments with the ones between used for ballast adjusting draft and trim.[note 3] A steam and pump brake windlass was located forward for mine handling.[1]

Footnotes
  1. Stated in statute miles per hour, not unusual for inland or Army vessels.
  2. The four vessels were built at different yards.
  3. See inboard profile on page 18 of the reference "Twin Screw Steamer for Submarine Mine Service" for detail.

References
  1. Fuller, Harry L.; Marsden, V. R. (January 1910). "Twin Screw Steamer for Submarine Mine Service". International Marine Engineering. New York: Marine Engineering. 15 (1): 17–21. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. Forty Fourth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1912. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Navigation. 1912. p. 433. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  3. Jones, Henry L. (September–October 1939). "History of Army Mine Planters". Coast Artillery Journal. Washington, D.C.: United States Coast Artillery Association. LXXXII (5): 456–458.
  4. Azoy, A. C. M. (November–December 1941). "A History of the Coast Artillery Corps (Part II)". Coast Artillery Journal. Washington, D.C.: United States Coast Artillery Association. LXXXIV (6): 574.CS1 maint: date format (link)
  5. Colton, Tim (December 12, 2020). "Pusey & Jones, Wilmington DE". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  6. Conner, William J. (1 April 1909). "General E.O.C. Ord, mine planter". Hagley Museum and Library; Pusey and Jones Corporation photograph collection. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  7. Conner, William J. (1 April 1909). "View from bow of the mine planter, General Ord". Hagley Museum and Library; Pusey and Jones Corporation photograph collection. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
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