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CSS Scorpion
CSS ''Scorpion'' was a ''Squib''-class torpedo boat that served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. Armed with a single spar torpedo, she originally served guard duty on the James River after being built in late 1864. Along with the rest of the James River Squadron, ''Scorpion'' moved downriver on January 23, 1865, and participated in the Battle of Trent's Reach. After performing depth soundings near Union obstructions, ''Scorpion'' moved to get a lantern from the ironclad CSS ''Virginia II'', but ran into a hawser and then ran aground. At 07:10 on the morning of January 24, Union fire struck the abandoned tender CSS ''Drewry'', which then exploded. The force of the explosion swept ''Scorpion'' out of control downriver. An attempt to rescue her that night failed, and she was captured by Union forces. Construction and characteristics During the American Civil War, the Union blockade was slowly destroying the economy of the rebelling Confeder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squib-class Torpedo Boat
The ''Squib'' class torpedo boats were built for the Confederate States Navy during the later stages of the American Civil War. After the torpedo boat CSS ''David'' attacked and damaged the ironclad USS ''New Ironsides'', the Confederates continued building torpedo boats with hopes of breaking the Union blockade. Four vessels of the class CSS ''Hornet'', CSS ''Wasp'', CSS ''Squib'', and CSS ''Scorpion'' were constructed in Richmond, Virginia, in 1864. All were armed with a single spar torpedo and were powered by steam engines. ''Squib'' damaged the gunboat USS ''Minnesota'' in an attack on April 9, 1864, and was later sent to Wilmington, North Carolina, where she was scuttled in February 1865. The other three vessels of the class were all part of the James River Squadron and participated in the Battle of Trent's Reach on the night of January 23 and 24, 1865. ''Scorpion'' ran aground during the battle, and was forced downriver and out of control after the tender ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often subdivided into senior (first lieutenant) and junior (second lieutenant and even third lieutenant) ranks. In navies, it is often equivalent to the army rank of captain; it may also indicate a particular post rather than a rank. The rank is also used in fire services, emergency medical services, security services and police forces. Lieutenant may also appear as part of a title used in various other organisations with a codified command structure. It often designates someone who is " second-in-command", and as such, may precede the name of the rank directly above it. For example, a "lieutenant master" is likely to be second-in-command to the "master" in an organisation using both ranks. Political uses include lieutenant governor in various g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maritime Pilot
A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professionals in navigation as they are required to know immense details of waterways such as depth, currents, and hazards, as well as displaying expertise in handling ships of all types and size. Obtaining the title 'maritime pilot' requires being an expert ship handler licensed or authorised by a recognised pilotage authority. History The word ''pilot'' is believed to have come from the Middle French, ''pilot'', ''pillot'', from Italian, ''pilota'', from Late Latin, ''pillottus''; ultimately from Ancient Greek πηδόν (pēdón, "blade of an oar, oar"). The work functions of the pilot can be traced back to Ancient Greece and Rome, when locally experienced harbour captains, mainly local fishermen, were employed by incoming ships' captains to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CSS Torpedo
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS is a cornerstone technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and JavaScript. CSS is designed to enable the separation of content and presentation, including layout, colors, and fonts. This separation can improve content accessibility; provide more flexibility and control in the specification of presentation characteristics; enable multiple web pages to share formatting by specifying the relevant CSS in a separate .css file, which reduces complexity and repetition in the structural content; and enable the .css file to be cached to improve the page load speed between the pages that share the file and its formatting. Separation of formatting and content also makes it feasible to present the same markup page in different styles for different rendering me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam era In the age of sail, a gunboat was usually a small undecked vessel carrying a single smoothbore cannon in the bow, or just two or three such cannons. A gunboat could carry one or two masts or be oar-powered only, but the single-masted version of about length was most typical. Some types of gunboats carried two cannons, or else mounted a number of swivel guns on the railings. The small gunboat had advantages: if it only carried a single cannon, the boat could manoeuvre in shallow or restricted areas – such as rivers or lakes – where larger ships could sail only with difficulty. The gun that such boats carried could be quite heavy; a 32-pounder for instance. As such boats were cheap and quick to build, naval forces favoured swarm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City Point, Virginia
City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia, that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War. History 1613-1863 City Point owed its existence to its site overlooking the James and Appomattox Rivers. City Point was established in 1613 by Sir Thomas Dale. It was first known as Bermuda Cittie, but soon was renamed "Charles City" and was located in Charles City Shire when it was formed in 1634. Charles City Shire soon became known as Charles City County in 1637. City Point was included in the portion subdivided in 1703 to form Prince George County. In 1619 Samuel Sharpe and Samuel Jordan from City Point (then named Charles City) were burgesses at the first meeting of the House of Burgesses. City Point was unaffected by the American Revolution until the final year of the war in January 1781. At that time the British fleet, commanded by Benedict A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James River Squadron
The James River Squadron was formed shortly after the secession of Virginia during the American Civil War. The squadron was part of the Virginia Navy before being transferred to the Confederate States Navy. The squadron is most notable for its role in patrolling the James River, which was the main water approach to the Confederate capital, Richmond. It had two phases: early war, when it consisted mostly of wooden ships (besides the famous CSS ''Virginia'') which ended with the Battle of Drewry's Bluff on May 15, 1862; and its later ironclad composition with the flagship CSS ''Virginia II''. History Background The Provisional Navy of Virginia was established by an ordinance of the Convention of Virginia on 27 April 27, 1861, when Virginia seceded from the Union. The James River Squadron was formed as part of this navy. When Virginia joined the Confederate States of America, Governor John Letcher issued a proclamation on 6 June 1861, transferring "all officers, seamen, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central heating, boiler-based power generation, cooking, and sanitation. Heat sources In a fossil fuel power plant using a steam cycle for power generation, the primary heat source will be combustion of coal, oil, or natural gas. In some cases byproduct fuel such as the carbon monoxide rich offgasses of a coke battery can be burned to heat a boiler; biofuels such as bagasse, where economically available, can also be used. In a nuclear power plant, boilers called steam generators are heated by the heat produced by nuclear fission. Where a large volume of hot gas is available from some process, a heat recovery steam generator or recovery boiler can use the heat to produce steam, with little or no extra fuel consumed; such a configuration is common ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stroke (engine)
In the context of an internal combustion engine, the term stroke has the following related meanings: * A phase of the engine's cycle (e.g. compression stroke, exhaust stroke), during which the piston travels from top to bottom or vice versa. * The type of power cycle used by a piston engine (e.g. two-stroke engine, four-stroke engine). * "Stroke length", the distance travelled by the piston during each cycle. The stroke length––along with bore diameter––determines the engine's displacement. Phases in the power cycle Commonly used engine phases or strokes (i.e. those used in a four-stroke engine) are described below. Other types of engines can have very different phases. Induction-intake stroke The induction stroke is the first phase in a four-stroke (e.g. Otto cycle or Diesel cycle) engine. It involves the downward movement of the piston, creating a partial vacuum that draws a air-fuel mixture (or air alone, in the case of a direct injection engine) into the combus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cylinder (engine)
In a reciprocating engine, the cylinder is the space in which a piston travels. The inner surface of the cylinder is formed from either a thin metallic liner (also called "sleeve") or a surface coating applied to the engine block. A piston is seated inside each cylinder by several metal piston rings, which also provide seals for compression and the lubricating oil. The piston rings do not actually touch the cylinder walls, instead they ride on a thin layer of lubricating oil. Steam engines The cylinder in a steam engine is made pressure-tight with end covers and a piston; a valve distributes the steam to the ends of the cylinder. Cylinders were cast in cast iron and later in steel. The cylinder casting can include other features such as valve ports and mounting feet. Internal combustion engines The cylinder is the space through which the piston travels, propelled to the energy generated from the combustion of the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber. In an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscillating Engine
An oscillating cylinder steam engine (also known as a wobbler in the US) is a simple steam-engine design (proposed by William Murdoch at the end of 18th century) that requires no valve gear. Instead the cylinder (engine), cylinder rocks, or oscillates, as the crank (mechanism), crank moves the piston, pivoting in the mounting trunnion so that ports in the cylinder line up with ports in a fixed port face alternately to direct steam into or out of the cylinder. Oscillating cylinder steam engines are now mainly used in toys and models but, in the past, have been used in full-size working engines, mainly on Marine oscillating steam engine, ships and small stationary steam engine, stationary engines. They have the advantage of simplicity and, therefore, low manufacturing costs. They also tend to be more compact than other types of cylinder of the same capacity, which makes them advantageous for use in ships. Operation file:Oscillating Steam cylinder Animation.gif, alt=oscillating cyl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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