Alert-class gunboat
USS Ranger off Algiers, 1913 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Alert class |
| Builders | |
| Operators | United States Navy |
| Built | 1873–1876 |
| In service | 1875–1940 |
| Planned | 3 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Screw gunboat |
| Displacement | 1,020 long tons (1,040 t) |
| Length | |
| Beam | 32 feet (9.8 m) |
| Draft | 12 feet (3.7 m) |
| Installed power | 560 ihp (420 kW) |
| Propulsion | |
| Sail plan | Varied |
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 202 |
| Armament |
|
The Alert-class gunboat was a series of three propeller-driven iron gunboats operated by the US Navy in the late 19th century. The ships were ordered in 1873 when the Navy stalled technologically in the post-Civil War era. All commissioned by 1876, the ships served in various stations throughout the world. The next year, Huron was wrecked in a gale. By 1890, the remaining two ships were removed from distanced service and repurposed for other roles. The last in service, Ranger, was transferred to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1940.