USS Spuyten Duyvil ( 1864 ) During the American Civil War , the Union Navy suffered heavy losses from the explosion of Confederate torpedoes . This experience prompted the Union Navy to design and build vessels capable of using this new weapon . One effort along this line resulted in a screw steam torpedo boat originally called Stromboli , but later called Spuyten Duyvil , after the Spuyten Duyvil area in New York City . History . " Stromboli " was designed by the Chief Engineer of the United States Navy , Captain William W . Wood , who supervised her construction at New Haven , CT , by Samuel M . Pook . The contract for her construction was dated 1 June 1864 . Confirmed records of her launching and commissioning have not been found – though period records indicate that she was completed in only three months . On 19 November 1864 , the boat was renamed " Spuyten Duyvil " . On 25 November 1864 , she successfully fired two torpedoes . Late in November 1864 , Commodore Charles Stewart Boggs was placed in charge of " Spuyten Duyvil " , " Picket Boat No . 6 " , and steam tug " John T . Jenkins " which had been chartered to tow the former vessels to Hampton Roads , VA . Upon arriving at Baltimore , MD on 2 December , Boggs turned the vessels over to Commodore T . A . Dornin who placed them under First Assistant Engineer John L . Lay for the remainder of the trip to Hampton Roads . The vessels arrived at Norfolk , VA on 5 December . The torpedo boat was ordered up the James River a week later to help assure Union control of that vital waterway during General Ulysses S . Grant ' s drive on Richmond , VA . She arrived at Akin ' s Landing on 15 December , and she operated on the upper James slightly below the Confederate obstructions through most of the remaining months of the campaign . A highlight of her service came on the night of 23 / 24 January 1865 when the Confederacy ' s James River Squadron launched its downstream assault on the Union squadron . During the ensuing Battle of Trent ' s Reach , " Spuyten Duyvil " supported , the only monitor then on the river . After General Robert E . Lee evacuated Richmond , " Spuyten Duyvil " used her torpedoes to help clear the obstructions from the river . Her work made it possible for President Abraham Lincoln to steam up stream in and , after Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter ' s flagship ran aground , to be rowed in a launch safely to the former Confederate capital . Following the end of the war , " Spuyten Duyvil " continued to clear obstructions from the James . She then returned to the New York Navy Yard where she was placed in ordinary in 1866 . In the years that followed , she was used for developmental work and was modified with many experimental improvements . The ship disappeared from the Navy list in 1880 . Use of the term " " torpedo " " . In this case , as in the common use of the term in the 19th century , " torpedo " refers to a device sometimes rigged as a spar torpedo that would now be considered to be a type of naval mine , not being the self - propelled device ( called a locomotive torpedo ) common in the 20th century . Engineering . The following segments are an in - depth analysis of the vessel and the torpedo mechanisms , heavily based on an article written by the British publication " Engineering " in 1866 . The torpedo apparatus is also described in US patent 46853 , Improved Apparatus for Operating Submarine Shells or Torpedoes , issued to William Wood and John L . Lay 14 Mar 1865 . Materials and layout . She was constructed of timber , and the deck , as well as the sides near the water line is protected by iron plating 1 in ( 25 mm ) thick . Shown in elevation in Fig . 1 , and section in Fig . 2 , the pilothouse was place just a little ahead of the middle of the vessel with a 5 ft ( 1 . 5 m ) outside diameter , and being constructed , for a height of 2 ft 8 in ( 810 mm ) above the deck , of twelve layers of iron plates , each 1 in ( 25 mm ) in thickness . The total weight of the pilothouse was 25 , 000 lb ( 11 , 000 kg ) . Propulsion and pumping . The vessel is propelled by a single four - bladed screw , and the engines for working the propeller were constructed at Mystic , CT , by Mallory and Co . When at her usual draft the vessel will steam 9 miles per hour ( 14 km / h ) ; but when immersed to the gunwale , ready for going into action , her speed is reduced to from 3½ to 4 miles per hour ( 6 km / h ) ; her movements are stated to be quite noiseless . She is provided with stowage for 160 tons of coal , equal to eight days ' consumption . The pumps used for filling and emptying the compartments , by which the degree of immersion of the vessel is regulated , are a pair of Andrews ' s centrifugal pump s of the size known as " No . 6 . " These pumps are situated a short distance ahead of the pilothouse , as shown in Figs . 2 and 3 and they are each driven by a small oscillating engine , the crankshaft of each engine being coupled direct to the shaft of the pump to which it belongs . One of these pumps – that on the port side – has its suction pipes so arranged that , in addition to drawing from the water compartments or the sea , it can draw from the reservoir or tank in the fore part of the vessel , in which the torpedoes are placed . Torpedo placement machinery . The torpedo - laying machinery was designed by Captain Wood , and constructed by the Clute Brothers , of Schenectady , NY . The general appearance of the vessel is shown by the side elevation and plan , Figs . 1 and 4 , while in Figs . 2 and 3 are given , respectively , a longitudinal section and sectional plan , which show clearly the arrangement of the torpedo machinery . The length of the vessel over all is 84 ft 2 in ( 25 . 7 m ) , and her length from the after edge of her stern post to the forward edge of the gate frame is 73 ft 11 in ( 22 . 5 m ) , while her breadth was 20 ft 8 in ( 6 . 3 m ) . The depth of her hold is 9 ft 11½ in ( 3 . 04 m ) , and her draft when launched with 10 tons of torpedo machinery and 2½ tons of her propelling engines on board was 4 ft . When fully equipped , this draft was increased to 7 ft 5½ in ( 2 . 27 m ) , and , by pumping water into compartments provided for the purpose , as will be explained presently , this draft can be increased to 9 ft 1 in ( 2 . 8 m ) when the vessel is going into action . At this latter draft the water is about level with the gunwale , but , owing to the arched form of the deck , the vessel has still under such circumstances 207 tons of displacement . Torpedo ports . The lower part of the bow of the vessel , instead of being made solid as usual , is composed of two iron flaps , each hinged at the top , as shown in Figs . 1 and 2 . When closed , the outer surfaces of these flaps correspond to the general shape of the bow , and , when the torpedo machinery is not being worked , they are kept down in their places by means of chains attached to them near their lower edges , and passing in through a pair of hawsepipe s situated between the flaps . Each chain , after entering its hawsepipe , is attached to an iron rod , these rods passing into the vessel through stuffing - boxes at the inner ends of the hawsepipes . From the inner ends of these rods chains are led , over guide pulleys , to the ends of a winch , situated as shown in Figs . 2 and 3 , and by means of this winch , which is worked by hand , the flaps can be closed when required . The opening of the flaps is effected by the arrangements shown in Figs . 1 and 4 , from which it will be seen that each flap has a chain attached to the outside of it , and that these chains , after being led up over guide pulleys supported by brackets placed at the level of the gunwale , are crossed and then led down through hawseholes in the deck to the winch below . The chains for opening , in fact , form continuations of those for closing the flaps , or vice versa . Sluice valve . At the bow of the vessel , within the space enclosed by the two flaps already described , there is an opening fitted with a sluice valve , as shown in Fig . 2 . This valve slides vertically , and is raised and lowered by means of a screw , which can be worked by hand . The arrangement of gearing employed is shown in Fig . 3 . When the sluice valve is opened , it admits the water into a strongly constructed iron reservoir 6 ft 2 in ( 1 . 9 m ) long , 4 ft ( 1 . 2 m ) deep , and varying from 2 ft 3 in to 3 ft ( 690 to 910 mm ) wide . At the top of this tank there is a manhole fitted with a cover , hinged and fastened so that it can be easily removed and replaced ; and from the lower part of the tank , a suction pipe proceeds to one of the Andrews ' s pumps . The aft end of the tank is fitted with a gunmetal sphere 18 in ( 460 mm ) in diameter , this sphere being held by two flanges as shown in Fig . 2 , so that it forms a ball - and - socket joint . It is through an opening in this sphere that the torpedo tube projected torpedoes from the vessel . This tube is about 20 ft ( 6 . 1 m ) long , and has an external diameter of 5 in ( 127 mm ) and an internal diameter of 3 in ( 76 mm ) . It was made by Morris , Tasker and Co . , Philadelphia , PA and was considered a very superior example of workmanship . Torpedo retention . The end of the tube which projects into the tank is furnished with a bell - mouthed casting of gunmetal , and to this is attached a light cylindrical casing of sheet iron , within which the torpedo to be fired is placed , the inside of the casing being furnished with ribs , upon which the torpedo rests . Each torpedo is furnished at its rear end with a knob , or button - shaped projection , and , when a torpedo is placed in the casing just mentioned , this knob is clipped by fingers carried at the end of a tubular rod , which slides through the main tube already described ; and by this means the torpedo is held in place in the casing until fired . Torpedo elevation . Within the spherical joint , the main tube is led through a kind of guide tube , which is capable of turning , in a vertical plane , upon side trunnions ; These trunnions being supported by bearings which work in vertical guides , and are capable of being raised or lowered by the arrangement shown in Fig . 2 . This arrangement is as follows : From each bearing a chain is led , over a guide pulley situated at the top of the guide belonging to that bearing , to an arm fixed on a rocking - shaft placed close to the floor of the vessel . On this rocking - shaft there is also fixed another arm , and from this a chain proceeds aft to the piston rod of a horizontal steam cylinder , placed as shown in Fig . 2 . This cylinder is provided with a slide valve , by which the steam can be admitted to or released from the forward end of the cylinder at pleasure ; and , when the steam is so admitted , it drives back the piston , and , by means of the arrangement of chains and rocking - shaft already described , raised the guide tube , through which the main tube passes , and thus depresses that end of the latter which carries the torpedo . The extent to which the piston in the steam cylinder is driven back , and , consequently , the extent to which the guide tube is raised , is regulated by means of a screw which passes through the back cylinder cover , this screw , which is furnished with a handwheel and check - nut , forming a stop against which the piston rests when driven back by the steam . Torpedo projection . The machinery for projecting and withdrawing the torpedo tube consists of a couple of chain drums worked by gearing which is driven by a rotary engine made by Root , New York , NY . One of these drums is placed in the tank or reservoir in the bows of the vessel , and the chain from it is used for hauling in the tube . In order to prevent the chain from overriding on the drum , it is guided by passing through a suitable block which , as the drum revolves , is moved transversely along the drum and deposits the chain in regular coils . The transverse movement of the guiding block is given by a screwed spindle which has a pinion fixed on it gearing into a spur wheel on the chain drum . The hauling out of the torpedo carrier is effected by means of a chain attached to its inner end and led to the second chain drum which is placed above and slightly abaft the tank , as shown in Fig . 2 . The arrangement adopted for guiding the chain is the same in this case as in that of the hauling - in drum . Each drum is loose upon its shaft , but is capable of being connected to it by a clutch , the two clutches being connected by levers so that they can be thrown into gear alternately . The tube can be run in and out by the machinery we have described at the rate of from 8 to 12 double strokes per minute . Operation and reloading sequence . When firing a torpedo , the two flaps forming the lower part of the bow would be opened , the sluice raised , and the tube projected by means of the chain leading from the inner end to the hauling - out drum . The torpedo would then be thrust from the case at the end of the tube by means of the tubular rod to which the holding fingers are fixed , and , the torpedo being detached , the main tube would be withdrawn by means of the hauling - in chain . In order to place another torpedo in the case at the end of the tube the sluice has to be closed , and the tank having been emptied of water by the centrifugal pump already mentioned , the manhole at the top of the tank can be opened and access thus obtained to the torpedo holder . The emptying of the tank can be effected by the centrifugal pump in about four seconds , and the whole of the operations which we have described can be performed at such a rate that a torpedo can be discharged every three minutes if required . Torpedo characteristics . The vessel was intended to use torpedoes containing 400 lb ( 180 kg ) of black powder ; but those actually employed by it contained 60 lb ( 27 kg ) of fine powder of the kind known in the American service as No . 7 . The " obstruction shells " have each an air space left round the powder , so as to allow the free expansion of the gases , and the torpedoes intended for use against vessels are of slightly less specific gravity than water , so that when released from the holder they rise slowly until they come against the bottom of the vessel under which they are placed . As will be seen by the section , Fig . 2 , the powder is so placed in the torpedo that , when the later is released , it floats nearly upright with its point downwards . Within the torpedo case , on one side , is placed a tube , at the lower end of which is a percussion fuse in communication with the powder . At the upper end of the tube is a ball , which is held from falling upon the percussion fuse by a sliding pin placed beneath it . This pin passes out through the torpedo case , and has an eye formed at its outer end , as shown in Fig . 2 . When the torpedo is placed in the casing at the end of the projecting tube , that side of the torpedo through which the sliding pin just mentioned projects is placed downwards , and one end of a cord is attached to the eye of the pin , and the other end to another eye fixed to the casing at the end of the projecting tube . The length of this cord is regulated according to the distance at which it is desired to fire the torpedo – the length generally employed being about 20 ft ( 6 m ) — and it acts in the following manner : When the torpedo has been projected by means of the tube and released , the tube is of course drawn back , and as this movement takes place the cord is tightened , and the sliding pin is withdrawn from the torpedo case , this movement releasing the ball and allowing it to fall upon the percussion fuse , and explode the torpedo .