The ram, as a naval weapon, first used on the galleys in ancient Greek and Roman days, reappeared several times during ensuing years. In fact the ram, in one form or another, was considered a good offensive weapon until comparatively recent times, serious consideration having been given to it as recently as the late 1890’s.
The value of ramming, wherein one vessel deliberately runs into another, was always a sadly overrated naval tactic. Serious and objective study of naval engagements throughout the years reveals for the most part that such tactics were ineffectual, particularly against a moving target and in the face of firepower of any magnitude. This was true even in the days of Greece and Rome. Nevertheless, the idea was continually revived. With the advent of steam, entirely new tactical schemes were possible, but even then the idea of the ram continued to be espoused.
It was now held that a vessel independent of the wind would, if provided with an iron beak or even reinforced bows, be an excellent weapon in itself. Going a step further, it was argued by some that there was an important place for a vessel designed solely for ramming. This particular idea was tried with but indifferent success in several foreign navies but persisted rather strongly in this country, particularly in high places. During the Civil War a spate of rams was built by both the Union and Confederate navies in their contest to win the war afloat. Some deliberate thinkers tried to point out the fallacy of the idea. Unfortunately they were in the minority. A review of the records shows that even in the confined waters of rivers and bays, where many Civil War ship actions were fought, the ram was of dubious value.
Nevertheless the idea continued to persist in one form or another in this country. While some designers clung to the idea of the ram as a vessel designed solely for ramming purposes, others conceived of the ram as a sort of adjunct weapon, reinforcing the bows or attaching an iron beak to the bows. In the latter instances warship performance was hampered. Among other things, ships had to be built shorter and wider with ramming tactics in mind, and the bows themselves were modified, to the extent that sailing qualities were impaired.
At long last, with the building of the USS Katahdin, which proved a costly failure, the idea was finally abandoned in this country.
Built at a cost of some $930,000 at the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, the vessel was named for a mountain in that state. Launched in 1893 and completed two years later, the Katahdin displaced 2,155 tons. She was 250 feet long, 43½ feet wide, and had a draft of fifteen feet. Her curved deck and her sides were covered with armor varying between two and six inches in thickness. The vessel rode extremely low in the water, in the manner of most rams. Offensive weapons were her speed and her ram. For defense against torpedo attack she was armed with four 6- pounder guns.
Designated a “harbor defense ram,” Katahdin went into commission on February 2, 1896. During her trials she failed to reach her contract speed of seventeen knots, sixteen-odd knots being the best she could do. This resulted in a reduction in the contract price paid the builders.
The Kalahdin made a short experimental cruise with the North Atlantic Squadron, then with the outbreak of the Spanish-Ameri- can War was refitted and attached to Commodore Schley’s Flying Squadron. Her war service was restricted to some rather limited patrol duty off the New England coast. Following the conclusion of hostilities she was laid up and for the next ten years was in ordinary. In 1909 she was turned over to the Bureau of Ordnance for experimental purposes, a rather expensive monument to a diehard theory.