CURATORS CORNER! The U.S.S. Vesuvius. Christmas is coming soon, and in the late 19th. Century a delighted Dunn County boy received this toy ship. Not just any ordinary toy ship, you are looking at images of the U.S.S. Vesuvius, the U.S. Navys unique dynamite gun cruiser! This ship captured the imaginations of many during the 1890s, but in actual service the cruiser had several key flaws. The toy! The ship that you see was made by the R. Bliss Manufacturing Company of Pawtucket, Rhode Island about 1895. Made of cardboard, it has one large dynamite gun of black- painted wood near the bow, and several other, regular guns mounted aboard. There are small paper sailors, two smokestacks and the Vesuvius is 34.5 inches in length. Fun! .Ah! I know that you have questions! What was a dynamite gun? How did such a thing operate, because dynamite is very sensitive to shock and regular Naval guns use explosives like cordite to propel shells. A charge of cordite would detonate a dynamite shell within the gun tube. And, did the Vesuvius ever see action? In the 1890s dynamite was a relatively new explosive, but had been used for some years to great effect in mining and construction. Many wondered if it could be used by the military, and so engineers and Naval architects got to work. The result was the Vesuvius, and I will tell you how the ships armament operated. The real Vesuvius differed from our toy ship in one particular way. The actual Naval vessel had three dynamite gun tubes, not one large & stubby one. These three tubes were fixed in place and were made of cast iron. Instead of cordite, the seven foot long shells were propelled by a burst of compressed air. These 15 shells had stabilizing fins and contained 550 pounds each of desensitized blasting gelatin, a form of dynamite that could withstand the shock of firing. Now then! The advantages and disadvantages of the ship and its armament. The dynamite guns had a severely limited range, and shells could be propelled only around one mile. The Vesuvius was used entirely for shore bombardment, & one mile was very well within the range of any enemy shore batteries. However, here I will state the one and only advantage of the dynamite gun system. Because the shell were launched by compressed air, the enemy had no warning that they were under attack. A standard Naval gun, using cordite, had a loud report when fired. The pneumatic dynamite guns made no sound. Other problems! The guns were fixed in place and so the entire ship had to be aimed at the enemy. Furthermore, the U.S.S. Vesuvius had no reverse gearing! This made maneuver difficult, to say the least. The U.S.S. Vesuvius did serve in one war, the Spanish- American war of 1898. During that conflict she was used for the bombardment of the Spanish base of Santiago de Cuba, coming within range under the cover of darkness and launching shells at the Spanish defense works. The cruiser did this on eight occasions, and did effect some damage. However, after the war the Vesuvius was soon relegated to other duties and the dynamite guns were removed. Nonetheless, friends! I am certain that the delighted boy in the Louis Hermann family of Dunn Township had a lot of fun with his toy ship! Please remember that if you have vintage toys that should be preserved, your Society is always a good home for such artifacts! Call us at 715.232.8685. Frank Kennett, Curator, DCHS
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 15:32:55 +0000
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