 USS Casco on the James River, 1865
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Casco class |
| Builders | Various |
| Operators | United States Navy |
| Preceded by | Passaic class |
| Completed | 20 |
| Retired | 20 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Light draft monitor |
| Displacement | 1,175 tons |
| Length | 225 ft (69 m) |
| Beam | 45 ft (14 m) |
| Draft | 6 ft (1.8 m) (designed) |
| Propulsion | Steam engine, twin screws |
| Speed | 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (designed) |
| Armament | 2 × 11 in (280 mm) guns |
The Casco-class monitor was a unique class of light draft monitor built on behalf of the United States Navy for the Mississippi theatre during the American Civil War. The largest and most ambitious ironclad program of the war, the project was dogged by delays caused by bureaucratic meddling. Twenty ships of the class were eventually built at great expense, but proved so unseaworthy when trialed that they were quickly sidelined, causing a public scandal.