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The ''Erie'' class gunboats were a class of gunboats built by the United States prior to World War II. The class was designed in 1932. The United States Navy commissioned 2 ''Erie''-class gunboats in 1936: USS Erie (PG-50) and USS Charleston (PG-51). ''Erie''s had a design speed of 20 knots, and a main armament of four 6" guns in single mounts with four 1.1" quadruple mount anti-aircraft guns. ==Design and development== At the London Naval Conference 1930, the senior U.S. Navy advisor, Admiral William Veazie Pratt, successfully argued for the inclusion of a new, unlimited in number by the treaty, class of naval surface combatants. These sloops, per Article VIII(b) of the Treaty, would not have a displacement exceeding 2,000 tons, no torpedo tubes, a maximum crusing speed of 20 knots, and up to four guns above 3.1 inch in caliber, but not to exceed 6.1 inch in caliber. Captain Royal E. Ingersoll, later admiral, then head of the Fleet Training Division, outlined the operational roles proposed for the ''Erie'' class gunboats. They would include: screening against destroyers and submarines, high-speed mine laying, tactical control of fleet submarines, antiaircraft duty for slower carriers, support of destroyer attacks, convoying operations, and support of amphibious landing operations. The new gunboats would be useful in convoy operations due to its anti-submarine warfare capabilities. They would also help relieve the U.S. Navies destroyer deficit of the time. The gunboats 6" guns would also be useful against merchant raiders. Admiral Pratt informally requested the Construction & Engineering begin creating preliminary designs for a gunboat destined for Central American service at a General Board meeting in late January 1931. With its limited draft and impressive firepower it would also be useful in peace time for showing the flag in Central and South American ports or in the Far East. After the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and other attempts to expand influence throughout the area Pratt was convinced that the new class patrol gunboat would be useful in protecting U.S. interests in that part of the world as well. Between August 1931 and September 7, 1932, seven preliminary schemes, lettered A thru G, were drawn up. In the Department of the Navy Annual Report for the federal fiscal year 1932, covering Navy operations thru September 15, 1932, the Secretary of the Navy Department, Charles Francis Adams III, summarized the work by the Navy design staff on the ''Erie'' class gunboats as follows: "A number of outline sketches of a new type 2,000 ton gunboat, illustrating a half dozen or more design conceptions, have been prepared, some in considerable detail." The General Board concluded at its November 1932 meeting that it would recommend that a 2,000-ton gunboat be built based on a modified version of scheme G. It would feature a clipped bow with a counter stern. The main batteries would be outfitted with four, single, 6" guns of either 47 or 48 caliber. These would be mounted two fore and two aft. A single floatplane, located amidships and offloaded and retrieved by crane, was also added at Admiral Pratt's insistence.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Erie-class gunboat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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