350-06 USS 'CHOCTAW'

USS Choctaw was an American armored ship (the so-called ram) from the period of the Civil War (1861-1865). The keel for this unit was laid in 1853, and the launch took place in 1856, and the entry into service with the US Navy took place in March 1863. The total length of the ship in 1863 was 79 meters and 14 meters wide. Full displacement reached approx. 1000 tons, and the maximum speed was approx. 2-3 knots. The armament consisted of six guns and a ram on the bow. USS Choctaw was originally designed and built as a civilian unit for river transport. However, in September 1862, she was purchased by the US Navy and rebuilt within a few months into an armored ship serving as a river gunboat and the so-called battering ram. The unit began operating on the Mississippi in April 1863 and continued until the end of the American Civil War in April 1865. In July of the same year, the unit was decommissioned.