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See also:day, and their See also:rudder-heads and steering-See also:gear were above See also:water and unprotected against injury by shot and See also:shell. In the four vessels which immediately followed, which were from 500 to 1500 tons more displacement, the overhanging See also:bow, as will be seen from fig. 51, was given up, bows adapted for ramming were introduced, and some See also:protection was afforded to the steering-gear by water-See also:line belts of See also:armour which extended the whole length of the See also:vessel. In 1861 the See also:British See also:government began the construction of eleven armour-clads, six of which, including the " See also:Hector " and " Valiant," See also:sister See also:ships of 6700 tons displacement and 3500 I.H.P., were See also:iron vessels, and five, the " See also:Caledonia," " Royal See also:Oak," " Ocean," " See also:Prince See also:Consort," and " Royal See also:Alfred," were wooden vessels of rather over 4000 tons.
The reconstruction of the British See also:fleet was taken in See also:hand in See also:earnest in 1863, when Mr (afterwards See also:Sir) See also:Edward J. See also:Reed was placed at the See also:head of the Construction See also:Department at the See also:Admiralty, with Messrs Barnaby, See also:Barnes, See also:Cross- Reeed
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subject, Transactions of See also:land, See also:Morgan and See also:Wright—the last-named (afterwards
Sir See also: In investigating the qualities of ships, Sir Edward Reed had the See also:good See also:fortune to secure the co-operation and assistance of Mr See also: The first turret ships in the British navy were the " Royal See also:Sovereign " and " Prince See also:Albert." The former, a wooden ship, launched in 1857 as a 121-gun three-decked line-of-See also:battle ship, of a See also:tonnage of 3760 tons, was in 1864 cut down to 7 ft. above water and fitted with 52-in. See also:side-armour bedded on a 36-in. wood side, and with four turrets on See also:Captain See also:Cowper Coles' See also:plan; and the latter, an iron vessel, 240 ft. long, 48 ft. beam, launched in 1864, with 42-in. side-armour with 18-in. backing fitted on 1-in. skin plating, also carried four turrets, two fitted with pairs and two with single 12-ton guns; both were low-freeboard vessels and were reserved for See also:coast See also:defence. The in all conditions of See also:lading to enable her to keep the See also:sea in all weathers, and sufficient stability in a partially riddled See also:condition to enable her to reach See also:port in safety. (2) Protection by armour of the vitals of the ship, and of the heavy-gun positions, especially against shell See also:fire. (3) The carrying of guns of See also:power sufficient to penetrate the armour of any possible enemy. (4) Mounting the guns sufficiently high above the water-line to enable them to be fought in See also:bad See also:weather. (5) Simultaneous all-See also:round fire, with concentration of as many guns as possible on any given point of the See also:compass. (6) Speed to overtake or get away from an enemy. (7) Manoeuvring power to maintain, as far as possible, any desired position with regard to an enemy. (8) Large See also:radius of See also:action. (q) Proper See also:provision for the berthing of See also:officers and See also:crew. (ro) See also:Limitation of See also:size and cost. Objections were raised to the See also:early armour-plated ships on the See also:score of their unhandiness, heavy rig, exposed position of guns, &c. To meet these, Reed designed a number of vessels. The " See also:Bellerophon," launched in 1865, was a vessel of 7550 tons displacement, 6500 I.H.P., 14 knots speed, and was 300 ft. long. Her armament consisted of ten 9-in. 14-ton and five 7-in. 62-ton guns. Her water-line was wholly protected by 6-in. armour, and she was provided with a central See also:battery 98 ft. long, protected with armour of the same thickness. She carried a considerable spread of See also:canvas, and she was fitted with a balanced rudder. The " See also:Hercules," completed in 1868, was a much more important ship, her dimensions being: length 325 ft., breadth 59 ft., draught 262 ft., displacement 868o tons. Her engines of 8500 I.H.P. gave her a speed of about 142 knots. She had two 9-in. guns, mounted one forward and one aft on the See also:main See also:deck behind 6-in. armour, and eight to-in. guns, mounted in a central battery on the main deck. Her water-line was protected by armour 9 in. thick amidships, reduced to 6 in. at her ends, and her battery was protected by 6-in. armour. The " See also:Sultan," completed in 1871, was in many respects a similar ship but larger, having a displacement of 9300 tons, 2 ft. more beam and 1 ft. more draught; she attained a speed of upwards of 14 knots. Her main-deck battery carried the same guns as the main-deck battery of the " Hercules," but the 9-in. guns at the extremities of the vessel on this deck were dispensed with, and she carried, in addition, an upper-deck battery, placed over the after-end of the main-deck battery, in which four 9-in. guns were carried. Both batteries were protected with 6-in. armour; elsewhere the armour followed that of the " Hercules."
Turret Ships.—The See also:system of mounting heavy guns in revolving turrets was advocated in See also:England by Captain Cowper Coles after
I " Monarch," of 8300 tons displacement, was laid down in June 1866 as .a sea-going turret ship. She was launched in May 1868, her dimensions being: length 330 ft., breadth 57 ft. 6 in. and draught 26 ft.; her I.H.P. was 8000, giving her a speed of about 15 knots, and she carried a large spread of canvas. She had a See also:complete armour See also:belt 19 ft. 9 in. wide and 7 in. thick, reduced to 6 in. at the extremities. Above this armour belt amidships, for a length of 84 ft., she was provided with a citadel, also of 7-in. armour, which protected the I bases of two revolving turrets, each protected with 10-in. armour and carrying two 12-in. guns. She also carried two 9-in. guns forward on the upper deck and one 7-in. gun aft on the main deck, all protected by armour.
The See also:design of the Monarch " did not satisfy Captain Coles, and he induced the Admiralty to build a turret ship of much See also:lower See also:free-See also:board, in accordance with his views. This vessel was the " Captain," built at See also:Birkenhead and launched in See also: A number of low-freeboard turret vessels of the " Monitor " class, without masts and sails, were built for the British navy at this See also:time, mostly for coast defence. Amongst these, the " See also:Cerberus " for See also:Australia and the " See also:Abyssinia " and " See also:Magdala " for See also:India were completed in 1870. The " Abyssinia " had a displacement of 2900 tons and a speed of about 92 knots; her dimensions were: length 225 ft., beam 42 ft., draught 142 ft., and her armament consisted of four to-in. 18-ton guns. The other two vessels had the same armament, but were somewhat larger, being of 3340 tons displacement; and the thickness of their side-armour was 8 to 6 in., against 7 to 6 in. in the " Abyssinia." Several vessels of this type were also built for See also:home service, including the single-turret vessels " Glatton of 4910 tons and " Hotspur " of 4010 tons, each carrying two MM.^ ui ^~^ a 1NIIU4IUNNIIINflIIINn " io Two 11" See also:Dahlgren Guns srr--os 0 2 Thicknesses of% "each s 18-in. 25-ton guns, and the " Cyclops," " See also:Gorgon," " See also:Hecate " and " See also:Hydra," each of 356o tons and provided with two turrets carrying two 10-in. 18-ton guns. They were protected with armour from 8 to 12 in. thick, and their speed was from 10 to 12 knots. The " Devastation," commenced in 1869, represented Reed's views of what a sea-going turret ship should be. Low sides were adopted, but not in See also:combination with See also:rigging and sails. She was the first sea-going battleship in the British navy which depended wholly on See also:steam power for propulsion. She was 285 ft. long, 62 ft. 3 in. broad, 27 ft. mean draught and 9330 tons displacement. Her sides, which, except right forward, See also:rose only to a height of 4 ft. 6 in. above water, were protected with armour 12 in. thick. Her armament consisted of four 35-ton guns, mounted in pairs in two turrets, one at each end of a raised breastwork or See also:redoubt which extended about 150 ft. along the See also:middle of the upper deck. The guns were thus elevated to the height of some 14 ft. above the See also:surface of the water. The turrets were protected by armour 12 in. and 14 in. thick, and the breastwork or redoubt by armour 10 in. and 12 in. thick. A forecastle extended forward from the fore-end of the breastwork at a height of 9 ft. 3 in. above the water-line; but in See also:wake of this fore-See also:castle the side armour dropped to a height of only 4 in. above the surface of the water, at which level there was an armoured deck. She was provided with twin-See also:screw machinery of 7000 I.H.P., which gave her a speed of 14.2 knots, and she carried a large See also:coal See also:supply. After the loss of the " Captain," a See also:special See also:committee, including many of the highest professional and scientific authorities in the United See also:Kingdom, was appointed to examine into the design of such vessels. Of the " Devastation " they reported that " ships of this class have stability amply sufficient to make them safe against the See also:rolling and heaving action of the sea ' ; they agreed, however, in recommending a plan which the constructors of the Admiralty had See also:pro-posed, with the view of increasing her range of stability and the See also:accommodation of the crew. This consisted in the addition of side superstructures, formed by continuing up the ship's side with See also:light framing and plating as high as the level of the See also:top of the breastwork, and carrying the breastwork deck over to the sides. The structures were continued aft on each side some distance beyond the breastwork, providing two spacious wings, which added largely to the See also:cabin accommodation. A good See also:idea of her See also:general See also:appearance may be obtained from rig. 49 (See also:Plate XII.). The " Devastation " was followed by the Thunderer " of the same dimensions, and the " Dreadnought " of 10,820 tons displacement, 8000 I.H.P. and 14 knots speed; a vessel of higher free-board, plated with 14 in. of armour and carrying four 38-ton guns; she was the most powerful and best protected vessel of her day. Sir Edward Reed retired from the Admiralty a See also:short time before the " Captain." foundered at sea. During his seven years' See also:term of See also:office some See also:forty iron armour-clads of various sizes and types, besides iron cruisers and numerous other vessels, had been added to the British navy, the See also:adoption of armour for the protection of the vital parts of ships had become established, and especially had the importance of utilizing armour in such a manner as to exclude projectiles from the region of the water-line become recognized. The See also:change from the widely-distributed armament of the first See also:broadside armour-clads to the highly concentrated armament of the turrets, and from the high freeboard ship with sail-power to the low freeboard turret ship without sails, had also been effected; so that when Sir Edward Reed retired in 187o, the latest type of battleship was entirely different from that which existed when he took office; and although the construction of broadside ironclads had not been discontinued, " the wooden walls " had practically ceased to exist. Sir Edward Reed was succeeded by a See also:Council of Construction composed of his immediate assistants, with Mr Barnaby (afterwards Sir Nathaniel Barnaby) as its See also:president; but three years later this council was dissolved, and Sir N. Barnaby was placed at the head of the Construction Department. The sea-going qualities of the " Devastation " had successfully demonstrated that the battleship of the future might depend wholly on steam propulsion; and although many naval officers and others continued to hold the view str that sea-going ironclads must of See also:necessity be rigged Nathaa Barnaby y. ships, in the designs which immediately followed sail power was omitted. In the " Inflexible " (fig. 5o, Plate XII.), and the sister ships " See also:Ajax " and " See also:Agamemnon," the offensive power was concentrated mainly in two pairs of heavy guns, as it was in the " Devastation " and other turret ships which preceded them; but in them the armour defence also was concentrated over a comparatively small space amidships, the unprotected ends being formed into what was called raft bodies by belts of See also:cork, within which was placed a portion of the ship's coal, &c. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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