I have a nice picture of the USS Concord, rated as a gunboat

The USS Concord took part in the Battle of Manilla Bay in 1898. This is a photograph dating from 1891. The Concord was actually a small cruiser, with a displacement of 1710 tons and with 6-4in guns.

The cruiser Apollo from prior to 1904

I have not seen this photograph before of the cruiser Apollo, the name ship of the class built as part of the Naval Defence Act of 1889.

The USS Stiletto picture from 1886

This is a photograph of the American torpedo boat Stiletto, taken in 1886. The Stiletto was wooden and was the first American torpedo boat. The Stiletto was a fast launch built as a yacht.

The gunboat Concord, really a small cruiser

I have a photograph of the gunboat Concord taken in 1891. In this picture, the Concord resembles the small cruiser that she really was. The Concord had a displacement of 1,710 tons and dimensions of 230ft x 36ft x 14ft. The armament consisted of 6-6in BLR and ten smaller guns. The crew was established at 14 officers and 181 men. In the photograph that I have, the Concord had recently been completed. The speed was on the low side at 16.8 knots, but that was all that could be achieved with 3,404 HP. The Concord took part in the attack on the Spanish fleet at Manilla Bay in 1898. The Concord had one funnel and three masts, with a gaff rig.

The American wooden torpedo boat Stiletto

The Stiletto was a fast wooden launch, built by Herreschoff Mfg. Co. at Bristol, Rhode Island in 1885. The little Stiletto displaced 31 tons and had dimensions of 88ft-6in x 11ft x 3ft. The engine provided 359 HP, enough to reach a nominal 18.22 knots. The Stiletto had a raised forecastle (just about 3ft) and a single funnel. The wheel was situated on the deck at the end of the forecastle. The forecastle was narrow and did not go the full width. There is a good photograph from 1886 that I will post, when I can take a photograph.

The Russian cruiser Novik

The German-built cruiser Novik was the best cruiser that the Russians had, although admittedly, it was just a scout cruiser. Much better photographs are now available than we used to have, since Russia opened up to the west. The best all-around cruiser the Russians had might have been the French-built Bayan. The Novik was a novelty, in that while launched in 1900, the Novik was rated at 25 knots with reciprocating engines. Jane's said that 26 knots had been reached on trials. I tried the ship in Springsharp and was able to make the design work, if I used very lightweight machinery:

Novik, Russia Cruiser laid down 1900 (Engine 1909)

Displacement:
 3,305 t light; 3,405 t standard; 3,682 t normal; 3,903 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
 (354.00 ft / 347.00 ft) x 39.33 ft x (19.00 / 19.85 ft)
 (107.90 m / 105.77 m) x 11.99 m  x (5.79 / 6.05 m)

Armament:
      6 - 4.70" / 119 mm 45.0 cal guns - 46.30lbs / 21.00kg shells, 150 per gun
   Breech loading guns in deck and hoist mounts, 1900 Model
   2 x Single mounts on centreline ends, evenly spread
   4 x Single mounts on sides, evenly spread
      Weight of broadside 278 lbs / 126 kg
      4 - 18.0" / 457 mm, 20.00 ft / 6.10 m torpedoes - 0.719 t each, 2.876 t total
 In 4 sets of deck mounted carriage/fixed tubes
      1 - 18.0" / 457 mm, 20.00 ft / 6.10 m torpedo - 0.719 t total
 In a submerged stern tube

Armour:
   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 3.00" / 76 mm 2.00" / 51 mm  3.00" / 76 mm

   - Protected deck - single deck: 2.00" / 51 mm For and Aft decks
 Forecastle: 2.00" / 51 mm  Quarter deck: 2.00" / 51 mm

   - Conning towers: Forward 1.50" / 38 mm,  Aft 0.00" / 0 mm

Machinery:
 Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines, 
 Direct drive, 3 shafts, 21,362 ihp / 15,936 Kw = 25.00 kts
 Range 2,700nm at 12.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 498 tons (100% coal)

Complement:
 236 - 307

Cost:
 £0.371 million / $1.483 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 89 tons, 2.4 %
    - Guns: 85 tons, 2.3 %
    - Torpedoes: 4 tons, 0.1 %
 Armour: 433 tons, 11.7 %
    - Armament: 87 tons, 2.4 %
    - Armour Deck: 338 tons, 9.2 %
    - Conning Tower: 8 tons, 0.2 %
 Machinery: 1,607 tons, 43.6 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,176 tons, 32.0 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 377 tons, 10.2 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   1,981 lbs / 898 Kg = 38.2 x 4.7 " / 119 mm shells or 0.5 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.19
 Metacentric height 1.7 ft / 0.5 m
 Roll period: 12.6 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 91 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.37
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.81

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak,
   a ram bow and a cruiser stern
 Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.497 / 0.504
 Length to Beam Ratio: 8.82 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 18.63 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 59 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -5.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
    Fore end,  Aft end
    - Forecastle: 18.00 %,  23.00 ft / 7.01 m,  23.00 ft / 7.01 m
    - Forward deck: 18.00 %,  23.00 ft / 7.01 m,  23.00 ft / 7.01 m
    - Aft deck: 49.00 %,  15.00 ft / 4.57 m,  15.00 ft / 4.57 m
    - Quarter deck: 15.00 %,  15.00 ft / 4.57 m,  15.00 ft / 4.57 m
    - Average freeboard:  17.88 ft / 5.45 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 149.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 123.9 %
 Waterplane Area: 9,068 Square feet or 842 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 92 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 62 lbs/sq ft or 305 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.86
  - Longitudinal: 4.02
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
 Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
 Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

French central battery ships

I am still amazed that the French kept their central battery ironclad battleships from the 1870's in service into the 20th Century. They were rebuilt, at least. The Reboutable is listed in Jane's with a date of 1876. They were ships with top speeds, as designed, as low as 13 knots. With a single screw, iron armour no more than 14 thick on a complete belt, I have trouble seeing how they provided any useful service besides training. They did provide a number for strength comparison lists, but by 1903, their value was extremely low. They also had the problem of having a narrow belt, almost submerged, with about a 60mm deck on top of that. They had high, unprotected sides.

Jane's Naval Gun Notation

Fred Jane had devised a notation to describe the power of guns, which was intended partly for use in his wargame and partly for use by naval officers and analysts for comparing ship capabilities. The notation used in 1903 used capital letters, sometimes with numbers appended:

Notation   Gun      Length  Muzzle Velocity   Projectile Weight

A5         16.25in  30      2,087 ft/sec      1,800 lbs
A3         13.5in   30      2,016 ft/sec      1,250 lbs
A4         12in     40      2,750 ft/sec        850 lbs
A3         12in     35      2,367 ft/sec        850 lbs
B          10in     30      2,040 ft/sec        500 lbs
BA          9.2in   45      2,550 ft/sec        380 lbs
B           9.2in   40      2,347 ft/sec        380 lbs

Jane then rated armour with similar letters, so that you could tell what gun could penetrate what armour at close range. The numbers were altered at longer ranges.

More about the Mersey class of 1885

The Mersey class consisted of the Mersey, Severn, Thames, and Forth. They were protected cruisers of nominally 4,050 tons. They were 300ft (between perpendiculars) x 46ft x 19-1/2ft. They had a 3in steel deck. They were originally armed with 2-8in/30 BLR, 10-6in/26 BLR, 3-6pdr QF, and 8-3pdr QF guns. They also had 14in torpedo tubes. The Severn had one submerged bow tube and two above water. The Mersey had two submerged and two above water tubes. The Forth and Thames each had two above water tubes. They ships originally made 17 knots, but by 1903 were only good for 15 knots. They normally carried 500 tons of coal but could carry as much as 900 tons. The engines were horizontal compound.

One question is what would be the best wargame rules for the period from 1870 to 1905?

Perhaps lumping 1870 together with 1905 is inappropriate, but some fairly old ships were still in service, at least up to 1904, when they were finally hulked or scrapped. I would like to find a copy of Fred Jane's naval wargame, as I would like to see what he was doing. I suspect that we could figure out a way to improve on his system for shooting. He was a successful wargame designer in that he sold quite a few sets of his game and some important people played it.

The battleship Royal Oak, rebuilt in 1902

I have this old photograph of the battleship Royal Oak, one of the old Royal Sovereign class ships that was rebuilt in 1902. The photograph shows the Royal Oak still in Victorian livery. The photograph was apparently taken in either 1902 or 1903.

Fred Jane's sketch of the Orlando class

I have a copy of Fred Jane's silhouette sketch of the Orlando class belted cruisers. The sketch was made sometime between 1899 and 1903. The cruiser Narcissus belonged to this class.

Fred Jane's silhouette sketches

The very old Jane's All The World's Fighting Ships, prior to 1905, Jane had these little silhouette ink sketches of ships. They show the steam pipes and he points out differences between ships in the same class. I am not sure about the rights situation, but Jane's ship diagrams that show the armouring scheme are all over the internet, so I will try showing one of his little silhouettes. As an artist, I think that they are little gems. If you have not seen a Jane's from 1899 to 1904, you probably have not seen one of these silhouettes. I have thought that you could make wargame pieces that looked like this.

An old photograph of the battleship Vengeance

The battleship Vengeance was one of the faster battleships that sacrificed some armour for higher speed (battlecruiser-like). This is a photograph dating from prior to 1904 showing the Vengeance in Victorian livery. Other ships in the class included the Ocean, Canopus, Glory, and others.

An old photo of the cruiser Hawke in Victorian livery

This is another old photograph, from some date prior to 1904. This is a photo of the British cruiser Hawke. A distinctive feature is the flush deck and relatively low freeboard.

I have this picture of the belted cruiser Narcissus, painted white for the tropics

This photograph of the belted cruiser Narcissus dates from prior to 1904. The Narcissus is shown painted white for the tropics. In cooler climes the ships were painted in the usual Victorian livery, but that was unsuitable for the tropics.

My attempt at a Hood-like Super Lion photograph

If you read Dreadnought-Cruisers blog, you would see my Hood-like Super Lion design from today. This is my attempt at a photograph of such a ship (click to see the large photo):

An old picture of the cruiser Highflyer in Victorian livery

We usually see pictures of the protected cruiser Highflyer painted gray, with funnel bands. This pic is from prior to 1904 and shows the ship in Victorian livery.

The old French battleship Redoubtable

This is a very old photograph of the French battleship Redoubtable, which had a very archaic design. The photograph is from some time prior to 1904.

My rare picture of the cruiser Mersey

This picture of the cruiser Mersey seems to be a rare picture, dating from prior to 1904:

A Cornwall class cruiser in Victorian livery

I have usually seen the Cornwall class light armoured cruisers painted gray and with funnel markings. This ship is shown prior to 1904 in typical Victorian livery. The ships were rated at higher speeds, but the original trial speeds were only 21 or 22 knots, probably due to propellor problems. They had 4in side armour and carried 14-6in guns.

The cruiser Marathon (1888)

This is a photograph of the British 3rd Class Protected Cruiser Marathon. The Marathon was armed with 6-6in/25 guns. These were originally BL guns, not QF. The Marathon was nominally a 2,950 ton ship with a 2in protective deck. This photograph dates sometime prior to 1904. The ship much must be painted for tropical service.

There is also this nice photograph of a sister ship, the Magicienne.

Mersey class photographs

This page has an interesting selection of photographs of British cruisers. They even have some good photographs of Mersey class cruisers. This is the Forth from before 1896.

British ships painted gray in 1903

I have some Symonds photographs that show definitively that the British navy was painting ships gray in 1903, prior to Admiral Fisher becoming First Sea Lord. The pictures that I have show the 1st Class Cruiser Spartiate, the fast armoured cruiser Good Hope, the battleship Mars with funnel stripes, and the battleship Russell. In the set, there is also a fascinating photograph of the old cruiser Mersey, launched in 1885. That ship is still painted up in the Victorian livery.

The battleship USS Louisiana

I have a good photograph of the pre-dreadnought battleship USS Louisiana. The photograph was taken in 1911, after the Louisiana was modernized with cage masts and painted gray:

I tried a Springsharp design, as well, to see how well Springsharp handled this sort of ship. I found that Springsharp assumed machinery that was too heavy. I had to lighten the machinery to obtain a satisfactory design (Springhsharp reports don't work well with this blog template):

USS Louisiana, United States Battleship laid down 1906 (Engine 1909)

Displacement:
 13,558 t light; 14,464 t standard; 16,167 t normal; 17,529 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
 (459.00 ft / 450.00 ft) x 76.83 ft x (24.50 / 26.27 ft)
 (139.90 m / 137.16 m) x 23.42 m  x (7.47 / 8.01 m)

Armament:
      4 - 12.00" / 305 mm 45.0 cal guns - 850.00lbs / 385.55kg shells, 120 per gun
   Breech loading guns in turret on barbette mounts, 1906 Model
   2 x Twin mounts on centreline ends, evenly spread
      8 - 8.00" / 203 mm 45.0 cal guns - 250.00lbs / 113.40kg shells, 150 per gun
   Breech loading guns in turret on barbette mounts, 1906 Model
   4 x Twin mounts on sides amidships
      12 - 7.00" / 178 mm 45.0 cal guns - 165.00lbs / 74.84kg shells, 150 per gun
   Breech loading guns in casemate mounts, 1906 Model
   12 x Single mounts on sides amidships
  12 hull mounts in casemates- Limited use in heavy seas
      20 - 3.00" / 76.2 mm 50.0 cal guns - 14.29lbs / 6.48kg shells, 150 per gun
   Quick firing guns in casemate mounts, 1906 Model
   20 x Single mounts on sides amidships
  6 hull mounts in casemates- Limited use in heavy seas
      Weight of broadside 7,666 lbs / 3,477 kg

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 11.0" / 279 mm 250.00 ft / 76.20 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
 Ends: 7.00" / 178 mm 200.00 ft / 60.96 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
 Upper: 6.00" / 152 mm 250.00 ft / 76.20 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   Main Belt covers 85 % of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 250.00 ft / 76.20 m 24.50 ft / 7.47 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 12.0" / 305 mm 8.00" / 203 mm  10.0" / 254 mm
 2nd: 6.00" / 152 mm 6.00" / 152 mm  6.00" / 152 mm
 3rd: 7.00" / 178 mm 7.00" / 178 mm  7.00" / 178 mm
 4th: 4.00" / 102 mm 4.00" / 102 mm  4.00" / 102 mm

   - Protected deck - single deck: 3.00" / 76 mm For and Aft decks
 Forecastle: 3.00" / 76 mm  Quarter deck: 3.00" / 76 mm

   - Conning towers: Forward 9.00" / 229 mm,  Aft 0.00" / 0 mm

Machinery:
 Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines, 
 Direct drive, 2 shafts, 14,768 ihp / 11,017 Kw = 18.00 kts
 Range 4,800nm at 14.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 3,065 tons (100% coal)

Complement:
 716 - 931

Cost:
 £1.266 million / $5.065 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 1,448 tons, 9.0 %
 Armour: 6,244 tons, 38.6 %
    - Belts: 2,202 tons, 13.6 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 453 tons, 2.8 %
    - Armament: 1,959 tons, 12.1 %
    - Armour Deck: 1,506 tons, 9.3 %
    - Conning Tower: 124 tons, 0.8 %
 Machinery: 1,136 tons, 7.0 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 4,731 tons, 29.3 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,609 tons, 16.1 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   29,601 lbs / 13,427 Kg = 34.3 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 5.3 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.27
 Metacentric height 5.2 ft / 1.6 m
 Roll period: 14.2 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 96 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.78
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.93

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has a flush deck,
   a ram bow and a cruiser stern
 Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.668 / 0.675
 Length to Beam Ratio: 5.86 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 21.21 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 45 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -4.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -3.00 ft / -0.91 m
 Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
    Fore end,  Aft end
    - Forecastle: 20.00 %,  20.00 ft / 6.10 m,  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Forward deck: 30.00 %,  20.00 ft / 6.10 m,  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Aft deck: 35.00 %,  20.00 ft / 6.10 m,  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Quarter deck: 15.00 %,  20.00 ft / 6.10 m,  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Average freeboard:  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 81.3 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 143.3 %
 Waterplane Area: 26,924 Square feet or 2,501 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 111 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 140 lbs/sq ft or 684 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.92
  - Longitudinal: 2.17
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
 Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
 Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

My latest attempt at a 1903 battleship-cruiser photo

I had some ideas about I needed to do to have a better look to the 1903 battleship-cruiser, so I hacked on the photo and have a new version:

A rare photograph of the battleship Texas, taken in 1899

This rare photograph of the battleship USS Texas was taken in about 1899. The Texas had fought at the Battle of Santiago in 1898. The Texas was at least a second class ship, if not a third class battleship. The Texas carried two 12in guns in single turrets mounted in echelon. There were also 6-6in BLR guns (not QF). On trials, the Texas averaged 17.8 knots.

A photograph a 1903 battleship-cruiser

At Dreadnought Cruisers, I recently posted my design for a 1903 battleship-cruiser that I thought was along the lines of what William Hovgaard had proposed. This is a 24 knot ship with 8-12in/45 and 12-6in QF guns. The armour basis is 10in. This is a photograph of one of the ships: