The Italian ram Affondatore (1665)

The Italian ram Affondatore fought in the Battle of Lissa in 1866. The Affondatore was an iron ram that could make only 12 knots. The belt and turret were armoured with only 5in of iron. The ship was eventually modernized, which is what the picture we have here depicts. The nominal dimensions were 290ft x 40ft x 20ft. The ship was armed with 2-28ton Armstrong rifles, 6-12in QF, 4-6pdr QF, and 4-3pdr QF guns by 1894.

The Japanese cruiser Yoshino

When she was launched in 1892, the Japanese cruiser Yoshino was on the cutting edge of warship design. the Yoshino was a 23 knot ship with a protected deck and quick-firing guns. She had 4-6in and 8-4.7in QF guns, along with 22-3pdr (47mm) QF guns of doubtful utility. The Yoshino nominally displaced 4150 tons and carried up to 1000 tons of coal. She was built by Armstrongs at the Elswick yard. She was built along the same lines as Philip Watt's latest designs. The Yoshino showed the superiority of the new type in the Sino-Japanese war, where belted cruisers with a few big guns were beaten decisively by the Japanese ships armed with numerous, but smaller, quick-firing guns.

The French ironclad battleship La Gloire

I was impressed that there was a photograph, apparently, of the French ironclad battleship La Gloire. As probably well know, La Gloire was the first ocean-going ironclad and was converted from a wooden screw ship of the line.