My Victorian Navy

The cruiser Powerful, revisited

2010-02-06T15:58:00.000-08:00

If you search with Google Image Search, you will find that there are many photographs of the 1st Class Protected Cruiser Powerful online. Battleships and Cruisers has number of them on this page. There is also this Wikipedia page. There are some really nice pictures from Australia and New Zealand of the Powerful from about 1908, and possibly later. I did find this one of the Powerful at Sydney harbour in August of 1908. The Powerful and Terrible had the misfortune to be completed right before the armoured cruisers. The navy regarded the 1st Class Protected Cruisers as white elephants, as they wanted vertical side armour, not thick protective decks. Of course, The later Coumty Class ships had less protection than the Powerfuls did. The Powerfuls were armed according to the current thinking, circa 1895, with 2-9.2in and 16-6in guns in two-story casemates. They were completely reasonable ships for service overseas, even if they were deemed unsuitable for service with the main battlefleet.

HMS Powerful

2009-11-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

This page shows that HMS Powerful remained in service in the southwest Pacific up to the war. There are some other Wikipedia pages (and elsewhere) that claim that the Powerful was laid up after 1904, but that was not the case. There are some fabulous pictures of the ship at various times, such as in 1908 at the American visit to New Zealand.

The state of the art: fast cruisers

2009-09-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Admiral Makarov had advocated that the Russian navy acquire very fast cruisers for use as scouts. The British had been slow to adopt such vessels, probably due to the conservatism of William H. White, the DNC. The lead ship, the Novik, was built in Germany, by Schichau at Elbing. The succeeding ships were built in Russia, and were not as fast. The Novik was credited with making as fast as 26 knots, when the usual fast cruiser could make 23 or 24 knots, maximum. The Novik was scuttled in shallow water after the steering gear was disabled. The picture shows the wreck. The Japanese repaired the Novik for service in their navy.

Lord Brassey's "The Naval Annual" is in Google Books

2009-08-07T05:45:00.001-07:00

I got an email from the NavWarGames Yahoo Group that told me that the 1908 edition of Lord Brassey's The Naval Annual is available in Google Books. I checked, and there are many older editions available as "full view" (at least in the United States) (between 1886 and 1908). Many of the good editions from later years don't even have a preview.

The Chinese cruiser Nan Shuin

2009-07-26T17:07:00.001-07:00

This is my version of the Nan Shuin, a Chinese unprotected steel cruiser built by Howaldt at Kiel, Germany. The Nan Shuin was launched on 8 January 1884. The Nan Shuin was a 2200 ton ship that could reach a speed of just 13 knots. The Nan Shuin was armed with 2-8.2in, 8-4.7in BLR guns.

The Galena picture as an "old photograph"

2009-05-08T08:04:00.001-07:00

The ironclad gunboat Galena picture with the GIMP "old photograph" look applied.

The Galena as a screw sloop

2009-05-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

The transformation of the armoured gunboat Galena into the screw sloop Galena is pretty amazing. In 1864, the Galena was fitted out without armour and with masts and sails as a screw sloop. In this guise, the Galena had a successful second career. The Galena even played an important role in the Battle of Mobile Bay, with the sloop Oneida lashed alongside. The Oneida had a boiler disabled, but the Galena carried the Oneida into the bay.

Ironclad gunboat Galena

2009-05-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is my attempt to make the ironclad gunboat Galena drawing look like a photograph.

Ranges

2009-04-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

Old Brassey's have tables of ship data that include the range at 10 knots with a full coal bunker. I was amazed to see that the old broadside British ironclads from the 1860's had short ranges. The Warrior had a nominal range of just 1210 nautical miles. Clearly, the ships must have had a way to extend their range to cross the Atlantic. The either sailed in company with colliers and were able to transfer coal at sea or else would overload the ships with coal. The turret ship Neptune, purchased in 1878, only had a range 0f 1480 nautical miles. The ship had been built for Brazil, so that would account for the lack of range, but it made for a ship that had limited uses for the Royal Navy.

The steam frigate Minnesota

2009-04-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

The steam frigate USS Minnesota (1855) was a 4,833 ton unarmoured cruiser. Since large cruisers were called frigates at the time of her construction and early service, she was dubbed a steam frigate. Sailing frigates might be called that or just frigates. The steam powered ships had the "steam" prefix before their type name. The Minnesota was a 9-1/4 knot ship, although one source rates her at 12 knots. Her armament was 2-10in MLSB, 28-9in MLSB, and 14-8in MLSB. She served in the American Civil War and was present during the combat in 1862 with the Confederate ram CSS Virginia (formerly, the USS Merrimack, another steam frigate).

Brassey's drawings

2009-03-21T17:15:00.001-07:00

I first saw the old Brassey's (The Naval Annual) back in the mid-1960's. I had already seen the older Jane's, and I was amazed at the variation in quality of the ship drawings. They range from having been drawn from original plans, and showing accurate bulkheads and machinery positions to crude diagrammatic representations that are not to any scale. In the 1894 Brassey's, the ships named there as "Catherine II", "Tchesma", and "Sinope" have an accurate inboard profile and plan view. Just before, there is a crude diagram for the ship called there "Admiral Nachimoff" (drawings 63 and 64).

The paddle frigate Mississippi

2009-02-23T16:51:00.001-08:00

The American paddle frigate Mississippi was a historic ship that came to a bad end in 1863. The Mississippi had been Matthew Perry's flagship when he forced the Japanese to open their country to the west. He had personally supervised her completion and fitting out and used his as his flagship. The Mississippi had played a role in the war with Mexico and then had gone to the Far East. She was laid up when the Civil War started. She was obsolescent in 1861, but was used in the capture of New Orleans in 1862, where she disabled the Confederate ram Manassas. Because of her low speed and paddle wheels, she was relegated to the Mississippi river. She was scuttled in 1863 during the attempt to push past Port Hudson. The Mississippi had run aground, under heavy fire, and couldn't be freed. She was burnt after her guns were spiked to keep her from being captured. An interesting note is that George Dewey, the victor of Manilla Bay in 1898, was her executive officer at the time of her loss. This is my enhancement of the photograph from 1863, when she was painted wartime gray.

The Chinese belted cruiser Lai Yuan

2009-02-15T08:48:00.000-08:00

The Lai Yuan was sunk at Wei-Hai-Wei on 5 February 1895 after being torpedoed by a Japanese torpedo boat Kotaka. The Lai Yuan was a steel cruiser with compound armour. The Lai Yuan was nominally 2,850 tons with dimensions of 270ft x 40ft x 16ft-6in. The compound belt was 9.5in thick with a 3in deck. The armament consisted of 2-8.2in 10 ton BLR, 2-6in 4 ton BLR, and 7 MG.

The CSS Sumter

2009-02-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

The Confederate raider Sumter had a short but successful career as a cruiser. The Sumter was purchased in New Orleans in April 1861 and was modified to carry an armament. She was originally armed with 1-8in shell gun and 4-32pdr MLSB guns. She had been built in 1869 in Philidelphia as the Havana. She was capable of between 9 and 10 knots. She was sold in 1862 after being chased by the USS Iroquois into Spanish waters.

The American sloop Brooklyn

2009-01-14T16:51:00.001-08:00

The American sloop Brooklyn was a veteran of many of the major Civil war battles. The Brooklyn was built in 1858 and served until 1891. She was a wooden screw sloop of 2532 tons. She was 233ft x 43ft x 16ft and was armed with 1-10in MLSB, 20-9in MLSB. She could reach a speed of 11 knots under power. The Brooklyn served in the Gulf of Mexico blockading squadron and fought in the capture of New Orleans in 1862 and in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864.

More about the Wampanoag

2009-01-09T05:16:00.001-08:00

This is my updated Wampanoag photograph (edited). I had decided that the original photograph that I have found seemed defective, as if it had been retouched or digitally altered in some way that created multiple waterlines, different foward from aft. I have fixed that problem. I also found some interesting insight into the design. The ships were originally intended for use in stopping the fast, British-built blockade-runners that could reach 17 knots. Internal naval politics, principally by David Dixon Porter, ensured that the construction was halted at the critical period. By the time that they were finished, the U.S. Navy no longer had any use for the ships. They used old technology boilers and engines, except for the gearing to increase the propellor speed. That meant that they had a very short range, due to their high coal consumption. Still, the Wampanoag set a speed record that held for several decades.

The Wampanoag

2009-01-03T11:30:00.001-08:00

The Wampanoag was built as a fast cruiser, but with engines that were not sufficiently advanced. As a result, the hull was too weak and the engines too large and heavy. Still, the Wapanoag is said to have achieved 17.75 knots in a trial condition. The Wapanoag was 335ft x 44ft-4in x 18ft-6in and displaced about 4,215 tons. The Wampanoag was eventually renamed Florida. These ships were still classed as screw frigates in the U.S.Navy when they were built. Aside from their other faults, these ships only had guns lacked bow fire, which was regrettable for a commerce raider.

The monitor Casco

2008-11-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

The Casco class shallow-draft monitor design was a failure. The displacement was inadequate for the planned weights. The Casco was completed as a spar torpedo boat, but was totally unsuited for such as role, as her speed was only 5 knots. This picture probably shows the Casco on the James River, which she cleared of mines.

The USS Cumberland, later sunk by the CSS Virginia

2008-11-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

This is said to be a photograph of the USS Cumberland, a sailing corvette, that was sunk by ramming by the CSS Virginia in Hampton Roads in 1862.

The cruiser Shah

2008-11-09T14:20:00.001-08:00

The most notable event in the career of the British unarmoured cruiser Shah was in 1877, when the Shah and the Amethyst fought an action against the Peruvian ironclad Huascar. The main lesson from the battle was that large cruisers needed some protection in the form of armour. The Shah and Amethyst were unable to damage the Huascar. Had the Peruvians been able to fire accurately, William Hovgaard thought that the Huascar might have defeated the two unarmoured cruisers. The Shah was nominally 6,250 tons and carried 2-9in MLR, 16-7in MLR, and 8-64pdr MLR. The Shah had a maximum speed of 16.2 knots.

The small wooden cruiser USS Hartford

2008-10-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

The USS Hartford was about a 2550 ton wooden cruiser. SHe had a single screw which could propel the Hartford at up to 9-1/2 knots. She was originally armed with 20-9in MLSB guns, augmented by 2-20pdr Parrott guns and 2-12pdr guns. She served as David Farragut's flagship from January 1862. Her most notable actions were the Battle of New Orleans and the Battle of Mobile Bay.

A really great picture of HMS Viper at speed

2008-10-04T03:34:00.001-07:00

This is a picture that is derived from that on Wikipedia, but is cleaned up considerably. The picture is so useful, because you could make an accurate outboard profile drawing use it.

A spycam view of the Italian cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi

2008-09-14T16:28:00.001-07:00

This is sort of a spycam view of the Italian armoured cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi, which was well-regarded in its time. A large number of foreign sales were made of ships of this design. Two of the last were the Japanese cruisers Nisshin and Kasuga.

Look in Google Book Search for Brassey's The Naval Annual

2008-09-08T04:28:00.000-07:00

At least the 1888 Brassey's Naval Annual can be downloaded from Google Book Search. If you are interested in the old ships from 1660 to 1905, this is a good book. As usual, the book is too hard to find. Google seems to delight in hiding full view books. I had to go deep into the search results to find this volume.

Chinese coast defense ship Ping-Yuen

2008-09-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

The 1894 Naval Annual classes the Chinese ship Ping-Yuen as a coast defense ship. The Ping-Yuen was only 2,850 tons (a nominal figure). The ship was 200ft x 40ft x 16ft in size and had two screws. The maximum speed was only 10.5 knots. The Ping-Yuen did have an 8in belt and 1-10.2in BLR, 2-6in BLR, and 8-QF guns. The Ping-Yuen was built in 1890. This picture shows the ship in Japanese service, after being taken in the Sino-Japanese War.

The Warships blog

2008-08-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

Alexander van Maanen has the Warships blog where he and his father Ron are posting warship-related material, including photographs. For example, there are photographs of the Dutch ironclad Schorpioen, built a La Seyne. The ships originally had 2-9in MLR and that seems to be what the Schorpioen has now.

Modified ships

2008-08-10T14:01:00.001-07:00

I am going to try my hand at a photograph of a modified version of HMS Resistance, the ironclad British battleship. I am thinking in terms of a "modernization".

HMS Devastation

2008-07-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

As originally conceived by Sir Edward Reed, the Devastation was a very clean design. After being rebuilt and late in life, the Devastation was overloaded with top hamper. The best feature of the original design was that the ship pioneered the more modern gun layout with two turrets with two heavy guns each that was standard until the early 20th Century. The most problematic feature was the low freeboard, although as a breastwork monitor, the Devastation was superior to the pure monitor which had such a low freeboard that at sea the deck would always be awash.

Another try at the CSS Virginia

2008-07-13T17:05:00.001-07:00

This is another attempt at depicting, photographically, the CSS Virginia lying at anchor near Norfolk in early 1652.

The Spanish cruiser Cristobal Colon

2008-07-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Spain had purchased an Italian armoured cruiser of a very successful design to strengthen their cruiser force. The problem is that the Spanish authorities dissaproved of having the Italian 10in gun on their ship, so the Cristobal Colon was delivered without her main armament! The Cristobal Colon was driven ashore, a wreck, at Santiago Bay, in 1898, with wooden guns for the main armament. Ten ships of the class were built. Five of them were sold to foreign navies and the next three were used by the Italian navy. The last two ended up in the Japanese navy as the Nisshin and Kasuga.

The www.history.navy.mil website is really hurting

2008-06-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

I keep trying to access images from the NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER website and continually am aggravated by the website performance. I was looking for more pictures of Confederate ironclads. This time I wanted to see pictures of the CSS Richmond. I am still waiting, several minutes later. The pictures tend to be under 100K in size, so what is the deal?

Real photographs of the CSS Albemarle

2008-06-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

I had not realized that there were actual photographs of the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle. Admittedly, they were taken after the Albemarle was salvaged, but nonetheless, we know what the ship really looked like. AmericanCivilWar.com has a page with the photographs.

The Russian cruiser Askold

2008-05-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

I think that the Russian cruiser Askold really betrays her German origin. The entire conception is very strange, with the low hull, the first level superstructure, and five funnels. This picture apparently shows the ship off Port Arthur in 1904 in gray wartime garb.

More on the Manassas

2008-05-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

The more that I look at the Manassas picture, the more that it is obvious that it was an advanced concept. The ship was intended to be six feet above water and 17ft below the water line. The curved deck was almost an early example of a protective deck, with a bit more arch than was typical. One problem was that the armour was too thin. It seems to have been all that the displacement could carry. The Manassas was about 143ft long and had sharp ram shape forward, where the curve of the deck came down to a point below the water. The ram protruded 10 feet forward and seems to have been part of a solid block of wood about twenty feet long. In service, the ram seems to have been not solid enough to penetrate the side of a ship, since in about three attacks, ships were damaged but not holed. I was interested to read that David Dixon Porter had hoped to save the Manassas as an "engineering curiosity", but the ship was on fire, drifted downstream, blew-up, and sank before it could be rescued.

My CSS Manassas picture

2008-05-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

I took that CSS Manassas drawing that the Wikipedia has and applied photographic elements and did some other graphic editing to see if I could make the picture look photographic. It seems at least somewhat successful to me (of course, I am prejudiced). The Manassas was converted towboat (often called a tug, which has a different connotation) that had curved iron plating for armour. The armour was too thin and the Manassas was sunk during the Union attack on New Orleans in 1862. This picture shows the Manassas with a single funnel, which is what I have grown to expect. An alternative view shows the Manassas with twin funnels aligned so that from the side, they look like one.

CSS Virginia

2008-04-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

I thought that we needed a CSS Virginia photograph. This is the USS Merrimack cut down and given an iron casemate. The navy had burnt the Merrimack on abandoning Norfolk. The Confederates raised the ship and repaired the holes that had been drilled in the hull. The ship had sank, so that most of the lower hull was undamaged by fire. Captain Paulding had not done a very effective scuttling job. The engines were affected by being submerged in seawater, however. The Virginia was a very large ship. As a screw frigate, the Merrimack had displaced 4,363 tons. The Virginia had a mixed armament. She carried 2-7in MLR, 2-6in MLR, and 6-9in Dahlgren SBML. There wre also two 12pdr howitzers. The iron armour was built of two 2-in layers. The best that the Virginia could make was about six knots. (I drew this picture quite a while ago, but I was surprised to find that it was never published!)

The "Spanish Cruisers" page

2008-04-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

I was impressed by the Spanish cruisers page at the UK website, www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk. I was particularly interested to see the photograph titled: "Almirante Oquendo after the Battle of Santiago". This was contributed by Rafael Galvan Diaz. The ship had run ashore, heavily damaged and on fire. The Spanish found out that above water torpedo launchers or tubes were hazardous. Sadly, the British had not learned the lesson and that probably caused the loss of the battlecruiser Hood in 1941.

Confederate ironclad Tennessee

2008-04-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

The Confederate ironclad Tennessee took part in the defense of Mobile Bay. The Tennessee was captured when the Union forces were able to enter the bay, under fire and with the loss of two ironclad ships mined. The Tennessee was a somewhat larger ship than the Atlanta, as she displaced 1,273 tons. The Tennessee had 5in iron armour, except on the front, the armour was 6in. The Tennessee had a 7.125in Brooke MLR on each end and two 6in MLR on each side.

The Confederate ironclad ram Nashville

2008-04-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

When I was very young, I had seen John O'Hara Cosgrave's drawing of the Confederate ironclad Atlanta in Fletcher Pratt's book about the Monitor and Merrimac (CSS Virginia). Cosgrave's illustrations were well done and imaginative, but did not resemble the actual ships very closely. The Atlanta was a conversion of the blockade runner Finlay into an ironclad ram. The armoured superstructure followed the standard pattern used in the later Confederate ironclads, and was very angular. The Atlanta had 4in iron armour and carried 2-6.4in rifles on each side and a 7in rifle firing along the axis. The displacement was about 1006 tons. The Atlanta apparently could make 7 knots, which was adequate in restricted waters. The Atlanta suffered the usual problem of being outgunned by Union monitors armed with large 11 and 15 inch smooth bore guns.

The French ironclad battleship Couronne (1862)

2008-04-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

This is apparently a photograph of the French ironclad battleship Couronne, completed in 1862, after the Couronne was altered as a gunnery training ship in 1881 to 1885. The photographs is based on the Wikipedia photograph. The armour was removed and a spar deck and other additions were made to make the Couronne resemble a conventional screw two-decker. The ship was actually constructed of iron and lasted until as late as 1932, although last 22 years were as a hulk.

Italian battleship Dandolo

2008-03-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

This is a rather interesting photograph of the Italian ironclad battleship Dandolo. The Dandolo was launched in 1878, but not completed until circa 1882. The Dandolo was a rather small turret ship equipped with four 17.7in (45cm) 100 ton guns. The Dandolo could reach 15 knots and had a 21.5in iron belt and 18in iron armour on the turrets. The dimensions were 340ft-11in x 64ft-9in x 26ft-7in. The nominal displacement was 10,434 tons. The IHP was 7,500.

The impact of aggressive copyright enforcement

2008-03-18T17:21:00.000-07:00

In 2003 and 2004, there were many more photographs of old ships on various websites. I hypothesize that vigorous copyright enforcement by the owners of over 100 year old photographs has drastically reduced what can be found. The entire concept of copyrighted photographs over 100 years old is pretty amazing, but perhaps that is one of the "great things" brought to use by the folks in Britain. I am certain that I had seen a photograph of the Chinese armoured cruiser King-Yuan in the past, but there is nothing at all "out there", right now. The King-Yuan was a small, armoured cruiser of 2,850 tons, with dimensions of 270ft x 40ft x 16ft-6in. The King-Yuan had a belt that was 9-1/2 inches thick. The King-Yuan had a top speed of 16-1/2 knots. Her armament consisted of 2-8.2in/35 10 ton guns, 2-5.9in guns, one submerged 18in torpedo tube and 3 18in torpedo launching carriages. The King Yuan was built at Vulkan at Stettin. By digging around in my archives, I found this picture of the King-Yuan.

The cruiser Olympia

2008-03-08T03:28:00.000-08:00

I have been looking for a photograph of the cruiser Olympia with gray paint over the prewar livery and decorations for the war in 1898. This picture seems to be the only thing that is readily available. The evidence for the picture being from 1898 is that the picture I have from 1899 shows the same tops, yards, masts, searchlights, and gun sponsons as the picture in gray paint. The Americans had hastily put a coat of gray paint on their ships before attacking the Spanish fleet in Manilla Bay.

The battleship Maine: the real proportions

2008-03-07T17:59:00.001-08:00

I have seen many drawings of the battleship Maine, destroyed in 1898. They generally seem to be based on guesswork or else on extrapolations from photographs that show a perspective view. If you pop the large image, you should be able to scale off the exact proportions from this long-range photograph.

Phillip Watts' fast cruiser Piemonte

2008-03-06T18:26:00.000-08:00

The Piemonte, designed by Phillip Watts, was a very early attempt at a very fast cruiser. Considering the date, 1888, he succeeded quite well, just by achieving a 21 knot speed. The Brassey's nominal data gave a displacement of 2500 tons, dimensions of 300ft x 38ft x 15ft. 12,000 IHP produced the required speed. The armament was fairly substantial: 6-6in QF, 6-4.7in QF, 10-57mm (6pdr) QF guns. There were apparently 3 torpedo launching devices.

Purchased steamers as warships

2008-03-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

The Spanish-American War in 1898 was right at the edge where merchant steamers might be purchased for service as cruisers. One of the last examples where this occurred was the American cruiser Topeka.

The Topeka had been launched by Howaldt at Kiel in 1881. The ship had been built for Peru as the Diogenes, so perhaps the intent was to be a cruiser from the beginning. Peru did not take delivery and the Thames Iron Works acquired her. She sat idle until the Sino-Japanese War when the Japanese almost bought her. The deal did not go through, so she sat longer until the Americans bouth her for service in the war with Spain. Her original commander, Lieutenant Knapp, described her as a good seaboat. He felt very uncomfortable, though, in the newly purchased ship, as she was unarmed. The sponsons were plated in, probably as a preservation measure when the ship sat, laid up. She looked very much the "tramp steamer", as the New York Times reporter characterized her. She was very sad-looking and needed attention, including a new paint job.

The original American armament consisted of 8-4in/40, 2-57mm (6pdr), 4-47mm (3pdr), and 2-1pdr guns. The dimensions were something like 250ft x 35ft x 17ft-9in, so the ship was very cruiser-like in appearance, size, and armament. The ship was unarmoured, however. The maximum speed was 16 knots, but that was fairly compatible with the older and smaller American cruisers and gunboats. The nominal displacement was 2,372 tons.

The Topeka was only finally sold for scrap in 1930, after being periodically commissioned and decommissioned. Her latter career had been spent mostly as a training ship.

The Italian ram Affondatore (1665)

2008-02-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

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.

The Chilean cruiser Esmeralda (1883)

2008-01-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

I am disappointed that we can't find a better picture of the Elswick cruiser Esmeralda, built for Chile (1883). For such an important ship, the first fast cruiser built at the Elswick yard, with a complete protective deck. The arched deck, in these ships, was surmounted by a cellular layer, filled with coal and other materials. The original idea was to have two large guns, at the ends, with a secondary armament at the sides. These eventually became quick-firing guns. The large guns were replaced by smaller guns with a higher rate of fire that were easier to handle on a small ship.

The little ironclad Huascar

2008-01-12T15:58:00.001-08:00

The Peruvian monitor Huascar is a wonderful little vessel. It was built by Laird's and was launched in October 1865. Thanks to being constructed of iron, the Huascar still exists and is now a museum ship. My 1894 Brassey's Naval Annual has some information from the time. In 1894, the Huascar was in service with the Chilean navy, having been captured. The dimensions were 200ft (between perpendiculars) x 35ft x 15ft-6in. The ship was driven by a single screw. The machinery produced 1,500 IHP which drove the ship at up to 12 knots. The armour belt was 4 inches of iron and the barbette was 5 inches thick. The Huascar was armed with 2-8in 13 ton guns in a single iron turret. The secondary armament in 1894 consisted of 2-4.7in QF guns. The Huascar could steam at 1100 nm at 10 knots with 250 tons of coal.

A radical change: the armoured cruiser Dupuy de Lôme

2007-12-27T17:05:00.000-08:00

French armoured ship design took a radical turn with the armoured cruiser Dupuy de Lôme. Prior to this, the armouring scheme used for French ships consisted of a thick waterline belt, from stem to stern, with high, unprotected sides. In the Dupuy de Lôme, the sides were now protected by armour, although of only 4 inches in this case. The Dupuy de Lôme was a reaction to the threat of quick firing guns. The previous armour scheme was only protecting against armour piercing shot, not shell fire. The Dupuy de Lôme displaced 6,297 tons, had dimensions of 374ft x 51ft-6in x 23ft-6in. The ship was had three screws, including one on the centerline. The engines produced 14,000 IHP to achieve a 20 knot speed. For 1890, this was fast, at least for a large ship. The armament consisted of 2-7.6in and 6-6.4in guns. By modern standards, the Dupuy de Lôme had excessive upper works. Admiral Fournier considered this type of vessel as the basis for La Jeune École ("the Young School"). The idea was to concentrate on commerce raiding rather than building a battlefleet.

More about the coast defense battleship Furieux

2007-12-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

According to my 1894 Brassey's, this photograph seems to reflect the original configuration of the French coast defense battleship Furieux. The Furieux was constructed of a mixture of both iron and steel, so the Furieux was a transitional step. I am sure that the figures given in Brassey's are just nominal, but they are still of interest:


French coast defense battleship Furieux, launched in 1883
Displacement: 6,000 tons
Dimensions:   247ft-10in x 59ft x 21ft-9in  two screws
Belt: 20in  Armament: 17-3/4in
Armament: 2-34cm (13.4in) 48 ton, 5-small QF, 10-mg
Max speed: 14 knots  Range: 1,500nm Coal: 290 tons

The Infanta Maria Teresa

2007-12-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

Early in my life, I had studied the Spanish-American War. My copy of the 1894 Brassey's has coverage of many of the ships involved. The Spanish flagship at the Battle of Santiago Bay was the belted cruiser, the Infanta Maria Teresa. This was a ship of nominally 7000 tons, with dimensions of 340ft x 65ft x 21ft-6in, with an armament of 2-11in and 10-5.5in guns. There were additional 6pdr and 2pdr QF guns, as well as the six above water torpedo launchers that were so hazardous. The wooden decks were a terrible fire hazard, as well. The Infanta Maria Teresa was listed with a maximum speed of 20.25 knots. The belt was 10.5 inches and the deck varied between 2in and 3in. The conning tower was 12in, of steel, as was the rest of the armour. The main armament was mounted in 10.5in barbettes with hemispherical shields. Belted cruisers of this sort were obsolescent in 1890 when the Infanta Maria Teresa was completed. The Spanish belted cruisers were destroyed in an hour-and-a-half hour at the Battle of Santiago Bay by shellfire from the American ships, according to William Hovgaard, in the Modern History of Warships. The Infanta Maria Teresa had a narrow 12in belt and a high, unprotected side.

The coast defense battleship Valmy

2007-11-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

William Hovgaard desribed the Jemmappes and Valmy as being reduced copies of the battleship Brennus. The Valmy, as you can see, had a very low freeboard but was designed to make 17 knots. If that had been possible, the speed would have kept the bow covered with water. The concept of a small battleship with heavy guns and a good speed always interested me. The Valmy had a complete waterline belt, 18in amidships and 10in at the ends, covered by a 4in deck. The Valmy was armed with 2-13.4in/40 and 4-3.9in QF guns. An old "Jane's" said that the two ships in the class could only "keep station" at a speed of 12.5 knots. On trials, the best that the Valmy could do was to make 15.9 knots.

Another look at the USS Concord gunboat

2007-11-17T16:40:00.000-08:00

The USS Concord built in 1891 was another ship that fought in the Battle of Manilla Bay in 1898. I find the Concord interesting because the ship was a substantial unarmoured cruiser of 1,710 tons, despite the gunboat designation. The British classed smaller vessels as sloops and actually built ships designated as cruisers of this approximate size. The Concord was stout enough to fight in the line with the cruisers when they surprised the Spanish at anchor in the bay. My book from 1911 has a different photograph, dating from 1891. The Concord had dimensions of 230ft x 36ft x 14ft and carried 6-4in guns. By 1911, the Concord served with the contemporary equivalent of the naval reserve, the Naval Militia.

The yacht USS Gloucester

2007-11-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

When I was young, I still had access to books dating from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries about naval history and ships. I remember reading about the yacht USS Gloucester, which served with the fleet off of Santiago, as I recall. The Gloucester was a 240ft vessel of 786 tons armed with 4-6pdr (57mm) and 4-3pdr (47mm) guns. The Gloucester had a speed of 17 knots, so it was fast enough to be useful.

The Spanish cruiser Castilla

2007-11-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

The Spanish cruiser Castilla was one of the ships sunk in the Battle of Manilla Bay in 1898. Captain Donald MacIntyre described the Castilla as a "tub" in his book The Thunder of the Guns. I have heard that the Castilla had a composite hull, but it was apparently just a wooden hull. I have relied on the 1894 Naval Annual for information. The Castilla had a displacement of 3,342 tons and had a ram bow. The dimensions were 246ft x 45ft-11in x 20ft-11in. The machinery developed 4,400 IHP which drove a single screw to achieve a maximum of 14 knots. The coal supply was 470 tons. The Castilla carried 4 Krupp 5.9in guns, 2 Krupp 4.7in guns, 4-75mm guns, and 8-quick firing guns. The Castilla was launched at Cadiz in 1881 and was sunk on 1 May 1898. The Castilla had a crew of 392 men.

The Spanish cruiser Reina Christina

2007-11-08T03:35:00.000-08:00

My source of information about the Spanish cruiser Reina Christina is the 1894 edition of The Naval Annual. the Reina Christina was the Spanish flagship at the Battle of Manilla Bay, where ship was wrecked. The nominal displacement was 3,520 tons. The dimensions were 278ft-10in x 42ft-7in x 16ft-5in. The ship could make 17.5 knots on an IHP=3,970 with a bunker capacity of 600 tons of coal. The Reina Christina was launched in 1886. The armament consisted of 6-16cm (6.4in), 2-7cm, 3-57mm QF, and 6-37mm QF guns. The the ship also carried 5-14in TT. There was no armour, but the hull had a French-style "cellular layer".

The French coast defense battleship Furieux

2007-11-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

At one point, Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships expected that the French coast defense battleship Furieux would have her freeboard forward raised by a deck. The Furieux had been originally launched in 1883, but was not completed until 1887. Both the British and French often took many years to complete ships in the 1880's. The rebuilt Furieux was given 2-9.4in/40 guns, which were greatly superior to the original 2-13.4in/24 guns. I have seen other photographs which confirm that the Furieux retained the low freeboard forward, which meant that she was very wet when underway.

The old battleship Texas

2007-10-30T07:05:00.000-07:00

This is really interesting picture of the old US battleship Texas. You can see that the gray paint was just slopped over the prewar white paint and the gold leaf on the decorations. There is also a lot of detail there, including the small guns in the hull casemate mounts and the sponsons. You will need to click the small picture to see the larger view.

The Akitsushima in 1894

2007-10-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

I have a real Brassey's for 1894. I bought it because I wanted good Sino-Japanese War ship data. One ship listed is the Japanese ship Akitsushima, launched in 1892. The Akitsushima was a protected cruiser of 3150 tons with dimensions of 302ft x 42ft-7in x 18ft-5in. The Akitsushima had a top speed of 19 knots with 8400 IHP and Brassey's says it was armed with 1-12.6in BLR, and 12-4.7in QF guns, but that has to be wrong. We think that the correct armament was 4-6in and 6-4.7in guns. The deck armour was 3in steel. There were four above water torpedo tubes.

The rebuilt Messudiyeh

2007-10-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

The Ottoman Empire thought that you should be able to modernize old ships so that they could have some of the capability of more modern ships. The old ironclad Messudiyeh was rebuilt in Genoa in 1902. The rebuilt ship had one military mast behind two funnels. The photograph indicates that the hull was black with a thin white stripe over a red lower hull. The upperworks, turrets, and funnels appear to be white. The ship carried 2-9.2in Vickers guns, 12-6in/45 QF guns, 14-14pdr (3in) QF guns, 10-6pdr (57mm) QF guns, and 2-3pdr (47mm) QF guns. The armour was still mostly the original iron. The belt was 12in, but that was useless against modern guns. The turrets and barbettes were Terni steel. The Messudiyeh was 331ft long, so it was about the size of the older British and French battleships. There was a great deal of interest in this sort of rebuilding, but Admiral Fisher disagreed and sold off old the old ships from the British navy, starting in 1904.

Old Jane's Fighting Ships

2007-10-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

I have always enjoyed reading the old Jane's, which were actually called Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships. I have a old one from prior to 1904. Reading the listed data is at least as interesting as reading the real data from Conway's or a similar source.

The Danish "torpedo ram" Tordenskjold

2007-10-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

The Danish ship Tordenskjold was rated as a "torpedo ram", but was actually a small protected cruiser with a huge gun. An old Jane's reported that the Tordenskjold was launched in 1880. The ship had a very archaic look to it. The main protection was from an arched 3-3/4in steel deck, probably with coal stored above and below it. The main armament consisted of a 14in/25 BLR. There were also 4-4.7in guns. The Tordenskjold also had four above water torpedo tubes and 8-MG. The large gun had an 8in compound barbette with a hemispherical shield. The 4.7in guns were mounted on the upper deck, aft, and had the usual shields. The designed speed was 14 knots, from an IHP of 2,600. There were two screws and cylindrical boilers. The coal capacity was 170 tons. The crew was fairly large at 220 men. The ship was quite small, with a displacement of only 2,530 tons.

The Battle of Manilla Bay

2007-10-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Early in my study of naval history, I had read Donald McIntyre's account of the Battle of Manilla Bay (in The Thunder of the Guns: A Century of Battleships, a Norton book from about 1960). There is a relatively decent Wikipedia page, although the Spanish OOB seems to omit smaller ships that I believe were present.

The 2007 Weblog Awards

2007-10-12T06:02:00.001-07:00

Kevin Alyward has opened nominations for the 2007 Weblog Awards.

Kevin is proprietor and founder of the Wizbang! blog.

The Japanese cruiser Yoshino

2007-10-09T09:57:00.001-07:00

The cruiser Yoshino was another Elswick cruiser built for the Japanese navy. The Yoshino was in a long series of fast protected cruisers designed by Sir Phillip Watts, later a distinguished Director of Naval Construction for the British navy. The Yoshino figured prominently at the Battle of the Yalu in the Sino-Japanese War in 1895. The Yoshino was sunk in a collision with the armoured cruiser Kasuga, early in the Russo-Japanese War. The Yoshino could make 23 knots. The protective deck had 115mm slopes and 45mm flat armour. The main armament consisted of 2-6in and 8-4.7in QF guns.

The Takasago

2007-10-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

The Japanese cruiser Takasago was what passed for a very fast cruiser in 1904. This is a highly massaged photograph of the Takasago at anchor, in prewar livery. The Takasago had been launched at Elswick in 1897. This was typical of a certain type of Elswick cruiser. The Takasago carried 2-8in large QF guns, 10-4.7in QF guns, and 12-3in QF guns. The Takasago also had 5-18in TT. The deck armour was very thick, at 4.5in of Harvey-Nickel steel. The 8in guns also had 4.5in shields. the 4.7in guns had 2.5in shields. The Takasago was rated at 24 knots. Coal was used to augment the protection, but this type of ship was vulnerable to mines and torpedoes. The Takasago was lost due to a mine off of Port Arthur in December 1904. More than half the crew was lost. The Takasago was designed by a top notch warship designer, Sir Philip Watts:

The Russian scout Novik

2007-09-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

I see that William Hovgaard credited the Russian scout Novik, lost in the Russo-Japanese War, with a 26 knot speed. That was achieved, apparently, by using a very light hull structure and destroyer-like machinery. The hull was even shaped like a German torpedo boat, as the ship was built by the German firm Schichau, at Elbing in the Baltic. The ship had some problems, as the steering gear was unprotected and the hull lacked a double bottom to save weight. The unprotected steering gear resulted in the ultimate loss of the ship. The Japanese subsequently raised the wreck and put the Novik back in service. I liked the armament of 6-4.7in QF guns for a small scout.

Russian ships

2007-09-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

I had thought that the improved Russian battleship designs originated after the start of the Russo-Japanese War. That is not the case. As far back as 1903, Russia was planning new battleships with a 11in belt, 4-12in/40, 12-8in/45, and 20-12pdr QF guns. The deck armour would have been an impressive 100mm (3.9in). The ships were projected to have a displacement of 16,000 tons. The dimensions were not yet public knowledge, even as rumour.

Jane's Fighting Ships

2007-09-22T11:45:00.001-07:00

I am a great fan of the old Jane's Fighting Ships. The volumes form 1899 to 1904 are especially good. The volumes from 1919 to 1921 are also very useful, as were the volumes from 1936 to 1945. A general feature of the older Janes were that they did not actually reflect the ships as they were completed, but were more like intelligence reports or even press reports. They aided and abetted the British navy in the 1905 to 1914 period, when they printed disinformation designed to fool the Germans. They have a different slant, being more graphically oriented than Brassey's, which I also like. For a long time, I didn't appreciate Brassey's, as I was looking for the drawings and photographs, but I came to appreciate how much good information they had. The older volumes, such as from the 1880's up to 1905 are good sources of ship and gun information that go below the level of detail that is the Conway's volumes.

The original sketch design for the Republique class

2007-09-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

The original sketch design for the French Republique class battleships looked very impressive. They were described as being "the best protected ships in existence". They were to have a 11in belt and a 10in upper belt, with 2in upper and 3in lower deck armour. The decks would enclose coal, backing up the belt to make them very strong. The guns would be 4-12in/45 and 18-6.4in/45. Of the six ships projected, the Republique was launched in 1902 and the Patrie in 1903. The other four ships were eventually completed to an improved design. The last ship, the Verite, was only launched in 1907, when the class was already obsolescent. The first two were completed in December 1906 asnd t6he last four were completed in 1908. They had already been superceded by more modern designs. The belt actually tapered, and was just 12ft-6in high and tapered from 11in down to 9.5in, not 10in. The original concept appeared to have an armoured height of 16ft, but that was not the case. The speed was better than the apparent 18 knots, as the ships could make 19 knots.

The French battleship Suffren, prior to 1904

2007-09-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

This a photograph of the French battleship Suffren, which was a more modern design than the ships the French had been producing with the lozenge arrangement of single turrets. The Suffren still had the complete belt and high, unprotected sides, with considerable tumble home.

The American cruiser Boston

2007-09-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

The American cruiser Boston looked like an 1880's design, with a low freeboard and rigging, as built. The Boston relied on 2-8in and 6-6in guns for hitting power. The Boston was a 15 knot ship built in 1884. The protective deck was a thin 1.5 inches. The Boston took part in the Battle of Manilla Bay in 1898, at the start of the Spanish-American War.

The American torpedo boat Porter

2007-09-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

The torpedo boat Porter was one of the fastest American ships in service in 1898. The Porter exceeded 28 knots on trials. The photo is from the year 1897, when the Porter was completed. The Porter was a 165 ton vessel that was 175 feet long. The armament consisted of 3-1pdr QF guns and 3-18in torpedo tubes.

The gunboat Concord, from Spanamwar.com

2007-09-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

Patrick McSherry has a nice page on spamamwar.com about the American gunboat Concord that fought in the Spanish-American War in 1898. He has a good drawing, as well, which I took the liberty of cleaning up a bit, as it was "dirty":

I have my old photograph of the Concord, which I consider to have actually been a small cruiser, despite her designation as a gunboat:

The American torpedo boat Cushing in 1890

2007-09-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have this photograph of the American torpedo boat Cushing taken in 1890. The Cushing was nominally 105 tons and could reach 22.5 knots when new. I remember seeing the Cushing listed in an OOB for the Battle of Santiago Bay in 1898, and I believe that was correct.

The American cruiser Raleigh

2007-09-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

I have this photograph of the USS Raleigh, a protected cruiser that fought in the Battle of Manilla Bay in 1898. This photograph was taken in 1895. The Raleigh displaced a nominal 3,183 tons, was about 300ft long, and had a maximum speed of about 21 knots.

The gunboat Castine

2007-09-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

The gunboats Castine and Machias were built by Bath Iron Works. The Castine was really a small cruiser. The Castine had a maximum speed of 16 knots, displaced 1,177 tons, and carried 8-4in guns. This photograph shows the Castine painted gray for service in the Spanish-American War, in 1898.

The Isla de Luzon

2007-09-07T17:49:00.000-07:00

The other small Spanish cruiser captured by the Americans was the Isla de Luzon. The Isla de Cuba and the Isla de Luzon seem to have been built to the same design. The Isla de Luzon was built in 1887, but only made 11 knots on trial.

The small Spanish cruiser Isla de Cuba

2007-09-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Spain had a number of small cruisers built abroad. The Isla de Cuba was built in Great Britain in 1886. The ship was just barely a cruiser, being over the 1,000 ton mark at 1,030 tons. The armament was 2-4in guns and six smaller. The speed was very low at 13 knots. The ship was an unarmoured cruiser. This is a photograph of the Isla de Cuba painted in the Spanish style:

A rather indistinct photo of the Russian cruiser Variag

2007-09-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have this photograph of the Russian cruiser Variag, sunk early in the Russo-Japanese war. I need to see if I can get a sharper picture, but this is worth posting, as I have not seen this particular picture before.

A better Stiletto picture

2007-09-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

I was able to capture a better copy of the photograph of the wooden torpedo boat Stiletto, taken in 1886.

The American gunboat Petrel

2007-09-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

I have this photograph of the American gunboat Petrel, taken in 1890. The Petrel took part in the Battle of Manilla Bay in 1898. The British would have classed the Petrel as a sloop, although the Petrel was really just a very small steel cruiser. The Petrel displaced just 890 tons. Her dimensions were 181ft-4in x 31ft x 11ft-6in. The power was only 1000 IHP. The trial speed was only 11.4 knots. The main armament consisted of 4-6in BL guns. The crew was 8 officers and 130 men. The Petrel was "built by Columbian Iron Works, Baltimore, Md., 1889". Fighting in the Battle of Manilla Bay was probably the only notable feature of the Petrel.

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

2007-08-31T09:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-29T17:38:00.001-07:00

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

2007-08-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-25T05:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-08-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

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.