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.

The Chilean cruiser Esmeralda (1883)

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

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

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

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