Meanwhile the idea of mounting guns in armored and revolving turrets
had been developing. Ships with such features were often termed "monitors",
after the USS Monitor of 1862. Ships with flat decks, low freeboards and
revolving turrets proved to be effective as coastal harbor guards, but could
not survive the heavy seas of the open ocean. A key drawback to this design was
that the muzzle-loading guns then in use had to be withdrawn into the turret
for reloading. This necessitated very large turrets that were not only
cumbersome (several monitors capsized in only moderate seas) but also offered
tempting targets to an enemy ship. Attempts to blend turrets with ocean-going
hulls produced such freaks as the HMS Agamemnon,
which had a turret, placed midway along each side either side of the funnel and
superstructure.
from "The Historical Atlas of the World at War" by Rupert Matthews
Get your copy HERE
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Historical-Atlas-World-War/dp/0785827455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405578969&sr=1-1&keywords=rupert+matthews+atlas+war
No comments:
Post a Comment