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Old 12-17-2010, 10:26 AM
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ct ertz ct ertz is offline
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Thanks guys.
As to the paddle wheels, yep a week spot. However, the natural redundancy of the wheel makes it necessary to hit it many times to cause enough damage to stop it from working. The exception is the shaft. There were many Union and Confederate sidewheelers that had many shells bust up the paddles but were still able to maneuver. Should one side's efficiency be cut down by missing paddles, the pilot could reduce rotation to the working wheel and use the rudder to help compensate, and keep the ship in control. At least one Confederate wooden gun boat escaped Union forces by doing just that, even though over half of the paddles were broken on the port wheel.

My conservancy would be overall strength, as these, if used, were add on's after the fact. I do not think much armor could have been added without the whole thing drooping. The projected speed was to be around eight knots, another weekness in relation to the wheels. Any damage would certainly slow the ship down, making more damage likely. But it was still better then being defenseless. And because most of the Union Navy was wood, any Confederate ironclad posed a threat just by existing. The CSS Missouri tied up a large number of Union warships, even though the ironclad never fired a shot!
CT
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