[Isaac]

Originally Posted by Renaud

She was an all-steel ship, the first one in the world being the French Redoutable, 1876 (instead of wrought iron used until then). And her guns were not muzzle-loaded, such as those of her British competitors, but breech-loaded.
Too much top heavy, and she did not like lateral wind, too, a feature adding some more to this disadvantage. The next ship, designed by the same engineer, was the Charles-Martel, with large cuts into the superstructure, to leave the wind come through.
Unlike the main artillery of the Hoche, where the two 340 mm, front and rear, were set into enclosed turrets, the four 340 mm guns of the Neptune were here all fitted in open barbettes, this to reduce weight. So they could be set a little higher above water level, to prevent a major drawback, concerning the Hoche, the flooding of the foredeck when speed exceeded 13 knots: the enclosed turrets were here so heavy that the front and aft decks that they had to be set too close to water level. Remember the capsizing of the British Captain in 1873, the central turrets being next to water level.
The side 240 mm guns of the Hoche, not the heavy 340, were set into open barbettes to help reducing weight, this is why they could be higher above water than the front and aft 340.

Those are huge guns for a relatively small ship.

As for the CG point, I wonder if in those days they model tested the boat correctly before they built it. And simulated it in heavy seas.


Isaac

Isaac