Victoria, 1887, British Battleship, 1:250

[Don Boose]

Glad to see the screen captures. Fascinating to see the ship take shape . . . in Bristol fashion.

Don

[Golden Bear]

One more SC. I'm about to design the internal structure and start laying things out. This has been fun so far. The second picture shows the working version, unrendered.


Carl

[Barry]

Interesting insight Carl really like the details on the main gun position

[Golden Bear]

Funny thing... that big louvered thing on top of the turret looks to me as if it actually was! It appears that the guns were lowered through the opening and then it was left open as ventilation. There is a photo showing it covered up during wet sailing. There is another inside the turret with sun shining through. THis was in the days progressing from broadside wooden ships to large shell throwing steel guns. Perhaps the effects of tplunging fire were not appreciated yet.


Carl

[Don Boose]

Fascinating graphics, Carl.

I'm learning new things about this ship that I had never figured out from the line drawings and descriptions in my well-loved and ancient copy of Oscar Parks's book.

Don

[Golden Bear]

This picture is for fun only. Don't let anybody get their hopes up that I've converted to full hull! Here is a depiction of the armored ram... de rigeur after the Battle of Lissa but surely proved to be more harm to ones own ships that the enemy's. ...put on guns that can fire 10s of miles and can penetrate any armor on any ship... then put on rams for close combat. Sigh.

I hope that you like it Don. I just post these for the few afficianados out there.


Carl

[birder]

Very nice, GB, unusual vessel, but uniquely suited for the designed purpose I'm sure, and pretty digital artwork

[NOBI]

I really enjoy watching your progress, That make me want to try on some ship...thank you very much

[dansls1]

Looks cool - the hull looks nice even if just for show . I assume the ram is more stemming from the lack of technology to see ships at the 10's of miles distances (in certain conditions) rather than some oversight of the ability of the guns.

[Don Boose]

Carl -- I like the full hull graphic, Carl. It gives a good impression of the overall appearance of the ship.

Dan -- Carl knows much more about this than I do, but I have always understood that the persistence of the ram to the end of the 19th century and beyond was due to its successful use at the Battle of Lissa in 1866 between the Austrians and the Italians.

There was a lot of faith in ramming as a tactic during the transitional period from wood and oars to iron, steel and steam. They were even used on the Western Rivers during the Civil War. Perhaps Carl will indulge my adding a brief excerpt from my forthcoming book, Over the Beach: Army Amphibious Operations in the Korean War, which includes a long chapter on the history of Army amphibious operations. This deals with the Civil War Army Ram Fleet:

“The capture of New Orleans by forces of General Butler and Navy Flag Officer David G. Farragut in April 1862 and joint Army and Navy operations on the western rivers in 1862 and 1863 were vital contributions to Union victory. The Army operated transports on the western rivers throughout the war and, until they were turned over to the Navy in October 1862, maintained a small force of gunboats.[1] The western theater also saw the operation of a unique Army amphibious force that was the brainchild of Lieutenant Colonel Alfred W. Ellet, a self-taught engineer, who had long argued for the value of swift, unarmored vessels with reinforced rams that could destroy enemy ships. In March 1862, Ellet persuaded Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to allow him to outfit a flotilla of seven paddle steamers with armored prows, wooden bulwarks to protect the machinery and boilers, and hoses that could spray scalding steam on the enemy in battle. Beginning in April 1862, Ellet’s Army Ram Fleet operated on the Mississippi directly under Secretary Stanton’s control and independent of either Army or Navy commanders.

“In August 1862, Ellet proposed the formation of an amphibious riverine force to deal with Confederate guerrilla bands that were harassing and interdicting Federal lines of communication. The newly-arrived Navy commander, Acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter, saw merit in the idea. Ellet was promoted to brigadier general and in October 1862 was given command of the Mississippi Marine Brigade, consisting of one battalion each of infantry and cavalry and an artillery battery. Although officially designed a “Marine Brigade,” the roughly 1,500 troops were all Army volunteers, some of them recruited from among convalescents at Saint Louis hospitals. The brigade’s transports were converted river packets fitted with ramps so that the troops and horses could debark quickly. Operating in conjunction with the Army Ram Fleet, initially under Porter’s control and later under General Ulysses S. Grant, the brigade conducted operations with mixed results until 1864 and was disbanded in January 1865.[2]

1. These operations are described in Gibson, Assault and Logistics, and Reed, Combined Operations.
2. Chester G. Hearn, Ellet’s Brigade: The Strangest Outfit of All, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000.