Category Archives: war

Guns of the (Confederate) Grunt: 1863

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The Confederate States of America only existed for less than half a decade, but the arms of the men who served in her defense were some of the most interesting carried by any soldiers on this continent. Why? Because the majority of them came from Europe, although were often of native design. With that, let us look at the arms that a Confederate grunt would typically carry in 1863, 150-years ago, in their fight against a much better equipped Union army.

As the seceding power, the Confederate states during the 1861-65 Civil War were compelled to use a dizzying array or arms to equip their fledgling armed forces. Dozens of US Army forts and installations were located in the Southern states and, in most cases, their inventory of arms made it into Confederate hands. Also each state owned their own militia’s arms, however these often included many ‘obsolete’ guns that could have been found fifty or even a hundred years earlier. With limited ‘standard issue’ arms at their disposal, personal weapons, brought to war by those Johnny Rebs marching off in homespun uniforms, made a huge appearance in battle.

With that in mind, the Confederate government started buying weapons whereever they could

Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com 

confederate soldier with colt 1855 rifle

Sad End to Proud Ship

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In signs that old ships never die, they just sink when left unattended at forgotten piers, the laid up Argentine destroyer ARA “Santísima Trinidad is apparently sunk at her moorings.

barco(ARA “Santísima Trinidad,” (Photo DyN)

The ship was one of the most important vessels in the Argentine navy in 1982 when the Falklands War started. Commissioned just the year before, she carried 92 Buzso Tactico marine commandos and their 21 zodiac rubber raiding boats into Mullet Creek in an attempt to capture the British marines there. By 1989, at just 8 years old, the ship was laid up due to the British embargo on support for her equipment.

Yes, she was British built.

Argentina spent more than $35 million for the Trinidad new, built in Argentina from a British licensed design.

Argentina spent more than $35 million for the Trinidad new, built in Argentina from a British licensed design.

Overall the British built 16 Type 42 Destroyers from 1968-85 including two that went to Argentina as foreign military sales. Two of her sister-ships, the RN flagged HMS Sheffield and HMS Coventry, were lost to Argentine air attacks during the 1982 war. Besides Hercules which is still officially active but in poor condition, her only other active sister is HMS Edinburgh which in 2012 fired the last ever operational Sea Dart missiles after a thirty year career.

It seems that she had suffered flooding that was beyond the capacity of the pumps and the crew were evacuated. The ship took on a 50 degree list and sank at the moorings. Decisions are yet to be made on re-floating the vessel.Santísima Trinidad was in poor condition before she sank; the ship had been cannibalized to keep her sister Hercules operational, as the British refused to sell the Argentines spare parts after the Falklands War.

Warship Wednesday, March 6

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Here at LSOZI, we are going to take out every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1859-1946 time period and will profile a different ship each week. – Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday,  March 6

Here we see the Gazelle class cruiser SMS Ariadne of Kaiser Wilhelm’s Imperial German Navy.PhotoWW1-06clGerAriadne1CHTerryPhillips The Ariadne and her nine ship class were built to scout for a growing battle fleet, and most importantly show the German flag around the world in ports both tropical and frozen.

Just over 344-feet long, smaller today that a typical frigate, they were powered by two triple-expansion engines that generated 8,000shp and gave the ship a 21.5-knot speed. Armed with ten 105mm naval guns and a pair of torpedo tubes, they were capable of sinking anything faster than them when designed and outrunning anything bigger. She was built at AG Weser, Bremen, and commissioned in 1901.

sms_ariadne_under_bridge

Largely obsolete by the time WWI erupted in 1914, the cruiser was placed in patrol work. At the Battle of Heligoland Bight, she found herself facing the five battlecruisers of Admiral Beatty’s force which included the Lion, Queen Mary, Princess Royal, Invincible, and New Zealand. Outgunned to an immense degree, she turned to starboard and attempted to flee. She was hit several times by the British guns, and one hit the forward boiler room. The coal bunker caught fire and five boilers were disabled; her speed fell to 15 knots. Two battlecruisers, HMS Lion and Princess Royal closed in until they were firing their 13.5-inch guns at a distance of 3,000 m (9,800 ft), the point-blank range for guns of that caliber. Ariadne returned fire as best she could but to no effect.

With fires raging forward and aft, Ariadne had her forward magazine flooded so the fires would not reach the propellant charges.

At 14:15, the British ceased fire and allowed Ariadne to limp away. The surviving crew that was able to escape the ship assembled on the forecastle and prepared to abandon the ship. The cruiser Danzig arrived shortly before 15:00 and began to pick up survivors, and Stralsund joined the rescue effort shortly thereafter.

At 16:25, Ariadne capsized, though she remained afloat for some time before she finally sank. In all, nine officers, including her commander, and fifty enlisted men were rescued. Her crew escaped from the flames and stood on the forecastle, singing “Deutschland Über Alles” as they awaited rescue. The rescue effort was hampered by frequent explosions of ammunition stored on Ariadne’s deck, which prevented boats from getting too close to the wrecked cruiser.

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Most of her sisters outlived her, if only just for a few years. Some were sunk during the war, others scrapped just after or given away as reparations. One, SMS Amazone, lived until 1954 as a barracks ship in Bremen until she too went under the torch.

Today the Ariadne is a popular wreck site and is still inspirational to those who breathe salt air.

Specs:
Displacement:     3,017 tonnes (2,969 long tons)
Length:     105.1 m (344.8 ft) overall
Beam:     12.2 m (40.0 ft)
Draft:     4.93 m (16.2 ft)
Installed power:     8,000 ihp (6,000 kW)
Propulsion:     2 shafts, 2 Triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:     21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Range:     3,560 nmi (6,590 km; 4,100 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:     14 officers
243 enlisted men
Armament:
10 × 10.5 cm SK L/40 guns
2 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:     Deck: 20 to 25 mm (0.79 to 0.98 in)

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO)

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval lore http://www.warship.org/naval.htm

The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.

Nearing their 50th Anniversary, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.

I’m a member, so should you be!

Baddest Spud Gun Ever

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Ever built and shot a PVC-tube based potato gun in your backyard? Even if you personally
haven’t, odds are you have seen it done. Now imagine that the Nazis are coming and you and your buddies are being mobilized to fight them off, “on the beaches, on the landing grounds, on the fields and in the streets.” The thing is, the Nazis have tanks and lots of them. And all you have is a hopped up spud gun that fires a Molotov cocktail to even the odds.

They called it the Northover Projector.

Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com

northover projector

Warship Wednesday, Febuary 27

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Here at LSOZI, we are going to take out every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1859-1946 time period and will profile a different ship each week.

– Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday,  February 27

4499962866_6e7ab1a004_z
Here we see the Nelson class battleship HMS Rodney (pennant number 29) of His Majesty’s Royal Navy in 1942. The Rodney and her sister ship Nelson were one of the more unique in modern dreadnought designs. They were constructed with all of their main guns placed well forward. This isn’t for tactical reasons, but more because of compromises put into effect after the 1922 Washington Naval Treaties, which limited new battleships to 35,000-tons.

1971_Cadillac_Coupe_Deville

To keep inside this arbitrary figure, the Nelsons were built kind of like the 1971 Coupe DeVille– all hood and no trunk.

1445821

This kept the magazines streamlined over a smaller armored belt. Also the Nelsons were built with a small power plant to save weight. It generated just 45,000 shp, or about the same amount of power as a Oliver Hazard Perry class FFG today. This kept the 38,000-ton (whoops, sorry about that weight gain!) warship down to just 23-ish knots at best top speed. Never the less, with nine 16-inch Mk I guns and 12-14inches of steel armor belt over the good parts, the Nelson’s were the best and brightest ships afloat from 1927 when she was commissioned until the HMS  King George V and  USS North Carolina were built in 1940/41.

rodney07

During WWII it was Rodney who dealt the massive German battleship SMS Bismarck most of the damage that sent that leviathan to the deep. In the surface action of 27 May 1941, Rodney fired an amazing 340 16″ shells and 716 smaller six inchers at Hitler’s favorite new bath toy. She also ripped off a dozen torpedoes at the Kreigmarine’s finest with no less than one striking her– possibly one of the only times in history a battleship torpedoed another.

nelson06

Following that she spent the rest of the war with Force H in Malta, and escorting convoys across the Atlantic before dropping it like it was hot on German shore positions on Normandy Beach at D-Day.

And the Navy goes on (World War II) Invasion of Sicily poster British RN Rodney Nelson

“And the Navy goes on” (World War II) Invasion of Sicily poster, showing the fleet spearheaded by Rodney or Nelson

She finished the war as a cripple, with her machinery too worn for fleet operations. Even unable to leave port she was still the flagship of the Home Fleet in Scapa Flow. A broken and battered veteran, she was quietly scrapped in 1948.

HMS Rodney profile drawing

Specs:

Displacement:     33,730 long tons (34,270 t) standard
37,430 long tons (38,030 t) standard (full load)
Length:     710 ft 2 in (216.5 m) overall
Beam:     106 ft (32.3 m)
Draught:     31 ft (9.44880000 m)
Installed power:     45,000 shp (34,000 kW)
8 Admiralty 3-drum oil-fired boilers
Propulsion:     2 shafts
2 Brown-Curtis geared turbine sets
Speed:     23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range:     14,500 nmi (26,900 km; 16,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:     1,314 (1,361 as flagship)
Armament:     3 × 3 – 16-inch Mk I guns
6 × 2 – 6-inch Mk XXII guns
6 × 1 – QF 4.7-inch Mk VIII anti-aircraft guns
8 × 1 – 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns
2 × 1 – 24.5-inch (620 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:     Belt: 13–14 in (330–356 mm)
Deck: 4.375–6.375 in (111–162 mm)
Barbettes: 12–15 in (305–381 mm)
Gun turrets: 9–16 in (229–406 mm)
Conning tower: 10–14 in (254–356 mm)
Bulkheads: 4–12 in (102–305 mm)

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO)

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval lore http://www.warship.org/naval.htm

The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.

Nearing their 50th Anniversary, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.

I’m a member, so should you be!

Warship Wednesday, February 20 2013

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Here at LSOZI, we are going to take out every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1859-1946 time period and will profile a different ship each week. – Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Second battleship brigade in Helsingfors, winter 1914-1915
Here we see the Second Battleship Squadron of the Imperial Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet with the ice and snow-clad Russian battleship Slava (Russian: Слава “Glory“) at anchor forefront in Helsinki during WWI. The Slava was one of the most famous and unlikely of Russian warships.

slava 1910
The last commissioned of a class of five Borodino-class battleships, her four sister ships: Borodino, Imperator Alexander III, Knyaz Suvorov, and Oryol, were all either sunk or captured at the Battle of Tsushima, 27 May 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War. Slava herself would more than likely have shared the same fate if it wasn’t for the fact that she was still under construction until October of that year.

The Slava at anchor off an unanmed inlet on the Finnish coast (Finalnd was part of Tsarist Russia at the time) guarding the Tsar and his yacht while the monarch, his family, and his suite relax ashore

The Slava at anchor off an unnamed inlet on the Finnish coast (Finland was part of Tsarist Russia at the time) guarding the Tsar and his yacht while the monarch, his family, and his suite relax ashore

As the largest and best-equipped battleship left in the Tsar’s Baltic Fleet until the Gangut class dreadnoughts were built, the Slava became a default flagship for the decade of service before WWI. During the war, she was the head of the Second Battleship Squadron (the Ganguts were the First) of three other pre-dreadnoughts. Slava, with just a pair of gunboats as escorts, sailed into the Gulf of Riga in 1915 to challenge the Germans there.

She exchanged fire first with the German pre-dreadnoughts Elsass and Braunschweig, then the Nassau and Posen a week later. Slava flooded her side compartments to give herself a 3° list which increased her maximum range to about 18,000 yards. For two years, Slava slugged it out with German ships and engaged the Kaisers troops onshore. Finally in 1917 the large modern dreadnoughts König and Kronprinz sailed into the Gulf and exchanged heavy fire with the old obsolete Slava in what became known as the Battle of Moon Sound.

After the Battle of Moon Sound

After the Battle of Moon Sound

Her 12-inch magazine exploded just after her crew scuttled her and the Russians fired six torpedoes into her hull for good measure. Her remains were salvaged in 1935.

In the end, her four sisters were sunk before she was born, but she successfully fought off four German battleships of the same vintage on her home territory before the Kaiser had to send a pair of his most modern sluggers to overwhelm her.

Glory indeed.

slava
Specs:
Displacement:     14,415 long tons (14,646 t) normally
15,275 long tons (15,520 t) full load
Length:     397 ft 3 in (121.1 m)
Beam:     76 ft 1 in (23.2 m)
Draft:     29 ft 2 in (8.9 m)
Installed power:     15,800 ihp (11,800 kW)
Propulsion:     2 shafts, 2 vertical triple-expansion steam engines
20 water-tube boilers
Speed:     17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph)
Range:     2,590 nautical miles (4,800 km; 2,980 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:     846
Armament:     2 × 2 – 12-inch (305 mm) guns
6 × 2 – 6-inch (152 mm) guns
20 × 1 – 75-millimeter (3.0 in) guns
4 × 1 – 47-millimeter (1.9 in) saluting guns
4 × 1 – 15-inch (381 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor:     Krupp armor
Waterline belt: 145–194 mm (5.7–7.6 in)
Deck: 25.4–51 mm (1–2 in)
Turrets: 254 mm (10.0 in)
Barbettes: 178–229 mm (7–9 in)
Conning tower: 203 mm (8.0 in)

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO)

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval lore http://www.warship.org/naval.htm

The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.

Nearing their 50th Anniversary, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.

I’m a member, so should you be!

Beretta 93R: Another cool handgun you can’t own

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Since the handgun was invented, firearms visionaries have often muttered the motto of smaller,  faster, and more effective. This has led over the centuries to handguns that are increasingly better made, hold more bullets, and can deliver said projectiles in a faster rate of fire in a smaller package. However, one of the evolutionary branches that have been stunted by regulation (at least in this country) is in the handheld machine pistol. Moreover, no article mentioning a machine pistol in the opening paragraph can neglect the Beretta 93R.

Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com

 

Warship Wednesday, Febuary 13

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Here at LSOZI, we are going to take out every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1859-1946 time period and will profile a different ship each week.

– Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday,  February 13

This week we are taking a brief look at US K-Class Blimps and their occasional teaming with Escort Carriers during and just after WWII.

On December 6, 1938 a prototype Goodyear blimp was sent to the US Navy’s lighter than air division for testing. This prototype proved so succesful that in October 1940 they ordered six more for use in escort and patrol work offshore. When the US entered WWII, this soon turned into a total of 134 of these 251-foot long helium nonrigid airships delivered by 1955.

The blimps were the P-3 Orion of their day and most of the equipment you are used to on these  sub-busters were present on these airships. They were equipped with the ASG-type radar, that had a detection range of 90 mi (140 km), sonobuoys, and magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment. The K-ships carried four Mk-47 depth bombs, two in a bomb bay and two externally, and were equipped with a .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine gun in the forward part of the control car. An aircrew of 10 normally operated the K-ships, consisting of a command pilot, two co-pilots, a navigator/pilot, airship rigger, an ordnanceman, two mechanics, and two radiomen.

The U.S. Navy airship K-69 launches from the deck of the escort carrier USS Mindoro (CVE 120), April 26, 1950

The U.S. Navy airship K-69 launches from the deck of the escort carrier USS Mindoro (CVE 120), April 26, 1950

After 1942 these airships increasingly started to patrol in concert with small converted merchant hulled ships, dubbed escort carriers. These roughly 10,000-ton ships carried about two dozen aircraft and, while not fast enough for operations with  the fleet, they were perfect for escorting merchant convoys. By pairing up blimps and small carriers, the blimps could be on constant search while the carrier kept depth-charge armed aircraft on alert to chase after sightings. The blimps were the eyes and the carrier planes the lightning of the gods called from above.

Here we see an unidentified K-class blimp approaching an equally unidentified escort carrier stern off the US East Coast in October 1944.

Here we see an unidentified K-class blimp approaching an equally unidentified escort carrier stern off the US East Coast in October 1944.

...and the landing.

…and the landing.

It’s unknown how many of these touch-and-gos happened, and if the Navy ever tried to refuel or rearm blimps from the decks of these jeep carriers, but its a possibility. More than a hundred ‘Jeep carriers’ were made during the war but by the late 1950s both the blimps and these hardy little flattops were discarded, replaced by new super carriers and converted Essex class fast carriers. It is known that both during the War and in the 1950s that navy blimps did in fact refuel from large fleet carriers at sea. In 1942 the Doolittle Raid probably wouldn’t have happened if Navy patrol blimp L-6 hadn’t delivered 2 boxes of navigators domes for B-25 to the Hornet while she was several hundred miles offshore.

In a future naval war with a littoral heavily contested by submarines, its possible that this concept could be dusted off once more. There are still blimps, the US still has the world’s largest supply of helium, and merchant ships could readily be converted with decking to carry expeditionary detachments of SH-60 helicopters for local ASW missions.

Stranger things have happened.

By the way, if you know the blimp/carrier involved in the 1944 pictures, let me know. Thanks!

(Specs of the K-class blimp)
Crew: 9-10
Length: 251 ft 8 in (76.73 m)
Diameter: 57 ft 10 in (17.63 m)
Volume: 425,000 ft3 (12,043 m3)
Useful lift: 7,770 lb (3,524 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-2 radials, 425 hp (317 kW) each
Maximum speed: 78 mph (125 km/h)
Cruise speed: 58 mph (93 km/h)
Range: 2,205 miles (3,537 km)
Endurance: 38 hours  12 min
Armament

1 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
4 × 350 lb (160 kg) Mark 47 depth charges

Specs of the Casablanca-class escort carrier (one of the most common in US service)

Displacement:     7,800 tons
10,902 tons full load
Length:     512.3 ft (156.1 m) overall
Beam:     65.2 ft (19.9 m)
Extreme width: 108.1 ft (32.9 m)
Draft:     22.5 ft (6.9 m)
Propulsion:     Two (2) five-cylinder reciprocating Skinner Uniflow steam engines
Four (4) × 285 psi (1,970 kPa) boilers, 2 shafts, 9,000 shp (6,700 kW)
Speed:     20 knots (37 km/h)
Range:     10,240nm at 15 knots
Complement:     Ship’s Company: 860 officers and men
Embarked Squadron: 50 to 56 officers and men
Total Complement: 910 to 916 officers and men.
Armament:

1 × 5 inch/38 caliber gun
16 × 40 mm Bofors guns (8×2)
20 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons

Aircraft carried: 28

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO)

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval lore http://www.warship.org/naval.htm

The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.

Nearing their 50th Anniversary, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.

I’m a member, so should you be!

The Colt Aircrewman Special: The all aluminum .38 caliber

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In the early 1950s, the newly born US Air Force needed a brave new handgun for its atomic
cowboys. The main thing, for better or worse, was that the gun be lightweight. The solution, in classic 1950s style, was aluminum Aircrewman revolver, which, much like a lot of 1950s style was both a success and a failure at the same time.

In World War 1, pilots and aircrew often found themselves lost, crashed, or shot down in areas that were less than friendly. This led to those daring young aviators to begin carrying handguns and in some cases rifles with them for those unexpected stops. Throughout World War 2, US Army Air corps, personnel and glider pilots often carried full sized .38 revolvers of various manufacturers supported by the occasional M-1 carbine.

In 1947, the US Air Force was carved off from the Army and the new brass realized the need for a modern space age handgun for the occasional aircrew emergency, survival situations, and nuclear weapon’s security breach. In a time where every ounce of weight was sliced from huge bombers like the Convair B-36 “Peacemaker” to allow them to carry atomic weapons to the Soviet Union, the watch word was ‘lightweight.’

Colt answered this call for a small and effective, but super lightweight handgun, with a modified version of their then-new Cobra line of snub-nosed revolvers.  It was named the Aircrewman.

Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com

colt aircrewman at Springfield Armory museum

Warship Wednesday, February 6

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Here at LSOZI, we are going to take out every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1859-1946 time period and will profile a different ship each week.

– Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday,  February 6

ussconn_trials_color

Here you see is the mighty new battleship USS Connecticut (BB-18) with ‘a bone in her teeth’ charging forward at absolute full speed of 18+ knots on acceptance trials in 1906. A century ago she was the best and most intensely beautiful warship in the US Navy.  She was such an important ship that a crowd of some 30,000 civilians as well as most of the entire active battle fleet of the Atlantic Squadron was present for the event. As a 15,000-ton ship with 11-inches of armor belt and carrying 4 12-inch guns, she was a hoss.

Of course the commissioning of the all big gun HMS Dreadnought the same year, with her 10 12-inch guns, 21-knot top speed, and upto 12-inches of armor in a 21,000-ton package, the Connecticut was already obsolete.

The Great White Fleet was impressive during the day.....

The Great White Fleet was impressive during the day…..

....And even more so at night. And Connecticut was there for every mile.

….And even more so at night. And Connecticut was there for every mile.

Nevertheless the brand new ship became the flagship of an impressive American fleet of 16 battleships in 1907. Dubbed the Great White Fleet, this impressive armada sailed 46,729 nmi around the world in 15 months. They made twenty port calls on six continents and flexed US Naval power to the world while Teddy Roosevelt smiled for the cameras. On each of those port calls, Connecticut led the fleet in, and then led the fleet away.

After 1909, the ornate bow shields, scrollwork, and white paint was removed and a sleek haze gray warship was left in its place

After 1909, the ornate bow shields, scrollwork, and white paint was removed and a sleek haze gray warship was left in its place

She remained a flagship for most of her service with the Navy. Painted haze gray in 1909, she intervened with quiet force in Mexican waters and then carried Smedly Butler and 400 marines to the  US occupation of Haiti in 1915. During WWI, outclassed by the newer battleships, she staid inshore in protected waters and was used as a training ship carrying the flag of Admiral Herbert O. Dunn of the Fifth Battleship Division.

After the war, by then considered just a large cruiser, she was used for training until scrapped in 1923 to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty at the ripe old age of 19 years old.

Specs
Displacement:     16,000 long tons (16,300 t)
Length:     456 ft 4 in (139.09 m)
Beam:     76 ft 10 in (23.42 m)
Draft:     24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Propulsion:

12 × 250 psi (1,700 kPa)[6] Babcock & Wilcox boilers;
8 Ship Service generators, reciprocating, at 100 kW each

Speed:     18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h)
Complement:     827 officers and men
Armament:

4 × 12 in (305 mm)/40 or 45 cal guns (2 × 2)
8 × 8 in (203 mm)/45 cal guns (4 × 2)
12 × 7 in (178 mm)/45 cal guns
20 × 3 in (76.2 mm)/50 cal guns
12 × 3-pdr guns
6 × 1-pdr automatic guns
2 × 1-pdr semiautomatic guns
2 × .30 in (7.6 mm) machine guns
4 × 21 in (533 mm) submerged torpedo tubes

Armor:

Belt: 11 to 9 in (279 to 229 mm), tapering to 7 in (178 mm), 5 in (127 mm) and 4 in (102 mm) at bow and stern
Lower casemate: 9 in (229 mm)[
Upper casemate: 7 in (178 mm), with 1.5 to 2.5 in (38 to 63 mm) transverse splinter bulkheads between 7 in (178 mm) guns
Bulkheads: 6 in (152 mm)
Barbettes: 10 in (254 mm)
Turrets: 11 in (279 mm)/2.5 in (64 mm)/9 in (229 mm) in for 12 in (305 mm) guns, 6.5 in (165 mm)/2 in (51 mm)/6 in (152 mm) for 8 in (203 mm) guns
7 in (178 mm) around 7 in (178 mm) guns, 2 in (51 mm) around 3 in (76 mm) guns
Conning tower: 9 in (229 mm)/2 in (51 mm)

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO)

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval lore http://www.warship.org/naval.htm

The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.

Nearing their 50th Anniversary, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.

I’m a member, so should you be!

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