i know it isn't armored cruiser thursday, but then, strictly speaking this is not an armored cruiser. it is an armored ram. the ram can be seen in the lower portion of the starboard side of the picture. another ship would not have wanted this buried in it's side. the vessel was constructed in Bordeaux, France for the Confederate Navy. Napoleon quashed the sale to the Confederates and the ship was then sold to the Navy of Denmark. upon completion the Danes refused payment so the ram was secretly sold to the Confederacy after all. this was the only ocean going armored warship the Confederate Navy ever possesed. too late however, to be used in the War Between the States. Stonewall sailed from France, to Ferrol, Spain where she faced down two USN wooden warships. it would have been sheer folly for them to fight an armored ship. Stonewall then sailed to Havana, Cuba where she was turned over to the Spanish authorities who turned the ship over to the US. Stonewall was sold to the Japanese in 1867 where she was renamed Kotetsu and later under the Japanese Imperial Government renamed Azuma. Azuma served as an active unit of the IJN until 1888. a long and adventurous career.
No comments:
Post a Comment