for armoured ship Thursday this week we have the Royal Navy armoured turret ship HMS Captain. Captain was an early turret ship design which was faulty in the extreme as the ship was lost after only a few months service. she turned turtle in a storm off Cape Finisterre in 1870. she was not approved or built by the navy but in a private yard. she was designed with too little freeboard which was lessened more by her being overweight. she was also overmasted for her draft and beam. she was carrying very little sail at the time of her loss which even so was too much and the wind and waves rolled her right over. all but 18 of her crew and officers perished in the catastrophe. Captain Cowper Coles who designed the turrets and helped design the ship was aboard at the time and he too was lost. even though unsuccessful herself her loss led to turret ships being better designed in future. the first is a model of Captain which allows us to see the entirety of her hull shape. the next picture is a colour print of Captain at dockside. third is Captain in drydock showing the shape of the stern and her twin screws. and last is a picture of the ship anchored offshore.
No comments:
Post a Comment