![]() As the American Civil War drug on however, Britain became an increasingly difficult partner. His agents, John Slidell and James Bulloch, had some success in England obtaining the famous or infamous, depending upon your point of view, CSS Alabama, among others. Accordingly, Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory sent agents to Europe to procure ironclad warships that would splinter the mostly wooden hulled Union Navy. Ocean going ironclads capable of breaking the blockade that was choking the Confederacy were beyond her capability however. These warships had an impact far greater than their numbers. The Confederacy had sufficient industry to cobble together a few ironclads that performed surprisingly well in riverine warfare and in coastal waters. In 1863 the Confederate States of America were being slowly strangled by the Union blockade. Ostensibly they were being constructed by Jean-Lucien Arman, one of France’s most respected shipbuilders, for the Egyptian Navy, but that was a ruse. Her name was Sphynx her sister ship was called Cheops. Only then would she begin to live up to her reputation. Several months of extensive repairs were required to make her truly sea worthy. In reality she was poorly constructed, leaked badly, drew too much water and wallowed dangerously in heavy seas. Steam power, thick armor and modern guns made her a ship to be feared. For longer voyages she was fitted with a bowsprit and two square rigged masts. Unfortunately her bunkers held only 280 tons of coal limiting her ability to steam for prolonged distances. Steam powered with a top speed of 10.8 knots, twin screws coupled with twin rudders made her remarkably maneuverable for a ship of her size and displacement. In keeping with naval tactics at the time, she was also equipped with a ram. A fixed turret aft covered in 4 inches of armor contained two 70 pounder breech loading Armstrong guns. ![]() A casemate forward sheathed in 5.5 inches of iron housed a pivot mounted, breech loading, 300 pounder Armstrong gun. Up to 24 inches of hardwood backed this iron carapace. Her hull was protected by 4.5 inches of armor amidships tapering to 3.5 inches at the bow and stern. She was 194 feet in length, 31.5 feet at the beam, drew 15.75 feet of water and displaced 1560 tons. ![]() Patterned as she was on the revolutionary French Battleship Gloire, on paper she seemed formidable. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |