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Charles Martel-class Ironclad
The ''Charles Martel'' class was a planned class of ironclad barbette ships of the French Navy. The class comprised two ships, ''Charles Martel'' and ''Brennus'', and represented an incremental improvement over the preceding , being larger, but carrying the same main battery of four guns in single mounts. Details of the ships' construction are unclear and contradictory, with various sources reporting that both ships were laid down, or that only ''Brennus'' was begun; neither ship was launched before they were cancelled in 1884 or 1886. Some sources indicate that ''Brennus'' was redesigned and completed as France's first pre-dreadnought battleship, , but most other historians dispute the idea. Background After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, the French Navy embarked on a construction program to strengthen the fleet in 1872 and to replace older vessels that had been built in the 1860s. By the early 1870s, the Italian (Royal Navy) had begun its own expansion program ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marceau-class Ironclad
The ''Marceau'' class was group of three of ironclad warship, ironclad barbette ships of the French Navy built in the 1880s and early 1890s. The class comprised , the lead ship, , and ; a fourth member of the class, was substantially re-designed after defects in the original plans for the class could not be rectified. The ships were based on the earlier of barbette ships, but with smaller guns: four weapons compared to the three guns of the earlier vessels. They introduced the Lozenge (shape), lozenge arrangement for their main battery that became common for many French capital ships built in the 1890s. Continuous tinkering with the ''Marceau'' design during their long construction produced badly flawed vessels that were superseded by more powerful pre-dreadnought battleships almost immediately after the French ship commissioning, commissioned them in the early 1890s. The three ships served in the Mediterranean Squadron (France), Mediterranean Squadron in the 1890s and saw l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belt Armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and aircraft carriers. The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating to the heart of a warship. When struck by an artillery shell or underwater torpedo, the belt armor either absorbs the impact and explosion with its sheer thickness and strength, or else uses sloping to redirect the projectile and its blast downwards. Typically, the main armor belt covers the warship from its main deck down to some distance below the waterline. If, instead of forming the outer hull, the armor belt is built inside the hull, it is installed at a sloped angle for improved protection, as described above. The torpedo bulkhead Frequently, the main belt's armor plates were supplemented with a torpedo bulkhead spaced several meters behind the main belt, designed to maintain the ship's watertight integrity even if the main belt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship may be loaded for specific water types and temperatures in order to safely maintain buoyancy, particularly with regard to the hazard of waves that may arise. Varying water temperatures will affect a ship's draft, because warm water is less dense than cold water, providing less buoyancy. In the same way, fresh water is less dense than salinated or seawater with a similar lessening effect upon buoyancy. For vessels with displacement hulls, the hull speed is defined by, among other things, the waterline length. In a sailing boat, the waterline length can change significantly as the boat heels, and can dynamically affect the speed of the boat. A waterline can also refer to any l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quick-firing Gun
A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s and had a marked impact on war both on land and at sea. Characteristics The characteristics of a quick-firing artillery piece are: *A breech-loading weapon with a breech mechanism that allows rapid reloading *Single-part cased ammunition, i.e. a cartridge containing both shell and propellant *Recoil buffers to limit recoil, so the barrel can quickly return to the same position after firing *The use of smokeless powder – nitrocellulose, nitroglycerine, or cordite – which create far less smoke than gunpowder, meaning that gun crews could still see their target These innovations, taken together, meant that the quick-firer could fire aimed shells much more rapidly than an older weapon. For instance, an Elswick Ordnance Company 4.7-inch gun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Ram
A ram was a weapon fitted to varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between 2 and 4 meters (6–12 ft) in length. This would be driven into the hull of an enemy ship to puncture, sink or disable it. Ancient rams It was possibly developed in late Bronze age Egypt, but it only became widely used in later Iron age Mediterranean galleys. The ram was a naval weapon in the Greek/Roman antiquity and was used in such naval battles as Salamis and Actium. Naval warfare in the Mediterranean rarely used sails, and the use of rams specifically required oarsmen rather than sails in order to maneuver with accuracy and speed, and particularly to reverse the movement of a ramming ship to disentangle it from its sinking victim, lest it be pulled down when its victim sank. The Athenians were especially known for their ''diekplous'' and '' periplous'' tactics that disabled enemy ships ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amidships
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical derives from the Latin ''nauticus'', from Greek ''nautikos'', from ''nautēs'': "sailor", from ''naus'': "ship". Further information on nautical terminology may also be found at Nautical metaphors in English, and additional military terms are listed in the Multiservice tactical brevity code article. Terms used in other fields associated with bodies of water can be found at Glossary of fishery terms, Glossary of underwater diving terminology, Glossary of rowing terms, and Glossary of meteorology. This glossary is split into two articles: * terms starting with the letters A to L are at Glossary of nautical terms (A-L) * terms starting with the letters M to Z are at Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z). __N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wing Turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in some degree of azimuth and elevation (cone of fire). Description Rotating gun turrets protect the weapon and its crew as they rotate. When this meaning of the word "turret" started being used at the beginning of the 1860s, turrets were normally cylindrical. Barbettes were an alternative to turrets; with a barbette the protection was fixed, and the weapon and crew were on a rotating platform inside the barbette. In the 1890s, armoured hoods (also known as "gun houses") were added to barbettes; these rotated with the platform (hence the term "hooded barbette"). By the early 20th Century, these hoods were known as turrets. Modern warships have gun-m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lozenge (shape)
A lozenge ( ; symbol: ), often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of ''lozenge'' is not strictly fixed, and the word is sometimes used simply as a synonym () for ''rhombus''. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with two acute and two obtuse angles, especially one with acute angles of 45°. The lozenge shape is often used in parquetry (with acute angles that are 360°/''n'' with ''n'' being an integer higher than 4, because they can be used to form a set of tiles of the same shape and size, reusable to cover the plane in various geometric patterns as the result of a tiling process called tessellation in mathematics) and as decoration on ceramics, silverware and textiles. It also features in heraldry and playing cards. Symbolism The lozenge motif dates from the Neolithic and Paleolithic period in Eastern Europe and represents a sown field and female fertility. The ancient lozenge pattern often shows up in Diamond vault ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Displacement (ship)
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weight. Traditionally, various measurement rules have been in use, giving various measures in long tons. Today, tonnes are more commonly used. Ship displacement varies by a vessel's degree of load, from its empty weight as designed (known as "lightweight tonnage") to its maximum load. Numerous specific terms are used to describe varying levels of load and trim, detailed below. Ship displacement should not be confused with measurements of volume or capacity typically used for commercial vessels and measured by tonnage: net tonnage and gross tonnage. Calculation The process of determining a vessel's displacement begins with measuring its draft.George, 2005. p.5. This is accomplished by means of its "draft marks" (or "load lines"). A mer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centerline (nautical)
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical derives from the Latin ''nauticus'', from Greek ''nautikos'', from ''nautēs'': "sailor", from ''naus'': "ship". Further information on nautical terminology may also be found at Nautical metaphors in English, and additional military terms are listed in the Multiservice tactical brevity code article. Terms used in other fields associated with bodies of water can be found at Glossary of fishery terms, Glossary of underwater diving terminology, Glossary of rowing terms, and Glossary of meteorology. This glossary is split into two articles: * terms starting with the letters A to L are at Glossary of nautical terms (A-L) * terms starting with the letters M to Z are at Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z). __NOTO ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbette
Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection that eventually led to the pre-dreadnought. The name ''barbette'' ultimately comes from fortification - it originally meant a raised platform or mound, as in the French phrase ''en barbette'', which refers to the practice of firing a cannon over a parapet rather than through an embrasure in a fortification's casemate. The former gives better angles of fire but less protection than the latter. The disappearing gun was a variation on the barbette gun; it consisted of a heavy gun on a carriage that would retract behind a parapet or into a gunpit for reloading. Barbettes were primarily used in coastal defences, but saw some use in a handful of warships, and some inland fortifications. The term is also used for certain aircraft gun mounts. Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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