Ironclad CS Ironclads

[on again]

Among problems on CS Ironclads difficult to stir;; poor engines; too heavy a draft because of their weight; thin railroad iron for armour; green wood for ships timber; also using carpenders instead of shipwrights who could not alwys be available becuase they were subjct to miltiary drill; little air circulation...what other prblems did cs enginners have to contend with?

 

[rebelatsea]

I could write an enormous essay here, but easier to recommend you to the many threads in the naval forum and to my book "The Southern Iron Navy" available as a downloadable pdf from Wargames Vault.com.

Apologies for the loud blast on my own trumpet !

 

[Old Soldier]

Why? Because they were not prepared for war - as we have been arguing on other threads. Why such makeshift armor? Because that was all they had. One of them was a steam screw frigate scuttled and burned to the waterline - the USS Merrimack - which became CSS Virginia. And that was one of the better ones! In others the engines were installed to a much lower profile to match the very low upper deck. It was a complete botch-job, but it worked.