CSS Albemarle

[OwenRichards]

Two questions:

1. Was the Albemarle a twin of the Neuse, or were there any major differences?

2. What was her bottom covered in? Copper or tar?

That floating model looks impressive, but aren't her proportions - particularly the casemate - out of whack?

 

[rebelatsea]

Two questions:

1. Was the Albemarle a twin of the Neuse, or were there any major differences?

2. What was her bottom covered in? Copper or tar?

That floating model looks impressive, but aren't her proportions - particularly the casemate - out of whack?

There were three "Albemarles" begun, only one fully completed. So far as I know the Tarboro vessel " CSS Pamlico" and CSS Albemarle would have been twins, CSS Neuse had the quarter ports which the original plan called for but the fist two didn't have. She also never received her deck armour ,only the casemate was ironed as she was dreadfully overweight.
I have always thought the hulls were tarred.
Wasn't that replica built on a small boat?

 

[OwenRichards]

Cheers!

Would the deck iron be the same as the casemate iron - long thin strips - or would it be more rectangular plates?

Would the top of the casemate be armoured?

 

[rebelatsea]

Cheers!

Would the deck iron be the same as the casemate iron - long thin strips - or would it be more rectangular plates?

Would the top of the casemate be armoured?

The deck armour was usually 2" which suggests it was either 2 layers of boiler plate or 1 layer of iron strips. Albemarle's casemate top was a grating, I think made up with iron bars.

 

[AndyHall]

@OwenEgan , can I build along, too?

 

[OwenRichards]

Please do!

 

[AndyHall]

How did you handle the lower hull shape, and the cutaway to clear the screws?

The drawing I have (from Porter) doesn't show lines, and most others indicate a straight line from the knuckle to the chine -- but that won't work back around the screws.

Porter's drawing -- see the "large" version:

https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/4496

 

[1stMS-Arty]

How did you handle the lower hull shape, and the cutaway to clear the screws?

The drawing I have (from Porter) doesn't show lines, and most others indicate a straight line from the knuckle to the chine -- but that won't work back around the screws.

View attachment 136798

Porter's drawing -- see the "large" version:

https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/4496

wow that is cool seeing those original designs.............

 

[AndyHall]

I hadn't realized until I started drawing it out to scale how small and cramped the interior of that casemate must've been. We think of these vessels as being enormous beheamoths, but that's frequently not the case.

 

[Kazziga]

Speaking of digital Albemarle, you should check this: https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/css-albemarle-ironclad-ram/117419/

 

[OwenRichards]

Love the 'Dalek for scale'! I'm still working on the hull. I'll post an image soon. I've seen a cut-away model of the casemate and I have no idea how they operated two cannon in there. No idea at all.

Seriously... that can't be to scale? What about recoil?

 

[OwenRichards]

I've actually found some drawings of the Neuse that does have lines in the State Archives of North Carolina.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/north-carolina-state-archives/4274247304
https://www.flickr.com/photos/north-carolina-state-archives/4273502777

Also, there are some good shots of the rear of the full scale reproduction of the Neuse.
http://picssr.com/tags/cssneuse

 

[OwenRichards]

This is how I've solved the hull problem at the moment. That is based on the lined drawings I found of the Neuse and the photos of the 1:1 repro. I'm going to change my propellers as I don't like them.

I'm not entirely happy with it at the moment. I'm going to go in tomorrow and get some figures in there and some cannons and see what sizes things are.

 

[AndyHall]

Love the 'Dalek for scale'! I'm still working on the hull. I'll post an image soon. I've seen a cut-away model of the casemate and I have no idea how they operated two cannon in there. No idea at all.
View attachment 136933

Seriously... that can't be to scale? What about recoil?

I think that model is essentially accurate, with the usual caveats about educated guesswork that always apply. Here's a quick-and-dirty from Porter's drawing, and it's crowded, even without the gun tackle and other fittings on deck and underfoot. The plan view is misleading, because it exagerrates the amount of usable deck space available -- the slope of the armor meant that most men could stand fully upright only under the gratings on top, and had to stoop otherwise.

As to recoil, those gun carriages ran on pivots, and so did not require additional space beyond that.

 

[Story]

I hadn't realized until I started drawing it out to scale how small and cramped the interior of that casemate must've been. We think of these vessels as being enormous beheamoths, but that's frequently not the case.

Isn't there a formula common among period Navies, wherein you can calculate the minimum footprint (in Sq Ft) for a particular sized gun?

Also, is it any more crowded than a Monitor's turret?

 

[AndyHall]

I'm not familiar with such a formula, but almost certainly such a thing may exist. I'm sure someone figured that out.

No, not more crowded than a monitor's turret. In fact, I pulled those sailors from my Monitor turret and dropped them into Albemarle, and added a few more.

https://deadconfederates.com/2013/04/02/how-crowded-was-monitors-turret/

 

[shipmodeler]

A excellent model for novice builders.

 

[shipmodeler]

If there is they sure didn't use it when building the Chimo. It was so overweight it only had 3" of free board and required extreme modifications to lighten her to make her river worthy.

 

[OwenRichards]

I've refined my measurements and got the hull and casement pretty much where I want them. I've added port shutters for port and starboard. I've not added the fore and aft gunports due to boolean issues with the mirrored hull. I've also added some deck ironmongery for effect.

Oh, one problem. Is there going to be room for the pilot?

 

[AndyHall]

Very nice work!