Hello Gentlemen,
Let me share a few thoughts about the Laird Rams. Back in the early 1990s I tried to obtain copies of any Civil War ship plans that were available. This of course included those built for the Confederates in the UK. At that time I was informed by the NMM that the Laird Ram plans 'should be' available, but were not. I inquired again a few years later and was told their status was the same, unavailable.
Now, moving forward, I spent a few days at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus about 5 years ago and obtained copies of their collection of ship plans. Guess what they had? Yes, they had copies of Laird's original plans, plus the 'as fitted' plans of the rams after they entered RN service. The NCWNM had obtained their copies from the Smithsonian back in the early 1970s. The Smithsonian had gotten them from the NMM in the 1960s through the efforts of William Geoghegan. I made an extra set of copies and sent them back to the NMM to add to their existing 'Confederate Ships Plan List'.
Shortly thereafter I received a gracious reply from the NMM curator and an enthusiastic response. It would seem that not only had the Laird Rams plans been misfiled, but also those of other RN coastal ironclads. The NMM had been trying to locate this portion of their collection for some time. By sending them copies of their original plans, they found the correct filing numbers on the drawings which led them to the proper location. The plans had come full circle and were once again available for public use.
What is interesting about these drawings is that all accounts indicate that the RN was not very enthusiastic about acquiring the rams and that they had to 'undergo extensive alterations' to meet RN standards of service. If you carefully examine the original plans and the 'as fitted' RN plans there are very, very few differences, and certainly no major structural changes in the vessels. Whatever alterations were made must have been done to change certain storage capacities or crew arrangements. Honestly, I could not find any major changes in the pair.
As an aside, when the Danes acquired No. 61, later renamed Danmark, they were surprised by her poor seakeeping (excessive rolling) in the voyage from Scotland to Denmark. After arriving, she was docked and plans were made to improve her. This involved rearranging some her internal storage to alter the weight distribution, reducing her total armament, and fitting fore and aft cut outs in the hull to allow fore and aft fire. She had one or two commissions after that, but was kept in reserve most of her service life. During that early era of ironclad construction, it was a challenge to produce a well balanced, efficient vessel. All nations struggled with this emerging technology.
All the best,
Bil