Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/168

 while the maximum thickness of their armour is 18 in. Being only 280 ft. long, with a beam of 66 ft, their speed is moderate, and for a long time difficulty was experienced in steering them. The 'Colossus' and 'Edinburgh' were great improvements. By increasing the length to 325 ft., and the displacement to 9500 tons, a speed of over 15 knots was obtained. Their turrets are armed with 45-ton breech-loaders instead of the old guns, and steel instead of iron is mostly used in the construction of the ships.

But naval officers did not approve the departure from the 'Dreadnought' type. The advantages of placing the turrets en echelon were more fanciful than real, and consequently, when after a lapse of some years there was a return to double-turret ships, an improved 'Dreadnought' design was decided upon. The 'Trafalgar' and 'Nile' represent this reaction, and as they have not long been completed it is evident the interval was considerable.

These ships are approximately the same size as the 'Inflexible,' viz., 12,000 tons at load draught. They have a central citadel, containing the two turrets, placed on the middle line, as in the 'Dreadnought' Each turret contains two 67-ton guns. Between the turrets, and above the citadel, are mounted eight 45-pounder guns in a battery, thus giving an auxiliary armament which had not been provided in the earlier turret ships. The length of the 'Nile' and 'Trafalgar' is 340 ft., of which 230 ft. is protected at the water line with compound armour, varying in thickness from 16 to 20 in. The