Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/169

 turrets are covered with similar armour, 18 in. thick. Machinery of 12,000 horse power gives these vessels a speed of 16 knots. Compared with the 'Inflexible,' they represent a considerable advance in every detail, and are powerful fighting ships. Their only defect, to my mind—independent of the size and cost—is that the guns are not carried sufficiently high above the water, and for this reason I have always preferred the barbette system. The turret ship 'Hood,' now building, is more than 2000 tons larger than the 'Trafalgar,' and represents what appears to be the final development of this system, which originated in the cupola ship of Captain Coles. The 'Hood' is of similar dimensions to the seven first-class barbette ships of the 'Royal Sovereign' type, and only differs in having her heavy guns mounted in turrets instead of en barbette. It remains to be seen which of the two plans will be followed in future designs.

Though the general opinion in the navy has been always in favour of double turrets, especially in vessels of large dimensions, sufficient success in the production of single-turreted ironclads, as exemplified in the 'Rupert' and 'Conqueror,' led to a further extension of this principle in two later ironclads, the 'Victoria' and 'Sanspareil,' now complete. The former was built by Sir William Armstrong's firm at Elswick, and perhaps is the only instance of a first-class battle ship being supplied with the whole of her equipment from a private yard. She has a length of 340 ft., a breadth of 70 ft., and displaces 10,500 tons. In a single turret forward, protected with 18 in. of compound armour, she carries