"The First Ironclad" Topic

The Battle of Hampton Roads supposedly represents the ironclad warship's baptism of fire. Over two days in March 1862, the Confederate ironclad the CSS Virginia (formerly the Merrimack) and the Union warship USS Monitor slugged it out (sometimes at point blank range). Despite the fact that militarily the battle was inconclusive, the encounter itself was considered a game changer as far as the world's navies were concerned – the age of sail was over; the era of the battleship was beginning. But despite the enduring interest in this historic engagement, it's often forgotten that the earliest ironclad warships weren't American at all – they were Korean. And amazingly enough, they were conceived in the 16th century — nearly 300 years before the U.S. Civil War. Known as turtle ships, the vessels were essentially enormous armoured barges that were virtually indestructible. The brainchild of an admiral in the Korean navy of the Joseon Dynasty by the name of Yi, between 20 and 40 turtle ships were built in the 1590s and helped Korea thwart Japan's plans to invade the peninsula. The 100-foot-long hulks, which were powered by up to 80 oarsmen, were equipped with more than two dozen cannons. They were also designed to plow into enemy vessels using their enormous bow-mounted rams. A thick wooden upper deck festooned with iron spikes protected the crew from enemy fire and also served to repel boarding parties. Turtle ships, which were surprisingly fast and agile, would typically row into an enemy fleet ramming any ships in their path while blasting others with withering broadsides. They were used effectively in a number of battles like Dangpo, Sacheon and Noryang.
See
link

Anybody knows if there were a miniature model of this ship?

Amicalement
Armand

scheltrum.co.uk/eoc282.html

Sheltrum Miniatures

Many thanks Rob!.

Amicalement
Armand

Not sure that's an ironclad", but it is good to learn of it. I'm impressed that someone has made a model of it, and that it seems to be in 28mm.

The Chinese and Japanese were using armor on ships before the Turtle Boats. What made the turtle boats amazing was the armor was designed to also help repel infantry assault. They were also designed to incorporate smoke operations on the water.

Not sure how maneuverable they were but the opposition was not very good!

Old Glory makes a 25mm Turtle Ship model for $100.00 USD. I own one. Though I need to assemble and paint mine!

Old Glory Shipyard has one that is very nice. I do not have one but have seen them at the conventions and very detailed.
VR
James Mattes

The 'Turtle Ships' were actually noted as being fairly handy and quick in combat; they were a fair bit smaller than the main Korean ships and many of the Japanese ships and were relatively easier to move around in combat.

-Will

Here's a wooden kit – auction

And if you have a large wallet auction