Monday, September 10, 2012

The James Eads Turret

From the Sept. 9th Alton (Il) Telegraph.

The Missouri History Museum in St. Louis is extending its Civil War in Missouri exhibit through June 2, 2013.

It includes James Eads' patent model for his "Improved Turret for War Vessels" from 1862.  Eads was responsible for the construction of most of the ironclads on western waters.

From the City of Art site, Early Turret Ships.

The USS Chickasaw, a Winnebago-class monitor built specifically for use on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, had an Eads turret in the bow and an Ericsson turret aft.  The site mentions that there are no drawings of the Eads turret on the web.

What set these turrets apart were that they used steam power to lower the whole turret after firing, where the guns cold be safely reloaded and then raised back into firing position.  Eads turrets were  used on all four Winnebago-class monitors: Milwaukee, Winnebago, Chickasaw and Kickapoo.

These monitors were 970 tons, 226 feet long, 57 foot beam and drew 6 feet of water.

Where'd It Go?  --Old B-Runner

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