Howdy,
Greg Givler asked about where I got the rate of fire for the Virginia and
the Monitor designs I put up. Well, I got the figures from a book on the
battle of Hampton Roads, I forget the title and the author. As for why the
figures are so low for the Virginia, I really do not know, but that is what
the book claimed was the average rate of fire. The only explanation I can
imagine is that the Virginia maneuvered like a dead whale wearing cement
overshoes.
She required 30 to 40 minutes to make a 360 degree turn. As the guns had
a strictly limited field of fire it may be that it took five minutes to
reload and bring the guns to bear.
Reloading on the Monitor however was a rather complex task. The length of
the guns barely fit inside the diameter of the turret. In order to swab
out the gun, reload it and ram it, the rods had to be run out of the gun
ports while the crews were still inside the turret. This would be done
while the turret was facing away from the enemy.
Scott 2G Kellogg
"Put hot shot into her, and don't leave her till she's burning!"