Armour
The main waterline armour belt was twelve inches thick, and stretched from points level with the axes of "A" and "Y" barbettes. It extended to a depth below water of three foot eight inches at normal draught. Above the main belt was a narrow belt of nine-inch armour, and above that a belt of eight-inch thickness which extended up to the level of the upper deck. Both of these strakes extended for the whole length of the main belt. Forward of "A" turret the main belt was continued as a strake of six-inch thickness for about one-third of the distance to the stem, continued further by armour of four-inch thickness for a further third of this distance. The remainder of the bow was not armoured. Aft of the main belt a short extension of four-inch armour ran half-way to the stern; beyond this there was no side armour. The secondary battery was protected by five inches of armour; an anti-torpedo bulkhead of thickness of between one and two inches ran the length of the citadel and extended from the lower deck down to the level of the keel.
Four of the decks were armoured. The forecastle deck, upper deck and maindeck were all of one and a half inch armour and the middle deck was of one inch increasing to three over the machinery and magazines.
The forward bulkhead ran from the end of the main belt across the ship to the forward aspect of "A" barbette. It was eight inches thick above the maindeck, and five inches thick down to its lower limit on the lower deck. The after bulkhead was similar, running as an eight-inch thickness from the after ends of the main belt to "Y" barbette above the maindeck, and extending in five inch thickness down to the lower deck.
The turret faces were of eleven inch armour; the roofs were four inch and the turret sides three inches thick.
The armour of the barbettes was ten inches thick at the most exposed points, tapering down through nine inches and five inches to three inches (76 mm), according to the degree of protection afforded by adjacent armoured structures; deck, side armour or neighbouring turret.
The conning tower received twelve inches of armour on its exposed sides, and four inches where it was shielded by the foremast structure.
The total weight of armour applied was 4,207 tons.
Read more about this topic: HMS Erin (1913)
Famous quotes containing the word armour:
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In harmless joys are spent,
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Nor sorrow discontent:
That man needs neither towers
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—Thomas Campion (1567–1620)
“Seven to eleven is a huge chunk of life, full of dulling and forgetting. It is fabled that we slowly lose the gift of speech with animals, that birds no longer visit our windowsills to converse. As our eyes grow accustomed to sight they armour themselves against wonder.”
—Leonard Cohen (b. 1934)
“How happy is he born and taught
That serveth not another’s will;
Whose armour is his honest thought,
And simple truth his utmost skill!”
—Sir Henry Wotton (1568–1639)