An Experimental Ironclad Design
In 1841, Robert L. Stevens and Edwin Augustus Stevens — the sons of Colonel John Stevens of Hoboken, New Jersey — proposed to the Navy Department the construction of an ironclad vessel of high speed, with screw propellers and all machinery below the waterline. This proposal was accepted and an Act of Congress — approved on 14 April 1842 — authorized the Secretary of the Navy to contract for the construction of a shot and shell-proof steamer, to be built principally of iron, on the Stevens plan. The armor was to be 4.5 in (11 cm) thick, a thickness believed by the Stevenses to be sufficient to resist any gun then known. But experiments made by John Ericsson with his big wrought-iron gun proved that 4.5 inches of armor was insufficient, and the construction of the vessel was thus delayed. In 1854, the builders constructed a larger battery, to be plated with 6.75 in (17.1 cm) of iron, but this in turn was never finished. This vessel was referred to as the Stevens Battery.
Read more about this topic: USRC Naugatuck
Famous quotes containing the words experimental, ironclad and/or design:
“Philosophers of science constantly discuss theories and representation of reality, but say almost nothing about experiment, technology, or the use of knowledge to alter the world. This is odd, because ‘experimental method’ used to be just another name for scientific method.... I hope [to] initiate a Back-to-Bacon movement, in which we attend more seriously to experimental science. Experimentation has a life of its own.”
—Ian Hacking (b. 1936)
“There are few ironclad rules of diplomacy but to one there is no exception. When an official reports that talks were useful, it can safely be concluded that nothing was accomplished.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)
“I begin with a design for a hearse.
For Christ’s sake not black—
nor white either—and not polished!
Let it be weathered—like a farm wagon—”
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)