Do Not Read This Title

HMAS Parramatta, at the Wooden Boat Festival. I don't have a vertical photo to use but that isn't too wide?


The website is being screwy on me, so I'll type up a bit from the leaflet we were given.

"HMAS Parramatta is the fifth of eight ANZAC class frigates built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) by Tenix Defence Systems, Williamstown, Victoria.

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A note on the Ironclads

I love the look of the American Civil War ironclads


CSS Virginia & USS Monitor, both launched in 1862. Bigger version of picture.

One of the ideas behind their development, was to make it harder for the enemy ships to actually hit them. From memory, Virginia was built so enemy fire would 'slide off' and with Monitor, there is obviously little above the water to target.


USS Monitor obviously gave its name to the line of warships to come. although the very low deck obviously created problems at sea, which the breastwork monitor was developed to overcome.

To put these mastless, iron beasts into a ship-building context, this is still the era of the clipper ships, with the Cutty Sark still a few years from being built, and sail driven traders like Polly Woodside were still being built decades later.

Before the monitors though, there was the British HMS Warrior, launched 1860 and the first ocean going ironclad, the French La Gloire, launched 1859. I believe La Gloire was a wooden-hulled warship plated with iron, enough to make the traditional wooden warships suddenly obsolete. She in turn was made obsolete with the launching of Warrior just over a year later. Warrior was built with iron plates and had a single, central gun citadel, replacing the traditional rows of gun decks. While I don't think she ever saw active service, she was the start of an almost century-long naval arms race.

So I thought submarines, as practical vessels rather amusing novelties, were a 20th century development.

For the benefit of those who also felt the same, here are some links to early subs.

The American Civil War submarines are interesting because they were put to use. There were a number of them but two of particular interest are the Alligator, a Union submarine launched in 1862, also here; and the Confederate submarine Hunley, and here.

From slightly later, is the British Resurgam, built in 1879. There's a lot of information about the wreck

Prior to that, is Bauer's Brandtaucher from 1850.

Going earlier, they're more curiousities, although Bushnell's Turtle attacked HMS Eagle during the American War of Independence, in 1776; although not successfully. Replica of the Turtle

There's also Fulton's Nautilus from 1801.

Probably the oldest submarine, was built in the early 17th Century by Cornelisu van Drebbels

There were others, and many other web sites, including 400 Years of Subs, Submarine History and plans/diagrams of underwater vessels from very early up to 1994