THE LAIRD RAMS
(CSS North Carolina and CSS Mississippi)
Built in the Laird shipyard at Birkenhead in Great Britain. This was the same yard that had produced the Alabama. Before she or her sister ship could be delivered the US put pressure on the British government to impound her and, despite attempts to pretend they were intended for delivery to Egypt, they were both forcibly purchased by the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Skorpion and HMS Wyvern. These vessels were superior to any contemporary Union warships.
 |
|
 |
|
||
|
| Type | Turreted Ironclad Ram | Draught | 16-17' |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 224'6" | Speed | 10 knots |
| Beam | 42.5' | Crew | 150 |
| Armour | 4.5" on hull with 3.5" on bow. 10" on turrets. | ||
| Armament | Ram Bows 4 x 9" British made rifles (250lb) |
||
| Vessel Name | Configuration | Draught | Size | HDP | Targetting | Max Speed | Manoeuver | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSS North Carolina | Special | Deep | Med | 48 | C/E | V. Fast | Average | ||||||
| Armour | |||||||||||||
| Casemate | Hull | Deck | P/H | Turret | Stack | Rudder | Wheels | ||||||
| B | B/S | S | B | B/S | S | Armour | SDP | Armour | WDP | ||||
| - | - | - | H | S | S | L | S | S | U | 10 | S | - | - |
| Ram ? | Guns | ||||||||||||
| Yes | 2xFGT-SHR, 2xAGT-SHR | ||||||||||||
| Flotation Points | Date in Service | Model Available From | |||||||||||
| 12 | Launched Aug 62 (NC) and Jul 62(M) | Thoroughbred (1/600th) TS50 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||
|
If you have any questions please contact me at
sotw@canis-publ.demon.co.uk.