The Warship Under Steam 115 



also provide a watertight arrangement for 

 the engines, boilers and magazines. 



Other additions were torpedo tubes and 

 a ram the possibilities of the latter were 

 only guessed at when the Victoria was 

 built; later it was to be shown what a 

 fearsome weapon this was to prove. The 

 guns were now breech-loading. 



The armour-plating was now also of an 

 improved type. At first plating had been 

 made from wrought-iron, which proved 

 quite strong enough when the shells used 

 against it were of cast-iron. When, how- 

 ever, the missiles used were manufactured 

 from steel, the latter metal had to be 

 employed to resist the shells. After a 

 trial of mild steel for armour, something 

 better was found by welding the steel 

 armour on to an inner coating of wrought- 

 iron. 



Guns, too, had been growing in size 

 and strength. No longer could a warship 

 stand up to a broadside like Nelson's 

 " hearts of oak "' did. Fortunately, the 



