1 1 6 Book of Steamships 



British Navy was not called upon to fire 

 many shots in anger during this transi- 

 tional period, but there was nothing to 

 prevent armour-plating being set up for 

 trial by the new weapons. What a mess 

 the new guns made of some of the armour 

 proposed for new ships! In many cases 

 the whole of the ship had to be re-designed 

 on account of the armour-plating proving 

 too slight. 



Then guns were made to fire much 

 more effectively both as regards frequency 

 and accuracy. So that all this meant far 

 more rapid changes in the form of the 

 warship than was the case in her sister 

 of the mercantile marine, though here, 

 too, change was rapid. 



A great many preconceived ideas about 

 the safety of the big ship were shattered 

 when the Camperdown rammed and sunk 

 the Victoria whilst at manoeuvres on a 

 peaceful June day in 1893. On the calm 

 Mediterranean, within sight of land, the 

 then finest ship of the British Navy was 



